holyoutlaw

If you wonder what I mean when I say “we put a survival ring around a tree,” this might help explain the process.

First you need a tree with ivy on it. And here it is!

Tad and Chris stand in front of the tree we’re about to work on.

Before we pull the ivy off the tree, we build a platform to dry out the ivy and let it rot in place. In a few years, it becomes humus.

Here’s a blurry an action shot of Morry clearing the ground. It’s frequently the case that you have to pull up ivy to clear the spot for the platform.

First we put down a layer of burlap, to prevent shoots reaching up into the platform. Then long, thick logs (in this case, more than six feet long, and a couple inches in diameter) to form a square. More thick logs are laid out between the square, then a grid is formed by placing thinner logs across the bottom layer. The more separation between ground and platform the better. Then you can put the ivy on the platform.

Morrie and Ellie put ivy on the platform. You can see some burlap just above the date stamp, and a framing log towards the middle foreground.

The ivy is cut at shoulder height. The ivy above the cut is left in place to die, and the ivy below the cut is pulled away from the tree. This sometimes takes a great deal of effort. Ivy roots can reach several inches in diameter, and roots growing close together will fuse into a solid mat. A crowbar is one of the most useful tools for this kind of work.

Tad is holding a root that’s about 2″ in diameter. Also, you can see that we’re working on a slope with this tree.

Here’s the final ivy pile, with Tad standing behind it to give a sense of scale. He’s about 5’6″ tall.

Here’s the “after” picture.

It was taken from pretty much the same position as the “before” picture. The ivy above the cut will die, but it might take awhile. Even so, it will stop growing up the tree.

This tree was more than 35″ in diameter, and was about 100′ tall. The complete circumference was covered by ivy to about 70′.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

I went for a walk in North Beach Park last Sunday. The park looked like a mess, there have been alder trees falling down, bindweed coming up in places it hasn’t before, knotweed and some other things coming back after supposed eradication. Volunteers can’t work on the slopes (except for survival rings) or in the stream, so we’re kind of hemmed in. I felt pretty discouraged until I saw this.

Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) berries

This was planted last fall. Seeing the berries on the new planting made me feel a little better. So did this.

Successful ivy ring

Look at how bushy that is! That means the ivy was getting enough sunlight to probably sets fruit every season. This survival ring will have several benefits: Cut down on the Ivy seed rain, if infinitesimally so. The snag, now clear of ivy, will provide habitat and food for woodpeckers; when they move on, smaller birds will take over. Without the ivy, the snag will stand longer, and when it falls, it will be a nurse log.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.