KW Homestead

Pasture Raised Poultry & Edible Landscaping Plants Since 2013

Category: his thoughts (page 10 of 13)

The Where and Why of Our Backyard Food Forest

Over the past few weeks Emma and I have been busy planting over 100 trees, vines, bushes and shrubs as the foundation for our new food forest. A food forest, for those who may never have heard the term before, is a forest designed to provide food for its stewards. They often consist of perennial species, like fruit and nut trees, and are therefore inherently stable and resilient.

A well designed and established food forest is able to cycle nutrients, capture energy, and produce a yield with few human inputs, such as irrigation, fertilization, and planting. Our food forest will take some time to reach this mature, self supporting state, and for now we will have to nurture our young plants to ensure that they become well established and provide for us for decades to come.

food forest

Last year, the forest edge, the location of our new food forest, was an impenetrable tangle of small trees and shrubs.

This longevity is one of the key benefits of forest gardening. There are food forests that are over 2000 years old which have provided for many generations of humans caretakers. This is what we are shooting for. Designing a system that will feed not only us, but our progeny for years and years.

Our new food forest is only the home base for our future plans, and is located right outside our back door, in, what in permaculture is referred to as zone 1 or zone 2. The backyard area forms a u shaped, open glade that faces south, and is bordered by native woods made up of oaks, poplar, hickory, maple, and pine among others.We are expanding out from this hardwood forest with our fruit trees, replacing the shrubby undergrowth, and following the curved shape of the woods. This was a conscious design choice and has numerous advantages.

First, we replaced many undesirable and inedible species with productive species. As anyone who has ever walked into a forest knows, the edge is usually where you encounter the thickest undergrowth of thorny bushes and vines that seem impenetrable.

Second, by planting along the forest edge we, and our plants, are able to tap into the complex and well developed fungal network that supports and coexists with our woods. Plants usually prefer to grow in 1 of 2 environments.The first is a bacterial one that is primarily found in grasslands, meadows, and prairies. These environments rely on grazing animals to digest large amounts of plant material and poop out partially decomposed manure that is full of bacteria that complete the nutrient cycle from plant-animal-plant.

The other is a fungal environment, where moist, and shady conditions, as well copious amounts of woody material support millions of miles of fungal hyphae, that break down dead wood, help tree roots obtain and take up nutrients in the soil, and act as a sort of internet that connects the trees in a forest. Thus, by planting our trees on the edge of the forest, their roots are able to seek out the fungal network that forests and woody trees depend on to thrive.This is much easier than having to establish this fungal network from scratch by mulching with woody material, or trying to establish a fungal based system in the middle of a bacterial environment, like a lawn.

food forest edge

forest systems rely on fungal networks to cycle nutrients , maintain balance, and grow large trees

Third, in addition to tapping into the fungal network of the forest, our new food forest will benefit from the established nutrient cycle that is already in place. Our towering hardwood trees have roots that have driven deep into the soil, and are able to pull up nutrients and minerals unavailable to most plants. They then store these nutrients in their leaves, and when fall comes, shed huge amounts of organic fertilizer and mulch all around our young food forest.

In addition to gathering and cycling nutrients, these massive trees are also able to soak up and “sweat” out water. This dew will fall directly on top of our new food forest, supplying it with a decent amount of moisture and reducing our need to irrigate.

All of these benefits are part of the reason we planted our food forest on the hardwood forest edge. Because the mature system can provide so much for our new, immature system, we won’t be planting as many support species. There will be some, but no where near as many as would be planted in a typical food forest.

This diverse forest system will be made up of an extremely diverse group of fruiting and medicinal plants. In addition to the overstory of hardwoods (which also provide shade and moisture for our mushroom logs), we planted apple, pear, peach, pluot, plum, paw paw, cherry, and asian pear trees as the main food species. We then planted shrubs and bushes like raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, currants, gooseberries, seaberry, autumn olive, goumi, goji berry, aronia, and elderberry. We also planted a few vines, like groundnut, grape, and passionflower, as well as herbaceous species like sunchokes, comfrey, fava beans, and, soon, a dozen more medicinal, perennial herbs like black cohosh, astragalus, marshmallow, yarrow, and valerian. Among these will be nitrogen fixers like honey locust, black alder, and siberian pea shrub, as well as a mix of clovers.

All of these species are in an area smaller than an acre, and primarily along the border. Most are perennial, and should provide for food for many years, as well as serve as nursery stock for propagation, ans the expansion of our food forest to other spaces on our property. It has taken a great deal of effort to plan and plant, but our new food forest should start paying dividends in a few years, and then on for as long as there is someone here to harvest.

Take a Gander at the New Homestead Geese!

There are officially four new members at Kuska Wiñasun Homestead! Say hello to our new goose quartet!

homestead geese

Our new homestead geese by their kiddie pond

We drove up to Virginia to bring home three females and 1 male that are about 1 year old. There are 2 African geese, 1 White Chinese goose, and the male is the big white Embden goose. Names coming soon…

We knew that we wanted to add more livestock to the homestead, and when we saw this group on craigslist, we threw the dog crate and some hay in the car, and headed up to the Blue Ridge. Right now we have them in a slide-able cattle panel enclosure, with a three sided “coop” in one corner, and a small kiddie pool in the other. FYI, slim breeds of geese can and will squeeze through the openings in a cattle panel and proceed to roam and investigate the homestead.

homesteading geese

It is extremely entertaining to watch our new geese wander and waddle about

Having geese on the farm is very enjoyable, and it’s easy to get mesmerized watching them splash in the pond, graze the grass, follow each other single file, and take turns sitting on their eggs. That’s right, they lay eggs. Big eggs. Big, delicious eggs that make you wonder why anyone would want to eat chicken eggs at all. But more on that, and other goose news, later!

Ready and Waiting for Potatoes

Spring has arrived and many of our garden crops are either in the ground, or started in trays awaiting their turn in our raised beds. Many, but not all. We are a little behind on one cool weather crop, and it’s one of our favorites… the potato.

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Last year’s potato crop, harvested the day Jason proposed to Emma.

This year we are planting at least 9 different potato varieties in our garden, about 2.5 pounds of seed potatoes for each. The reason we haven’t planted them yet, is that we haven’t received them. Because we are planting such a diversity, and many of the types are rare or heritage and heirloom varieties of potatoes, we ordered from an online supplier. They should come any week now, and we can’t wait to get them in the ground.

Last year, we did very well growing red Pontiac potatoes, which lasted well into winter and were delicious baked with sausages, peppers, and onions. This year I’m excited to try out the Ozette fingerling, a variety that ended up in the U.S. hundreds of years ago after a ship washed ashore on the way back from Peru, the birthplace of the potato.

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Last year’s lush potato vines, in the height of summer.

Potatoes grow best in cool weather, and because they are in the nightshade family, you should take care not to plant them where you grew tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants the year before. We are actually digging a whole new series of hugel beds this spring to house our potatoes. Sepp Holzer often plants his new hugelkulture mounds with potatoes as they are light nitrogen feeders, and give the wood core some time to begin the decomposition process.

After our seed potatoes arrive, we’ll try and get them going as soon as we can, because once you’ve experienced homegrown potatoes, it changes you. It turns you into a potato snob, and makes it impossible to eat store bought potatoes ever again!

A Few Thoughts on Living in the Country

It’s been a little over a year since we moved onto our homestead in rural Stokes County, and while it has been amazing and one of the best decisions we have ever made, there were/are some things that took some getting used to. Life in the country is different than life in a city or town, and some of the things that we had come to take for granted, or depend on, are either not available in the country, or just inconvenient. So, I figured I’d jot some things down that we have experienced so far, to help prepare anyone who might be considering taking the leap to move out into the country.

Garbage and Trash

Our county does not provide a trash pickup service. Most rural counties do not, as the numbers don’t work out when you consider the low population densities on our county roads. While this keeps our taxes down, it means that we have to think about our waste products in a different way.

We have found that we produce less waste now than we did in the city, because all of our leftovers and food scraps get fed to our chickens. This also makes our trash less stinky, which is nice. It also diversifies our chickens diet, which makes their waste a higher quality product that can be cycled back into our farm.

chickens food scraps homesteading blog

Bolt and the garbage disposals.

But we still have trash to deal with, and for the moment, we are not signed up with a private waste disposal company. Instead, we fill up a few trash bags at a time, put them into our truck, and take them down to one of the county “green box” sites, where we can dump our trash and our recyclables for free. The closest site is maybe 5 miles away, right on the way to and from our city jobs, so this is not a very big hassle.

Septic Systems and Well Water

We have a septic system for our other wastes, and a well for our drinking water. We got both inspected and tested before closing on the homestead (very important), and have not had any problems so far.

An important thing to keep in mind with septic tanks is that the function by bacterial digestion, and that chlorinated bleach and other harsh chemicals can kill your septic systems bacteria, causing it to function inefficiently or worse. We avoid these products, and try to use the most natural and septic approved products we can find, but it does make shopping for detergents more difficult. We still haven’t settled completely on any brand, so feel free to offer any suggestions.

They sell packs of beneficial microbes that boost your septic systems health, but we haven’t used any yet. Our tank was pumped when we moved in, so I’m hoping that by not flushing stupid stuff down our drains, promoting good microbes, and being water conscience, we may not have to have it pumped for a long time. regardless, it’s a simple, and affordable process that only takes a respectable septic pumping company an hour or so to complete.

Our well has been great, providing us with great tasting, chemical free water that city water can’t hold a candle to. However, because it is powered by our electricity, it is dependent on the power being on. This isn’t a huge deal, but is something to consider when preparing for storms and the like.

Drive Times and Distances

We are used to it now, but things are just further away when you live in the country. The nearest grocery store is 15 min. away, which isn’t that far, but is far enough to make us try and get all of shopping done on our way back from work. Our city jobs are almost an hour away each way, which adds up both in time, and gas money. I don’t mind the drive, but it is definitely something to consider when choosing your homestead, or making the move to the country.

homesteading blog more driving

Living in the country means more driving, but it’s nothing Bolt can’t handle.

It took us almost a year to find any restaurant that would deliver to us, but we finally found one, a pizza place in Walnut Cove. We are right on the edge of their range, thankfully.

All of these things just require an extra level of planning, and time management. This is especially critical when we are extra busy, or already feel like daylight is in short supply to get all of the chores accomplished.

There are many other things that are different from city living, but most come down to the common theme that living in the country requires you to plan a little more, be more prepared, and take certain matters into your own hands. This isn’t a bad thing, just something to consider when you make the move the country.

Some More Plants from Seed

In addition to the fruit trees and bushes we’ve been planting, I’ve also started some other plants, like honey locust, from seed this spring. Just the other day I did two batches of seeds.

One batch needed soaking prior to sowing, similar to the nitrogen fixing trees we started a few weeks ago, and consisted if sea buckthorn, red Malabar spinach, oca, pomegranate, astragalus, and salad mallow. I soaked them for a day or so, and then planted them in a flat of potting soil. Certain species require a soaking, which allows the seed to absorb water and makes the germination process quicker and more efficient.

malabar spinach permaculture

Malabar spinach is a vining, tender perennial green that I am very excited to grow this year. It’s seeds gave off a great red color when soaked. I wonder if we could use it for a dye?

The other batch of seeds consisted of plants that require a period of cold before they can germinate, so for these I moistened either paper towels or peat moss, put this damp medium into a labeled ziploc, and then added seeds. These bags are now in the fridge, where they will cold stratify for 1-3 months before they can start germinating.

growing kiwi from seed

kiwi seeds stratifying in damp peat moss/vermiculite

This batch included hardy kiwis, Turkish tree hazel, and cornelian cherry.

Most of these plants are perennials, and unlike most vegetables, are slightly peculiar in their germination habits. This is usually remedied by a quick google search, where any scarification or stratification information can be discovered. After that, it takes just a little more effort and time, and then your on your way to perennial abundance!

The First Dandelions of 2014!

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Dandelions are here! One of the most useful and nutritious plants you can find.

Spring has officially arrived at Kuska Wiñasun Homestead! The very first dandelion flower has sprung onto our land and I couldn’t be happier. It came up in the first place we housed our portable chicken coop. I’ve seen dandelions popping up in Greensboro for the last week, mainly in parking lots and sidewalk nature strips, and I couldn’t wait for them to start blooming in our lawn, sending their deep tap roots down deep into the soil to pull up all sorts of minerals and nutrients.

Because our homestead is some 30 miles north of Greensboro and is at a higher elevation too, our climate is slightly cooler than the sprawling NC Piedmont city. All that concrete also has an effect on temperatures, and so we generally lag a few days behind in Spring, but we never gave up hope!

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The chickens checking out a newly planted “William’s Favorite” apple tree in our front yard.

But the dandelions are back, and that means spring. Spring is a busy time for any homesteading family, and we are no exception. We’ve planted 16 new fruit trees so far (more on that soon), and between our off farm jobs and planning our wedding, we’ve been keeping busy. Emma and I are out almost every day until it’s just too dark to see, taking advantage of the long days and perfect weather, and planting everything from cabbage and broccoli to comfrey and clover.

Spring is a busy time, but it’s a welcome change to the short days of winter. The solstice approaches, and soon summer will come, bringing with it the humid nights, open windows, and chorus of pond frogs we almost forgot about. But for now, we’ll focus on spring and the delicious and nutritious treat of dandelion greens.

Using Chickens to Make Sauerkraut

We moved our chickens to new paddock this weekend, which is in line with our goal of rotating them every 2 weeks to fresh pasture. Because the early spring growth wasn’t very lush, they scratched it up pretty well and left behind a nice 16 ft. by 32 ft. plot of weeded, tilled, and finely mulched earth that was begging to be planted. Who are we to turn down such an offer?

brocolli flat seedlings transplant

partly planted flat of cabbage and broccoli seedlings.

A few weeks ago I started some broccoli and cabbage seeds in a flat of potting mix. They germinated well and after many nights of ferrying them in and out, protecting them from freezing temperatures and dodger’s butt, a good many have survived and aren’t too spindly. I planted these in long rows, about 12 in. apart in the freshly prepared soil.

Following the chickens with vegetables crops makes good use of the fertility the chickens left behind, both the nitrogen rich manure, and because we feed rock minerals every week, a healthy dose of plant ready minerals ready to rejuvenate the land. The chickens also weed and scratch out most of the grass and weeds that would compete with the crops, and also do a great job of breaking pest cycles that could reduce yields.

It’s also important to fill this new space with something, whether it’s cover crop, trees, grass, mulch or veggies, before some of the nastier weeds come in and take hold. This makes following chicken tractors, or any livestock, with productive species a great multi-functional farm strategy.

permaculture vegetable gardening chicken tractor

transplanting seedlings after running chickens is a quick and easy way to stack functions and obtain a yield

All this should help increase our chances of a nice cabbage crop, and the best part of a nice cabbage crop is sauerkraut. Lacto-fermented sauerkraut actually, but we’ll talk about that later. For now, that’s a quick run down on how our chickens will help us make sauerkraut!

Starting Mimosa From Seed

It’s that time of year again, spring. Every homesteader and gardener knows that spring time can be a hectic and eventful season where we try to start plants, plan crop rotations, and consider new livestock options for the homestead. I’ve been trying to accomplish a least 1 new homestead related activity everyday for the last few weeks, and it’s gone well. Between Emma’s Mushroom endeavor, and our new food forest, we’ve been plenty busy. Lately, I’ve been starting some support species from seeds, and I wanted to detail that process here with a specific nitrogen fixing tree. Mimosa.

mimosa support species permaculture

Mimosa trees are both beautiful and extremely useful in permaculture design

Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) is a short lived tree that is often considered an invasive species, although I’m not too worried about that, as it fixes nitrogen, improves soil fertility, attracts many insects, and is a beautiful permaculture plant in the garden. It is also easily shaded out by other trees, and though it coppices, is not a long lived species. We plan on using mimosa trees as a support species in our forest garden, and encourage permaculturalists in North America to consider this species as well.

Mimosa is easily grown from seed, and as we have a few on our property, I decided to gather some local genetics and propagate a few dozen more. The seed pods hang onto the tree way into winter making seed collection very easy. Even with our recent late winter ice storms, there are still some pods hanging around, though not as many as in January. I gathered some pods from 3 trees, 1 in our backyard, right where the food forest is going in, and 2 from by the pond.

mimosa from seed permaculture

dried mimosa seed pods, ready to be shelled

 

I then used my thumb to half shell half crush the pods and get to the tiny black seeds. This took a little practice, but I eventually figured out a system. After gathering about 50 or so seeds, I put some water on the stove to boil. I let this water cool for a few minutes, and then poured it over the mimosa seeds. This scarification process helps to break down the hard seed coat present on many legume seeds, and allows the seed to absorb water, thus beginning the germination process.

mimosa from seed

a hot water soak is often all it takes to help leguminous tree seeds germinate

 

I let the seeds soak overnight, and in the morning I planted only seeds that had swollen up into a tray. I’ll see what kind of germination I get, but I think it will be fairly good, as these growing mimosa from seed seems very similar to growing honey locust from seed.

mimosa permaculture support species

plant only swollen seeds, as these are the ones that have absorbed water and will germinate quickly

These trees will go in around our fruit trees, and most will be sacrificed as mulch and fertility components. I may try an experiment and just pour hot water over the whole seed pods and see how that effects germination. It would save the somewhat tedious step of “threshing” the pods.

Anyway, our support species list is growing nicely, we have almost 300 seeds sown of honey locust, black alder, siberian pea shrub, and now mimosa. I cant wait to get them into the ground, and start building fertility!

Using Geoff Lawton’s Mineral Supplement Recipe to Revitalize the Land

A huge problem in the world today is the constant erosion of our soil. Over many years, this process leads to nutrient deficient and dead soils that grow less nutritous plants every year. If we follow the food chain up, any livestock that eat these plants will suffer nutrient deficiencies, and any meat, eggs, or dairy that we obtain from these animals will likewise not supply a full spectrum of minerals and nutrients necessary for healthy life.

Bantam Chickens Homesteading

Livestock, such as chickens, can help us cycle nutrients and minerals back into the landscape.

One way to combat this unhealthy cycle, and remineralize the land, our livestock, and our food, is through the use of supplemental minerals. By feeding a full spectrum of minerals to our animals, in addition to high quality feed, not only do we improve the quality of their health, meat, and eggs, but we also improve the quality of their manure. By cycling these nutrients and minerals through livestock, they become bio-available to plants, which readily soak them up and perform better than ever. If we continue this cycle, and either mulch, compost, or feed these plants back to our livestock, we can rapidly increase the fertility of the land, and remineralize eroded and damaged landscapes, all while enjoying a bonus of the healthiest plant and animal products imaginable.

Geoff Lawton is where I first heard of this remineralization process, and his supplemental mineral recipe is great. This recipe is enough to feed to 1 dairy cow every day at milking or 10 chickens once a week.

  • Start by boiling up a cup or two of clean water.
  • Add 1 tsp. of copper sulfate. This worms the animals, but is a toxic compound that can poison them.
  • So, to neutralize the dangers of the copper sulfate, but still get the worming effect, add 1 tbsp. of dolomite lime.
  • To balance out the pH add 1 tbsp. of flowers of sulfur, an acidifying element to balance the alkaline effect of the lime.
  • Next, add 1 tbsp. of 2 types of rock dust minerals. For example, 1 tbsp. of greensand and 1 tbsp. of azomite.
  • Add 2 tbsp. of kelp, a dried mineral rich ocean product. This contains all of the minerals of the land (which all erode out into the ocean) in a slightly different form and ratio.
  • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. This adds more nutrition, and helps with the digestion of some of the minerals.
  • 3 tbsp. molasses. An extra boost of iron, and a nice sweet taste makes this concoction a delicious treat for all livestock.

This mix is stirred together, added to a bucket of chopped forage, and fed to the animals. Geoff credits the bones of this recipe to Pat Coleby, an Australian author who writes natural animal care books for farmers and pet owners. Pat’s take is that animals do not have health problems or diseases, but rather are suffering from a nutrient deficiency, and that it is up to the farmer or pet owner to supply the correct nutrients and minerals. This treats the cause of the problem as opposed to the symptoms.

There is probably some wisdom there when it comes to our own health as well. Regardless, the first step is to remineralize the soil, and there isn’t a more efficient way than feeding a mineral supplement through your livestock and having them pre-process it for you into a plant ready state, creating an oasis of fertility and nutrient density in your backyard.

*Don’t forget to pre-order your Heritage Thanksgiving Turkey!

Nitrogen Fixing Trees in Our Food Forest

Yesterday I talked about using herbaceous support species in food forest design and establishment, and how both annual and perennial herbs and plants can perform many of the same functions as typical support trees. While this is true, I wanted to also point out some of the nitrogen fixing trees that we will be planting this year into our food forest as support species.

support species permaculture

240 Support species started from seed, ready to germinate and go into our forest garden.

First on the list is honey locust. This is an awesome tree. It can be an overstory tree if you let it, but it coppices easily, making it a prime candidate for chop and drop mulching. It fixes nitrogen, and flowers for a long period of time in late spring and early summer, providing an excellent nectar source for bees. It also yields huge amounts of sweet tasting pods with edible seeds. The seeds can be eaten by humans, but chickens, cattle, and goats are especially found of them. Honey locust trees are easily grown from seed, provided they are soaked overnight until swollen, or nicked and soaked prior to planting.

Another support tree that we plan on planting is black alder. Black alder fixes more nitrogen per acre than any other native species. It grows rapidly, easily, and coppices. It’s eaves break down rapidly, increasing soil fertility above ground while it fixes nitrogen below ground. A pioneering species, black alder is often found growing in poor soils and wet sites. It’s wood is highly valued, especially for uses where it is submerged in water, such as docks. I can envision using some black alder poles as a base for a floating chinampa garden in our pond. Needless to say, we are excited about black alder.

Siberian pea shrub is another nitrogen fixing permaculture plant that will be interplanted among our fruit and nut trees. A tall growing shrub, it fixes nitrogen and produces a very high protein seed that is palatable to chickens and other livestock. I consider it a temperate climate version of pigeon pea, as it performs many of the same functions but is extremely hardy, to at least zone 3. Siberian pea shrub is easy to grow from seed; it germinates quickly after an overnight soak and thin sowing.

These are the three plants that I have going in a speedling tray at the moment. I planted about 240 of them, so there should be plenty to fill the gaps in our food forest, and we won’t feel so bad about cutting them down for mulch as the system progresses. Over the next few weeks, I plan on starting some more species, including mimosa, goumi, black locust, and russian olive. All of these support species fix nitrogen, and should supply ample fertility for our new food forest.

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