Rose Wood

Anne Miller, thanks for the reply!

Regarding the lynx and raccoon, I only see them being a problem if in a few years my energy levels improve to allow my to keep chickens.

Ugly is probably not the best word to describe potatoes. I suppose what I was getting at is that bare soil 8 months out of the years when not growing potatoes in this cold climate is not what I'm looking to see when I pull in the driveway. I'd rather keep those in the back.

The flower garden is just a plan for next year at this stage. I do have pollinator friendly flowers near the annuals now. Lower maintenance perennial flowers like roses and peonies are the plan for now.

Thank you for your rely!

My goals would be:

1. To grow most everything I eat - Looking at what I currently eat, is mostly annuals, chicken, and pork. I have a lot of food intolerances so I don't plan on growing anything I don't currently eat. The side yard is about the only suitable place to expand my annual production but fencing it is not really an option in my mind due to cost, looks, effort required (my partner ended up going to physio after building the last fence thanks to the copious amount of large boulders that had to be moved to put in ground stakes for the posts). I don't see much point in animals unless I could grow most of their feed.

2. Keep the side and front yard "pretty" - the front yard is finished and has a septic field so nothing more can be added here. If I were to grow anything "ugly" like potatoes in the side yard I would want some sort of border between the driveway.

3. No additional mowing - the front yard was seeded in a no mow mixture but grass moved in and ruined that plan. The side and back yards need to be no mow.

4. Finish the backyard - it's bare fill brought in by dump truck and tall weeds and wild raspberry are beginning to take over.

To mention a few of your suggested goals -
We don't entertain and we don't have children. We relax in the front yard setting area with firepit thanks to the thick tree cover between us and the road. Money is limited but my time is not, his time is very limited come summer/fall. I'm happy to slowly make additions as money allows. We are deeply private people so there wont be too many others on the property. If I could grow something to sell to supplement what I cant grow that would be a lovely bonus. We are surrounded by plenty of wild habitat so we don't plan to add more. Plants I hate - anything that smells bad (looking at you spirea and boxwood) and I have an irrational hate for calendula and marigolds.

I need suggestions for what to do with the unfinished portions of our yard.

We had our small (900sq ft) home built 3 years ago and have made great progress on the property so far. Unfortunately I've become indecisive to the point of not being able to move forward. Part of the problem is inexperience and the other part is lack of any topsoil on the unfinished parts as well as a sloped backyard. The side yard is 4 inches deep in wood chips that haven't decomposed yet.

The only grass is in the front yard on top of the septic field and I don't want any more. The flower garden is not yet out in, it will be on top of our dug well. The property is .8 acres.

The dark green circles are evergreen trees bordering the property for privacy, the black is two very large outcroppings of bedrock.

I'm not looking to add animals at this time due to my poor but slowly improving health. I'm not interested in adding any more fencing, so the additions need to be able to survive all manner of wildlife. I've seen snowshoe hare, raccoons, deer, coyotes, bear, and lynx so far. The hare are the heaviest pest pressure, there is a family nesting here.

I'm in Canada zone 5b.

Jay Angler wrote:The size certainly has potential to be useful despite the extra material you'll have to add. I was looking at something similar on my property, but decided it was just too far from the house. Having rodent-proof cool storage for fall veggies/fruit is really worthwhile as once it's built it will need little extra effort/energy to keep food longer.

How would you go about rodent proofing the dirt floor? Pour concrete? Forgive me, my building knowledge is next to none and I have much to learn.

This looks interesting. I purchased ten pawpaw seeds this fall, they are in the fridge now. Would a homesteader find the information helpful for personal use? I don’t plan on selling, unless they produce an overabundance to bring to the small local farmers market.

Steve Mendez wrote:Looks like a great starting point to me. How high will your storage space be? Is there pretty convenient access from your house? How far apart are the walls? I look forward to following your progress on Permies.

The first photo was taken from the back step... it’s very close to the house, not inconvenient at all. The taller rock is ten feet tall and the smaller one is seven feet. The roof would be sloped. The walls are about 5 feet apart.

The typical construction for a root cellar is out of my budget, we don't have a basement or extra room in our very small house for a cool cupboard, but I want something bigger than a freezer in the ground. I have this idea that I may be able to make a root cellar between two large boulders on the back of my property by building a roof and door between them. There is a mound of soil between the rocks towards the back that could be removed to make more room. The photos and snow don't show that the boulders wrap around the back so that the "alley" between is sheltered on 3 sides. Would such a thing work?

I have a fenced off garden that butts against the south side of my home that I would like to take advantage of. I'm in zone 5b in Atlantic Canada and the wall is nearly black which will store a lot of heat. There is no topsoil in this location, just subsoil with a 3 ft border of gravel 1 to 2 feet deep (foundation gravel pad) underneath of which is landscape fabric. My home is on screw piles so I'm not concerned with roots damaging the foundation but I shouldn't dig too big a hole and disturb their stability.

I've been going back and forth with various ideas and would love to hear some of yours.