Hi! I'm new

Hello everyone! Taking some time this icy morning to write an intro....

I recently moved from a 10th floor apartment in the city to a 16-acre piece of land, mostly forested with a few acres of grassland, in a rural area. To my knowledge, there has never been a garden on this property. There are other signs of human presence, though: loads of rusty barbed wire along the treelines and piles of vintage garbage in the woods.

Before moving here I worked as a horticulturist in a formal garden. As much fun as it was, I have grown weary of that style of gardening. The manicured look is pretty, but fussy. I like things rustic, practical, and a tad chaotic. So I'm obviously thrilled with this newfound freedom.

I’m here because I want ideas, information, and a little bit of human interaction! Plants are the only thing I think about anymore. Spring cannot come fast enough; I’m physically restraining myself from ordering more seeds! But right now everything outside is crusted in ice and I think it will remain like that for a while, so I'm biding my time indoors.

Hi Kayla,

Welcome to Permies.  

Hi Kayla, sounds like you might like to do some garden planning!

Have you looked at where your permaculture 'zones' might be? 16 acres is amazing! livestock or just plants (and wildlife!)? You're near the US East coast right? What (climate) zone is that?

Welcome Kayla!
from the city to 16 acres is a great leap! you're in the right place for ideas of all stripes. (you're in the wrong place if you are trying to avoid plant/seed enablers... i think we're all bad influences in that department...)

Enjoy poking around and I look forward to seeing what you come up with on your land!

Welcome to Permies!

I am envious of your 16 acres :) Have lots of fun transforming it. Just keep in mind that if you do too much all at once, it can become overwhelming and take some of the joy out of gardening. So as excited as you are... I humbly suggest to do lots, but not too much.

Before doing anything dramatic in your excitement at the new place, I would seriously recommend leaving some time, and most of the space, to observation the first season.  Especially so if you see yourself living there for a long time. More than once I have been on a site for a design consultation and just happen to spot a rare wildflower, right in a place where some big project was being planned, like a deck or a dug garden bed.  Many rare plants and fungi are ephemerals....that is, they only show themselves above ground for a short season of the year and are otherwise invisible.  Spring time is a prime season for them, so if I were you I would restrict my planting ambitions to a small area the first spring and devote serious attention to getting to know the land as it unfolds itself.  The older the forest is, the more important this is since it's more likely to contain uncommon things.  

Welcome to Permies!

Matt's advice is wonderful--be enthusiastic but it's fine if you can't do everything you want to. None of us start (or end) that way!

I also would recommend looking to the wild plants growing around you first for your needs as oftentimes there are a lot of excellent ones! For instance, I think you should be able to find plenty of greenbriar in your climate zone, which is a delicious spring shoot vegetable that's delicious raw or cooked. There are many others too... and watching them can provide a lot of wisdom about how our local ecosystem works, what it is good at, how soil affects plants, and much else.

I wish you a good start to your permaculture adventure!

Alder Burns wrote:Before doing anything dramatic in your excitement at the new place, I would seriously recommend leaving some time, and most of the space, to observation the first season.  Especially so if you see yourself living there for a long time. More than once I have been on a site for a design consultation and just happen to spot a rare wildflower, right in a place where some big project was being planned, like a deck or a dug garden bed.  Many rare plants and fungi are ephemerals....that is, they only show themselves above ground for a short season of the year and are otherwise invisible.  Spring time is a prime season for them, so if I were you I would restrict my planting ambitions to a small area the first spring and devote serious attention to getting to know the land as it unfolds itself.  The older the forest is, the more important this is since it's more likely to contain uncommon things.  

Just last spring I was making new potato beds and came across orchids growing out of the meadow area! I was astonished, and stopped right there. This was only a wet meadow ecosystem and not a pristine forest. Definitely, I think sensitivity and attentiveness are things we need more of in the modern age.

It's also easier if you are weeding uncleared land, to focus on a small area at a time, because the process can take a lot of work--plants like goldenrod can stay strong in the soil for years of weeding.

Nancy Reading wrote:Hi Kayla, sounds like you might like to do some garden planning!

Have you looked at where your permaculture 'zones' might be? 16 acres is amazing! livestock or just plants (and wildlife!)? You're near the US East coast right? What (climate) zone is that?

Hi Nancy! I just looked into permaculture zones and I think I have a general idea for how things will turn out. For right now, I'll be sticking close to the house and focusing on plants and chickens, which I'll be getting in the spring or summer. Eventually I'm interested in raising dairy sheep, too - but I'm taking it slow on adding animals. And yes, I'm on the US east coast close to the Chesapeake Bay, a humid subtropical climate.

M Ljin wrote:Welcome to Permies!

Matt's advice is wonderful--be enthusiastic but it's fine if you can't do everything you want to. None of us start (or end) that way!

I also would recommend looking to the wild plants growing around you first for your needs as oftentimes there are a lot of excellent ones! For instance, I think you should be able to find plenty of greenbriar in your climate zone, which is a delicious spring shoot vegetable that's delicious raw or cooked. There are many others too... and watching them can provide a lot of wisdom about how our local ecosystem works, what it is good at, how soil affects plants, and much else.

I wish you a good start to your permaculture adventure!

There is indeed a ton of greenbriar, and I've never tried eating it - thanks for the tip! I'll have to try. Maybe it'll help me appreciate it more

Alder Burns wrote:Before doing anything dramatic in your excitement at the new place, I would seriously recommend leaving some time, and most of the space, to observation the first season.  Especially so if you see yourself living there for a long time. More than once I have been on a site for a design consultation and just happen to spot a rare wildflower, right in a place where some big project was being planned, like a deck or a dug garden bed.  Many rare plants and fungi are ephemerals....that is, they only show themselves above ground for a short season of the year and are otherwise invisible.  Spring time is a prime season for them, so if I were you I would restrict my planting ambitions to a small area the first spring and devote serious attention to getting to know the land as it unfolds itself.  The older the forest is, the more important this is since it's more likely to contain uncommon things.  

Great advice! My first time setting foot on the property was last May, so I haven't really seen springtime here. The back ~1/4 of the woods (which I don't intend to touch, really) are on steep-ish slopes so they've escaped a lot of the logging and crop farming that the rest of the land has been through. We'll see what comes up!

Hi Kayla,
Congratulations on your find of property. Sounds very similar to my find. As I was putting the road into my property (300 yrds) to where I am now and a further 50 to where I have stored my former life. I have found several strings of ancient barbed wire, the funny thing is it runs perpendicular to the depth of the property, like it was pens for something. I also discovered a spot where tin cans were disposed, maybe a 8 foot diameter pile of barely recognizable cans, they were so decomposed.   I will include a picture of a piece of wire that a tree once consumed here then rotted. Going to hang this piece of wire in my cabin once I get it built.

I know this will cause some disagreement, but I would locate where you want to build and then clear cut a piece with good southern exposure for garden. This will also serve as a place for good solar gains at the North side of this with planning. I would assume you want to install solar panels at some point. The size of the clearing should be what you think you could nurture into garden over the next three years. Its all about becoming self sufficient and gardens take several years to developed.  Myself, I have 3 acres of southern exposure garden I just started to prepare last fall by dropping the trees.

Have fun : )

Welcome to Permies! 16 acres is quite the palette. Looking forward to seeing what projects you get up to.

Bob Hutton wrote:Hi Kayla,
Congratulations on your find of property. Sounds very similar to my find. As I was putting the road into my property (300 yrds) to where I am now and a further 50 to where I have stored my former life. I have found several strings of ancient barbed wire, the funny thing is it runs perpendicular to the depth of the property, like it was pens for something. I also discovered a spot where tin cans were disposed, maybe a 8 foot diameter pile of barely recognizable cans, they were so decomposed.   I will include a picture of a piece of wire that a tree once consumed here then rotted. Going to hang this piece of wire in my cabin once I get it built.

Hi Bob! So fun! My trash is spread out in a couple smaller piles - lots of cans too decayed to read, but there are also some glass bottles which I can identify. King Syrup, Pepsi, Ball jars, stuff like that. Makes me feel like an archaeologist haha! Speaking to a neighbor, I found out that the land once belonged to his now-deceased relative, so that solves the mystery on who left it there

Hi Kayla, welcome to Permies.

16 acres sounds wonderful.  What an adventure you have ahead.  I look forward to hearing about your projects on your new property.  Doe you have any besides a garden?



Eric