Please watch the latest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0. It's an interview with an old botanist, who shares his wisdom and philosophy, remains engaged after decades of witnessing first hand America's nature getting destroyed.
2 main points:
- destroyed old-growth forests, grassland, remnant prairies takes millennia to be back to what they were, not decades. Insects and other pollinators don't just reappear
- water availability for plants comes in many forms, all of which disappear with tillage.
Joey is an acquired taste, but if you look past the strong and odd personality (the persona?), his channel is a gold mine. But this time he was (rightfully) impressed by Gerry (Gerould) Wilhelm's wealth of knowledge.
I love this guy, also my favourite Youtube channel and one of my favourite podcasts, he also guests on In Defence of Plants from time to time, I have the impression he's friends with the host.
Loved him ever since I randomly stumbled across his guerilla tree planting video in I want to say 2020?
Anyway, we all must support the train driver turned botanist.
I'm reminded of an article I read once, it seems to have gone offline, an interview with indie game dev Jason Rohrer. He said the city took him to court for not mowing his lawn. He ended up winning under the 1st amendment (the lawn was "free expression" or something...)[0]
I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries).
The other day I walked around the neighborhood and found this massive patch of grass and weeds that had been mowed, and scorched by the sun, so it was just mostly dead. Barely 5 minutes away, the city had fenced out special plots and paid to have a bunch of weeds instlled, to help the bees. Comedy.
[0] Edit: Yeah it's deleted. I found backups though!
> I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries).
I don't know about other countries, but in Poland you're just not required to cut down your lawn at all, unless it's a fire hazard (you have a lot of dead and dried up plants).
Not just HOAs. Talk grass allows insects and vermin to move more freely. In cities, this contributes to their spread, so some places have city-wide ordinances that require lawn maintenance.
Rat and mice infestations are not fun. I have had enough trouble dealing with my pollinator and monarch butterfly habitats and mice. I actually TRY to get rabbits and squirrels but mice go after their babies.
I mean, I get it - I somewhat agree with your take, but this is somewhat of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" case.
I think you undermine your argument when you don't understand the complaint. Because I'd also like to see a lot more native plants, and less manicured, mono-culture yards with poison sprayed all over them.
But at least in my area, the problem isn't "oh look a spider"... it's "oh shit, that house is collapsing because of termites", and "Oh shit, my neighbor's mom's house just burned down because rats chewed through the wiring in the walls", and "Fuck me! That's hogweed growing in that yard! Time to call the city".
Pests are a real concern - they cause lots of monetary damage, and can seriously injure or hurt people if not monitored. Does that mean we should nuke everything with chemicals and make a sterile hellscape? No - I don't think it does.
The complaint is not well founded and doesn't explain how native landscapes make the problem any worse.
A healthy ecosystem with owls, snakes, and coyotes will keep rodents in check. But well before that point, the ubiquitous feral domestic cats usually wreak havoc on pests and songbirds alike. Not to mention that most of the problem starts with bad food storage and waste management in the first place, not tall grasses or a few fruit trees (hence the flocks of pigeons and seagulls around parking lot dumpsters).
Plus, no one is trying to stop you from tenting houses for termites, which are meditated by landscape practices like mulch and irrigation rather than the types of plants themselves.
Most city code about lawns mandates cutting them if you have one. If you don’t want to maintain a lawn by keeping it trimmed, rip it out. It’s a non-native monoculture, allowing it to grow un-maintained is uh, stupid. Rip the sod out and plant clover, problem solved.
My city also requires “noxious weeds” to be removed, which is a state requirement that the city inherited/adopted: <a href="https://www.mda.state.mn.us/minnesota-noxious-weed-list" rel="nofollow">https://www.mda.state.mn.us/minnesota-noxious-weed-list It’s comprised of invasive species like Japanese knotweed and buckthorn and others I am unfamiliar with.
That being said, city code in my city would allow you to replace a grass law with clover or native plants/grasses or landscaping or wooded areas, etc. The code simply says “If you have a grass lawn you must cut it if the grass generates seeds or is 8” long.”
Generally, property in places where the landscape is well-maintained is worth substantially more than property where half the lawns are uncut and the fence lines are overgrown with weeds.
The US is a land of individualists who also have most of their wealth tied up in their homes so property ordinances are popular, despite the “I can do whatever I want” attitude of American culture.
There are municipalities in the US with lawn ordinances, mine has one.
> Tall Grass and Weeds
> Weeds or grass more than eight inches high or that have gone to seed must be cut or mowed. Noxious weeds, as defined by the state Department of Agriculture, must be controlled or destroyed completely.
His instagram account (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt" rel="nofollow">https://www.instagram.com/crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt) is up there with Chuck Tingle in terms of subscribing to little bits of life-affirming joy in a difficult world.
How is the world so difficult? People live nowadays better than kings of France used to live. In the last hundred years we've been going through unprecedented wealth creations, not just in the West but accross the world.
How is the world so difficult? People live nowadays better than kings of France used to live. In the last hundred years we've been going through an unprecedented wealth creation, not just in the West but accross the world.
I had an interesting internal debate the other day about whether farm fields were more natural than fields of solar panels. (Ignore fields that have both for now). To me, a tilled field that is being chemically fertilized and tilled is at this point just as far removed from the former native state.
jojocool0501 · · focus · HN ↗
Please watch the latest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0. It's an interview with an old botanist, who shares his wisdom and philosophy, remains engaged after decades of witnessing first hand America's nature getting destroyed. 2 main points: - destroyed old-growth forests, grassland, remnant prairies takes millennia to be back to what they were, not decades. Insects and other pollinators don't just reappear - water availability for plants comes in many forms, all of which disappear with tillage.
Joey is an acquired taste, but if you look past the strong and odd personality (the persona?), his channel is a gold mine. But this time he was (rightfully) impressed by Gerry (Gerould) Wilhelm's wealth of knowledge.
AHabe · · focus · HN ↗
Loved him ever since I randomly stumbled across his guerilla tree planting video in I want to say 2020?
Anyway, we all must support the train driver turned botanist.
andai · · focus · HN ↗
I'm reminded of an article I read once, it seems to have gone offline, an interview with indie game dev Jason Rohrer. He said the city took him to court for not mowing his lawn. He ended up winning under the 1st amendment (the lawn was "free expression" or something...)[0]
I thought that was really interesting (and obviously wouldn't work in other countries).
The other day I walked around the neighborhood and found this massive patch of grass and weeds that had been mowed, and scorched by the sun, so it was just mostly dead. Barely 5 minutes away, the city had fenced out special plots and paid to have a bunch of weeds instlled, to help the bees. Comedy.
[0] Edit: Yeah it's deleted. I found backups though!
<a href="https://archive.ph/j9025" rel="nofollow">https://archive.ph/j9025
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150315123808/https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a5303/future-of-video-game-design-1208/" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20150315123808/https://www.esqui...
badpun · · focus · HN ↗
I don't know about other countries, but in Poland you're just not required to cut down your lawn at all, unless it's a fire hazard (you have a lot of dead and dried up plants).
graemep · · focus · HN ↗
Here in the UK there are no usually legal requirements, but it might be a social problem as your neighbours will not like it.
voakbasda · · focus · HN ↗
nsvd2 · · focus · HN ↗
FuriouslyAdrift · · focus · HN ↗
horsawlarway · · focus · HN ↗
I think you undermine your argument when you don't understand the complaint. Because I'd also like to see a lot more native plants, and less manicured, mono-culture yards with poison sprayed all over them.
But at least in my area, the problem isn't "oh look a spider"... it's "oh shit, that house is collapsing because of termites", and "Oh shit, my neighbor's mom's house just burned down because rats chewed through the wiring in the walls", and "Fuck me! That's hogweed growing in that yard! Time to call the city".
Pests are a real concern - they cause lots of monetary damage, and can seriously injure or hurt people if not monitored. Does that mean we should nuke everything with chemicals and make a sterile hellscape? No - I don't think it does.
But it doesn't pay to be dismissive either.
anon84873628 · · focus · HN ↗
A healthy ecosystem with owls, snakes, and coyotes will keep rodents in check. But well before that point, the ubiquitous feral domestic cats usually wreak havoc on pests and songbirds alike. Not to mention that most of the problem starts with bad food storage and waste management in the first place, not tall grasses or a few fruit trees (hence the flocks of pigeons and seagulls around parking lot dumpsters).
Plus, no one is trying to stop you from tenting houses for termites, which are meditated by landscape practices like mulch and irrigation rather than the types of plants themselves.
quickthrowman · · focus · HN ↗
My city also requires “noxious weeds” to be removed, which is a state requirement that the city inherited/adopted: <a href="https://www.mda.state.mn.us/minnesota-noxious-weed-list" rel="nofollow">https://www.mda.state.mn.us/minnesota-noxious-weed-list It’s comprised of invasive species like Japanese knotweed and buckthorn and others I am unfamiliar with.
That being said, city code in my city would allow you to replace a grass law with clover or native plants/grasses or landscaping or wooded areas, etc. The code simply says “If you have a grass lawn you must cut it if the grass generates seeds or is 8” long.”
tobinfricke · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IPMC2024P1/chapter-3-general-requirements?utm_source=chatgpt.com#IPMC2024P1_Ch03_Sec302.4" rel="nofollow">https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IPMC2024P1/chapter-3-gener...
graemep · · focus · HN ↗
quickthrowman · · focus · HN ↗
The US is a land of individualists who also have most of their wealth tied up in their homes so property ordinances are popular, despite the “I can do whatever I want” attitude of American culture.
quickthrowman · · focus · HN ↗
> Tall Grass and Weeds
> Weeds or grass more than eight inches high or that have gone to seed must be cut or mowed. Noxious weeds, as defined by the state Department of Agriculture, must be controlled or destroyed completely.
Source: <a href="https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/rent-buy-sell-property/maintaining-your-property/property-code-enforcement" rel="nofollow">https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/rent-b...
A lawn is not required, but if you have one, the grass must be cut if it seeds or is more than 8” long.
xnx · · focus · HN ↗
dfltr · · focus · HN ↗
mudil · · focus · HN ↗
mudil · · focus · HN ↗
cowsandmilk · · focus · HN ↗
aaron695 · · focus · HN ↗
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