Michele Morken

I'm so inspired by your project!  Great job!  I appreciate the curiosity with which you're approaching it...much the same as I am approaching my backyard food forest project.  I have 9 different growing areas (so far), each a little different (based on availability or lack thereof of materials) just to see what works and what doesn't.  I'm looking forward to lots of updates this coming season!  Good luck and happy growing!

Welcome! This looks like such a lovely book, aim excited to check it out. I’m planning to try my hand at blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, elderberries, raspberries, ground cherries and mulberries. I hope the birds have enough to share some with us! 😜

I've NEVER even considered doing this...but as we speak I'm watching a red wasp and paper wasp scout out cozy nesting spots on my front porch.  I don't want to kill them (and don't even have anything to kill them with other than maybe vinegar?!) so to my questions:
1. is there anything I can do to deter them from my front porch?  can I spray vinegar or essential oils up there or something?  anything else?  if i spray them often enough with the hose will they eventually go find another spot? or just sting me?  or do i just need to let them build their nest then (eek) move it?
2. when you move the nest...wouldn't the adults need to be on the nest to know where I moved it to?  i watched a couple of videos of moving nests and they all waited to make sure an adult was on the nest when they moved it.  eee gads.  I'm shaking in my boots over here...
3. Lastly, can i move it when it is super tiny (only a couple of cells) or do I need to wait until it is bigger.  I literally can't believe I'm even thinking/talking about this.  Gulp.  

AND last question - I am planting LOTS o pollinators...are there any of these waspy critters I should definitely drive out rather than assume they are going to be beneficial?  I'm finding conflicting info online and it is the first time I'm doing lots of planting.  Thank you!

Nancy Reading wrote:
So logically, by chop and dropping the plant before and during flowering, you will weaken the bulbs so they will be less likely to set seed and come back.

Well this is great news!  I've been watching the Master Gardener videos too...but have only watched the first video so far.  I've dug a giant portion of the SOB (star of bethlehem...ha!), but I feel like I'm tossing so much good dirt along with it.  So, I've covered that area with my thick mulch of wood chips and straw.  The leaf mold I cleared back a little to dig the bulbs up is going right back where it was.  I'll mow the rest before I lay the thick mulch and won't unsettle the goodies on the ground.  One little corner is actually starting to look like kinda ready to be garden-ish!  And tomorrow my dad and I are tuning up his old wood chipper, so I'll be learning how to do that.  I've cleared so much dead brush/limbs it is a 10x20' pile in the middle of the yard, that's gonna be fun!  Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to share your immense wisdom and knowledge. I literally can't remember when was the last time I've had this much fun!  Appreciate you!

Pearl Sutton wrote:Wonder what else would go interesting in a bug repellent bag. I have several hundred little herb bags, about 2x4 inches, I don't care to use them all up, but I have enough to experiment with. Hmmmm

How did it work out last year, Pearl?  did you try the repellant bags?  Would love to know!

Thank you so much!

Regarding wood chips...do I need to avoid cedar and the like (similar to when thinking about hugelkulture?).  I'm looking for resources and want to be clear about what I should and shouldn't bet getting.  Thanks so much.

Hi permies!  I'm working on converting my back and front yards to a very ambitious and exciting wonderland of edible and medicinal goodness (yay!)...this first garden might be a total failure, but I'm so darned excited I don't care and am looking forward to all the lessons therein!   In the backyard, there is hardly any grass as it is overgrown with henbit on half the yard (lovely...although I'd like to understand what that should be telling me about my soil) and the other half is star of bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) - it is literally one or the other.  On the edges, there are also some viney things (i think wintercreeper and winter honeysuckle) and bushy things (waxyleaf privet is my best guess from an app) ...and some ivy-leaved speedwell (also thanks to an app), and two japanese quince randomly in the middle.  As I now understand the star of bethlehem is toxic to people and pets (I have dogs and am getting chickens soon), I've been doing a fair bit of research to figure out the best way to eliminate it.  I've been digging it up, which i know is probably an exercise in futility, seeing how impossible it is to get all of the bulbs...but at least for now, that process is quite enjoyable as I'm really getting to know the soil in the various areas and all the critters therein.   Today, while digging, I started wondering if there was a method to choosing cover crops to out-compete SPECIFIC things?  Since these are deep bulbs, should I be thinking about legumes or something with a deeper root more than clover or something?  Does that matter?  Is this a dumb question? Are there resources to help me learn/understand when/why/where to select the various cover crops?  Are there other methods to help me get rid of this stuff? I just got 25 bales of organic straw...so that is one resource, but it is definitely windy for that to be covering the entire yard.  Anyway, thank you for all your great suggestions and wisdom!  I LOVE permie-land!

Well I'm a newbie to outdoor gardening (other than houseplants...old pro at that).  I got some overalls and some carhart pants recently - haven't figured out what works for me in terms of pockets, etc. because most of the tools I've been using so far are big.  But, I have a Duluth down the street and think I need to go try on their garden pants because I may suffocate in the heavy overalls my kids got me .  Loving all of these ideas.  Anybody have a favorite arm covering/protectant?  Or do you just wear long sleeves?  It will be a million degrees here before I know it...if it wouldn't scare/blind the neighbors, bikini gardening would be my jam (ha!).  

Awesome!  Can't wait to read it!  I'm ordering trees for my new house and garden in the next couple of weeks.  I'm so excited to have this resource!  Thank you.