Maryse Cloutier-Gelinas

Indeed! I guess it shows that a mix of many different types and sizes are going to be necessary! You'll also have to be strategic as to where you plant everything!

Heidi Hoff wrote:Hi Maryse,

We're in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, straight across the St. Lawrence from the Saguenay fjord. That is where our wind comes from -- a straight shot from Le Gran Nord! We are up on a ridge, with the land sloping northward to the surrounding farm fields and, a kilometer or so away, the St. Lawrence. The ridge is made of what people here call "tuf", which is actually slaty shale (not tuff or tufa at all, different class of rock entirely).

During the seigneury period, the farmers were obliged to clear the land granted to them. They took it very seriously and cleared the forests completely. Even today, there are no windbreaks between the fields. The fields are very sandy (sand left behind by the Champlain Sea when the land rebounded after the glaciers retreated 10,000 years ago). The farmers have built drainage ditches every 50 to 100 meters, which run parallel to their long narrow fields. In these ditches, red osier, black alder, serviceberry and other pioneers try to take hold and are cut back every few years by our neighbor. Our prevailing winds are W, NW and N, coming straight across the St. Lawrence and then across these naked fields.

The "nordet" is indeed a most energetic wind!

I'm thinking you need to plant stuff on your entire land area, stuff that have strong roots, amongst maybe some creeping thyme, and consider species that will help you build soil, decompose fast during winter and spring. The Green Manure logic. As you said, beans and the kind. Can't wait to see if people with actual knowledge (not me that is) will add more! If I keep writing, maybe it will attract them...

You'll be so lucky if you ever get the chance to visit Mark Sheppard's place!

You may want to look up the argousier tree

http://www.argousier.qc.ca/fra/la-culture-de-largousier/largousier.asp

They are from Siberia, and Russia, so they are not local, BUT, they are nitrogen fixers, produce delicious fruits (growing demand for this fruit on different markets, from cosmetics to restaurants), provide food for birds (especially during winter) and are EXCELLENT and fast growing windbreaks. I know I'll have some on my land. You can mix them with Rosa canina (wild roses) which produce good fruits too, as well as amelanchier and so on...

Cheers,

Maryse

PS I'm impressedat your knowledge of your place!

Hey! Where are you in eastern Québec? It would help a great deal to know. I'm from Quebec too, maybe we can help each other out.

I'm no forest garden expert, but I've read Dave Jacke's "Edible Forest Gardens" volumes 1 and 2, and I think you'd find many annswers in there. Also, check out Mark Shepard's book, and videos available on youtube. He says a lot about building soil... Basically that he can grow anything from a rock?

We're hoping to start something up in Lac St-Jean.

Also, do you know of the blog "permaculture en climat froid"? Maybe there'd be good advice to get from them... They are only starting, but who knows?

Wow, I will look into Mollison's work! Thanks !

Adrien Lapointe wrote:

La Chouape makes really good beer!

I like how this conversation wandered towards beer!

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Well, alcool is at the foundation of human social life... Archaeologists have produced amazing reasearch on the subject (I am an archaeologist, by the way...)

I love this tread!!! More pictures please!!!

Do you know of the microbrasserie, La Chouape, in Lac St-Jean? Near where I live. It's local from A to Z. Maybe they'd like to try Sweet gale...

I love that from a single question, so many ideas sprout forth!!!

Planting some Myrica gale could be a wonderful idea, although not in the middle of an arena, but there is a local brewery near where I live. And indeed, we DO have wonderful beer in Québec!!!

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