Category Archives: Land management

I never knew it would be this messy!

Matt Barnes throwing a log in the fire yesterday. Gardens need to be weeded to be beautiful. Plants need to be thinned so that the remaining ones are healthier. Unwelcome plants need to we weeded out. It was with this … Continue reading

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Posted in Land management, Timber Stand Improvement, Trees & shrubs, Woods | 1 Comment

Backburn by the Cemetery Field

Duncan and Matt started doing controlled burns again today. It had been too wet for the last couple months. Burning is one of the key management tools on the 600-acres at the PGT.

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Tree Damage from Burns

A tree damaged by a burn. Burning the grassland and the woods is a key part of managing the PGT. Since one of our goals is beauty, we ask our groundskeepers (Matt and Duncan) to look comb the woods for … Continue reading

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Mapping Exotics

Red shows area with Chinese Lespediza (Lespedeza cuneata) at the PGT Since our goal is to be a native plant garden it is important to keep out invasive species. Matt and Duncan spent a couple of months this year looking … Continue reading

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New Exotic Invasive: Privet

Privet leaves (Ligustrum spp) photographed with my iPhone. New invasive exotic plants keep appearing. Today I found a clump of privet plants hidden deep in the woods. They must have escaped from someones garden. Matt and Duncan will cut them … Continue reading

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Indian Grass – Yes or No?

Indian Grass, (Sorghastrum nutans) When we started converting our old pastures back into stands of native warm season grass a couple decades ago we picked the two dominant grasses: Big Bluestem and Indian Grass. What we have learned is that … Continue reading

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Posted in Grasses, Land management | Leave a comment

Eastern Red Cedar

Eastern Red Cedar, (Juniperus virginiana) The only common evergreen tree at the PGT is Cedar. Even though it is a very attractive tree we have killed thousands of them over the last decade. The problem is that they invade glades … Continue reading

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Burning Bush

Burning Bush, (Euonymus alatus) Twenty years ago we planted Burning Bush by our house because of its great fall color. However, after years of enjoying it we have started to find new plants popping up all over the property. It … Continue reading

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Posted in Exotic invasives, Fall Color, Trees & shrubs | Leave a comment

Katy Land Trust

Preston Lacy is the program coordinator for the Katy Land Trust. Preston stopped by today and as we explored the PGT he told me what the Katy Land Trust was all about. Their key goal is to protect the agricultural, … Continue reading

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Posted in Finances, Land management | Leave a comment

See the PGT on Google Earth

Screen Shot of Google Earth Google Earth is amazing! I tried it recently after George Kopp mentioned it and was amazed at the detailed view if offered. One thing that is important to understand is that Google Earth is not … Continue reading

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Posted in Land management, Mapping | Leave a comment