2018 Spring Planting and getting ready

Here in zone 6 there isn't much I can do outside but I've been planning for Spring.  

This year my main food forest goal is to flesh out the polycultures with different varieties and to plant nut and fruit varieties I don't have.  I'm not going to expand until the area I have sheet mulched is rocking.

What I learned this year.  The main thing I learned is don't get too spread out, focus on a manageable area and get it densely planted before expanding.  I will be re-mulching stuff I already did due to grass encroachment.   Also I will start planting grains grasses etc that I can use like a hay mulch to compliment or replace spreading more chips.  The wood chips are awesome but difficult to keep up with.  I finally have some stuff growing so I can start prapogating things like hazelnut, raspberries, mulberries, blackberres, goji berries and etc.

I will put a list of plants I have ordered as bare root or seeds. Let me know what you have planned!   Major projects or goals in the garden?

Bare Root:  Hansen's Bush Cherry, Carmine Jewel Bush Cherry, Purple Robe Locust, Black Tartarian Cherry Standard, Stella Sweet Cherry semi-dwarf,Hall's Hardy Almond, Adams Elderberry, John's Elderberry, Double gold raspberry (double bearing), Joan J Primocane Raspberry,  

Seeds:  Nasturtium, Marshmallow, Calendula, Yarrow, Echinacea, Red Aztec Spinach, Borage, Valerian, Mint Mix, Hyssop Korean, alpine strawberries, vetch

Vegetable Seeds:  A work in progress.

I've been preparing as well, can't wait, on this side of the great water, winter hasn't been very severe at all, very rainy,dark and grey. Can't wait for the sun to get strong again. I spotted cranes flying north today and a week ago i heard them high up in the sky somewhere, so it's getting there.

I agree with concentrating on not spreading out too much, although i like to put a mildly agressive sort of ground cover in future places/patches and just protect them against grasses by fencing them of with some natural stones, whatever it is i've planted, it will flower at some point, attracting more insects, which attract birds which leave droppings, which make other stuff grow. And by the time i get to use that spot for food i use the ground cover on some other future patch. Bugleweed is shade tolerant or something like asters , small geraniums, and i got places where the small not seeding comfrey is mining, it takes some perseverance to get rid of though. It took me a year where it started to grow into the limejoints of a neighbouring house(!), oops. Luckily i didn't have the seeding kind.

You want to mulch with hay, or straw? I did grass clippings one seasons, sucked out all the nitrogen and seeds abound, that was a silly thing to do. Gave up on that kind of mulching and do more what you say fill it up with edibles. That Aztek spinach is a great one ,is that a family of chenopodium? I mean i got chenopodium a red one, and when you don't bother about collecting all the seeds, it will keep sprouting for two month it did. I just harvest it small while harvesting/weeding my patches, leave a few promising ones. Corn salad is another ground cover i keep, been harvesting all winter, time consuming to clean. Another one is this amaranth, prolific seeder, less nice in salad, but great as a spinach, i got miner lettuce to try this year and a red veined sorrel.

I didn't know about cherry bushes you're gonna grow, is looking lush.

I have to trim back one of our brown turkey figs which will create about 15 new trees this year.
I'm also going to be air layering some mulberry tree branches to be planted this fall.
2 or 3 new garden beds are going in, a permanent strawberry patch, an asparagus bed is in the plans too.

Other than those projects I have two new silvo pastures in the works already, just have to wait till time to seed.

Redhawk

Zone 8a. Ive been busy. Fyi, established asparagus came up yesterday!

I started 2 new asparagus beds,  planted a potato bed, planted 4 pawpaw trees. Relocated 4 blackberry suckers to new location. Lettuce is coming up. Cabbage is growing. Peas are planted.

Sheep had a baby. Using hay as bedding and using the spoiled hay to mulch cabbage, asparagus, blackberries, trees.

Started tomato and peppers from seed.

Im running out of time to plant more trees. Goal is 12 per year. Will make trip to womack soon for pecans, pear, mulberry and jujube.

Cow had a baby 2 days ago.

Been hatching chickens slowly. I just have 1 hen 1 rooster.  I have 3 chicks and 2 more in the incubator.

I Will be hatching turkeys when they lay.  I plan to raise meat for personal consumption and release a few into wild.

Biggest change this year is a fence in my garden too keep out deer, horses, chickens. Last year was a failure to keep them out.

Im picking up bees may 12.

Zone 8a, this last week we had low temps in the 20' though the week before it got up to the 70's.

My purchase for 2018: Egyptian Walking Onions; Carmine King California Poppy, Red Corn Poppy and Scarlet Flax seeds.  I may get some calendula or nasturtiums if the dollar store has any seeds.

Last October, I put out lots of wildflower seeds.  I hope to have some of them sprout.  I also planted the seeds from almost a whole Antelope Horn Milkweed seed pod.  I am hoping for at least one plant.

Our bluebonnet bed has plants but not as many as previous years.  

Since my disappointment in the firewheels last year I hope the plants that came up over winter and the ones yet to sprout will not get that ailment, what ever it was.

Zone 6a in Northern Kentucky.

Right now I just have some eygptian waking onions, garlic and multiplier onions growing in the garden proper, and lots of random perennials coming up in the other beds.

Last year I put in 12 hazelnut, 12 sugar sweet cherries, 4 aronia, 4 dwarf flowering cherries, and 4 Saskatoon service berries around the perimeter of the front yard as a hedge to protect the garden from deer and hopefully the neighbors dogs. None of my hazels took so I will try replanting this year. The rest are full of buds and looking really good.

I plan on ordering a methley and santa rosa standard plum, a Manchurian and a Moorpark apricot, a Stanley and damson dwarf plum, a dwarf nectarine, add a red Haven and Elberta dwarf peach as a start of the first garden to take up the space between the driveway and garden terraces. Also plan on getting 3 pixwell gooseberries, a consort black currant, and a perfection red currant to plant with the red lake currant and alghenny service Berry I planted in the first terrace.

The big project this year will be eliminating the rest of the grass, mulch and start filling the spaces in-between flowers, herbs and edibles.

I got a new tool, a 6 inch grub hoe, I have been using it heavily to tidy up the terraces for spring planting.

In the backyard, I plan on building a new trellis to support my kiwis and passion fruits before they really take off. And I'm using my green house frame to make a shade house for summer lounging and a few shade loving plants.

Looks great Daniel!  Keep us posted.  I'd especially like to see that trellis when it's done.

Regards, Scott

Is that a Sweat Lodge frame I see in the last photo?

Yes it is, I have been doing sweats for about 6 years now, recently started pouring my own when I finished my lodge. I'm not a trained shaman but I try to make it accessable to people I meet and perform my ceremonies with positive thoughtful intentions.

I worked hard on that area, it is a very important aspect of my life and continues to teach me many lessons. I try to share that with others so they can experience a different way to pray, connect and find a stillness within themselves.

I collected the stones from the creek I played in growing up. And built the lodge of Willow. Here is a better angle.

I ment to post this photo.

Excellent build and I want to give you kudos on sharing it with others.

Love the other works you have done too.  It is rare to find someone outside of the tribes that has taken the time to do a proper sweat lodge.

Redhawk

I love your whole garden set up.  

I also am impressed that you took the time to properly build a sweat lodge, including the rock heating fire pit outside, and the willow branches for the framework.
It is wonderful that you are willing to share this with others so they can be introduced to the benefits of the sweat.

Redhawk

 added simply because I am so impressed with the entire setup you have done.

Nice to see others are raring to go :)

I probably won't be able to do any digging until mid April. January-March was mostly just using some spare time learning more details about shrubs/trees I interact with in my area.

The only planting I've started was peppers inside in January, then did some more in February. Usually our season is just too short for them to fully develop, so I figured I'd give a solid attempt this time. Started with 1000 or seedlings and now I'm left with the 50 best ones about 8 inches high already. Got about 10 different perennial herbs started aswell.

I'm going to get some currant cuttings from a neighbour's bush this weekend since I forgot to do that the year before. Once April comes, I'll start doing some beds of basic cold-weather veggies.

Ordered some Sunchokes and heritage potatoes. Potatoes will go into a hugel I built last year and the Sunchokes I'm going to try in a pasture that's really lacking in biomass.

Hugo Morvan wrote:You want to mulch with hay, or straw? I did grass clippings one seasons, sucked out all the nitrogen and seeds abound, that was a silly thing to do. Gave up on that kind of mulching and do more what you say fill it up with edibles.

I've never tried hay before, but straw would be the most ideal I'd imagine. I did about 8 inches of grass mulch last summer to cover-up areas of my lawn and the top was dried within a week while the bottom 75% was still green. I started to flip it once a week until it was fully dried, then left it. I can't say how much it helped reduce Nitrogen issues, but I did establish a few seaberries/dogwoods/gooseberries in the same year using that mulch. I am going to try direct seeding some pumpkins this year into the mulch, so we'll see how it goes.

Thank you, Redhawk. I feel the sweat lodge deserves allot of respect, and I have seen ego twist what it should be. It's not just about getting hot, it is about coming together, sharing a experience, and putting vibrations back out into the universe in a positive fashion. I can really turn up the heat with some people, but I have seen to many people ran out of lodge on their first time and​ scared to try it again, so I try to feel how everyone is handling it and make sure I don't take people too far to fast and scare them away from the experience.

I'm excited to see what everyone else has to share about their plans for the year.

I will get some pictures and descriptions of the other beds I have planted and the guilds I'm working on. Make sure everyone gets updated with the projects, I have gotten some good ideas from the people here. I hope I can inspire someone with my projects.

I wanted to be grass free within 3 years, this is year three and I'll make it with the front yard. Back yard might take another year or so, it's hard working around the septic lines but I was thinking of putting in raised beds over them to keep the roots out of the water table. And the wife wants some grass for the boys to play in so I'll have to sacrifice a bit of space for them.

Well I went to look at the veg patch and would you believe it someone has stolen the 6 inches of leaves I put down last september :-)  Not sure who but there seem to be   plenty of worms :-) So I sowed some parsnip , beetroot, carrots and some salads ; Plus I sowed some tomatoes last week in my new propagator and they are coming thorough already FROM SEED I SAVED MYSELF :-) :-) :-)  Go ME!!!

David

I am absolutely going to do a hoop house this spring.  It's just a no-brainer here.  I have seed trays all over the place. Some of the seeds are getting good light and some of them are only getting window light so they are super leggy.   I really have nowhere to put this stuff unless it warms up.  If I did cold frames in a hoop house I'd have space and a place to hang out and fiddle.

I just did my first cold frame planting with spinach and cosmic purple carrots.  It makes me really nervous to sow seeds when there is snow on the ground.    I went way overboard on tomato seeds LOL.  Pretty much went overboard on everything I seeded.  I hope it warms up soon.

I started to get mold in all of my seed trays so I sprinkled cinnamon all over the beds.  It worked like a charm.  I also put some cinnamon in a spray bottle so I can do a little overhead watering on the dry stuff.  This also worked great.  

Some other things I learned.  Apple seeds sprout really easy!  I tried to sprout 15 seeds and all of them sprouted I put them in double solo cups.   Nasturtiums should probably be started in the ground they reached 8" in three weeks so I had to pot them.  I expected Alpine strawberries to be difficult but as long as the seeds have light and stay moist they aren't that hard to sprout.

David Livingston wrote:Well I went to look at the veg patch and would you believe it someone has stolen the 6 inches of leaves I put down last september :-)  Not sure who but there seem to be   plenty of worms :-) So I sowed some parsnip , beetroot, carrots and some salads ; Plus I sowed some tomatoes last week in my new propagator and they are coming thorough already FROM SEED I SAVED MYSELF :-) :-) :-)  Go ME!!!

David

Great job David! Leaves must be like gold in the high desert.  Pretty low to steal a man's leaves.

You inspired me to save some seeds.  I have enough carnation and edamame seeds to last a lifetime.  I haven't done tomatoes yet but this year I'm planting some heirlooms so hopefully, I will get some seeds.  Have a lot of Nasturtium, calendula, and herbs so I'd like to get some seeds from them too and expand the beneficials.

wayne fajkus wrote:Zone 8a. Ive been busy. Fyi, established asparagus came up yesterday!

I started 2 new asparagus beds,  planted a potato bed, planted 4 pawpaw trees. Relocated 4 blackberry suckers to new location. Lettuce is coming up. Cabbage is growing. Peas are planted.

Sheep had a baby. Using hay as bedding and using the spoiled hay to mulch cabbage, asparagus, blackberries, trees.

Started tomato and peppers from seed.

Im running out of time to plant more trees. Goal is 12 per year. Will make trip to womack soon for pecans, pear, mulberry and jujube.

Cow had a baby 2 days ago.

Been hatching chickens slowly. I just have 1 hen 1 rooster.  I have 3 chicks and 2 more in the incubator.

I Will be hatching turkeys when they lay.  I plan to raise meat for personal consumption and release a few into wild.

Biggest change this year is a fence in my garden too keep out deer, horses, chickens. Last year was a failure to keep them out.

Im picking up bees may 12.

You sir are kicking arse!  Amazing how much you have gotten done.     I want bees, someday.  I think I will wait until the forest is a little more mature.  I make mead and I'd like to be using my own honey!  

Hugo Morvan wrote:I've been preparing as well, can't wait, on this side of the great water, winter hasn't been very severe at all, very rainy,dark and grey. Can't wait for the sun to get strong again. I spotted cranes flying north today and a week ago i heard them high up in the sky somewhere, so it's getting there.

I agree with concentrating on not spreading out too much, although i like to put a mildly agressive sort of ground cover in future places/patches and just protect them against grasses by fencing them of with some natural stones, whatever it is i've planted, it will flower at some point, attracting more insects, which attract birds which leave droppings, which make other stuff grow. And by the time i get to use that spot for food i use the ground cover on some other future patch. Bugleweed is shade tolerant or something like asters , small geraniums, and i got places where the small not seeding comfrey is mining, it takes some perseverance to get rid of though. It took me a year where it started to grow into the limejoints of a neighbouring house(!), oops. Luckily i didn't have the seeding kind.

You want to mulch with hay, or straw? I did grass clippings one seasons, sucked out all the nitrogen and seeds abound, that was a silly thing to do. Gave up on that kind of mulching and do more what you say fill it up with edibles. That Aztek spinach is a great one ,is that a family of chenopodium? I mean i got chenopodium a red one, and when you don't bother about collecting all the seeds, it will keep sprouting for two month it did. I just harvest it small while harvesting/weeding my patches, leave a few promising ones. Corn salad is another ground cover i keep, been harvesting all winter, time consuming to clean. Another one is this amaranth, prolific seeder, less nice in salad, but great as a spinach, i got miner lettuce to try this year and a red veined sorrel.

I didn't know about cherry bushes you're gonna grow, is looking lush.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you Hugo!  Sounds like you have a plan for sure.   I just planted some stuff in a cold frame and I have started seed trays.  Will definitely be doing a hoop house with some cold frames inside.   It's tough to start a bunch of seeds in the house unless you have quite a few grow lights.  The windows just aren't cutting it.   I was looking at Amaranth but decided on the Aztek Spinach.  I would like to add amaranth though. I planted the Red Aztec Spinach (Huauzontle Chenopodium berlandiera)  It's a relative of lamb's quarters and Quinoa.  I purchased it from Baker Creek Seeds.   I planned on using Alpine Strawberries as a ground cover and they sprouted well so hopefully, they will work out.   I have planted comfrey with just about every tree but I have lots of space and really nothing for it to interfere with.  If was planting in a courtyard scenario I can see it being a problem.   I propagate comfrey it with pieces of root that are an inch long and it just explodes, it's possibly an alien.             I've been wanting to try sorrel but haven't yet.  I planted sorrel last year on a new hugel (along with many other things) and either a skunk or a racoon likes to eat everything to the ground.  Some critter really liked yellow squash.  They were just about ready to pick and they were all half eaten.  I don't mind though...hopefully I will get the forest where there is so much food that everybody eats.

Jarret Hynd wrote:Nice to see others are raring to go :)

I probably won't be able to do any digging until mid April. January-March was mostly just using some spare time learning more details about shrubs/trees I interact with in my area.

The only planting I've started was peppers inside in January, then did some more in February. Usually our season is just too short for them to fully develop, so I figured I'd give a solid attempt this time. Started with 1000 or seedlings and now I'm left with the 50 best ones about 8 inches high already. Got about 10 different perennial herbs started aswell.

I'm going to get some currant cuttings from a neighbour's bush this weekend since I forgot to do that the year before. Once April comes, I'll start doing some beds of basic cold-weather veggies.

Ordered some Sunchokes and heritage potatoes. Potatoes will go into a hugel I built last year and the Sunchokes I'm going to try in a pasture that's really lacking in biomass.

Hugo Morvan wrote:You want to mulch with hay, or straw? I did grass clippings one seasons, sucked out all the nitrogen and seeds abound, that was a silly thing to do. Gave up on that kind of mulching and do more what you say fill it up with edibles.

I've never tried hay before, but straw would be the most ideal I'd imagine. I did about 8 inches of grass mulch last summer to cover-up areas of my lawn and the top was dried within a week while the bottom 75% was still green. I started to flip it once a week until it was fully dried, then left it. I can't say how much it helped reduce Nitrogen issues, but I did establish a few seaberries/dogwoods/gooseberries in the same year using that mulch. I am going to try direct seeding some pumpkins this year into the mulch, so we'll see how it goes.

I tried sunchokes last year and something ate them to the ground.  I have a keyhole hugel in an unfenced area and it got worked last year.   I was hoping to try sunchokes, maybe they will come back up.     I did something a little crazy and planted my potato bed in the fall.  It will be interesting to see if they take or if they rot in the ground.  I watched a back to eden video and he plants them when he harvests.  My fingers are crossed.  I can't wait until my fruit and nut bushes get big enough where I can propagate them.