THE GIS


one problem i am running up against is knowing where exactly my mom's property begins and ends. i don't think i have a major (ethical) problem with stealing paw paws from the flood plain (or even the property next door), but they are not areas i can actively manage. i do see them having some sort of role in my plan though. either through transplanting saplings or collecting for fruit and seeds. we will see how that plays out. there are a number of different areas on her property. a couple good fields, a good amount of woods, and a stand of old pine trees, that i am curious about growing under. the forest areas will benefit from some management and cleanup to help make the existing paw paws more productive. i won't take any old or large trees down, but maybe some of the smaller trees can come down to give more sunlight. 



mom's property is to the right. i pulled this map from Maryland's gis website, merlin, at which i found at the address: https://gisapps.dnr.state.md.us/MERLIN/index.html

i have spent a good bit of time looking for this type of map. i asked my mom if she had a map. she sent me a picture of the tax plats she had, and there was something on it that sent me in this direction. i think these will work. i will admit that i am a little disappointed that my mom's property doesn't go back further than it does. but, there should be enough for an orchard. i think getting some sort of grid laid out over it for data collection, and for locating and identifying trees. 

my hope, is to figure out what trees produce the best fruit. that is going to be a process though. eventually, i will tag individual trees and keep some data on which trees produce the best fruit. i did write in sharpie on some particularly productive trees. i am thinking the best way to label trees may be aluminum tags embossed with a punch. i will try and refrain from having them by the end of the week,but i will likely order them by the end of the day...


in terms of tagging and labeling, i think the best plan might be to split the property into a grid, maybe A-ZxA-Z. shit. that's over 600 squares. looks like some more thinking about this is in order. i do want the grid to run over onto the neighboring properties to keep track of the flavor and productivity of some of the wild fruit. my dream would be to be producing the wild fruit that occurs here, avoiding the grafted cultivars. but more likely, i would do grafted in the fields, and wild in the wild. unless i can identify some really good wild fruit from the woods. that would allow for some revenue from foraging, and some from selling the more desirable fruit.                     

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