A few days ago I was asked to get serious and make edible landscaping a large part of this property. But a little backstory first...
In October my small family moved onto a 'ranch and retreat' property as onsite caretakers, exchanging rent for work. The ranch is about 45 minutes north of Ottawa, generally zone 3b/4a (Canadian) with many micro climates, and has been in the same family for over 40 years, now belonging to two brothers. They agreed to let us bring our
chickens and goats and start a veggie garden here and maintain our slightly odd fascination with self-sufficient living. We're still very new to homesteading and
permaculture, so I expect to use this forum a lot and still possibly get many things wrong, I am far from qualified but I am willing to try.
Most of the rolling 50 acre property is overly grazed horse pasture, a large mixed-wood forest, a 10 acre spring-fed lake, swamp, rental chalets and short-mowed
lawn. Top soil is thin, and everything below it is sand or rock. We're the first caretakers to have any interest in gardening/farming/homesteading and a few days ago one of the brothers asked me to really get serious with edible landscaping. Fruit
trees, berries,
mushrooms, herb gardens, etc.
Now, I don't get a carte blanche to do whatever I want, everything has to go through the owners, and their main criteria is that it has to fit their 'look' and be presentable to guests. Their 'look' is generally straight lines with everything neat and tidy which is why the garden beds we started builing in October are simple, straight raised beds. I'll need to introduce the concept of curves and spirals gradually, probably using the private yard of our cabin here to show them the possibilities. Our yard is 76'x48', flat and surrounded by forest, so figuring out a plan for that
should be... interesting.
At this moment in time the ranch is buried until several feet of snow, so I am firmly in the research stage and there will be little progress within the next month. Pics are largely useless for now too as eveything is white, though there will be many to come eventually. And hopefully, maintaining the
project thread will help to keep me on the right track.
Any and all comments, questions, suggestions etc. are greatly appreciated.
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