Encroachment

My garden has been shrinking over the years.  I have messed around with various projects that took out a nip here and a nibble there.  Most notably a little tree nursery on the west end and a patch of hybrid poplar trees on the east end.

I was managing the patch of hybrid poplar as coppice for pole production.  Coppice is the technique of cutting a planting of trees on a regular basis and encouraging regrowth from the stumps.  The regrowth can be freakishly fast because the tops are being pushed by a full sized, mature root system.

A gardener can never have enough poles and posts, especially if he is chasing the sun with pole beans, hop vines and snap peas.  The coppice was on the east end where the water drains out.  My thinking was that it would also give me one last chance to grab any fertility before it drained onto my neighbor's property.

It worked great except the 20 foot tall (in two years) trees gobbled up way too much morning sun.  All sunshine is precious because that is the engine that drives plant growth.  But morning sunshine is especially precious to a gardener because it drys off the dew drenched leaves and slows the spread of disease. 

Before cutting. Note power wires (upper right) for frame-of-reference

After cutting  Trimmings in lower left corner.  Looks different, doesn't it?

PT Update:

Roadwork     Push-ups      Sit-ups      

Ran 5.5 miles with an additional 0.5 mile cool-down!