Matthew Nistico

Mac Johnson wrote:One thing I would caution you on will be space. That's a large lot for having neighbors, but once you start planting trees and their required pollinators you'll start eating into your space.  You can grow under trees, but the majority of production garden foods won't do well.  I have shy of 7 acres and am having to plan my space out to make sure I don't mess up with plans for the future.  I recommend drawing out a map of your property and where you want to plant/build what over the next 5 years.  Think about where the shadows will fall once the trees are full grown.  This process helped me winnow away at the things I wanted to do to make a feasible plan that I'm still following some 6 years later (with adjustments).

Excellent advice.  I had to move a lot of earth when building my home, so I started by clearing native forest from all but the edges of my property.  I saved a few original trees in the central area, which at the time were my only shade, but which since have all grown too large and have been removed.  In those early days of a vast, open, mud expanse, I was eager to plant lots of stuff.  Anything to get some shelter for the soil from the sun and rain.  I still habitually call my food forest "the meadow" dating from that period.  14 years later, it is all about fighting for light.  If I had it all to do over, I might do many things differently, but for sure one would be to space the large tree-like elements further apart, especially considering that many of the "bushes" I planted in between would grow as tall as the trees.

I understand that compost trenches are great for encouraging earthworms.  It's a simple concept: "side dress" a garden area by digging a trench adjacent and filling it with compostables up to soil level for the roots to find.  I imagine that you top it off with new compostables as the level inside the trench drops.  I've not done this myself, but it makes sense.

An important thing to remember: the OP mentioned earth worms, specifically, but there is a difference between earth worms and compost worms.  Earth worms dig through the soil, whereas compost worms move through the leaf litter.  The species we use for vermicomposting, like Red Wrigglers, are compost worms.

Gooseberries and currants are lovely, and in he OP's colder (than mine) climate, they should do well.  I've tried different varieties, but they are all yummy.  Better than me attempting to translate my experience in the South to Pennsylvania, find local advice on good varieties if you can.

I've never had success with strawberries, so can't offer advice there.

Yes, you may want to segregate your blueberries to one corner where they can modify the soil chemistry to their singular liking.

Lots of herbs and wildflowers are always nice.  Focus on perennial herbs where you can - sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, mint.  But also basil is always a big crowd pleaser.  I've found Thai basil grows stronger and bushier than Italian types.

As for cane fruit, I wouldn't necessarily hesitate to guild those with my fruit trees.  Just be aware that, if they really thrive, they will indeed spread and you may need to actively chop back or even uproot the edges of their colony if they stray too far.  But hey, we should all be that lucky, right?  Blackberries now have thornless primocane cultivars available, so you can grow them like "mowed primocane" raspberries.  I have recently planted some such blackberry varieties, so too early to report on progress, but I've seen the system work well with raspberries.  This is a good technique for keeping cane fruits more tidy looking, which sounds like the OP may appreciate.

In case anyone doesn't know...  Cane fruits usually grow first year canes called primocanes that are barren.  They grow tall and sprawl all over, rooting (called "layering") wherever they touch ground.  The next year, new primocanes shoot up and last year's canes, now called floricanes, set flowers, fruit, and then die.  So, a forever two-year cycle of growing and replacing canes that creates an expanding, very wild looking patch.

Primocane-bearing varieties, however, do just that: they set a late crop on their first year canes as well as a summer crop on last year's canes.  You can either 1) enjoy two crops for the price of one; or 2) grow in the manner I recommend and referenced above - prune the tops of new primocanes at 3' to 4' to encourage fruiting side shoots and to keep them from sprawling (a variety with a more upright growth habit will facilitates this).  Late in the autumn, after primocanes have fruited and died back, mow them to the ground.  Repeat this process every year, so that you never get floricanes; only fresh crops of new, shorter, upright, fruiting primocanes.  In doing so, you sacrifice the floricane crop, but you get a more contained, easier to manage cane fruit patch.

If you can, consider burying your IBC rainwater catchment.  It will be out of your way and you can draw water with a hose and pump.  That is what I now wish I had done.

I prefer composting in place whenever possible - look up "Ruth Stout style composting" - but you do you.

I have had great success with sterile comfrey, but be aware it is a deer magnet.  It is often the only thing on my property they browse.  And it will thrive in partial shade, but I've had comfrey die back where it gets too shady.

As always, I recommend goumi berry bushes.  Great permaculture plants that have done well by me - foolproof, vigorous, impervious to pests, nitrogen-fixing, extremely productive.  But if they really thrive they will grow taller than your typical dwarf-to-semidwarf tree.  So, consider planting them as a "tree" in your food forest layout, rather than an accompanying bush.  Or prepare to prune them back severely.  Named cultivars are definitely worth it.

To address the OP's question, probably the first plant medicine most people will attempt is aloe vera gel - from a fresh leaf, or it can be bought in even mainstream stores - applied to a sunburn or skin rash.  Perhaps rivalled in popularity among novices by chamomile tea for inducing relaxation and sleep.

Otherwise, I have to agree with several posters above: a spit poultice of plantain applied to an insect bite is doubtless the "gateway drug" herbal medicinal for many people.

But I am surprised nobody has yet mentioned comfrey.  This was my own first (semi)serious venture into herbal medicine.  Probably because I already grew lots of comfrey.  People debate the wisdom of comfrey tea, based on toxicity concerns.  I would not hesitate to take it when treating a specific internal problem for a limited duration, such as mending a broken bone, but that is only when I would take it internally.  Nonetheless, a spit poultice of comfrey leaf can easily and safely be applied to just about any surface cut, abrasion, scratch, or mild burn to accelerate healing.  In fact, they warn not to use comfrey on a deep puncture wound because it can heal too fast!  (If the skin heals over before the deeper wound heals, it could form an abscess.)

I believe comfrey root is more potent, but also more trouble to harvest.

M Ljin wrote:Cuban man fuels car with charcoal!

I wish they would have provided a more in-depth, technical explanation of how that conversion works.  My first thought was wood gasification, but that doesn't make sense using charcoal.  Charcoal is what you have left AFTER the volatile wood gases have been cooked off.

Any ideas?

May Lotito wrote:I basically grow goji as a primocane berry bush. I wouldn't say it's the best way because the previous year's twigs aren't dead, yet they aren't producing either. Removing them takes away nutrient so I put back more biochar and wood ash to compensate. I'd like my goji to grow taller and bigger each year if possible. I have seen pictures of established bushes growing like a wall, pruned with a hedge trimmer.

Here are a couple posts on my efforts to deal with the situation. Welcome to share your pictures and methods.
https://permies.com/t/80/163796/Ideas-Trellis-Gardening#2393733
https://permies.com/t/218922/Training-seedling-goji-tree

Thank you for the explanation and for sharing pictures.  After seeing your photos, I realize that the mistake was mine from the beginning - I didn't realize what plant species you were discussing.  I read your post, but confused in my mind what you were talking about.  I have NOT grown many goji bushes in a different manner, nor reaped large harvests doing so as I stated previously.  I have only attempted a few, and unsuccessfully at that.  So, disregard my prior comment.

My experience with purchased commercial goji berries is that I don't find them very tasty.  I have read about eating the shoots and leaves, as you described, but have never tasted them.

May Lotito wrote:Goji berry shoots. I cut my established bushes to the ground in late winter and numerous shoots appear in early spring. I break off the whole length of tender shoots when they are 4-6 inches long to thin out a bit. They are very tasty with licorice like bitter and sweet flavor. I harvest a second time when the slender branches get long enough to touch the ground. They will try to layer if left as it. I pinch the tips off to encourage lateral shoots, those will flower and bear fruits in summer.

It's not technically foraging.  Since I have plenty prunings to start new plants, I am thinking about sticking them in the easement where the area gets bushhogged every winter. Then I will have lots of young shoots to harvest in the spring time.

How fascinating!  I grow many goji bushes, but had never heard of this approach.

Considering that goji is so productive, do you truly feel that this approach is better than just letting the bushes grow large and harvesting buckets of berries?

Becky Lawson wrote:Where I lived in Brazil for a while, the only salad dressing I saw used was mixed on the salad at the time of making.  No prep or need to store.

On top of already made salad:
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze of lime juice
splash of apple cider vinegar
splash of oil

Mix with bare hands (very important part)

Agreed!  Simplest is best.  Though I don't quite understand the value of mixing with bare hands...?

I will occasionally prepare a specialty dressing, like blue cheese or Ceasar, or concoct some recipe based on yogurt or tahini, or blend berries or garlic or mustard or salt-cured lemon into my dressings.  But most of the time, I add just a few ingredients directly to the salad as I serve it, then toss and eat.  No measurements.  No emulsification.  No leftovers.

For me, this usually means just a good quality olive oil, a good quality vinegar, salt, and fresh ground pepper.  The OP asked for simple, and you can't get much simper than this.

The key is to add these to a salad with good ingredients that I want to shine through: good quality leafy greens, good cheese, and as available plenty of fresh herbs comprising up to a quarter of the total salad greens.  I like crunch with my salads, so I will usually throw on pepitas and/or sunflower seeds and/or nuts of some kind.

Finding oil that you like is essential.  I use one of just a few brands of extra-virgin olive oil (EVO) with a robust, fruity taste.  When I pour it, I want it to really smell like an olive.  I sometimes use a bit less EVO and add a splash of pumpkin seed oil and flax seed oil, but those additions are for the health benefits, not for the taste.  For taste, you can't beat a good EVO.  Occasionally I will substitute walnut oil for a specialty themed salad.  Posts above have highlighted the health benefits of raw avocado oil, which is absolutely true.  Yet for me, despite that I love eating avocados, I just don't like the taste of avocado oil on my salads.  Weird, I know.

Vinegar usually means home-brewed apple cider vinegar.  Depending on the type of salad I'm mixing, I will substitute balsamic, or red wine, or white wine, or sherry vinegar, or citrus juices as the mood strikes me.  Importantly, never use distilled white vinegar, which I reserve for cleaning purposes only.  I suspect this may be why traditional recipes use so much more oil than vinegar - if I were using such harsh tasting vinegar, I'd use less of it, too!

Lawren Richards wrote:Highly recommend buying an EV, and as small a one as you can get. (Car dealers love to upsize more than McDonald’s!) Bought my Chevy Bolt last year, have driven it long distances & through a Canadian winter. Different handling but boy am I glad to not be tied to the gas companies anymore. Sometimes I charge at home, where it’s free (I’m off grid); mostly in town. Eventually I’ll charge at home most of the year but I’ve got to get a few more panels first— I only have 3.

Absolutely!  Five years ago, I bought a small EV - a used 2015 BMW i3 with a range extender - and it was the best decision I ever made.  Unlike Lawren, I never charge anywhere but home, and it has saved me so much money.  Buying someone else's electricity is expensive.  Home electrical rates are cheap, particularly where I live.  And since I installed photovoltaics three years ago - not completely off-grid yet, but that is coming - driving has become SUPER cheap.  I love riding around town thinking to myself "this is literally costing pennies."  Lawren, when you reach that same point, you will appreciate what a truly liberating experience it is!

As Lawren stated, buying an electric pickup truck or SUV makes little sense.  And don't even get me started on Cybertrucks (WTF?!)  Get as small an EV as you can.  With current technology, at least, that really is where the optimum balance between price and performance is located.

And if at all possible, get one with a range extender.  There aren't as many such models to choose from right now, but hopefully the market will offer more choices soon.  My old car's battery is tiny by modern standards, yet I have zero range anxiety, and all for the cost of only a small amount of gasoline purchased each year.  It really is true what the statistics tell us: the large majority of trips that most people make are within the range of even a smaller EV battery.  Without a range extender, your options are pretty much 1) maintain a second, internal combustion vehicle to use for longer trips; 2) pay $$$ for a modern EV with a 300+ mile battery; or 3) live with range anxiety.  None of these options are attractive to me, considering that when my car was originally manufactured the range extender was only a $4K upgrade.

So, yes, the best way to save on gasoline is not to burn gasoline in the first place.  But keep in mind that some of the good advice others have posted above, particularly about driving slower and accelerating slower, are rooted in basic physics and apply to any vehicle, regardless of its powertrain.  Remember: back in the 1970s when the USA implemented a national 55mph maximum speed limit, that wasn't a safety measure; it was meant to improve efficiency.