Yep, toto, we are no longer in Alabama! Brrrr

Early garden in regrowth stage

Well developed wisteria pergola and view of mature bushes masking noise energy

Mother’s Day also provided the opportunity to see my sister and nephew at their home in Seattle. They have been battling some drainage issues at their home where an uphill spring is creating foundation concerns for their first floor/basement. They had spent significant time and energy digging a french drain perpendicular to the water flow in an attempt to route it away from the foundation. A lesson learned by her husband was that by applying some permaculture techniques (“the problem is the solution”), he can make swales and take advantage of the water flow to grow a garden with a flowing pond. With an average water bill of around $300 per month, this valuable resource has the potential to be slowed and used.

The pigs in the pen at the background were recently moved off the land the Cliff is standing on. Good working pigs!  They are growing Osage Orange as a high BTU kindling/firewood on the property

The lush greenery surrounding the property was amazing!  They are using pigs, chickens, geese and ducks to move nutrients around the property and to prepare the soil for planting.

The pigs started their work on the far left area as their pen was shifted to the right.

Besides the great use of pigs, the team is making great us of chickens to help create food, and fertilizer.  Using 18 inches of hay as deep mulch bedding, they are creating awesome mulch for their nearby garden.

Here is the coop area based on 5 square foot of space per bird.

The coop is situated to support both the garden (directly behind the coop) and the greenhouse in the background.  The small gate in the foreground allows the birds to forage in the forest garden area off to the right in the photo  (at right).

Approaching the coop- forage crops including comfrey surround the garden                         

The greenhouse was a great example of stacking functions.  It houses vermiculture  (worm bins) beneath the floor, water barrels to house hyacinth for future transplant to their ponds (that also serve as heat sinks to keep the greenhouse warm in winter), and areas inside to build soil cubes for the budding (pardon the pun) plant sales.

Outside of the main entrance showing some of the many plants that grew from seeds inside the house.

Inside with worm bins beneath the walkway 

Happy plants with worms just underneath the wood sheet in foreground

Healthy plants stacking up inside the greenhouse              

The before… Empty

We made a successful return from Columbia retrieving my youngest daughter’s “stuff”. She is now a Junior after a successful semester above 3.8.

A fully loaded truck; Minion barely made it.

I was mentioning to my wife that on the day I left to join the Army ALL my worldly possessions fit in a ruck sack and duffle bag in the back of my 1986 Honda. The load we moved this weekend was amazing it FILLED the back of my truck bed! Don’t believe me?  See the evidence…

Oh yeah, the microwave had to be packed in the trunk of her car; almost left school without it!

The farm workers were out in force this weekend.  We took a trip to the local landfill and brought home 1000 lbs. of mulch in the trailer.  Price?  $4.  What we discovered is that the price reflected the quality.  We ended up sifting through alot of trash in the mulch but the end result was worth the investment. We used it to fill in the gaps between the raised beds and to help shore up the Very moist areas aound the berry plants.  We tried a variety of irrigation systems that included a drip system for the corn and a bottle system for the orchard.  Lesson learned?  We will stick with the hose and nozzle.  The problem was that the bottle did not hold enough water for the trees (max 2 liters per bottle atop the irrigation stick), and the drip system worked too slowly.  We also pruned several trees using an extension electric chain saw and began chipping some of the excess branches and limbs removed earlier this year.  The pile of branches is decreasing and the pile of mulch/compost is increasing.  This was one of the best examples of  returning surplus back to the land.  We also acquired a pressure washer that the VP used to take off years of dirt, algae, grime and guck from the brick patio.  The 40 year old patio looks brand new!  The pine pollen has been out in force creating a yellowish-green film on everything.  This morning we have had about a half inch rain which filled the tote up to full capacity. The rain should take the pollen out of the trees and help clean up the homestead.  After much deliberation, the Founder agreed to the VPs demand to apply some fertilizer to the front lawn.  In preparation, we mowed the lawn to even out some of the tall grass/weeds.  After reading the weed and feed instructions, we will need to postpone application until 48 hours AFTER the rain.