The Berries

We put berries in during our first spring here, but I've looked at them repeatedly and thought, "Next year- I'll get them squared away next year." Well today I bought a yard of mulch and the children and I spent the majority of the day tending this patch.

Now the blueberries, currants, and gooseberries look like this:

I had sheet mulched around these a few times, so it wasn't too hard. I also have a better sense for how I want to tend them.



















A few weeks ago all the blueberries' leaves looked like this:

But now this is the only one all red like this. Now this plant is more representative of the group:

They have been getting the milk routine as well, but not as often. You might note there is no Japanese beetle damage here either. I think I am finally making headway with these berries.

Unfortunately, the strawberries just look terrible. I have a few rows in the house garden ready to receive plants. My goal is to have 100' of strawberries, which is about 50 plants. We'll transplant tomorrow, but it will be out of this mess:

 Then, I'll try to prep this space to be the new home for the raspberries.

On the upside, the blackberries look beautiful. The first few tasted blah, but they're beginning to taste better, and I cannot bring myself to cut these down.

Chickens and Berries

I've been considering options for protecting our berries from the chickens. I feel like I've made one mistake after another with the berries and I'm reluctant to keep on messing up.

Here are the good things about the current berry plot:
1. All the berries are there with the exception of the raspberries and blackberries.
2. It's close to a place wild blueberries are already growing.
3. Compost was delivered there two years ago, so the soil is better there than some other places.
4. It's at the top of the driveway, so if it looked pretty, that would be a good feature.

Here are the problems:
1. It's difficult to get water to this place.
2. The chickens would have to be fenced out, and I do not want a fence at the top of the drive.
3. The berries do not get as much attention as they deserve.

One thought I've had is to leave the blueberries here, as they will grow tall enough that the chickens won't eat ALL of them. If we did ever want to let other people pick blueberries, this spot is easy to get to, and I do not have to worry about other plants getting trampled.

I would then move the other berries to the periphery of the other gardens. This would be easy enough, I suppose, with the currants and gooseberries. They are not exactly "lovely" plants, but they are a delight to see. The gooseberries need a fair bit of room, and I think the currants would also like that. Also, I only moved all of them last year. I guess I'll partly be experimenting with how often these plants can be moved and survive.

By the house garden, I already am coping with blackberries. I would rather not add much to that difficulty. When I think of the big garden, it seems so bare out in the middle of that field. I'm thinking some gooseberries and currants along one side might look nice and maybe provide a bit of a wind break. I have already resigned myself to fencing that garden to protect it from the chickens, and to more easily allow the cow to graze near it. I could probably devote at least one thirty foot bed to strawberries, and I could move them between the beds every couple of years.

That still leaves the raspberries. I have thought of a couple of places I might like them to be, but none are places I'm willing to put fence. I wonder if I could plant enough that the chickens could have some and still leave some for us- rather like my plan for the blueberries. Maybe, once the other berries are moved, I could but the black raspberries in with the blueberries. And maybe, I could make another row or two of red raspberries along the drive close to the steps. Raspberry canes are not exactly beautiful to look at, but any well-tended garden space has some appeal, and then it would be yet another area I would not need to mow.

Land Management

When I walk through pines or hemlocks, I notice a serious lack of undergrowth. Pines drop such a profusion of needles that almost anything that might try to grow underneath is choked out or left with too little sun. Hemlocks seem to kill what's underneath- maybe with too much shade or maybe through their rhizosphere. So, in places where I want grass to grow or where I would like to encourage any sort of understory to help fight erosion, I am eliminating pines and hemlocks and pretty much any evergreen.

A friend recently questioned this line of reasoning with the argument that trees themselves fight erosion. I cannot argue against that. However, there are places, like here-

where I see other problems. Snow did not collect here so the ground did not get that gentle blanket. Water did not even penetrate the needles that collected here. We had many good reasons for cutting down these trees, but a benefit I did not predict was this. It has taken two summers for grass to establish, but this winter, the snow collects here as well as anywhere. And that little drop off is definitely eroding less as daisies, grass, briars, daylilies, etc. grow on it.

This hill also had no grass and an abundance of pine and fir. The yard above was slowly working its way downhill. Again, we cut down the trees and stayed off the hill. Grass grew. Now, the dirt stays put even in thaws like we're having now because there's grass to catch snow and no dense foliage to keep it from collecting. Come spring, when everything really thaws, the roots of the grass will also keep the thawing mud in place.

Cutting down trees can certainly lead to erosion, but sometimes, it's actually a better choice.

Biodiversity

One strange thing about this place when we arrived was a lack of wild life and a narrow range of plant life. We could not tell if it had to do with our proximity to the highway or the atv trail or something else. Each year, I notice something that was not here before.

This spring, for example, we had dandelions for the first time. That seems almost impossible to believe, I know, but there was a line that crept from the front field. By the end of summer, there were a couple of dandelion flowers on the back margin of the channel. I keep wondering what our soil lacks or what the previous owners did to make the ground inhospitable to dandelions. I know they are not an ideal thing to have in a hay field, but the cow does eat them and they are good for the soil, so I see no harm in having them in our pasture.

Red clover, which we seeded in one pasture, is working it's way slowly into all four pastures and up around the house.

We have also seen more frogs each summer. This past summer, a couple of toads showed up in the front beds and the house garden. I made places that might be good homes for toads, as I hope for many more will come and stay.

We hang a bird feeder each autumn, and before this year, we only had chickadees and a couple of blue jays visit. This year, we've had our regulars, but also a nuthatch, pine siskin, house sparrow, and a wood pecker. Also, the hummingbird feeder had a pretty steady visitor this past summer.

We have known there are chipmunks and red squirrels, because the cats leave their remains in obvious paces. However, the red squirrels seemed much closer to the house this summer; they sassed us as we went through the garage door and as I worked in the house garden. And gray squirrels, which have been moving ever north and east across Vermont, showed up about three weeks ago in the trees around the front pasture. We'll see whether they stay through the winter.

Each new plant or animal seems like good news, even the ones that might be considered pests.

Composting toilet

This post has been sitting blank for more than a year; it' the post that made me wonder if I really thought blogging was a thing I wanted to do. I fretted about actually talking about this, because my feelings run strong and I worried about offending people. And then I came back to blogging and this blank draft is sitting in my post list and I think I have to talk about this.

I live in a place that seems (at least to someone from Texas) to have an unlimited amount of water. There's water everywhere. It falls regularly from the skies; the rivers seem to never be dry. Our sandy soil stays saturated for weeks in the spring and the occasional week throughout the summer and fall. So, why would I worry about water?

First, water is limited. Really. It is. There is only so much, and only so much of it is potable. Being from Texas, I know that water does not always fall from the sky when you need it.

Second, we have a spring that we get water from. This means we can actually have NO water if we forget to turn off a garden hose. Truthfully, the spring recovers pretty fast- about 2 hours in high summer- so we have never been without water long. But if you have never experienced the thrill/horror of turning on the tap and no water coming out, then you'll have to believe me that it is a sobering experience. It helps me not take water so much for granted.

Because I was always on city water in Texas, it never really registered. If the water did not come out of the tap, it mean the city had a problem to fix. Can you imagine a robocall telling everyone in Fort Worth there would be no water for two hours?

Third, there's the whole potability thing. Probably everyone who reads this post shits in their drinking water.Then, that water gets "cleaned" and cycled back into the system so you can either drink it or shit in it again. I hope you're a little grossed out at this point.

Coming to this realization, coupled with trying to conserve our spring, led me to try something that seemed completely crazy- much crazier than cloth diapers. I now compost our waste, "humanure" as it's called. While I have you cringing already, you might check to see what your city does with the human waste cleaned from your city's water. Around here, the guy who empties septic tanks sprays that "manure" on hay fields. I'm not sure exactly what regulations apply regarding when that field can be used to feed animals, but I am sure that my compost is sitting much longer and most definitely turning into dirt before it's used agriculturally.

And really, what ARE they supposed to do with all this shit we're dumping down our pipes?

So, as I try to keep at least on foot off the soapbox, I'll say we've been doing this for an entire year as a family. We made it through last winter by building a box with a toilet seat that a five gallon bucket sits in. The bargain I made to get everyone in this house on board is that I switch out the buckets and clean them. It's not such a big deal, except maybe in January. Things I've learned: I need three compost piles to get a family of five through winter; the compost pile compacts faster if I put a little sprinkling of compost on the finished bucket; everyone must be very clear on which bins are aging and which compost bins are active. I had two bins that should have been ready this fall, but the kids added kitchen scraps and cat litter in the spring, so those will wait awhile longer. Pine shavings break down better that cedar.

For now, we still have a flush toilet with a humanure receptacle beside it. Jason insists that people will not visit us otherwise. I'm not convinced, but sometimes, the more squeamish person should set the bar.

Greenhouse Update

Now that we have a couple of inches of snow on the ground, we are ready to skin the greenhouse! It will be difficult, and maybe a little unpleasant to do this in the snow, but we won't be the first people to try this adventure. We just need a couple of volunteers to help us before sunrise on one of the coming cold mornings. Our friend suggested we wait until next week when the temperatures will be back in the thirties.

Our Rocks

The rocks around us are granite, lots of granite. And throughout Vermont, people struggle with this pushing up into their fields each spring when the frost action heaves new rocks up to the surface.

On our property, we have a unique situation. We have sand- lots and lots of sand. We can dig a twelve post holes and plant twenty trees and only hit a handful of rocks, all smaller than a fist. To put that in perspective- we have friends in many different households who feel lucky to hit only one rock any time they dig any hole.

So, I feel gratitude for our soil. It has it's problems; it dries out fast in the summer (although that's a boon the rest of the year), it is not terribly fertile, it lacks much in the way of humus, it's pretty acidic. Many people with a world more experience than I have say these problems are minor compared to the complications of clay soil that is prevalent in Vermont.

I look around and try to figure out why there is all this sand right in this spot. Our property is sort of a shoulder of a hill. There's a fairly steep drop down to it and then another fairly steep drop away from it. Erosion is a steady concern. But what erodes from above is sand. And the trail that runs down below is sand. I figure Old Dame Nature put the sand on this somewhat flat spot, but I do not quite understand why our hill is sand in the land of clay soils. Maybe that hill was already ground up at some other point and deposited there by moving water?

Experiment updates

Garden- I’m not sure how to put it all to bed. I’ve sheet mulched in between the arms I cleared when I pulled out the black plastic. (I say “I”, but I had many people helping me.) I’m looking at my curved lines and thinking that I’ll try straight rows and beds next summer. So, for now, I’m either sheet mulching three-foot wide beds or turning some compost into three-foot wide beds. Then, I’m using clothing as sheet mulch in the places I intend for rows.

And what about all that sheet mulch? Well, I can really tell where there was mulch and where there was just some compost. The soil where there was sheet mulch is darker and full of worms. Things decomposed very thoroughly; I have found strands of thread attached to pockets. These would be all that’s left of pants and jeans I put in the garden. I guess those cotton pants have polyester thread and pockets. I will also say that I did not have to weed much in sheet mulched areas. I’ve been doing a final weeding as I clean out the beds, and the grass that spreads persistently under anything and everywhere has made an occasional foray into the garden, but it has not been able to establish itself and is easy to remove.

We have decided to have just one big garden next year, and that will be in the space to the north of the house. We’ll focus most of our gardening effort there and see what comes of it.

Even as I type that paragraph, I’m smiling. The thing is we should have a greenhouse ready for planting by the time we get the chickens out of it. And that will certainly be more garden space. And there is also the bed by the front door that did very well this year, and will most certainly be used again next year. I am thinking of making that more of a perennial bed, just as I plan to do in the bed behind the house. I keep thinking about grapes and whether we might be able to trellis them in such a way that they would shade the back of the house throughout the summer but let in light for the winter.

Maybe my perennial efforts should be on trees ad berries next year.

Speaking of berries, I really put the blueberries in a horrible place this year. It was the only place that had lush grass, so I thought they would like it. Well, guess what! Grass likes alkaline soil and blueberries have to have acidic soil. It must be the only alkaline soil on the place. So, come spring, I’ll be moving the surviving blueberries twenty to thirty feet east.

Hair washing and lotion- I think once a week is fine for hair washing if you plan on staying home, but if you want to wear your hair down or go to town, twice is a better choice. The soap is still working just fine. I’m pretty pleased with this experiment. Also, I’m the only one having any hair trouble; even the girls’ hair looks fine with less washing and no shampoo.

The humanure compost pile is not shrinking as fast as my reading suggested it would. That’s the thing about reading versus experience. I am making sure to get more nitrogen into the pile and that seems to be helping, but I’m not seeing how one pile could last a whole year. I’m either still getting the mix wrong or the writer I’ve trusted was overly optimistic. I will say there is no odor, so the mix can’t be too far off.

The pasture- We’ve moved our cow very persistently and we moved the chickens closely after her for most of the summer. Then we got tired and quit moving the chickens as much. We also realized that the chickens really do not like being moved. Our plan for next year is to have two groups of chickens, one behind the house and one up by the barn. The pasture already looks better in some places. In the really bad places, we’re waiting to see what spring brings. We still have the cow on pasture, but she is mostly eating hay. We might be able to move her through the pasture one more time before the snow prohibits it. The thing is that even though she’s not grazing, her poop is going where we need it. So, we distribute grass seed by haying her out in the field, and she deposits the fertilizer. Then, ideally, the chickens spread the fertilizer in their hunt for bug larvae.

Now to button up for winter.

How Did the "Plan" Work Out?

I started this growing season with many great theories and not much experience. For once, these theories still look pretty good after a little experience to try them out.

The sheet mulching worked well. I did have to weed some, but it did not take me hours and hours. As we begin to harvest and clear out the plants that have gone by, I can see how grass has crept in places. It's been a small matter to pull it out and plant my oat cover crop. On the other hand, our root crops did not like the sheet mulch much. There are places where the soil acted completely different from other places, and I cannot explain why. So, for now, I'll put in the cover crop and continue to sheet mulch the places that I just could not get to last year.

What I'm doing is this- The feed sacks are paper, and we get a couple of small newspapers weekly and we get a box now and then, and as these things are ready for the trash, I instead put them in the garden. I'm throwing the straw from our straw bale brooder on top of this.

One thing that was definitely a bad idea was putting the litter from the brooders straight into the garden paths. Maggots grew in that so fast and it smelled so horrible. Interestingly, just a sprinkle of compost over this bad idea made decomposition get going faster than the maggots and the problem was solved.

Another bad idea was working blood and bone meal into the bed I was planting onions in. I think we'll harvest about ten onions because the dogs really wanted to dig in that earth.

Other parts of the plan seem to be going pretty well. The lettuce bed by the front door has been weeded very well all summer, but I think I'll put a cherry tomato and Brandywine in it next year. The cherry tomatoes and Brandywines just did not get harvested from the garden the way they deserve. The perennials I planted in that bed also seem to have established themselves. On the other side of the walk, the raspberries and asparagus look great. I've gotten some Swiss chard and spinach from that one, too, but next year, I'll just fill in with flowers and leave the rest to the stars of that bed.

Planting the raspberries by the path to the front door was definitely questionable. They loll across the walk ready to catch hair, socks, and skin. I laugh at my folly for putting them there, but I might be the only one who finds it funny. I need to reconsider that part of the plan.

One of the gardens definitely did not get enough sun, even with the pine trees cut down. We'll peck away at that this winter once the leaves are off the trees. The three sisters garden got too little attention. I'm not sure what the answer is there, except that I did not like working in the tilled garden. It's very sunny in that spot and might perhaps be a good place for peppers, but I did not like all that sun and bare soil early in the season. Maybe I'll sheet mulch it once we get the beans and pumpkins out of it.

The herb bed did not get planted densely, but it has been a source of joy all summer. I'm thinking about completely filling it with sunflowers next year and just integrating the herbs into the big gardens. The sunflowers are just wonderful and I'm not sure if I could have too many. The few cutting flowers I planted also were a delight and I'll plant those again next year. The varieties I planted did well and survived despite the weeds that grew up in some of the beds.

The trees and berries have been a mixed bag. About a third of the blueberries died, and I'm told my source was the problem. A couple of trees died and four of the other berry plants died. Still, I have 9 apple tree saplings and 6 pears and 2 plums and a cherry and a dozen raspberries and some gooseberries and elderberries and high bush cranberries and currants and a maple and 2 locusts and 2 chestnuts and 2 hickories and a mulberry that lived. And that seems pretty dog gone good.

Also, I have had my doubts about planting trees in the pastures after I have heard repeatedly that I'm making a mistake. But as we come to the end of summer and the grass is drying out, I see how much healthier the grass is that's in the tree line. Right at the trees, the grass doesn't have much of a chance; there's too much shade. But, the trees I planted are scattered and the shade will not be dense. The trees will create a microclimate, helping keep the water in our sandy soil a little longer. They'll drop their leaves and improve the soil. I still think I did a good thing. Time will tell.

What I See

Look! We have a rain barrel. It catches from about ten feet of gutter and it completely filled in a storm. I was able to water the trees and cow and chickens with this and another rain barrel. I got to play with the kids with a siphon.

There are blackberries in the hills, but we've only picked enough to graze on. The canes at the north end of the garden have been a challenge all summer and I'm trying to think of a way to have them that close without them being such a bother.

Ezra made three gallons of bubbles and he has been constructing bubble cities with them. It's amazing to me how long he can spend building something ephemeral.

Elmer and Nico are the best of friends. You might note that Elmer is patiently awake in this picture. Nico is sound asleep.

A view of our kitchen- abundant tomatoes, bread rising, empty jars, cluttered counter, and the doll ever at the ready.

There is now a swing set at our house. We're not convinced of its stability but it's lasted a week. I'm repeatedly surprised about the amount of joy swings can bring to our children's lives. We had agreed that it was time to devote a weekend to a project for them, and I think it was a weekend well-spent.

Here are a few of the flowers blooming around our house right now. These are zinnias, cosmos, and borage. I still do not like how the borage tastes- it's nothing like cucumber. The pink one is bee balm, and it has a tangy smell. The hummingbirds seem to particularly like it and the borage.

The mammoth sunflowers are getting very tall. The shorter varieties have already begun to open. I love the really tall ones because I remember my grandfather growing them. (He also grew blackberries.)

This bed is the most beautiful to me. I think the asparagus and raspberries look very happy, and I like their long, trailing tendencies.

Here are the baby Brussels sprouts. My cabbage crops look pretty bad this year. I'm not sure what I did wrong. I saw a friend's cabbages last night and mine are a tenth of the size of hers. Maybe it'll be better next year. Also, my beets are not looking as good as hers. I think I'll plant beets and carrots in a more traditional way next year.

What I See

This is borage, it rhymes with forage. The leaves are all prickly, even spiny along the underside of the main vein. I think some people eat the flowers and it has a medicinal use. I just think it's beautiful.

This is the push mower that was handed down to us from a friend who also got it from another person. It is an AWESOME mower that suddenly smokes a lot, hence the stark line in the grass. Maybe it doesn't like the oil I put in it, maybe I put too much. I must solve that problem.



These are sunflowers by the woodshed with morning glories around the base. I hope the morning glories climb the sunflowers. Wouldn't that be lovely?

This is one of the roses that we got for the kids. I look forward to seeing how the roses look.

This is a little cluster of pinks that I left in the middle of the yard. Have you read "Felicia and the Pot of Pinks"?

TOMATOES!!!!!!

One of the six trees that was felled. I am limbing them slowly and steadily.

A flagging tape from the surveyor. It's pegged to the ground.

These are the lupines I've tried to mow around. I think it worked. These are actually an invasive species. I wonder if Ms. Rumphius knew that.

This is our cow Violet who suddenly doesn't want us to touch her.

That's her calf laying in the field out in front. That's Violet eating the afterbirth.

These are the pine trees and apples before the pines were felled. And this is the same corner of the house minus the pine trees.

What I See

The lettuces are coming up and we might actually be able to eat salad from the lettuce bed in another week.

I have been diligently watering a variety of sticks and almost all of them are showing signs of life like this raspberry. Do not ask about the gooseberries and mulberry tree; I am still operating on faith.

Here are the sugar snap peas and some of the trellis Jason built. These peas are so very slowly getting going. Maybe I did something wrong.

The beds I've outlined with mulch look so pretty to me. These are cabbage and beets, but they are not visible in this picture. Really, this was about a week ago, and only now are they poking their little heads up.

The apple blossoms are just beautiful! I wonder if we'll actually have any apples this year. In the late afternoon, these trees are humming with bees and other pollinators.

The rhubarb is also looking gorgeous. This is something we can eat NOW from the garden. For all of you who like very sour candy- this is the vegetable for you. Baked with a touch of honey is the way we like it.

I think the chickens are settling in, but I will admit I'm looking forward to a fresh flock. These ladies are disturbed by the moving from place to place because they had a different setup before. They now only peck eggs the morning after they're moved.

Look! We added a bedroom. The children have been sleeping out many nights and Ezra tried one chilly night to sleep under stars instead the orange dome. Morning found his sleeping spot abandoned for a nice warm bed.

Visitors!

We had friends who live in Canada come to visit over the past two days, and it was wonderful! (These friends are NOT Canadian; they've come to appreciate being American in the time they've lived in Montreal.) The children played, especially the three little girls, while the older daughter and we two mamas planted the potatoes and onions and some beets and some cabbage and one row of the oh-so-lovely Jacob's Cattle Beans.

Did you read that right? Yes! The potatoes and onions are finally all in the ground. It turns out the sheet mulching is doing exactly what it was supposed to. It turns out I did not have to dig up any more grass to plant the potatoes and onions. While I will still need to do a bit of digging to plant any small seeds (like beets and carrots and cabbage), those big seed things can go right in the mulch. Now- the question of the season! Will anything actually grow?

Starting to dream

I've read a bit about permaculture.(Wiki article on permaculture)  I done a bit of gardening and a tiny bit of planning gardens.  I've helped others with their gardens and discussed permaculture here and there.  Now, it's my turn to delve into our garden and our own permaculture plans.

One goal is to grow 50% to 80% of our food; the wide range is because I do not know what I am doing.   Another goal is to have a food system that I can maintain mostly by myself; Jason works many, many daylight hours and the children are not a reliable source of steady labor. One more goal is to find ways to have perennial and no-till arrangements whenever possible.  There are certainly other goals, but they are a bit more amorphous and difficult for this neophyte to articulate. I believe I will definitely discover new ones as I go along.

Let me introduce my property and the fantasy places and plantings I am imagining and beginning to plan for.

Here, just as we go out our back (preferred) door, we have this:

This side faces mostly south, a little east, and gets a full dose of sun year round. In the long run, it would be a good place to add a greenhouse, so our plans should not include things that would preclude a greenhouse.  Also, these are bedroom windows we want to enlarge and we must be cognizant of moving water away from the house.  My current thoughts are to build some cold frames and to put our herb bed here by this door.  The herb bed would be pretty and convenient; the cold frames could compromise moving water.  That's an area for research.

Here is the woodshed, which is on the other side of the back door.

We could put a trellis on this end of it to grow vines of cucumbers or morning glories or something.  Again, it gets full sun almost all day, though in summer it might not hit here until late morning.  The wood would be stacked from late spring until it was used in the winter.  The vines would somewhat protect this end of the stacked wood from rain, while the other open side would still allow the wood to dry.

Here is the garden shed, which is a good place to put starts once some of the frost danger is past.  Also, it has that south facing wall that might be good for cold frames or vines.  Some low bush might also be a good choice.  Maybe we could put gooseberries here.

This side of the house is a center of activity.  We prefer this view, and we like the picnic table out here.  There are some problems, like no out door water, but these can be addressed.  When we can address them, we'll have to decide to do with this field.

There are more spots to consider, but I've been warned to keep these short.  :)