If you don't recognize this ruggedly handsome dude you are either 1) not botanically inclined 2) immune to doom scrolling or perhaps 3) living under a rock. EVERYONE I know knows about him, and once even fussy budgets (I suppose I'm one) leap over (or past) the uber-urban accent, the tats, the f-bombs you find yourself with one of the most lucid, honest and powerful minds on the Internet. Joey goes everywhere! The Philippines, Tennessee, Ecuador, New Caledonia, South Africa: you name it! and especially the hot spots of Texas. Wherever he goes he produces flawless videos highlighting stunning ecological relationships, morphological wonders and the most remarkable plants (and people) on the planet. Watching Joey's videos for a few months should qualify you for at least a Master's degree in Botany.
But what I admire even more than his botanical prowess is his unstinting stand for Nature. No one, and I mean NO ONE on the planet says it like Joey does. To listen to him rip into tawdry, conventional horticulture is pure pleasure! The invective pours out like maple syrup on a pancake. He slices and dices lawn worship, shreds stupid landscaping and just generally slaps back the stupidities of civilization as vigorously as bulldozers plow up the last remnants of some rare prairie. He is Mother Nature's knight in jeans and sweatshirts.
If you know Joey, skip to the last sentence. But if you don't here's one of the countless onramps onto Joey's vast Internet empire: Crime pays but Botany doesn't.
You have to promise me one thing: if you listen to five of his shorts in a row and don't agree with me, just email me here: you'll win a special red baseball cap made in China.
Joey's DBG talk is SOLD OUT! There is still space available for his Tuesday evening, August 19 talk at High Dive (in the Golden Triangle, Denver) Click here to sign up:
Crime pays but botany doesn't.
Denver, CLICK HERE and get one of the very last places left for Joey's talk. (Last time I checked there were only 15 out of nearly 300 spots left.)
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I have a lawn. I just measure it. It is about 4800 sq. ft.
ReplyDeleteAfter Mr. Santore’s lawn bit, I pushed a compost thermometer into my lawn and into my native plant garden. I could not feel any difference in resistance. I reported this on Mr. Santore’s Facebook page. One of his groupies called me a “Dumbass” and Mr. Santore “Liked” it.
So, I did infiltration tests. My native plant garden was initially better. However, lawn, where I do not walk, met and soon surpassed the infiltration rate into my native plant garden.
The whole deep prairie root leading to water infiltration claim is not wholly true. The prairie plants with the deep roots are in aeolian habitats, like sand dunes and loess. I realized this after re-reading Weaver’s publication. In my yard, I’ve transplanted a number of native plants including llittle bluestem and lead plant. The roots did not grow into the hardpan clay layer. Large roots do help with infiltration. However, what is really important for increasing infiltration is organic matter. This is something Mr. Santore did not seem to believe until he did his second video with Dr. Wilhelm.
I have native plant gardens. However, I also love my lawn. I do not use any herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers on my lawn. I manually remove the dandelions. I have been mulching the clippings back into my lawn for 15 years. I only collect clippings where the grass is growing particularly well to spread on my organic vegetable garden. I have native plants coming up in my lawn. This includes common milkweed, butterfly milkweed, violets, smooth blue aster, New England aster, geranium, and more.
I’ve worked hard on my lawn. I’m not going to “kill it.” So, I will take my MAGA hat now. I don’t want it. However, I will give it to someone who does want it.
James McGee
I've been worried for some time now about your silence on my posts, James: I am delighted to have you come back, and love what you have to say. I would never send you a red hat in any case--you are my Windy City brother, and a voice for reason. I have a lawn a well--also not pampered or poisoned. I fear both our lawns may be morphing into little prairies, from the sound of it! Joey hopefully arrives tomorrow and I have a hunch we'll be discussing some of these same things. You, sir, are overdue to a visit here, you know!
DeleteI am sure you will enjoy Mr. Santore’s visit. He will kiss the ground you walk on.
DeleteMe on the other hand, I believe what he said was, “Ya, like I’m going to believe some guy on the internet.” I tried to argue the importance of organic matter and was told something like, “You are thinking about it all wrong.”
Be aware, Mr. Santore has a habit of using peoples yard’s as a bathroom. This one reason, I do not want him knowing where I live. I have enough to pick up in my yard without inviting more.
As for visiting, I am sure I’ve told you before I limit my traveling. I am trying to minimize my impact on some catastrophy scientists keep going on about called climate change. Apparently, toward the end of my life, the temperature may stay above 95 degrees F for 100 days straight in the southern part of the midwest. That is some scary stuff.
As for my lawn, “morphing into little prairies,” I am actively encouraging flowers to grow in my lawn. I stop mowing areas with violets once the violets grow to the height of the highest setting on my mower. After that time, I cut those areas with a string trimmer. This allows me to cut above the violets and avoid other things that are growing.
DeleteI think there should be a competition, with the goal being to see how much plant diversity someone can get to grow in a plot of lawn. If people are going to have lawns, then they might as well be habitat. Besides, where I do not have violets and therefore mow high throughout the summer, the flowers kind of remind me of an alpine meadow.