Our food forest is starting to grow with the warmer weather. Here are some pictures
Food Forest is Growing
Category: local food
Why You Probably Aren’t Planting a Garden / You Can Farm
What Can You Do
This year has been a challenging year when it comes to supply chain issues and inflation. The rising price of gas and food has impacted all of us at some level. People with the least disposable income getting hurt the worst. At some point, rising food prices will lead to political instability and riots. Rising food prices were what caused the Arab Spring riots. Americans are no less susceptible to the effects of rising food and fuel costs.
Here are some ways to fight back against the rising cost of food
- Plant a garden and start farming your own food.
- Plant a food forest in your yard
- Don’t have a place to plant a garden, then create a container garden on your porch
- Find someone with land that no longer has a garden (possibly aged out) and offer to plant a garden on their land and share the harvest with them. This arrangement is very doable, you just have to ask around
- Develop your own local food supply chain. Find farmers that you can buy from directly off their farm. Don’t wait for them to bring it to you at the farmers market. Develop a relationship with them
- Find a local farmer that needs labor. They would probably be happy to trade produce for labor. You could go work for them on a regular basis, maybe every other Saturday. This could be a real win-win. Its also a great way to learn about farming
These are doable action items. Don’t let excuses hold you back!
audentes Fortuna iuvat – Fortune favors the Bold
Planting Time
The last two days have been a blur. We have been busy. Even with 4 people on the farm working hard, we still have more stuff to do before everything is been planted.
We are on still on a rapid learning curve as we work hard. The garden area in the pictures below was pasture for decades so we had to work to plow up the grassy area and then build new beds.
Using the BCS Tractor
The BCS tiller was also a new piece of equipment for us. The biggest challenge we’ve had with the BCS is laying out beds so that the rows come out the width that we want. Our BCS tractor has the 5.5 inch extensions added to the the 749 tractor. This makes the tractor wider by 11 inches.
The vegetable garden beds are on a sloped face. To help minimize any erosion issues during rain events, we kept a 10 foot ribbon of grass between each plot. Each plot was laid out to have 2 rows per plot (30″ wide rows) with an 18″ wide walkway between each row. When I added up 3 walkways plus a quantity of 2 of the 30″ wide rows, then we should need a plot that is 9.5 feet wide. In practice, it just isn’t working out that way. I suspect we’ll have to till and hill a plot and measure to see where I’m off in my estimation of the total width of each 2 row plot. There is definitely a learning curve to becoming a better farmer.
Trellis
We just installed rows of trellis for pole beans and tromboncino squash. We are using a curved trellis for the tromboncino squash and pole beans. I keep seeing videos and picture of the curved and over trellis configuration, so we wanted to see at try and find out if it works as well as we keep hearing. The curved trellis (when covered with tromboncino squash) should provide provide shade for the young rhubarb.
One of my projects for this summer is to install posts in the field, near the rows, where we can hang the cattle panels (used in the trellis) this fall after we take the trellis down and store it for the winter.
Tagging Each Fruit Bearing Tree and Bush
One of the projects this month was to map and tag each fruit bearing tree and bush. My wife took this project and ran with it. We now have a map that shows the location of each fruit bearing tree and bush, indicated by a unique tag number. The unique tags number are recorded in a spreadsheet. Information about each plant is recoded with the tag number, such as variety and date planted. This will also us to track historical data about each plant. This data is also useful when we propagate cuttings, allowing us to properly identify plants for sale.
Flowering Mandrakes / Almost Time to Plant
It is the time of year where you never know if it is going to be an 80 degree day or a 40 degree day. We are still getting ready to start planting our summer garden. This was also the first time I mowed the grass for the season. More and more plants are starting to grow. The drip irrigation system is still a work in progress. Once we have the planting beds made then we can put down the drip tape and test the system.
We had a fairly mild winter so the weeds started growing early in the garlic beds. This year we put down hay twice to try and suppress weed growth. Hopefully we can avoid a lot of weeding this way. I was pleasantly surprised that our garlic beds survived our neighbors cows getting loose and trampling the plants earlier in the winter.
American Mandrake
We have several patches of wild American Mandrake. It grows in the shady areas. I’m hoping that we can actually try some of the fruit this year. That would mean that we would have to time picking it just right. If we wait too long the squirrels and deer will beat us to the ripe fruit.
Meanwhile on the farm, mayapples and the preparations continue…
The Mayapples are up and thriving. We noticed the fruit starting to form. We are hoping to try the fruit this year, assuming we can beat the deer and raccoons from eating it first.
Weed Control with Silage Tarps
We put down silage tarps earlier in the winter. The goal is to help with weed control and terminate the fescue grass under the tarp. This weekend we moved the silage tarp from the vegetable rows (picture below – 6 bed with 2 rows per bed that are 30 inches wide by 35 feet long) to what will become a cover crop area adjacent to the first row of fig trees in field #2.
Weed Control in Garlic and Onion Beds
The garlic should be ready sometime in early July. This year we’ve used hay to help and control the weeds in the garlic bed. This is the second application of hay to these rows. The hay adds organic matter to the soil as it composts.
Iris Bed
The Iris are coming up. We planted them in the fall. We just added partially composted wood chip mulch around them to help protect them from the summer heat and control weeds. The chips came from a local tree service company.
Getting Ready for Spring – Putting Down Hay and Weedblocker
The weather on Saturday was kinda crazy. It started out fairly warm and then just kept getting colder.
Sometimes You Can’t Do What You Plan
We had planned to plant beets, peas and radish. The plan was to pull back the tarps and build beds to plant in. The silage tarp has been down for several weeks. Last weekend we added more tarps before the rain started. The plan was to roll back the tarps and build beds for the beets, peas and radish. Then we could plant in dry ground. Sounds like a good plan.
However, it was not a good plan. When we pulled back the silage tarp and the other tarps, what we found was some very wet ground. Once again I was unable to impose my timeline on the farm. I say that as a joke. Our transition from backyard gardening to a small scale farm has been quite a learning experience. I’ve found time and time again, that we can’t impose our timeline and our will on the farm. Instead we have to be flexible and understand that everything happens in due time.
Getting the Food Forest Ready for Spring
Our food forest area consists of a mulberry trees, elderberries, blackberries, raspberries and figs. There is also a hugelkultur mound at the edge. We started our food forest last year in a field with very established grass. The grass is good because it holds the soil in place but creates a few issues. The grass competes with the bushes and trees for resources. The grass also hides the drip irrigation lines and emitters, making it easy to hit with the lawnmower or weed eater. Keeping the grass cut in the immediate are around plants makes it easy to damage the plants if you get too close with the lawnmower or weed eater.
Our Solution
We spent the day putting down a biodegradable weed blocker. The weed blocker we use is a paper mulch from Chatham Farm Supply in Pittsboro, NC The weed blocker is manufactured by www.7springsfarm.com .
Steps
- cut out a piece of the 4 foot wide paper that is 4 feet long, then put a cut in the middle of the paper that allowed us to lay the paper down around the plant.
- Put down hay on top of that paper, so the hay is at least 1 foot deep, and do it quickly before the window blows the paper away
- Once the plants have paper and hay around them then cut sheets to cover the grassy area between the string of plants (along the trellis or the drop line)
- Cover those sheets of paper with hay.
We originally tried doing a long length of paper, but the wind kept that from working. Doing small pieces worked much better and were easier to manage on a windy day.
Important Note about Using Hay or Straw in your Garden
It is really important to make sure that before using hay or stray in your garden, you find out what chemicals were sprayed on the hay as it was growing. Some of the chemicals used in the production of hay (which is typically used for livestock food) are safe for live stock but may kill the plants in your garden. Some farmers assume that safe for livestock means safe for the garden, but often that isn’t the case.
2022 Spring Homestead Experience
What a busy few days. When it comes to homesteading there is always a lot to learn and share. We worked on the following:
- installed an anti-deer fence
- installed 15 elderberry plants with a biodegradable mat around them with hay on top
- planted 7 fig and 2 peach trees
- planted a lantana in the pollinator garden
- put down a 50′ x 100′ foot tarp in the vegetable garden area to solarize and help kill weeds before we plant in April
Thanks again to everyone who helped!
If you missed out on this one, join us this fall. Info soon at www.nchomestead experience
New Tractor, Putting Up Blackberry Trellis and A-Frames
Getting a farm up and going has been a big project. Sometimes it seems like the world has gone crazy, but on the farm there is a peace and serenity. We’re getting ready for growing season and the plants don’t care about politics or ideology, they just want great soil, rain and sunshine. So after a day or working on the farm we get a break from all the covid and politics and it is wonderful.
This was a busy week. We used our new BCS tractor for the first time. That went well. It should be a great tool for use in the garden.
Putting in the Blackberry Trellis
Having another set of hands made things so much easier. I drove the t-posts in the ground while Connie and her sister put the wire up.
Using an A-Frame to Help Determine Fig Planting Locations
We are getting ready for our 2022 NC Homestead Experience. One of the tasks is to locate where the fig trees and elderberry plants go. I wanted to plan ahead with the locations so I can add swales. So I used an A frame level. It only took a few minutes to build it. This allowed me to place the trees at the same elevation line on the hill. Here is a great primer on a frames in permaculture
Parting thought – plant a garden!
Shopping List – Main Items that you need to preserve food
Why – Cost of Food is Increasing, Availability is Decreasing
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-10/price-shock-at-the-meat-counter-worsens-u-s-inflation-jitters – as an example beef is up 20% this year
I’ve seen numbers from 6 to 20% for other sectors of the food supply.
Lets do the math. Here is one analysis:
- $1 product in 2020 became a $1.20 product in 2021 (using 20% inflation) – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 20% from 2020
- becomes a $1.44 product in 2022 (using 20% inflation) – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 44% from 2020
- becomes a $1.728 product in 2023 (using 20% inflation) – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 73% from 2020
- becomes a $2.07 product in 2024 (using 20% inflation) – – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 100.1% from 2020 (doubled in 3 years)
Maybe groceries prices will stabilize and maybe the supply chain issues will resolve themselves. I doubt it, but I obviously can’t predict the future. I can learn from history. The American empire is in decline and we have a few long decades ahead.
Thinking About The 2022 Growing Season
Looking forward to growing season, you can break the challenges down into 2 broad areas:
1) raising a surplus of food (planting, maintaining, harvesting)
2) preserving the food
One of the challenges in dealing with fresh food is preserving it in a timely basis. When veggies are ripe they have to be picked, maintained in a cool environment and then preserved within a few days. This is common knowledge, but as we’ve gotten better at gardening and preserved food, it becomes clearer how difficult and how much work it is to make that work within the time constraints.
Lets take a look at the steps to preserve food:
1) prep the food – wash, clean and cut it up into what ever sizes are needed, blanche or cook (if needed). This part of the process is the most labor intensive and has to be done soon after the items are picked (time sensitive). After this is done, many items can be frozen until it is time to can or preserve them. This is also the step the requires the least amount of equipment (at least until we run out of freezer space).
2) preserve the food – water bath can, pressure can, dehydrate, freeze dry, freeze, etc.
3) post process – for dehydrating this would mean putting it in jars with oxygen absorbers and evacuating the jar, for canning you let the jars sit and cool before putting them up for storage (the easy part)
Items to Consider Buying for Preserving Food this Year
I realize each one of you has different space limitations and budgets, but here is a list of items that you will keep and use for decades, some for the rest of your life. I’m not trying to push you into doing anything, just giving you information and encouraging you to use your own judgement to do what ever it is that you need to do.
If grocery prices continue to rise, then there will be a rapid increase in people gardening (or trying to garden) and a subsequent rise in people trying to purchase these items below. There was a period last year were you just couldn’t get jars, and if you could find them online then the prices were really high, even for off brand jars.
Also look at being able to preserve your food as a way to save money, especially as food prices go up. If you have trouble paying the bills now, could you live with your food prices doubling? Now is your chance to do something about it. Buy food when it is less expensive and plentiful (i.e. during the harvest) and save it for later.
General Things Needed
Freezer – no matter how you preserve your food, a freezer is important. It allows you to prep food and freeze it until you can get it preserved. Freezing is also a great way to store food.
I’ll break down the overall things you’ll need for each method of food preservation.
Canning
- 1 quart wide mouth Mason jars (either Mason or Ball or Kerr [least prerred], avoiding off brand jars) – maybe 100-200 jars, they last forever as long as they aren’t damaged, just buy a few every week, get the regular mouth if you can’t get wide mouth
- Lids and rings for the jars (brand name is preferred). You can also get resuable lids from Tattler (http://reusablecanninglids.com/)
- Pressure canner (used for everything from squash to potatoes to meat – bigger is much better, measure your stove to make sure it fits – one that doesn’t require a seal is best). Some stoves won’t work with or support the weight of a canner. If this is the case at your home, you may have to can outdoors using a propane stove or cooker.
https://www.lehmans.com/product/41-12-qt-high-quality-pressure-canner/
- Pot for water bath canning (high acidity things like tomatoes and pickles)
https://www.lehmans.com/product/black-enamelware-canner-215-qt/ – bigger is better, just measure your stove to make sure it fits
https://www.lehmans.com/product/enamelware-21-12-qt-canner-with-5-piece-tool-set/ – this one comes with jar grippers and funnels
Dehydrating
- One quart wide mouth mason jars (either Mason or Ball, avoiding off brand jars) – maybe 100-200 jars, they last forever as long as they aren’t damaged, just buy a few every week, get the regular mouth if you can’t get wide mouth. Look for them in your grocery store and buy a dozen every week, along with lids and rings
- Lids and rings for the jars (brand name is preferred). You can also get resuable lids from Tattler (http://reusablecanninglids.com/)
- 1 or 2 dehydrators – during peak harvest having more than one is a win
https://excaliburdehydrator.com/ – gets good reviews
https://www.nesco.com/product/fd-80-snackmaster-square-food-dehydrator/ – we have this one with 9 trays
- Foodsaver – https://www.foodsaver.com/food-vacuum-sealers/countertop-vacuum-sealers/ – just make sure it has the jar sealer that fits normal and widemouth jars. This is an item i wouldn’t buy used unless you are very sure it hasn’t been used much and is fairly new. You’ll use this to seal jars after dehydrating the food.
- Mylar bags – Maybe a bag similar to Impak CTN08MFS12L – https://www.impakcorporation.com/flexible_packaging/mylar-bag/medium-pouches/CTN08MFS12L
- Oxygen absorbers – Impak SF300CS1500 – https://www.impakcorporation.com/oxygen_absorbers/packets/SF300CS1500
Freeze Drying
- Freeze dryer – https://harvestright.com/
- Foodsaver – https://www.foodsaver.com/food-vacuum-sealers/countertop-vacuum-sealers/ – just make sure it has the jar sealer that fits normal and widemouth jars. This is an item i wouldn’t buy used unless you are very sure it hasn’t been used much and is fairly new. You’ll use this to seal jars after dehydrating the food.
- Mylar bags – Maybe a bag similar to Impak CTN08MFS12L – https://www.impakcorporation.com/flexible_packaging/mylar-bag/medium-pouches/CTN08MFS12L
- Oxygen absorbers – Impak SF300CS1500 – https://www.impakcorporation.com/oxygen_absorbers/packets/SF300CS1500
- One quart wide mouth mason jars (either Mason or Ball, avoiding off brand jars) – maybe 100-200 jars, they last forever as long as they aren’t damaged, just buy a few every week, get the regular mouth if you can’t get wide mouth. Look for them in your grocery store and buy a dozen every week, along with lids and rings
- Lids and rings for the jars (brand name is preferred). You can also get resuable lids from Tattler (http://reusablecanninglids.com/)
NOTE: You maybe be able to find many of these things used, canners and jars. As long as jars aren’t chipped or broken they last forever. Often when someone stops canning they will give away their jars and pressure canners. If the pressure canner uses a gasket, you may be able to purchase a new one if the old one is unavailable or damaged.
Most grocery stores will have a limited supply of canning jars, just pick them up as they are available.
Use Your Judgment
Use your judgement and do what you can afford. I’m not suggesting in any way that you go in debt for these things. I am strongly suggesting that you buy jars / lids / rings and a dehydrator at a minimum. If you have the budget, then a freeze dryer would be an great investment. Freeze drying is the easiest process to do. Use your judgement. Hopefully that example inspires you to prosper in what could be a difficult few years.
audaces fortuna iuvat – fortune favors the bold
Parting thought – These links just products that I feel strongly enough to recommend. I have no relationship with any of these companies, other than being a customer.
2022 Community Garden Info
Why Have a Community Garden
The last few years (2020-2021) have difficult years for everyone. When we originally bought the farm from a friend in 2021, we had intentions to just having place for a larger garden / fruit orchard, recreation and eventually build a house. The growing possibility of food insecurity and food cost inflation led us to reconsider our plans. Instead asked how many families can we help feed? Can we help people to learn who to have their own backyard gardens.
Location: Bennett, NC
Description of Property: 10 acres with 7 acres in pasture / garden.
Season: April, 15th, 2022 through Sept 30th, 2022
Goals for the Farm
- Teach and encourage backyard gardening
- Distribute excess seeds for our farm to the greater community, to help encourage others to garden
- Feed as many families as possible
- Teach regenerative soil practices and permaculture
- Use farming as way for the participants to find solace from a crazy. Something relaxing about hands in soil
- Give others a way to try out the homestead life before you dive in and start a homestead
Current Situation
We have 3 slots for 2022. Each slot is 8 hours of labor per week. A slot can be shared by a couple.
The purpose isn’t to recruit anyone one. We are looking for people who are passionate about growing healthy food, learning about gardening and creating better food security for yourself. If this isn’t something you really want to do deep down inside then this isn’t for you.
How it Works
The garden is a communal meaning that we all share the work to keep plant and manage the crop, then share the harvest. Each weeks harvest is broken down into shares. A share is based on 4 hours of work per week. If you work 8 hours per week then you get 2 shares. A couple working 4 hours per week each would get 2 shares.
Because weeds grow and crops need harvesting whether we are there or not, it is important that anyone participating in the community garden is a consistent participant. We’ll set up a schedule and its important that we all stick to the schedule and keep the garden as a high priority.
It is important to keep in mind that weather can stop activities on the farm if it is severe. Safety is first However, it is important to keep in mind that sometimes it is hot outside (especially mid-July through September) but we still have to stay hydrated and get the job done. You may be working in drizzling rain or hot temperatures. That is part of being outdoors. However, safety is always first.
We can work around planned absences such as vacations. Sometimes things happen in life that pull you away from normal activities (sickness, work trips, etc). It is important to keep in mind that if you aren’t present to help, someone else has to put in extra time to make up for you not being there.
During the growing season, you are expected to be an active part of the farm. That simply means showing up and diving in to keep the crops growing, maintained and harvested. We all need a break from time to time, so we plan in 2 weeks per person during the growing season for vacations, travel, etc.
When it comes to unplanned absences the following rules apply:
1st unplanned absence – consideration given to the nature of the absence. Possible removal from group if the absence was frivolous.
2nd unplanned absence – mostly likely will result in removal from group
3rd unplanned absence – removal from group
The is no expectation for any participant to operate any type of heavy equipment.
With farming there is risk. We can’t guarantee results but we take steps to minimize the risk of crops failing including irrigation and anti-deer, electric fences.
February Homestead Experience
You are strongly encouraged to participate in the 2022 Homestead Experience. This is a great way to get to know each other, spend time on the farm and make sure that participating in the community garden is something that you really, really want to do.
Practices:
- We irrigate using drip irrigation.
- Anti-deer electric fences help prevent loss of crops from deer depredation
- Regenerative soil practices – we use cover crops to help build soil and minimize the use of synthetic fertilizers.
- Low / no-till – we are working to minimize our soil tillage to help continuously improve our soil
- integrated pest management – low pesticide / insecticide use. No glyphosates. Plan to install pollinator gardens in the fall to help with pollination and attracting predatory insects
- Hugelkultur – we use a hugelkultur mound in one area. The mound in 85′ long.
- Permaculture
- we are not organic – ask me why sometime, not opposed to it, I just think there are better ways to go
Planned Crops for 2022
Here is the list of crops we plan to grow in 2022
Summer squash
- Tromboncino Summer Squash
- Straight neck
- Patty Pan
Winter squash
- Candy Roaster
- Butternut
Eggplant
- Ping Tung Long Eggplant
Okra
Onions
Pumpkins
- Tan Cheese
- Carving
Radishes
Peppers
Onions – Egyptian Walking Onions
Sunflowers, Pedrovik
Cantalope (maybe)
Fruits
figs
blackberries
elderberries
raspberries
mulberries
blueberries (planned for 2022)
pecans (planned for 2023)
Note: we installed the fruit trees and bushes in 2021/2022 so there probably won’t be any significant crop until 2023 and 2024
Contact Us to discuss the opportunity
I’m a mechanical engineer turned weekend farmer, so I’m just smart enough to know that there is a lot that I don’t know especially when it comes to farming, permaculture and food forests. I’ve been heavily influenced in my love of farming and permaculture by my Mom and Dad and also by people like 
Connie has her certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from CCCC. She really enjoyed the classes at the community college and learned a lot. The program was a mixture of classes and work on the school farm. What she learned has really added to our technical proficiency on the farm.