One more update on the W.H.I.P. project...
I will be referring to the aerial map above.
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Field #2 came in pretty good with forbes (flowers)by the end of August, but the grasses were very slow to nothing. About September, the foxtail grasses (not a planted grass) came in with a vengeance and choked just about everything out. The taller flowers continued, although minimized.
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Field #1 was a total bust. Nothing but foxtail from day one. I'll bet that no more than 3 or 4 dozen forbe plants actually made it thru and bloomed.
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The pond perimeter (orange hashmarks) came in pretty good with forbes and some minimal warm grasses, but only if it was an area that got maximum sun thru the day. All the perimeter on the south side of the pond is mostly shaded alot of the day. Some forbes bloomed and some warm grasses also bloomed.
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The area behind the dam (noted as the .7 ac zone) came in the best. It was well populated with forbes and the warm grasses showed a decent start near the end of summer/early fall.
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The 3 areas with both orange and blue hashmarks were all areas planted with cool grasses, yellow clover, and red clover. The area behind the dam (part of the .7 ac zone) came in well. The other 2 zones are struggling, but growing.
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Our NRCS agent contacted us about 2 months ago to initiate the final paperwork to trigger the government disbursement. I told him that I feared that he would also be disappointed with the growth performance and limit the payout. He said that my complaints about the growth are normal; he hears it all the time for first-timers like me. He said that it is normal for foxtail to over-run everything, adding that foxtail is also a good habitat anyway. He said that the 2nd year will be better and the third year will be very different. He said that alot of the grass seeds will not germinate for 2 or sometimes 3 years.
He collected copies of my receipts for seed, equipment rental (the NRCS seed drill; $40 for my project), and the labor costs I paid to have our farmer pal prepare and seed. He also forwarded a couple of documents to update and verify our checking account. About 6 weeks later, a deposit was made into our account for the contract $660.
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To backtrack a little, the NRCS deal is to cover 75% of the total costs to make this type of a WHIP project happen. This is based on the entry level and minimum amount of seed and preparation. That calc's to 100% = $880. I knew that I was gonna go WAY past that because I increased the forbes considerably and also sprayed all zones with Round-up. Anyway, shooting from the hip cuz I'm not gonna tally all the details, I think we spent around $1500 of our cash to get it done the way WE wanted. The gov kicked back $660, so we actually spent $840. (it should also be noted that Ed Eitel says that this $660 is taxable, so I will lose a little more at tax time).
EDIT; Our WHIP project is being developed in 2 phases; 2007 and 2008. The 2008 phase will include trees and shrubs. That second WHIP co-pay will be about $1000 when the work is completed.-
Do we regret it? NAH! I can't levy any judgement for at least one more growing season. I will say, tho, that having the dam and field #2 (our driveway entrance) come in so good sure helps me to see that there is hope.
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(the .7 ac behind the dam; the cool grasses and clover are starting further down the slope at the edge of the woods)
