Jay Michael Lee

Just moved here in June - but the previous occupant must have had an eye for nitrogen fixing, what a huge favour they did by planting a nice mix. Here are the seeds I've collected so far:

field mustard, wool grass, goldenrod, black eyed susan, green bulrush, purple leaved willow herb, St. John Wort, various fleabanes, boneset, various clovers, curly dock, peppermint, burdock, Evening Primrose, Frosted Hawthorne berries, rye wheat, self heal, Devil's beggarticks, Indian Tobacco, & foxglove beardtongue.  

But I do need to get some aster, ryegrass, milkweed, chicory,

I see an opportunity to transplant some bugleweed of the burgundy variety.

I discovered a few invasives and undesireables - loosestrife, parsnip and some beautiful Norway Maples :<

Turns out the 01 Black Walnut tree is about 60 feet from my favourite tree on the property - a Corkscrew Willow. Both of these trees (this Walnut and Corkscrew) were overcome by riverbank grape vine, so in the course of liberating them, I decided on the Black Walnut Guild. There are native Black Raspberries adjacent to the 01 black walnut and the 02 black walnut. I'm hoping these plants are tolerant enough... as you experienced, we purchased the guild plants at the local nursery down the road, but they have probably not been exposed to the Juglone yet. Time will tell but please cross your fingers for us. We purchased on a discount, and late season, but I'd sure like to see the mints, and the alliums thrive... and excited for the bulbs in spring!

Thought we'd share a few pictures of some existing black walnut tree guilds that we've just sneaked in before the cold dormancy soon ahead. Here is what went into the ground around 1 great looking tree (01) and 1 not so great looking tree (02) which I think was hit by a car, tractor or snow machine:

Black Walnut (existing)

[outermost]  - Sambuca Canadensis  & Ribes Rubrum

[innermost] - Allium senescens var. glaucum, Allium cernum, Pycnanthemum virgianum, Pycnanthemum muticum, Monarda Raspberry Wine

[Bulbs - all over the place]  - Crocus Sativus, Crocus Vernus Joan of Arc, Crocus vernus Pickwick, Crocus tommasinianus Ruby Giant, Crocus chrysanthus Snow Bunting, Narcissus 3-4 varieties

This is my edible experiment. have some topsoil to place tomorrow but I think these are almost done and all species are pretty '5a' hardy and raised locally.

The other existing trees I need to guild are 6 unidentified apple trees - small, maybe 2 yrs. in the ground,  spaced well enough but not in my OCD taste, but we'll make it work.  I feel like I need to know what they are to assist in pollination but I see nothing to identify them other than the leaves....

Susan Taylor Brown wrote:Nicole I don't think I ever told you how wonderful I think your random spiral is! I love it and it has inspired the pile of odd things collecting in a corner of my property so I can do my own version soon. Thanks for sharing all about it.

I couldn't agree more. I am now setting aside unique and underutilized items for a hugel spiral.

Nancy Reading wrote:Welcome to permies and congratulations on the new adventure - I wish you every happiness!
Here's a great resource for you!  Lessons learned from other homesteaders: https://permies.com/t/4935/knew-startd

Thank you!

Thanks Paul - I’m glad to have stumbled upon your most excellent website. The clan and I will be moving 2600 miles soon to start a very small little farm. Of course enthusiasm (personally) is high until the “S” hits the fan, but preparing my spoiled family for a change in lifestyle is no small task. Wish us luck as we step into a world that both of us (wife and I) came from, but abandoned 35+ years ago. I look forward to the challenges, and I know there will be many….