Planting an additional 18 fruit and nut trees and fruiting shrubs to provide diversity on the land so in 5-15 years time we have a harvest that will not only feed us but also provide a surplus for our community...
Korean pines, paw-paw, tulip trees, heart nut, hazel nut, persimmon, siberian pea shrubs, hardy kiwi, grapes, pear and apple trees, aronia berry, sea-berry, haskaps, elderberry, mulberry. blue berries, raspberries...
Tending to our sustenance daily, protecting our newly planted saplings from the elements...a constant effort to cradle them with mulch and protect with prickly ash fencing to guard against deer...working on the land feeds the soul and soil.
Bringing in the 2019 harvest... garlic, styrian pumpkin, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, wild apples, carrots, beets, creeping thyme, oregano, basil, wild greens - nettle/lambsquarters/wild mustard/purslane/mallow- for nutrient dense pesto all winter. The nutrient value of the wild greens out weigh any greens one may find in the grocery store and they grow abundantly right outside our door. Medicinal teas, infusions, oxymels and tinctures...valerian, hawthorne, mint, lemon balm, elderberry oxymel, motherwort, fungi (Birch Polypores), pine vinegar...
Nettle is a staple I choose not to live without...drying nettle for my winter teas to provide iron, calcium, magnesium, protein....adding it to soups and omelettes. Nettle grows abundantly on the century old farmland and as it proliferates and adds nutrient to compost teas to add to compost piles to build soil and humus for future garden beds...chop and drop, no-till methods of cultivation, observation...how does the soil communicate through the plants that already exist? Silent contemplation and readiness to observe the plant world and the soil's needs...
My lack of experience leads me to learn through my mistakes ...Turning failure into feedback to redirect my energies that feed the land and my soul.
Gleaning apples from untouched apple trees in Ottawa and Perthmore...the abundance is fruitful..no need for people to go without...
Great Gratitude for the gifts offered and received throughout the 2019 Harvest Season.
