Category Archives: Permaculture

Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.

Preparing Spring Beds

Despite being February and technically still winter, it is spring here on the farm.
I love spring.
All summer long I am busy making compost, in “cold” piles and with the chickens but as much as I work to make as much compost as I can there is never enough.  Because of this and because we are adding 450 feet of market beds we purchased and had compost trucked in.
Last Fall we staked out the new garden.  Previous it had been a big pumpkin patch, but we needed to move it because of squash bug issue and I wanted my new market beds closer to the established garden area.  The pumpkins will go in the new, raw area, they are a good plant to break in a new place. We made each bed 30″ wide and 50′ long.
Not wanting to disturb the soil already there and not wanting to churn up weed seeds we are laying six inches of compost right on top of the soil and not mixing it in.  Well made compost can be planted directly in, it won’t be too hot. The isles will be planted with mini clover, that will help keep the weeds and dust down and when it is mowed we will rake the clippings right into the garden beds, and as the plants grow we will add mulch and cover crops.
I love this picture, it shows the steaming compost both in the pile and in the wheelbarrow.  This shows how well the microbe activity is, good healthy microbes mean good healthy soil. It is also nice on a cool morning to be able to warm up at the pile!

Our beds are all ready to go.  In about two weeks I will be starting seeds indoors to be planed out the first part of April.  The Peas will be direct seeded mid-march, carrots and beets will also be direct sown in April.

I am so excited for the season to begin!

Raspberry Fields

Working on the future raspberry patch. There are twelve 50 foot rows.

One of the projects we have been discussing and planning for almost forever has been a rather large raspberry patch.  Ultimately we would like to run some sort of pick-your-own or selling shares of some sort, but to get to that point we have a lot of planning, planting and work to do.

As we have talked about before, the soil here is very barren and can be challenging to grow in.  When its wet it is thick and sticky, when dry its almost like powder. We have found various permaculture methods that work very well in our arid climate and low fertility, including deep mulch, no-till and low-till.  Another methods that is quite effective is the combination of hugelkultur and swales, often called “drop dead swales”.

Hugelkulturs are hills or various sizes made by piling old logs and branches then covering the up with compost and soil.  The hugelkultur then naturally collects moisture in the old, dead wood and as it breaks down creates nutrients for the plants that are planted in the hugelkultur. The problem with classic hugelkulturs in our climate is that we have a hard time having enough natural moisture to keep it wet enough.  We are just too dry, in my opinion.  So we add in the swale.  A swale is a man made natural depression in the land that helps collect rain water.  Instead of the rain water running off it collects and soaks into the earth naturally crating pockets of fertility.  a swale can be as big or little as needed.

We combine the two.

Loads and loads of horse manure hauled down from our very gracious neighbors.

In areas where we will be planting perennial beds and trees we use the “drop dead swale” method to help create water retention and fertility to places that cant always have piles of compost added easily. In theory once the perennial plants get going they will naturally create their own fertility as long as they have enough water.

A swale filled with old wood, ready to have leaves and manure added.

To create a “drop dead swale” we first dig a nice big trench, about two feet deep.  Then we add wood.  Our property came with a lot of old, dry construction debris.  Mostly 2×4 ends that have been laying exposed for close to 15 or more years.  This stuff is dry, and perfect.  We fill the trenches about half way.
On top of the old wood we add dead leaves and then horse manure and bedding. We almost completely fill the trenches.  This adds organice matter that will increase the water storing ability of the soil and the manure adds nutrients.  These will also attract beneficial micro-organisms and worms.

A swale with wood, leaves and manure.

When the trenches are filled in there is enough dirt to leave a nice ridge on the downward slope side of the field, so as rain comes and snow melts the water wont just run off the land, it will stop and soak into the dry wood waiting for it. This will reduce the need for supplemental water during the long, hot, dry summers.

A swale being cover with a small ridge left to catch water run off.

We are furiously working on this before the snow comes, we want it ready for raspberry planting this spring.  This is long hard work, with the promise of fields of raspberries some day.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Late this season, about the end of August I decided to experiment with a late planting of lettuce.  In the past I have kept my lettuce growing to the spring then quit when it got hot and the lettuce went bitter and bolted. If you live in a place where the summers get hot and you want lettuce throughout the summer you must do close succession planting. I just never bothered.  I was only planting a garden for my family, but my first summer as a market garden had me thinking a little differently about lettuce.

I wondered if I could plant a very late crop and be successful into October. At the end of August I planted seeds into soil blocks and tended and waited. after about two and a half weeks they were set out in the garden.  They did beautifully.  I was so excited watching them, anticipating sweet little heads of lettuce those last few weeks at market. We even successfully held them over through a hard freeze that took out the rest of the garden, by erecting temporarily tunnels covered with floating row cover and a thick blanket during the nights.

I had peeked at them a few times after they had been covered and everything looked so good. I felt my experiment had been successful and we would be able to do this again next season…fresh lettuce into October without a greenhouse.

Then I uncovered them and took a real close look. I first noticed it on the dark leaves and my heart sunk.  Little white exoskeletons, little aphids. Not only had my lettuce lived through the cold nights and hard freezes, but so had the aphids, and they thrived.
My beautiful crop of specialty romaine lettuce was a complete loss. While they will feed the rabbits and chickens, which in turn will feed the soil, I wanted them for market, and they are not fit to sell at market.

As always, everything is a learning experience.  I did learn that with a little effort we can grow lettuce into October and maybe even November in the garden without a greenhouse or hoop houses.  I also learned that pests will also extended their season in the nice warm shelters I create.  Next year we will experiment with organic pest control inside our mini hoop houses.

Cover Crops-Rye Grass

Using cover crops isn’t something I have done aggressively over the years.  I would use beans and peas in rotation and we’ve planted rye and clover in some areas. This will be the first season that we are going to be using cover crops extensively. I have had many hesitations, it doesn’t seem to make much sense to plant vigorous weed-like plants in the areas I am wanting to grow vegetables. Wouldn’t I just be creating a bigger mess? Why would I plant my own weeds?  The more I read and researched organic market gardening and regenerative agriculture it became clear to me that not only are cover crops beneficial, but in my situation they are essential.

“Green-manure crops help protect against erosion, retain nutrients that might other wise be leached from the soil, suppress the germination  and growth of weeds, cycle nutrients from the lower to the upper layers of the soil, and–in the case of legumes–leave to the following crop a considerable quantity of nitrogen.  Other contributions of a green manure are improved soil structure, additional organic matter, enhanced drought tolerance, and increased nutrient availability of plants” Eliot Coleman “New Organic Grower” p.63

So I tentatively took the plunge into cover cropping at the end of this season.  I began with planting clover in the rows between the beds.  Pretty simple and safe.  Then as I’ve posted about before I planed annual rye grass in the empty beds after they had been harvested.  Yes, I planted grass.  In my garden beds. Grass.  On purpose. I even under planted my winter kale with rye grass. I would be lying if I didn’t’ admit that every time I walk out into the garden my heart leaps a little as I see the grass  coming up and then have to remind myself I did that on purpose and this is a good thing.
So what do I do in the spring when it comes to planting time with beds full of rye?  It’s actually pretty simple. The rye gets mowed before it goes to seed.  I used an annual rye grass, meaning it only lives one season.  This next spring when we are ready to prepare the beds for planting the rye will be mowed down low and lightly turned in to the soil. This will add a lot of organic matter and create humus in the soil.

“Humus, the end product of organic-matter decay in the soil, is the key to good soil structure, nutrient availability, moisture supply, and the biological vitality of the soil.” Eliot Coleman “New Organic Gardner” p.64

I am excited to learn how to work cover crops into the market garden, this next season I will be adding more varieties and playing around with under sowing, something I will talk about more later.

Producing healthy food for my neighbors, food that nourishes them at the same time protecting, building and nourishing the land is very important to me and Mike. We hope and pray we will be able to do this well and for many years to come.

Putting the Garden to Bed

About a week ago we got one of our first really cold nights.  Technically we didn’t get below freezing, but I’ve come to learn over the years that our farm is in a little micro climate that is a few degrees cooler than homes that are only six hundred or so feet west of us or a couple miles north and south. That means when the night time temperatures are predicted to be in the low 40’s we can easily flirt with freezing temperatures. We didn’t have a hard freeze that night, other wise the whole garden would be black and dead, but we did get low enough to zap some of the pumpkin vines, the cucumbers and the green beans. I am sad about the cucumbers, we could have had a few more weeks with them, but I didn’t pay close enough attention and get them covered.  The green beans were on their way out already, the generally cooler temperatures had slowed production to almost nothing.  With that being the case it was time to put that bed to sleep for the winter.  I don’t like my beds to sit empty for long, I like quick turn around to give all the time I can to preparing for the next crop. (Sorry the pictures aren’t that great, the lighting was terrible and we were working quickly to get done before dark)

You can see the tops of the bushes are yellow and dead, those leaves got cold enough it killed them, the plant underneath are still alive, but all the blossoms dropped, indicating we are done with green beans for the season.

A close up of the frost zapped plants.

The first step to preparing the bed for the winter is to mow down the plants. Unless I find evidence of disease or insect infestation I never pull plants up, they are mowed down and left to compost in place. The roots will compost under the ground, nourishing it and feeding beneficial soil bacteria.

On the farm we use a “low” till method. We don’t regularly  till the soil and if we do its very light and shallow. Tilling disrupts the soils ecosystem, which is fragile and necessary, especially with organic gardening. Instead of tiling I will lightly aerate with a broad fork, pushing it in the soil and lifting slightly, I don’t dig anything up or turn it over. This allows oxygen, water and compost to filter a little more easily down into the soil and helps combat compaction. Ideally a healthy soil ecosystem accounts for those things, but we are still working on that!

After working the bed with a broad fork we add a nice layer of organic matter. I happened to use old leaves from last year. I have used old hay and straw, it doesn’t matter so much what it is, what matters is that organic matter is getting put down. Very soon the earthworms, rolly-pollies and other insects and microorganisms will get to work on those leaves, breaking them down and leaving a nice humus layer. This will help the soil retain water, stay fluffy for oxygenation and feed next years crop.

Over all the leaves we spread between 2-3 inches of compost. This black gold is home grown Quail Run compost made from old hay and bedding from the goats and rabbits, horse manure, leaves, grass clippings, comfrey, kitchen scraps and chickens. These were all piled in the chicken yard and the chicken spend about three weeks working it over, turning it and adding their contribution. This is the best compost, so rich and healthy. I’m always amazed that a few weeks ago this looked like a pile of dirty hay and now it looks and smells like rich soil. The compost will add to the richness of the soil and also aid in breaking down the leaf layer.

Finally after mowing, going over with the broad fork, adding organic matter and compost I was ready to seed for the cover crop. Leaving a bed bare could potentially make all my hard work go to waste. Wind, freezing tempratures, heavy rain can all wash away and break down the soil layers. A cover crop keeps that all in place. A cover crop will also add to the organic matter in the bed come spring time when it is mowed and lightly tilled in, cover crops will also add certain nutrients to the soil. I am planting rye grass and winter rye, both will germinate and grow until everything freezes soil for several days, it will then stay dormant until the early spring and then pick right back up, it will be ready for mowing just before planting time. I finished raking the compost and sowing the cover crop by head lamp.

Here is the bed a day or two later. Now the fun part: watching for little rye sprouts!

 

Cover Crops


Using cover crops is an important part of regenerative agriculture, permaculture and organic gardening. Winter rye is an excellent cover crop this time of year, it loves the cold and will contunie to grow, even when temperatures reach below freezing. Its growth slows down considerably when the days get shorter, and goes into a hibernation mode, then picks right back up as the spring days get longer and warmer, completing its life cycle in time for market crops to be planted.

Rye has several advantages beyond its ability to grow in the cool fall and spring weather.  It creates considerable biomass, I always love the biomass, and mowed in the spring acts as a mulch, keeping in moisture and making it harder for weed seeds to germinate. Once the rye is mowed down the roots will start to decompose adding organic matter and nutrients right into the soil, where it is needed.  Rye can bind nitrogen, making it harder for market crops to access, but adding a legume with the rye helps that.  This year we aren’t set up to add clover or vetch, instead we will add blood meal or fish emulsion come spring to help with nitrogen deficiency, we will also sow clover this spring.

Rye can easily take over other, small seeded plants when planted at the same time.  This is one advantage to starting seeds separately. The kale shown at the top was planted before the carrots were harvested, able to grown nice and big and then given a week in the ground before the rye was planted.  That gave the kale three weeks head start before the rye needed to be sown and we didn’t have to rush the carrots. The kale will have no problem growing among the rye, where as if they had started as seeds at the same time the rye would have quickly over taken the smaller and slower rye.

Gathering Seeds

A few years ago I bought carrots seeds and the strangest thing happened.  Instead of producing an edible root (well it may have been edible, but they certainly weren’t palatable) they went right to flower.  This is strange, in that clearly I didn’t get the correct seed and typically plants in the carrot family are biannual and flower on their second year.  It was a lovely mistake and I had a whole 50×4 foot row of beautiful Queen Ann’s Lace type flowers.  I soon discovered that they were even better than beautiful, the bugs LOVED them.  I had so many different types of pollinators that year that I decided they would always have a place in my garden. This has been quite easy in that they readily reseed themselves. In a permaculture garden it is very important to have plants that attract  pollinators, the term is usually coined “pollinator strips”.  We are preparing some new markets gardens from virgin land and will be adding perennial rows with bushes a few trees and flowers galore to attract pollinators. It is very easy to gather seeds from these flowers.  As the flowers mature and the seeds ripen the heads curl inward, almost making a cup, I just clip off the head and drop it into a paper sack for safe keeping over the winter.  This spring when its time to get our strips, or beds, of perennial plants ready those seeds will find a new home.

Late Kale

The kale bed after being gone over with a fork to carefully loosen the soil without turning it over

This bed had rainbow carrots growing in it this summer. Root vegetables take a lot out of the soil. They are great for aeration  and breaking up hard soils, allowing compost and nutrients to get down deep once the roots are harvested. It is always important to follow root crops with other crops that help build the soil. According to my gardening guru, Eliot Coleman, any plant in the brassica family is a very good follower of any root crop. Some of the plants in the brassica family include cabbage, broccoli, and kale, to name a few. I like to use Kale this time of the year, the season is a little too short for broccoli, cabbage or kohlrabi, but kale is a shorter season plant that loves the cold.

A handful of soil with a lot of organic matter and biodiversity, this is how to build healthy soil.

Another thing I love about kale as a succession plant is that is produces a lot of bio mass. Kale gets big and leafy and when it dies down or we choose to chop and drop it there is a lot of matter that will compost in place further enriching the bed it was planted in.
The little kale I had written about earlier are now big enough to go out into the garden. I prepared the bed, not with tilling, but using a fork I gently aerated, just lifting the fork a little, but not turning over the soil.  The less disturbed it is the better for the soil health.  I also added a nice layer or compost and gently raked it in.
The seedlings were spaced evenly and planted with great care.  I’m hoping to have some winter vegetables to add to the soup pot and perhaps have some to  sell at market.

Kale

No matter your feelings about kale, you have to admit this stuff is cute when it is little.  This baby kale is about a week away from planting in the garden.  It is a little late for a fall harvest, we might get some, as kale is very cold hardy, but I’m not expecting much. Mostly I am using it as a cover crop in my rotation.  The bed this is going into had beets, and beets can be rather hard on the soil, they take a lot out of it.  Kale on the other hand is a bit more gentle and adds a lot of biomass at the end of its life.  I can also easily sow micro clover around the kale once it is established to fix nitrogen, keeps weeds down and add biomass as well. Cover crops are not something I have utilized much, but I plan on learning more and making them an integral  part of our farming system.

Chickens

Chickens have a very important roll here on the farm. One of the first purchases we made when we moved here was a bunch of baby chicks shipped in when they were a day old, soon we had a big chicken coop up and our relationship with chickens on the farm began. We had kept chickens at our old house, but this was going to be different.  Before we only kept 10 or 12 chicken and they were housed in a small coop with a tiny yard and fed kitchen scraps and basic chicken feed. Here we had 30+ chickens, they had free access to the entire five acres, we did still feel them kitchen scraps and chicken feed, but they were also eating bugs, weeds and grass.

This year has been what I like to call a “building year”. Chickens are at the peak of their production when they are one and two years old and then fade off a different rates depending on the breed, feed and how the winters are managed. To keep up egg production, without a period of lag, new chickens need to be added to the flock yearly or at least every other year and the old hens culled out. After the first few years we had gotten off track and this past fall our girls were tired and old, some hens had just finished their fourth summer, it was time for retirement, to the stew pot. We kept about five hens and a rooster, the rooster had been hatched and raised here on the farm and so had a couple of the hens and then there were a few favorites that got to stay. It was nice to only care for six chickens over the winter, but I did miss fresh eggs, especially as I bought boxes of eggs from Costco.

This spring we started the flock over fresh with a new bunch of little pullets and recently they began to lay eggs.  New pullet eggs are small and cute and I just love them.  The plan is that next summer we will have enough to start selling them again.

Not only do chicken provide eggs and a little bit of income from eggs, they are little workers. They can clear a plot of land from weeds in an afternoon and turn a pile of manure, straw and pine shavings into usable compost in a couple weeks. Tomorrow I will manually turn the compost pile they have been currently working on and I anticipate it will be ready to be moved and covered with a tarp while it waits to be used and a new pile started. Our little flock is valuable part of our quest to build fertility and practice regenerative agriculture.