El Rowlatt

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since Oct 15, 2014
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Whitehorse, YT; hardiness zone 1b (Can)
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Recent posts by El Rowlatt

I'm up in the sub-Arctic and, like several others, it's a question of what CAN I grow more than what would I like to grow. I'm still working on expanding my list, but for now it includes:

    peas - at least two crops per season; they're my main legume.
    potatoes - lots and lots, any variety
    raspberries - they're indigenous up here, they love growing, so fresh, jam, dried, medicinally (great for people with uteruses)
    kale - any and all varieties
    haskap berries - also good growers
    apples - semi-hardy; they're small but very sweet
    honey - I'm using a cathedral hive with a winter blanket and the hive is in a shed
    barley - I started with a handful of Shetland Islands' bere barley and some tibetan barley and they're both producing nicely
    oats - hull-less oats manage to make it in the season
    lettuce
   
Next season I'm going to work with more medicinal herbs, like echinacea, and see if they'll grow. I'm very much hoping to be able to produce some winter squash with my new tiny greenhouse, as well as turnips, carrots, and beets in the open beds. We'll see!

For protein, I'd go for chickens. Not right now, because my neighbours would object and I'd lose the wild roses growing in the yard (also useful medicinally), but when the road up to Whitehorse is looking unviable, yeah, chicks. Also bartering with hunters and doing some of my own fishing. Also plan to begin foraging more.

In terms of full self-sustainability, I really don't see it as coming all from myself. Imagining that would be riding for a fall from too much pride. I've been thinking about developing some community gardens and renting a bit from area farmers and this thread pushes that a little higher on the list.
2 years ago
Well, that's cool.

Stockholm, eh? They have a climate that's a bit more moderate than mine, though.

Thank you!
2 years ago
Great timing for this one.

Thank you!
3 years ago
Awesome! I already clean with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, so I'm eager to see what other methods are available.
Thank you!
4 years ago
Welcome, and thank you for the possibility of winning a sickle. A certain luddite attitude means I love hand tools, and having planted small amounts of barley and oats this spring, I'm very interested.
4 years ago
Wow, these are awesome!

May I ask:  what are you planning to do with all the extra money?
4 years ago
Hi,

Reading through this thread, I'm relieved to see some discussion about the angle of the summer sun and the earthen roof / overhang.

Up here (north of 60), I need a well-insulated greenhouse but I also need to take advantage of all the sunlight I can. The frost-free season is very brief (sometimes only 90 days) and any plant which needs to come to fruit needs to do it in a short window.

I don't have any solutions to propose, but just a keen knowledge that I won't be putting a ton of energy into a greenhouse with that much of an overhang.

Cheers
4 years ago
Hiya

This looks awesome, and very pertinent to me.  Wonderful freebie.

However (and please forgive my low intelligence), I can't figure out how to access it as a bonus freebie and I used up my spare money supporting the kickstarter.

Any suggestions?
4 years ago