Turning Landscaping Into Abundance with Chop and Drop Method

3 years ago
15

My neighbors thought I was crazy doing this. Yet it has so many benefits for ecology, wildlife, and even cooking food. It's hard to know why others aren't doing the same thing.

First, I save time by chopping and dropping the brush, rather than having it cut into small pieces to be hauled away. I gain small bird habitat, dry kindling, and a deterrent for deer. Can you see the stacking of benefits here?

For some, it is unsightly because it doesn't fit the mold of colored wood chips and cosmetically applied shrubberies. I could make it look better by adding untreated woodchips in volume. Yet I'm happy with the results I get from this simple method.

If I wasn't banned from having the BCS tractor in the neighborhood, then I'd flail this brush. However, that takes more time and doesn't leave me with valuable wood. Sometimes I even get mushrooms using this simple method.

Here's what I do ... I let small trees grow till about six feet high, then cut them down in chunks using chop and drop. Rather than hauling off the plants, I lay them flat on the ground, stripping most of the large branches. Can you see how easy that is?

Nature takes care of removing leaves and small branches. In a few months, I end up with dry firewood, mulch, and deer obstacles. Deer don't like to walk on these branches because they are not flat on the ground. Very little fuel and chainsaw time, lots of uses.

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