On Sat, 30 Jun 2012 07:38:18 -0500, George Leppla
> wrote:

>
> FWIW... I have to back Sheldon up on this one. The area where he lives
> is mostly farm or forest. There are no nearby urban areas where people
> would be looking for a place to have a community garden. He could offer
> land use for free and still have no takers.
>
> As far as lawn goes... the ground in that part of NY is so fertile that
> you could plant a stick of firewood and watch it sprout. I seriously
> doubt that Sheldon fertilizes that lawn at all... doesn't need it. It
> is a short growing season there so he probably mows it once every 3 to 4
> weeks between June and September.... and he mows it with a field mower,
> not a lawn mower because it is more field grass than a groomed lawn...
> probably perennial rye which grows very well in cooler climates and
> needs little to no maintenance other than an occasional mowing.

Agree with all of the above.
>
> It looks good, is low maintenance and is easy on the environment. The
> other choice would be to let the ground go fallow... or try to rent ti
> to a local farmer but working only 5 acres is more of a pain in the butt
> to a farmer than it is worth. You seldom see a 5 acre hay field.

There are plenty of other things that a farmer who rents could do with
the land, but if he can afford to keep his land out of farm production
and is physically able to do the upkeep - I don't think it's anybody's
business but his own what he does with it (if what he does is legal).
>
> Sheldon often talks about things he doesn't know about, but in this
> case, I think he is doing it right.

If he wants his property to look more like a well maintained park than
farmland or forest, then more power to him.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.