Category: self-reliance

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Berry Bonanza

The berries are growing. There is no doubt about that. This year we have even more varieties of berries growing.

Aronia berries (chokeberry) have even more anti oxidents than blueberries especially the black chokeberries. We have our first aronia berries on the farm and they are growing nicely. Can’t wait to try some later in the summer.

Black Chokeberries (aronia) forming

Our blueberries are still young but they are growing quickly. Hopefully we’ll have enough to enjoy and share

The raspberry bushes have really surpised us with how quickly they are growing.

The blackberries are loving the warm weather and really growing quickly. We have reduced the amount of blackberries on the farm due to how often they need to be picked. It is so nice to have off-the-vine blackberries when we are working on the farm in the summer, so we have kept a few bushes.

The mulberry trees are really getting tall. It is nice seeing young berries on them. Mulberries are very different than all other berries in how they taste, how we pick them and how the berries form on the limb of the trees

Mulberries are coming
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Showing the Blueberries Some Love

This is a busy time of year on the farm. One of the tasks is getting the blueberries ready for summer. We use pine straw as a mulch. Using pine straw as a mulch is a good example of function stacking. The pine straw helps to lower the soil ph (blueberries like low ph soil), regulate moisture in the soil, supresses the growth of weeds and amends the soil as it breaks down adding nutrients and organic matter. The pine straw settles during the next few months, so we pile it deep.

The iris, comfrey, clover and wildflowers are blooming. This year we created a natural area. This was a previously cultivated area that is now fallow. The wildflowers that came up are great.

The last couple of days have been spent mowing grass (grows amazingly quick this time of year), trimming under fences and around plants. We’ve also been watering new plantings and fertilizing. Sometimes new trees and plants don’t thrive but that is vastly offset by the wonderful growth on the farm right now.

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Grow, Grow, Grow and Peace

It is really nice to spend the day surrounded by all of the springtime explosion of blooms and new growth. The weather this time of year is spectacular and it makes the hard work on the farm seem much easier. Being outside and having the privilege of managing this property is wonderful. Watching everything grow is nice. Sometimes things don’t grow and there is a lesson to be learned. Sometimes that lesson is a technical one. Other times, it becomes obvious, once again, that I can’t impose my will on the farm.

Working on the farm also gives me time to think. It is humbling to know that I’m just a caretaker of the farm. There are trees that we have planted that will still be growing and thriving long after our season has passed.

A great feeling comes as standing in the middle of a growing ecosystem. The goal is to build abundance. Part of that abundance goes back to the land as a way to build better soil and strong plants and trees for future abundance. The rest leaves the farm as food.

Standing there and looking at the trees and plants at the end of the day with sun getting lower, there is a peaceful feeling. What is happening in a crazy world, is still important but is in perspective. That is such a blessing. You can’t buy peace. Sure having a farm is a lot of work and expense but having peace in our lives is priceless.

Orchard with young pears, nectarines, peaches and plums
Hugelkultur mound with blueberries, raspberries and goji berries
Driving back across the field at the end of the day, tired but relaxed
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Fruit Trees Blooming Like Crazy

What a beautiful day to plant trees and work in the orchard! We installed medlar, quince and jujube trees. The trees came from Burnt Ridge Nursery as bare root plants.

We are experimenting with using goumi berry bushes as a nitrogen fixer that also produces a crop.

Trees and bushes that we planted

  • Jujube, Li- Ziziphus jujuba
  • Jujube, Qiyue Xian – Zizyphus jujuba
  • Quince Aronmatnaya – Cydonia oblonga
  • Quince Krimskaya – Cydonia oblonga
  • Medlar, Brenda Giant – Mespilus germanica
  • Medlar, Royal – Mespilus germanica
  • Goumi Berry, Carmine – Elaeagnus multiflora

The last plants we needed to prune for the season were the black berries and raspberries on the farm. Connie knocked those out, so they are ready for summer.

Update from the trees planted in November

We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of growth from trees that we planted last November. The picture below shows a tree that has more than doubled in diameter and grown nicely in height. The tree protectors we installed will help keep small critters and deer from damaging the young tree calipers. We already had one plum tree that had damage (maybe 6 inch above the ground) from a critter chewing on it, maybe a rabbit.

Tree protectors help keep the caliper of the tree safe from critters and me with the weed eater
Tree protector in place
Raspberries growing
Raspberries growing
Bare root plants ready to install
Bare root plants ready to install
Blackberries after pruning
Blackberries after pruning
Blackberries after pruning
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Pause Before Spring? No Way, No Pause

Everything is warming up. We have been busy. We have also been using the nice weather to work on cleaning up fallen trees. The bees are loving their new home.

Our garlic is doing well. Garlic is one of the easier crops to grow because it requires so little maintenance until the last few weeks. We sold out of garlic last year, so when it is available in early summer, make sure to get your orders in. We don’t use pesticides or insecticides on the farm.

Sometimes details are important, a toad hopped on my chainsaw box while we were cutting up a tree that fell down in the storm. Connie noticed the small toad and snapped the pic

Tiny toad on chainsaw case
Tiny toad up close
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Bee News | Pruning Moms Grape Vines and Orchard

Bees Have a New Home Soon

The bees are moving to the back field and more bees should arrive in a few weeks. The plan is to have 10 hives total. We currently have 4 hives. We keep selling out of honey from the farm so additional honey capacity will be good as the farm grows.

Good Family Times

One of our yearly traditions has been to prune the grape vines, blueberries and fruit trees at my mom’s house. We did that this week and had a good time. What a beautiful day. We had a good time as a family and accomplished a lot.

It is wonderful that the orchard, berries and vines produce an abundance that my mom can share with the community.

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Planting Beauty Berry and Black Locust

What a beautiful. The snow has melted and it was a wonderful day to work on the farm. We planted fruit and nut trees in November. Now we are planting the second wave of trees and bushes.

The american beautyberry bushes have edible berries that have a different taste. They are harvested in the fall. The beautyberries were Connie’s idea. The brought one home a few years ago and it has really grown and produced lots of berries. The berries are a metallic purple color. The beautyberries are also a native plant. We shouldn’t need anti-deer cages around the beautyberries (at least until the berries are ripe).

The black locust trees are going into areas where we are working to improve the soil. The plan is to let them grow for a few years and terminate them. Then we can come back with fruit trees.

The pomegranate trees needed anti-deer cages. Those are built and installed.

A great day to work on the farm

Don’t forget about our elderberry pruning class in 2 weeks.

It is that time. Join us as we prune our elderberries. We’ll have a great morning learning to prune elderberries and also learning to plant the cuttings. The cost of the class includes a 1/2 lb of honey from the farm and cuttings so you can plant your own elderberries. Please sign up below so we know how many people to expect.

Event Schedule on Saturday, March 8th

Take Aways from the Event

You’ll learn how to

  1. prune elderberries and make cuttings to plant
  2. plant elderberries

Experience

  1. pruning elderberry plants
  2. planting elderberry cuttings

Bring home (included in the ticket cost)

  • enough elderberry cuttings to start your own elderberry patch
  • 1 lb of honey from the farm

Agenda on Saturday

9:00 AM – Welcome

9:15-Noon
Demonstration – how to prune elderberry bushesPractical – prune elderberries and take home elderberry cuttings so you can grown your own elderberry plants.

Demonstration – how to plant elderberries
Practical – plant elderberries and comfrey

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Let Us Prune Elderberries

It is that time. Join us as we prune our elderberries. We’ll have a great morning learning to prune elderberries and also learning to plant the cuttings. The cost of the class includes a 1/2 lb of honey from the farm and cuttings so you can plant your own elderberries. Please sign up below so we know how many people to expect.

Event Schedule on Saturday, March 8th

Take Aways from the Event

You’ll learn how to

  1. prune elderberries and make cuttings to plant
  2. plant elderberries

Experience

  1. pruning elderberry plants
  2. planting elderberry cuttings

Bring home (included in the ticket cost)

  • enough elderberry cuttings to start your own elderberry patch
  • 1 lb of honey from the farm

Agenda on Saturday

9:00 AM – Welcome

9:15-Noon
Demonstration – how to prune elderberry bushesPractical – prune elderberries and take home elderberry cuttings so you can grown your own elderberry plants.

Demonstration – how to plant elderberries
Practical – plant elderberries and comfrey

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Taking a Break for a Few Weeks

We hope you have enjoyed the news and pictures from the farm in 2024. We’re going to take a break from the blog for few weeks.

Expect to see more pictures when it is time to prune the elderberries, mulberry trees, fig trees and goji berries. If you want to learn to prune your berries and fruit trees, let me know and we’ll set up a class for late February or early March.

Goji berries
Starting to put mulch around the mulberry trees
Fig tree
Elderberries
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Planting Pomegranate Trees and More Wood Chips

This time of year is fairly busy on the farm. Activities for this week included:

  • planting pomegranate trees, prickly pear cactus and the last of the goji berries
  • putting out more woodchips (semi composted mulch) around the fruit trees we planted in November
  • clearing a dead tree off the bridge so I could get to the back field
  • moving brush and wood that had been cut a few years ago
  • cutting down more the invasive trifoliate citrus bushes

The weather was spectacular. It was nice to be outside.

Natural Fertilizers for Trees and Bushes

One of the things we have on the farm this time of year is diakon radish (also called field radish). We use it as a cover crop. One of the methods I used when planting trees and bushes was to harvest some of the daikon tuber and put it in the bottom of the hole where the trees and bushes went. The daikon tuber breaks down over time and adds nutrients to the soil near the tree and bush roots. It is especially easy to do when the daikon radish is just a few feet away.

Daikon radish in bottom of hole for tree or bush, a natural fertilizer