Building, like it, plants love them. Building for plants wow i have no words. See the pictures added below the text!
So i made this fence along the garden plot and added some wood and metal chickenfence.
For quite some years i’ve been trying to break the wind there. Willows mostly died, even hornbeam died. I noticed peaches hold out so i’ve planted some thirty , one year olds strategically. But the soil is really thin there so progress will be slow. I the meantime at low level sage is starting to block some wind. Which creates a heat trap for the rosemary. There are some Jerusalem Artichokes in the soil as well but they haven’t done much either.
The last three summers when i started this plot have been scorching hot.
So this year the latest plan is to grow beans there. I dumped some straw on the grass and some cow compost on top of that. About 2 inches (5cm)of compost/soil mix and i plan to seed that with phacelia which will keep it covered until i bring in the locally adapted bean seeds i managed to acquire.
The beans will first climb the phacelia stalks and then enter the chicken fence.
At least that’s my plan, if it really works like how i plan is a second. So i thought to make it a topic on Permies and hope for people to chime in with scorching critique and gentle encouragements.
Here some pix to help envision.
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Creating edible biodiversity and embracing everlasting abundance.
Yep. Beans are always a sure-fire way to break wind.
-CK
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
Ok laugh all you like.
Break breeze would have been more appropriate. I got carried away.
To my defense I am planning to plant them densely. And every little bit of shade it will provide to the planted trees to the north of it will be welcome.
The structure itself i am going to double up. It will become like a dome and carry vines like grape and hops which are getting roots over the summer in.
The beans are more of an opportunity because the hedge i have tried to grow keeps dying.
Creating edible biodiversity and embracing everlasting abundance.
Personally I would have skipped the chicken wire and gone for a pole frame work. The wire should be strong, but I like to be able to take my frames down and move them from time to time. The wire will get thoroughly tied in knots by the beans.
Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/
It was a complete disaster. Snails ate most of my bean seedlings i protected them with cut off waterbottles over them. There was not enough sun this summer without summer. There was a lot of rain which woke the topinambours/sunchokes which i had planted years ago. Blocking the beans out of sunlight even further.
The wind got kind of blocked but therewas noneed for that anyway.
Weird climate chaos.
Creating edible biodiversity and embracing everlasting abundance.
About half of my projects go as intended. It used to be a third. There is bad luck involved, neglect, laziness and sometimes stupidity.
But it’s ok.
It’s fun and i learn of my « failures ». Next year i’ll get a traditional bean set up.
The structure is flimsy! True! But i still have some time to grow the grape vines into them!!! I’ll cut some more black locust this winter. And add to what’s there already!
Creating edible biodiversity and embracing everlasting abundance.
Time for an update!
The flimsy gate is still standing, peach trees took the role of wind-break.
I planted some plum trees in the shade of them. The peach trees provide shade, but not thick shade. It saves me watering the plums too much. I think i must have watered the plumtrees only a couple of times in the dry spell couple years back.
I'm so happy with this method of starting trees i will now ring the peach trees and use them as a climbing rack for climbing beans. I have many varieties growing and have become better at growing beans. The peach trees are the most drought resistant trees i know. So i basicly sacrifice them to create a tree nursery. Their foliage and branches will turn into mulch eventually increasing the soil biome...
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Creating edible biodiversity and embracing everlasting abundance.
Without subsidies, chem-ag food costs four times more than organic. Or this tiny ad:
montana community seeking 20 people who are gardeners or want to be gardeners