At some point we need to wade out into the snow with a measuring tape and actually figure this out – draw out a good map before we go after it with spade, shovel and machete.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
3 new in-ground beds .
3 new raised beds (the kits are in my garage, just have to get my wife to assemble).
A climbing rose arch outside the backyard gate for maximum secret garden energy.
Then the bigger project: a bird-centric food forest with two small vernal-style water caches. I want to start building in perennials like Comfrey, Mint, Malabar spinach, Sorrel, and Jerusalem artichoke. Things that can handle ducks, spread a little, and feed both us and the soil.
We also need to get the chicken and quail tractors going again to tamp down the invasive Oriental bittersweet in the center of the yard. It forms this thick, choking mat and climbs trees until they collapse under the weight. The chickens made real progress on the edges last summer. This year I want to fence them into it during the day and let them gnaw it down to dirt. Free chicken food AND weed control, what could be better?
I ordered bulk seeds of some cover crops that will do double, triple duty of feeding the birds, building soil and killing the lawn. The cottage is basically perched on a slab of granite. In most places we have maybe three inches of actual soil before you hit rock.
Here’s what’s coming:
- Austrian winter pea for nitrogen and soft biomass
- Crimson clover because it fixes nitrogen and looks like a medieval tapestry
- Buckwheat to break up soil and feed pollinators fast
- Barley for root mass and structure
- Amaranth for biomass, seed, and dramatic height
- An edible flower mix for the vibes
Granite underneath. Green above. And somewhere in between, a little more soil than we had last year.
Other goals this year:
• 500 lbs of food from the land
• Fix up the barn so the birds can winter over in there
• Stretch goal: greenhouse
More to come once we actually measure everything instead of just staring at it through the back door.
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