Posted: 6/13/2010 7:55:35 AM EDT
| So, I'm living in a good location to bug in and I have been working on gettng the property in decent shape. During this time I have noticed that without power tools this place would take a lot of time and energy to maintain What preps either too land or tools have you all made? |
| the area we live in is nice water source is within 3 minutes, and we can have livestock. We put up a fence and if the grass ever gets high I would plan on geting an animal that can trim it down. Also I removed all the trees and brush from the backyard so it would onlu be a grass problem. Also I would make the garden bigger since bugging in would be better than bugging out to nowhere. |
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Quoted: I dont want too manicured of a look if SHTF. I want a slightly unkept look. I would prefer people think, empty not worth checking out.....while at the same time I want it kept enough to keep the rats out negative. You want the grass nice and short and manicured so they can see the dead zombies in the yard! |
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I dont want too manicured of a look if SHTF. I want a slightly unkept look. I would prefer people think, empty not worth checking out.....while at the same time I want it kept enough to keep the rats out negative. You want the grass nice and short and manicured so they can see the dead zombies in the yard! wouldnt it be more fun to shoot at the zombies that are bobbing up and down in the tall grass? A big more of a challenge really. Of course keep it extra short close to the house incase you miss one and they get too close |
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Keeping grass mowed around the house keeps bugs and mice and other little problem animals farther from your house. If you mow the grass and still have mice problems then get a cat or shoot the suckers. You can still have issues with bugs in mowed grass but they generally will be less of a problem in grass you mow than a field you let grow up. You also want to be able to see predators after your livestock. The field my neighbors keep their horses in needs bushhogged, it never got knocked down this spring and with the rain it is way overdue. They have one horse that is just a few months old and while the older and larger horses will probably help protect the little horse I figure in bad times it would be nice to be able to see the coyotes or other predators and shoot em before the horses have to fight them off and possably get hurt. I don't really have all that much of a plan but this is where one of those push mowers with the blades would be dandy. Right now I have a commercial mower and large weedeater and can stretch fuel a while if I just worry about 20ft around the house for the most part. I personally have zero interest in bare dirt. We are having a wet time this year and even with grass I have had to start putting some concrete blocks in where I walk to my vehicle since I go to and from work several days a week and that is wearing the grass out with the soft ground. Now going to a lot of gravel would be acceptable in my mind since the dirt would not be mud when wet and it would not be a dust storm waiting to happen. During bad times I won't be running ac all the time and will have windows open and I want to keep dust to a minimum since I hate dust in and on me or my stuff. While someone mentioned an old scythe and I have an old blade around here somewhere but no handle I plan to let the sun do some work. While painting stuff and doing other stuff in the yard I sometimes put a tarp down in the yard. More than once my lazy self has left it out there all day and it basically cooks the grass and while it usually won't kill it the grass sure the heck is unhappy about life for a few weeks. If really bad things come along I will mow and weedeat a few times, and roundup as well since I bought some concentrate this year. But if things look to be longer term than my fuel storage will handle I will get the tarps out and let the sun cook some grass. |
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I dont want too manicured of a look if SHTF. I want a slightly unkept look. I would prefer people think, empty not worth checking out.....while at the same time I want it kept enough to keep the rats out Short term SHTF, maybe. Long term, good people will be attempting to re-establish civiliation. In that situation, I doubt people will be worried about concealment of human activity at their residence unless they are alone. Being alone and tied to a spot could be problematic. |
| I recently ordered one of these. I do not intend to let the yard go to shit as long as we're here. Not so much for aesthetic purposes, but for sanitary reasons already mentioned. Also, we will likely be spending alot of time especially in the back yard (cooking, gardening, etc), and I'd rather not have 3' high grass when trying to maneuver out there... |
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Down here the old folks used to keep about 20 or 30 feet around their houses bare of all plants and grass. Easier to hoe the occasional weed up than keep a lawn cut. My grandfather kept the area around his house in a short growing grass, now that my uncle has the house he has expanded this idea, he has 3' beds of pea gravel running to french drains around the house and no gutters.except on the detached garage to catch rain water. I just found a Snapper side chute aluminum deck mower...I will be really stoked when I get it to run. Our lot is 50'x325' with the bottom 1/3 left wooded so self propelled is more of a PIA than it is worth. I'm thinking a pair of rain barrels is on my list as is going back to rotating fuel cans with 30-40 gals in reserve stored in the far shed. We inherited a limbing sizing Stihl chain saw and a nice size backpack blower, I hope to trade the blower toward a larger saw. |
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I dont want too manicured of a look if SHTF. I want a slightly unkept look. I would prefer people think, empty not worth checking out.....while at the same time I want it kept enough to keep the rats out negative. You want the grass nice and short and manicured so they can see the dead zombies in the yard! You want it nice and short so there are less mice, rats, snakes, and ticks around your house. |
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I recently ordered one of these. I do not intend to let the yard go to shit as long as we're here. Not so much for aesthetic purposes, but for sanitary reasons already mentioned. Also, we will likely be spending alot of time especially in the back yard (cooking, gardening, etc), and I'd rather not have 3' high grass when trying to maneuver out there... I have one of those, works like a dream. It's actually easier to use than my push gas mower. |
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Grass, oh how I hate the stuff! Its the only crop that has all input and no output. Even if you decide to use it as pasture most Lawn type grass is not nearly as good as say clover or other cover crop that would actually provide the grazing animal with more nutrition from less grass. All my attempt now are to eliminate grass in my yard , maybe a small percent of grass just to play on but that's it I wanna be able to weed it all in 20 minutes.
Grass whip is a great tool for cover plants. I keep an assortment of older tools i have bought at yard sales over the years, the new tools just dont hold up like the old ones do. Im working a a complete Permaculture make over of the 5 acres surrounding my home, im not a filthy hippy or anything its just a great model for production vs time spent. |
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xeriscape. FTW!
my yard needs very minimal attention. there's some sage in front that needs some water in the middle of summer, and a mesquite in back that occasionally needs some pruning, and in the fall drops some tiny leaves that need to be raked. other than that, the yard doesn't need much. |
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My plan is a goat and lots of roundup Goats don't do much for a lawn. They like to pick and choose what they eat, and don't do much good as grazers, like cattle, sheep and horses do. 
+1 I am now three months into goats, and they don't graze all that well. Need to get me a beef calf... |