Post date: May 4, 2015 1:22:45 PM
Here in Valverde Commons the vegetation that we have nearby is currently a topic of considerable discussion and effort.
The subdivision was originally a river bed - complete with pockets of river rock, sand, silt, and clay. What grows best is grass with occasional cottonwood trees. But it has also been overgrazed for centuries and was largely covered with several alien thistle species and tumbleweeds five years ago. And the water table has dropped considerably in the past century - to about six feet.
Add to that the eco-consciousness of the new residents, my neighbors, and we have lots of discussion. None of us has much experience dealing with acre-size tracts (the ‘commons’ is 4-5 acres in the middle of a circle of houses). Some of us have moved to New Mexico only recently from areas with much different soils, climate, and native flora.
And all of us are conscious of the sun and views - so planting large trees that might block views of the Rockies or shade someone’s rooftop solar panels is forbidden by covenant.
Today there are two hot issues that directly affect me. My immediate neighbor wants to plant shrubs or a tree to block her view of the ugly electric meters by the road. This location is 50’ from my house, directly southwest. So a tree more than 15’ tall will shade my house in the later afternoon even in January. (By July that tree would have to be 50’ tall to shade my house.) [A nifty software program shows this clearly on a map of our lots.]
Another other issue is the rental house where I’m staying while building my house. It is new, and not landscaped. I could not tolerate all the rocks in the ‘soil’ around the house, so spent time raking them into piles under the downspouts and paths from the several exterior doors.
I have also sown native perennial grass seed and have been trying to get it to germinate. However, being cheap and foolish, I did not cover the seed with a layer of compost or mulch, so even daily watering does not keep it moist enough to germinate. (This clay soil sheds water before it soaks in.)
Today several of us get small tree seedlings, so I will be digging holes, planting, and watering these. They are across the road, but I can run the hose through the culvert.
Meanwhile I have been chopping off the basal rosette of one species of introduced thistle. Of course, over ten acres (including the neighboring park) that is a life-time project! But these thistle leaves shade out any native grasses in their immediate neighborhood, so I hope I am doing good. At least it is good exercise!
The community solution to the thistles is to mow them after they have grown tall but before they set seed. That time is coming soon, as the warmer weather has made some of this species bolt like lettuce. And some areas of the thistle seedlings are so dense that I cannot easily chop off the rosette of leaves.