We moved into our new place last August. We moved here so we could have more space and we could create a farm on our own land. Renting land was proving far more difficult than I thought it would be. Now we have over 2 acres to play with. We did a few things in the fall to prepare for the coming year. We planted garlic and some of the fruit bushes I had moved from our tiny little city property. I expanded a couple of existing garden beds and planted a few herbs I bought on sale at the end of the year. I was a little surprised that the established gardens didn’t include any herbs or really, anything edible. I suppose that’s not everyone’s priority. I’ve had to hold myself back a bit from making big decisions about where the gardens are going to be. The first principle of Permaculture is Observe and Interact. Before I even heard the word Permaculture I had read the advice to take a year to make decisions on what you will do in the garden of a new residence. So I am observing and interacting, mostly. In October we (my dad and his friend) took down about 14 dead trees on the property. Mostly ash and elm. This was very exciting for me because I’ve wanted to experiment with hugelkultur for a while now. Without knowing what it was at the time, I built a raised bed at our old place and used logs and brush trimmings to help fill the bottom of the bed so I didn't have to buy so much soil. That bed was very productive. On this property I have observed that there are a lot of places that are very wet. The water table is high or maybe our property is low. I decided to use some hugelkultur beds to build up the soil in those places. When building a hugelkultur bed you often dig down and place the logs in a trench but because I want to build it up I just placed the logs on the ground. I went a little crazy with the amount of beds I have built (so much for waiting to make those decisions!) but I think it’s a pretty good start. I roughly followed some of the contours but in some places I went against the contour in an effort to begin to direct the flow of water. I don’t want to get rid of the water on the property, I want to spread it around. The land is very flat so contour is pretty relative. Many hugelkultur beds are very big and high. I have kept the beds fairly narrow and they probably won’t be more that 4 feet high once they are planted in the spring. We collected leaves in the fall and covered the logs and branches with those leaves. I’m hoping to find a good manure source and spread it on the leaves with more yard waste on top of that and then soil on top of the yard waste. I also planted garlic around some of the beds in drier places under straw. This is just an experiment to see what works. We had loads of garlic from last year to plant and we had already planted our major bed on a higher, dry spot close to the pond. So now it’s January, we had 3 more trees taken down, one by the wind and 2 by my dad. I keep piling brush and logs on what will be the largest hugel-bed on the property. Dad built a greenhouse on the south side of the garage and he’s experimenting with microgreens in the house. I’m deciding on the perennials I want to buy (most of them!) and thinking about where some of the vegetable crops will go this year. With the saturation of the ground I’m not sure what fruit trees will do well here. They would probably need some raised beds to keep their roots from being soaked in all but the driest of summers. They don't like wet feet. I dream of planting a willow fence along one side of the property. The property is very open right now with loads of grass to cut. I’d like to close it off a bit with evergreens and lilac bushes. My dad and I both love very tall grasses, I'm sure I can find a spot for those. There are so many herbs and flowers that I covet. How many lavender plants can you fit on 2 acres? Can I find the same delicious smelling rose that I had in my last place? The possibilities feel endless. According to Permaculture principles you are only limited by your imagination. How exciting! When it’s nice outside I wander into some of the wilder bits of the property. In Permaculture that's called zone 5. There are elderberry bushes already on the property and growing wild along the trail. I think a foraging workshop is in my future to help learn about some of the wild stuff I already have.
We are also getting ready to order our bees and all the stuff we need for them. I have a pretty good idea where they can set up camp. I also keep looking at the old shed in the yard that I think will be our chicken coop. It needs a new floor and to be vermin proofed but it's a pretty good start. There's so much to Observe and January is a great time to do it. I'm itching to get out there and plant stuff but I realize how much I can learn by just watching and paying attention. It's a kind of meditation. I am watching. Observing. Interacting. Dreaming about the possibilities. I've been paying attention to the paths we tread to the fire pit, the pond and the path at the back. I've noticed the different directions the wind blows. I've heard the sound of the lake and watched the pond rise and rise with each pounding of rain after the extremely dry summer. I've noticed the deer paths at the back of the property and experienced soakers in my boots as I find the wettest spots on the land. I walk the dog and see the community we live in. It's all so new and exciting and it's only the beginning!
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JackieI'm a garden farmer, herbal enthusiast, motherwifesisterfriend and Archives
April 2022
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