No Till Gardening, by Kira

 

 

 

 

All of our gardens over the past 5 years have been built hugelkultur style. Hugelkultur is a raised bed garden filled with logs, sticks, compost, and other organic materials; much the way a forest floor works.

I no longer till any of my gardens.

I rarely weed, and seldom need to water.

I mulch heavily in the fall and spring with leaves, compost, straw, or anything organic that will break down.

Once my planting is done I will mulch once or twice in the summer.

This supplies the soil with lots of nutrients and holds moisture longer so I rarely need to water.

The mulch covering also keeps weeds at bay.

This link illustrates Ruth Stout's method for no till gardening.

 

 

 

Paisley Frost & Minty Winter Tea, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the rain turning to snow, we have found ourselves spending more time outdoors.

The once familiar forest behind our home has turned into a magical white land,

fresh and new to explore.

With cold runny noses and rosy red cheeks we have been poking around the woods, looking for tracks and checking out snow flakes.

Not far, there is a favourite big rock with mounds of green moss,

frozen into perfect form.

Fern loves how Jack Frost paints white paisley frost across the black ice on the creek.

Our winter walks have been followed by a hot tea in front of the woodstove; either a cup of chaga with maple syrup or a fresh minty tea from our garden.

The bees love our summer tea garden as much as we do.

There is calendula, peppermint, spearmint, catnip, bee balm, oregano, chamomile, sage, and lavender, each blossoming throughout the summer and harvested in the fall.

I hung and dried the herbs in the kitchen, then packed them into jars for the Winter.

They are great for adding to baths, infused oils, and of course, tea.

For our Minty Winter Tea:

6 cups water

Two calendula heads

One tablespoon catnip

One tablespoon bee balm

One teaspoon chamomile

Two tablespoons peppermint

Raw honey to taste

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and let cool slightly.

Add the herbs to the water and let stand for about five minutes.

Strain the tea into cups and sweeten with a little raw honey.

This is best enjoyed after a cool Winter walk,

or with a good book and a cozy blanket.

 

Saving Asparagus Seed, by Kira

 

 

This past spring the kids and I foraged asparagus from the forest.

There is an abundance back there but becomes hard to search for it once the black flies come into full swing.

We did, however, pick enough for a couple meals.

 

 

 

Heading out this fall and seeing all the asparagus fern got me thinking;

I should plant my own asparagus garden, close to home.

 

 

 

The kids and I found this beautiful female asparagus fern that was covered in bright red berries.

We cut it off and brought it home with us, all the while discussing where this new garden would go.

 

 

When saving asparagus, pick them when the fruit is red, usually in late fall.

You will find them on tall female asparagus ferns.

I have read that the male plants are the thicker meatier plant, while the female is thinner and woodier, making the male more palatable.

 

 

Squeeze the black seeds out the berry.

You usually get one to five seeds out of one berry.

 

 

For storage, place the seeds into a kitchen strainer and rinse in cool water.

They wash easily.

Lay them out on a towel to dry, leaving space between the seeds for air flow.

Once they have dried, place them in a sealed container.

 

I have read from a couple different sources that the seeds need to go into the freezer for stratification before planting in early spring.

This means simulating winter conditions to aid spring germination.

You can keep the seeds in the freezer for the winter or place them in the freezer 6 to 8 weeks before starting your seeds.

 

Start the asparagus in pots or containers and plant them when they are a year old in early spring or late fall.

This helps protect the plant during it's most vulnerable stages.

When spring nears I will share the process of preparing the seeds and asparagus beds.

 

 

 

 

 

In the Morning Light, by Kira

 

 

 

 

Early morning sun.

 

 

 

Tomatoes starting to ripen.

 

 

 

Beta Grapes.

 

 

 

Lush meadow.

 

 

Collection of calendula and chamomile for drying.

The beautiful bowl is made by Homestead Pottery.

 

 

 

Heritage blue corn.

 

 

 

Gold Laced Wyandottes.

 

 

 

Dew on Bouquet Dill.

 

 

 

Little Cucamelons.

 

 

 

Beautiful Strawberry Blonde Calendula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rusty- patched Bumble Bee. By Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the tri-coloured bumble bee, which can be mistaken for the rusty-patch bumble bee.

The tri-colour bee has two bands of rust as opposed to the single band of the endangered rusty-patch bumble bee.

 

A few months ago I went to a bee seminar hosted by Sue Chan.

Before going to this talk, I was certain about getting honey bees.

After Sue's presentation I changed my mind, or at least I decided to put our own honey bee plans on hold.

I feel that I need to learn more and help out our native pollinators.

They do so much for us and yet their numbers are dwindling just like the domesticated honey bee.

While in the gardens this summer, the kids and I have been more aware and curious.

Who are these pollinators?

Where do they live?

How do they live?

What flowers do they favour.

The suspected causes of decline are essentially the same as the domestic honey bee.

Climate change, the use of pesticides, habitat loss, and disease.

Here are some of the things that we have done and will be doing for our native pollinators.

1. Plant fruit trees and bushes.

This doesn't just benefit the bees, but you and your family as well!

I find the bees love flowering herbs, dill, borage, oregano, lemon balm,

just to name a few.

2. Plant a wide variety of flowering plants that bloom throughout the

growing season.

Be sure to include early bloomers, there seems to be a loss of early- blooming species.

3. Learn about who is pollinating your gardens.

Learning more will help you understand them and their needs.

If you want to follow the Rusty-patch bumble bee project you can find them on Facebook.

Get out there and see who is pollinating your garden!

 

 

 

(Editor's note: The photos in this post were taken by Kira in our garden.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fall Garden & Early Morning Photo Shoot, By Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Auren and Fern gone on adventures with grandparents today,

Meer and I set out early to do chores and plant a small Fall garden.

It was cool. The sun was just hitting the trees above us.

Everything was still covered in a heavy wet dew.

We headed out the door, each of us with camera in hand and seeds in our pockets.

After letting out all of the birds then feeding and watering them,

we walked around the yard talking about dew and clouds.

After snapping some pictures, we made our way to the back of the barn.

This is where we planted our small garden.

We planted mixed greens, radishes and peas.

This is my first go at planting a late garden.

I have always wanted to plant a second crop but I've never quite managed to.

Having fresh Autumn peas would be nice.

Even though I didn't do much research into Fall planting times,

I did choose plants that could handle a frost; something to keep in mind when planting late.

There has been frost here as early as the beginning of September!

After Meer and I finished planting, we went back inside to check out our pictures,

and have a snack.

 

 

 

 

Thankful. by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was snake catching, water play, and fort building followed by snacks from the garden.

This was how the kids spent most of their day.

When the kids were occupied, I worked on the gardens.

We're starting to prep some pasture and gardens for next year.

Although it seems that everything had a late start,

my gardens are starting to thrive.

Most plants are in bloom and starting to fruit.

The pollinators were busy buzzing from flower to flower.

The sun was hot and the breeze was cool; prefect for being outdoors.

There was talk and thought of next year's projects, pasture, animals, and gardens.

There was rhythm to our day as we worked, played, and rested together.

For days like this, I'm thankful.

 

 

 

 

 

Lady's Thumb has taken over, by Kira

 

 

This plant is called Lady's Thumb.

It is from the Polygonaceae (Smartweed or Knotweed) family.

It is an annual and only spreads by seed.

Lady's Thumb can reach up to 1 metre high.

It's leaves are narrow with a brown or black spot on each leaf.

The flowers vary from white, pink to red and flower early summer into fall.

It will grow in any soil types, but will thrive in moist areas around and near ponds. One more interesting fact; this plant can produce up to 3000 seeds per plant. Yikes!

 

 

 

This past spring we decided we would plant our vegetables on last year's pig pasture. The ground was already cleared and fertilized thanks to the pigs.

In late Spring, Andrew ploughed the land to flatten it out so I could plant.

In this particular garden I planted beans, squashes, corn, onions, peppers, and basil.

At the same time that my seeds started to sprout and the started plants I put into the ground started to take root, another plant started to sprout and grow.

Before I knew it, this plant was choking out my seedling and crowding out my started plants.

Lady's Thumb.

 

 

 

I'm not much of a weeder to begin with.

I usually leave the weeds until they reach a fairly large size then cut them down leaving them where they lie and covering the whole bit with straw. This method has worked well for me in the past. Not with this weed I'm afraid. There is way to much of it to pull out by hand and it is nearly impossible to cover it all with straw. I tried covering a small area with straw and had no luck.

The plant just pushed its way to the surface.

 

 

 

But this weed has not defeated me!

Yes I have some of my squash plants and replanted in other areas,

but I have plans for this area.

We will grow a small pasture.

Within the next couple of weeks we will disturb the soil again and plant it with grasses and legumes, preparing the land for next year.

Not another chicken pasture either!

This will be for something or things a little bigger. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scape & Cashew Pesto, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

70 small garlic scapes chopped

775g raw, lightly toasted cashews

420g asiago cheese, grated

25g sea salt

24 oz of extra virgin olive oil

I made this pesto using a 16 cup Food processor.

Add cheese and cashews to the food processor. Process until all pieces are small and well blended.Empty into a large bowl.

Place the garlic scapes and salt into the processor next. Start processing and while the machine is running slowly add the olive oil. Once this is well blended add the scape mixture into the bowl with the cashew mixture.

Turn and stir until the pesto has come together.

I portioned the pesto out into 200g and froze in individual containers.

This pesto makes a great pizza base. It's tasty spread on fresh bread or in a

pasta, tomato dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Abundance of Berries, by Kira

 

 

 

 

The blueberry bushes we planted a few years ago are starting to produce.

 

 

 

 

Black, red, and white currents are planted up on the fruit hill and all six bushes are thriving!

 

 

 

 

Wild gooseberries.

 

 

 

 

One of the best years ever for wild strawberries.

 

 

 

 

If all of our wild blackberries do well, we will have tons to eat fresh and to freeze for winter.

 

 

 

 

Thimbleberries, they have a beautiful, mildly fragrant flower. A sweet and tart large berry that is very seedy but so yummy!