Matthew Nistico

Jezreel Valley Farm wrote:I will add - I have 87 acres.  About 25 tillable and a small lawn where the house is it.  In the past three years we have rented a forestry mulcher and removed thousands of small trees.  I'm looking for enough mulch for just this year to cover about 3/4 acre garden and 2 acres of orchard/berry patches.  Next year I will need about the same.  We have a LOAD of large thorny locust and Osage orange which are both very difficult to chip.  I believe I will need to purchase a chipper as free wood chips are currently a thing of the past.

Wow, that must have cost a pretty penny to rent!  Please update us with info about the machine you eventually buy - what capacity, what cost, how it works out for you.  I will be very curious to learn.

Jezreel Valley Farm wrote:I enjoy watching/listening to various trainings that talk about use of wood chips, but my only options in NW Missouri is to either rent one and take down trees on my farm (plenty of trees - it just takes a lot of time to remove the tree, chip it up and then move the chips to where I need them) or to purchase my own chipper.  I am leaning on purchase of a chipper.

Any recommendations would be greatly apricated.

Most unfortunate that your local market conditions preclude cheap deliveries of arborist's chips.

My own property, like many permaculture properties, produces enormous volumes of woody debris.  Ideally, one would leave as much as possible of that biomass unchipped.  Slash, drop, pile, mulch, and let it lay and decompose slowly in place, as it does on a forest floor.  Maximum diversity for minimum effort.  Chipping, in contrast, maximizes effort to gain uniformity of the material, which one might consider undesirable in the strictest permaculture view.

However, there are times when you really want to mulch with wood chips.  And then there are special cases, like myself: gardening from a wheelchair, my entire property would quickly become impassible were I to spread woody slash all around.  Or perhaps one is doing permaculture on a suburban property where a more neat and orderly appearance is a major design objective.

So, I used to chip as much of my woody debris as possible.  I have since changed my approach, instead burning nearly all of it in charcoal kilns to make biochar.  I believe this is less total man-hours of work, plus it allows me to utilize all sizes of wood, plus it provides an end product that I could potentially sell locally at a high value.  But I am only newly down this biochar path, so I will reserve final judgement for another few years and then see how it worked out.

Back to chipping.  I don't know what type of operation is happening at Jezreel Valley Farm and, therefore, what volume of material they are trying to process.  Mention of renting a chipper in the past suggests that they are looking for heavy machinery to process large volumes.  If so, purchasing a heavy-duty chipper, perhaps even a commercial grade machine, might well be a good long term investment.  I can well understand the reluctance to keep using rental equipment; generally speaking, that is never a cost-effective long term solution.

I used to own a residential grade gas-powered chipper.  These can be had at LOWES for $450 and up to several thousand $$.  It was great, but as with all internal combustion home appliances, I quickly tired of needing a carburetor cleaning EVERY TIME I wanted to use it.  I don't know why this is the case these days, but it is.  I have been told that it is the low quality of modern gasoline, or all of the additives in it.  I just know that it wasn't always thus - I recall in my childhood starting up the mower every spring after the winter idle and never encountering the same problem.  And I'm sure my father was careless and let it sit full of gasoline, whereas I always run my equipment dry before letting it sit, but to no avail.

If, like me, one wishes to avoid this hassle, there are electric residential grade chippers available.  They max out at 15 amps on a regular 110V circuit - if there are heavier duty machines that use a 220V connection, I am not aware of any.  Electric chippers can only handle smaller branches up to maybe 1.5", but they are affordable and they do work.  Order a bulk set of replacement blades and change them often.  I have owned several along the lines of this: generic Amazon electric chipper.  Name brand is irrelevant.

For my own small property and limited needs, these were sufficient.  But one must adopt a different mindset: instead of making a long term investment in a heavy duty machine, you are essentially buying a disposable appliance.  With any type of serious usage - as is likely to maintain even a smaller permaculture operation - it WILL burn out and you will end up replacing it, perhaps once a year.  This is especially so if operating on an extension cord, even a heavy gauge cord; otherwise, you will need to haul all of the debris to the chipper, rather than bringing the chipper to the debris, an additional labor step.  This added expense of routinely replacing $100 electric chippers was a factor in my decision to abandon chipping in favor of biochar.

Hope these perspectives prove useful.

J Garlits wrote:This is a great opportunity for me to plug one of my favorite services. It's called "chip drop." Run the words together and add a dot com and you'll find arborists in your area who are willing to dump their chips on your property after they take down a tree or trees. Here are some pro tips to increase the likelihood that you'll get chips sooner rather than later. First, don't be picky...tell them on the form that you'll take chunks of wood mixed in with the chips. I've gotten three loads from them so far, and have never found a single log. It has always been pieces of wrist-sized or smaller partial branches. Second, you can tip them. Yes, they already save money by not having to pay to dump the chips at a commercial facility, but most of the arborists that participate are small businesses, so even $10 or $20 will get the chips dropped at your place instead of your stingy neighbor's. ;)

They don't charge your method of payment until the chips are safely on your property.

The third dump I received was from an arborist who had previously given me chips. He was working in the neighborhood, knocked on my door, and asked if I wanted what he had. It was mostly green ash, and man did it ever smell wonderful. And it was a huge dump. It sat over winter and it's what I'm using in the garden and orchard this spring.

j

Yes!  Chip Drop is also active in my little corner of the American South.  I have received three drops via their website over the years and totally intend to keep using them.  I always throw in a $20 tip, especially if I'm in a hurry to refill the mulch pile beside my driveway.  A very convenient and effective service.

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.