Show your tractors

[doobin]

Reverse drive, sideshift and top link on the joystick. Air conditioning and radio on. Luxury. 

[openspaceman]

2 hours ago, doobin said:

Reverse drive, sideshift and top link on the joystick. Air conditioning and radio on. Luxury. 

So it's you to blame for those thorns in my dogs'paws

 

Lot's of phosphor compounds being recycled there, gorse grows at the sides of paths which have been fertilised regularly.

[doobin]

37 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

So it's you to blame for those thorns in my dogs'paws

 

Lot's of phosphor compounds being recycled there, gorse grows at the sides of paths which have been fertilised regularly.

We’ve actually cut and collected all the edges where we could, and pulled out the thicker gorse mechanically to get back to 12m firebreaks. The reverse flail was just to flatten out the pulled areas and get any bits sticking up so that we know the cut and collect will be fine to go over it all next year. 

[Stere]

Yeah dog poo & wee apparently is bad for   enriching grasslands to much having a negative effect on wild flora.

 

 

 

 

[Stere]

Are you allowed to burn on site etc?

 

Here the Wild life Trusts policy is  to remove all bigger stuff cut off site...or they are burning a  small amount on tin sheets then removing the ash.

 

They also have controlled fires to burn off the heather.

Edited February 6, 2024 by Stere

[openspaceman]

13 minutes ago, Stere said:

Here the Wild life Trusts policy is  to remove all bigger stuff cut off site...or they are burning a  small amount on tin sheets then removing the ash.

 

This was always the policy locally post 1976 but seems to be abandoned now.

 

Since then of course much nitrogen has been added to the soil from vehicle exhausts, coupled with rich dog food it has led to an increase  in unwanted vegetation on the heath.

 

The obvious solution is cut and collect but the wildlife trusts will not grasp the nettle and find an off site solution. It was the days when common grazing removed these minerals (to be deposited on a home farm or abattoir) that formed these heaths.

[dan blocker]

6 hours ago, openspaceman said:

This was always the policy locally post 1976 but seems to be abandoned now.

 

Since then of course much nitrogen has been added to the soil from vehicle exhausts, coupled with rich dog food it has led to an increase  in unwanted vegetation on the heath.

 

The obvious solution is cut and collect but the wildlife trusts will not grasp the nettle and find an off site solution. It was the days when common grazing removed these minerals (to be deposited on a home farm or abattoir) that formed these heaths.

If all dog owners were to pick up their dog shit there wouldn’t be a problem then? If when house training puppies and they crap and/ or pee in the house some people rub the pups noses in it? If that was done to the owners who don’t pick the mess up maybe it would help train the owners🤔

[openspaceman]

36 minutes ago, dan blocker said:

If all dog owners were to pick up their dog shit there wouldn’t be a problem then? If when house training puppies and they crap and/ or pee in the house some people rub the pups noses in it? If that was done to the owners who don’t pick the mess up maybe it would help train the owners🤔

Have you ever seen a dog walker hang a plastic bag containing dog shit from a branch?

[sime42]

Problem solved. Isn't it? The magic dog shit fairy comes along to clear it up, plus the additional plastic pollution.

[doobin]

18 hours ago, openspaceman said:

This was always the policy locally post 1976 but seems to be abandoned now.

 

Since then of course much nitrogen has been added to the soil from vehicle exhausts, coupled with rich dog food it has led to an increase  in unwanted vegetation on the heath.

 

The obvious solution is cut and collect but the wildlife trusts will not grasp the nettle and find an off site solution. It was the days when common grazing removed these minerals (to be deposited on a home farm or abattoir) that formed these heaths.

Off site soloutions (grab lorries, tub grinders, green waste sites) are stupidly expensive and for this reason I don't support them.The most practical soloution in my experience is a dump site on a low value bit of the heath. There's always a nutrient dense corner covered in birch and bracken somewhere.

 

Burning is good in theory but it can be a struggle to burn pulled scrub due to the volume of soil on the roots. And the fire site will always need clearing up thoroughly anyhow. So seems pretty pointless to me given that a well stacked dump site on waste ground will rot down in five years to nearly nothing, whilst providing a habitat for certain things. Basically, I think there's limited money for any nature reserve, so let's not spunk it processing green waste any more than necessary.

 

I do both depending upon what the client wants. Wish I didn't have to bother with the extra hassle of burning though.

Edited February 7, 2024 by doobin