I need to go get a job so I can get some rest! Actually, I have been taking it easy lately because my back finally said “enough!” I’m trying to rest it (which means I’m not doing much) and just take care of the most pressing issues – like chasing little Miss Doe out of the tomato plants, chasing little Miss Doe out of the carrot bed, chasing little Miss Doe away from the blueberry plants . . . you get the idea. The doe is a short term problem though. As unafraid as she is I figure she’ll be in someone’s freezer before long. I think the problem is our neighbor next door. She feeds the local deer population and baby talks them. Sheesh. Netting around the straw bale gardens has helped so the blasted “big red dog” doesn’t get that much.
Despite the doe, we’re starting to reap the benefits of all the back-breaking work that went before and oh boy!!! I had forgotten how absolutely fabulous fresh picked, healthily prepared food can taste! We went through our salad phase when all the lettuces and kales were tiny and yummy. Now we’re eating fresh zucchini, cabbage, squash, green beans, potatoes and carrots as well as some of the peas, kale and mustard I froze earlier. The weekly menu goes something like this: veggie soup, veggie quiche, veggie pot pie . . .
In a couple more weeks, we’ll sink our teeth into our very first tomato and bite into a crisp cucumber. Sigh, life is good (long moment of quiet happiness).
Okay, back to the update. The straw bales have been, all in all, a great success. Since there was no dirt to plant in, the bales have been a good temporary growing medium. The daily watering is a pain but, other than that, it was a good decision and the plants are growing well. Here’s a pictorial update on that:
Once the straw bale plants stop producing this fall, I will simply push the decomposing bales down against the tree trunk terrace I’ve created
and spread it out. I’ll also use finished microgreens trays on top (upside down) to create soil. Because I keep 30+ trays of microgreens in production year round to sell at local farmer’s markets,
I have plenty of “used” organic potting soil with lots of root mass attached that I can dump upside down wherever I need to create soil. By next spring, although it will still be pretty “raw,” I should be able to grow some peas on trellises at the back of the new terraced bed. Perhaps other low feeding plants in the front of the bed will produce enough food to make it worthwhile and, within a year or two, as I add leaves and other matter to decompose, the terraced beds will become prime planting areas.
While we hadn’t planned it on our original permaculture design, we ended up building a 3′ x 16′ raised bed in front of the rock wall that’s just outside the back door. I really like a more natural look and would have preferred to build it out of tree trunks as we have our other raised beds and terraces, but we’re out of tree trunks. We’ll have to relocate our log splitting stump but this is a prime growing area because it receives more sun than any other spot on our little half acre homestead. We’re going to construct a 3′ x 12′ bed next month on down from the 16′ foot bed so the entire space in front of the rock wall will have a raised bed. I’m building soil by dumping garden waste and expended microgreens trays in the bed. This will be a prime spot for growing winter greens because the rock wall acts as a heat sink. The plan is to build high hoop tunnels over the two beds and employ Elliot Coleman’s Four-Season Harvest method for extending our harvest. We’ll use row cover on low wire hoops directly over the vegetables. We’ll also put a large hoop tunnel over the entire bed and cover it with plastic. This will add an additional layer of insulation. The heat that the rock wall absorbs throughout the day will also help raise the temperature in the two raised beds as the heat is released during the night. I’m hoping this means we’ll be able to keep some of the hardiest greens growing throughout most of the winter months. Here’s the 16′ bed:
The spring greens raised bed was very productive and is now home for crookneck squash, zucchini, winter squash and various herbs. Rattlesnake beans grow on the trellis at the back. The compost in this bed was pretty raw and we knew that at delivery. Still, the greens did very well and, now that they’ve gotten started, the squash are performing okay. Not great, but okay. Here’s a “then and now” photo update:
No photos to show but the black raspberry, blueberries, blackberries, honey berries and paw-paws are all doing okay. They don’t seem to be doing great although, to be fair, I don’t really know how fast a blueberry or honeyberry bush is supposed to grow. I did manage to whack a black raspberry plant down with the weed eater but it’s growing back. I can see that we really need to focus on more fruit bushes/trees next year, particularly any fruits – like honeyberry and paw-paw – that grow well in shade. We have wild blackberries growing at the back property line so there’s another project for fall or winter. There’s lots of stuff that needs to be cleared out around the plants so they thrive next year. I’ve already picked a handful of blackberries and I’ve protected them as well as possible with netting so our friendly “big red dog” doesn’t get all of them.
The fruits will be an excellent perennial source of food. Also on the list of must have perennials for next year are more asparagus plants and some sea kale or tree collards. One current perennial that we’re very happy with are the strawberries. Remember the bed on top of the rock wall? You know, the one that didn’t make sense but would look so good? It’s doing well but the runners are looking for someplace to grow. Still, when we get the two small terraced beds next to the strawberry bed moved back up the hill about two feet and terraced into one large bed running on contour with the hillside, the strawberry plants should have enough room to expand. And hey, it’s gonna look so pretty, right??? The bed now has lots of Lamb’s Quarters growing among the strawberry plants (I’m trying to let the Lamb’s Quarters go to seed so I can save some):
That’s it for now. There’s more to come on the update but right now, I need to go make some squash patties for breakfast and use up some of the piles of zucchini in the fridge. Note to self: fewer zucchini plants next year!
