Also, since this popped up, I'll post my thoughts from several days ago which I posted to my Garden Everything ™️ Forum Blog:
Here's an idea I've been pondering over for awhile now.
It's a combination of a perpetual lumber system, a breeding program which can be directed in multiple directions simultaneously, a generational wealth sustainer, a teacher of long-term thinking and patience, and some other stuff.
Here's what I'm thinking, in a loose outline:
- Plant a shit-ton of seedlings of a given species, interspersed with grafted varieties, and heavily over plant in an area large enough that you can plan out a harvesting schedule that runs for between 10-50 years (depending on species, goals, ecosystem, etc). Ideally, sowing an outrageous amount of seed and thinning from there.
- It's s successional thinning process that will set the stage for what's to come. Here's how:
- First year is a brutal year, you're looking to thin something that is still overcrowded, but there's no room for laggards, wimps, disease succumbers, insect magnets, or any other 1st stage criterion you're selecting for
- Second year is also brutal, because you're thinning now to something that is merely very crowded, rather than overcrowded, and because you're also being ruthless about undesirable traits in the context of your system.
- Years 3-5 get more fun, because now that you've cleared out the stuff that was obviously outside your needs, you get to start paying closer attention to the individual trees, even if you're going to be removing almost all of them eventually. Thin any more obviously poor candidates during this time, and you're also likely to begin the next phase.
- For fruit trees, for the most part, you're now getting fruit and 5 years of growth will tell you a large part of the vigor/disease) pest story too, even if you've still a lot to learn. Make sure to keep track of blooming times, ripening times, and other features you want to select for in your fruit. Also keep track of which specimens are displaying the best timber traits, and keep those around. For nut trees, you're still going to be a ways off from any kind of real production, but if you have a precocious specimen, make sure to take note of it. You'll also be able to make a lot of determinations about vigor/disease/pest management at this point.
- For the next couple of years, also, we're ready to begin creating coppice specimens for harvesting stick fuel, and for creating rootstock for grafting the promising specimens for growing out elsewhere. These coppiced trees can keep this cycle going for a long, long time. There isn't a ton of economic gain in this phase, quite yet, but the right species can also be used for weaving, and a good bunch of the fruit and nut varieties could also be peeled and chipped to create fuel for smoking meat, and you can of course create char. All of those things are either marketable or usable at home.
- Okay, now we're really getting into things, because by year ten, we need to have thinned down to our (semi)permanent spacing. This means giving what remains the room to grow to maturity. Not all (or, necessarily, any) will grow to full maturity, but we're giving space to do so right now.
- By now you should have also recognized your cornerstone specimens for the fruit trees, and the early nut trees will be giving you an idea of where to take them as well, plus the timber lines should be emerging more clearly now. These cornerstones are the best ones you've selected, and they'll stay in place to serve as genetic anchors via seed stock, scion stock, and root stock. They'll be the basis of your now growing nursery business. Depending on the quality of the fruit, you can take that to market for high dollar as "heirloom" or "specialty" produce. If it's crappy, you can sell it or use it as fodder. By now, you should have put in place, or be working towards putting into place, a silvopasture system (or at least a paddock-shift system in the autumn to finish pigs and waterfowl and give them that fruity/nutty flavor people pay 5x for, and you can even set up a deal with a local rancher and butcher, then split the profits as you will). The nuts you are getting will only increase from this point forward, and they'll begin to emerge as a profitable market option and/or a massive caloric addition to your family and community.
- From this point forward, you'll also be harvesting increasingly valuable lumber. But, here's the catch, you're only going to be doing so according to your full, 15-50 year harvesting schedule. This means, take the number of trees you have growing in the system, divide that by the number of years you're planning on running the cycle, and that's how many trees you're removing each year now. This is a critical component. So, let me say it again:
- You're only harvesting at replacement rates from now on.
- At some point, you'll find your cornerstone nut specimens as well.
- Using companion planting at the base of the trees with vegetables, bush/shrub/vine fruit, herbs, and cut flowers that ripen/bloom in synchrony with the trees will help improve market options and personal/community sustenance.
- Obviously, for the nut trees and to a limited extent the fruit trees, the longer you allow the system to extend, the more valuable both the lumber and the orchard will be, but you've got to decide what works for you and you're generations.
- You'll have the following options (not exhaustive) for income streams:
- Firewood
- Smoker wood (at a premium vs firewood)
- Orchard harvests, either via traditional methods or U-Pick
- Premium quality, millable lumber for furniture and flooring (this is the money maker)
- A nursery business, with a special connection to local orchardists and home growers due to market connections and regional suitability, which can also be an online nursery when ready (at a premium for online, because of specialty/exclusive breeding work).
- There are many more I have in my notes, but what would you add?
- It should be mentioned here that, as you've probably guessed, you're going to be replacing your trees with your own homegrown specimens, for the most part. This will include grafts and seedlings from the cornerstone trees as well as promising new specimens that deserve further trialling. This is how you'll ensure your stock never sucks. You'll want to bring in occasional new specimens from outside your gene pool so you can keep things fresh and explore new possibilities.
- Importantly, this is where you teach your descendants how to manage this system. With a decent parcel, say 5-15 acres, you could make a living which would sustain your family if you were attentive to your finances and lived within your means, and managed the system with diligence and intelligence. It could also be the most powerful wealth builder you could ask for, on top of a career elsewhere. With something larger, you could bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in lumber alone, and do it in a way which could be sustained perpetually. Your family could, from that point forward, never have to work for anybody else ever again.
- Obviously, as you progress, you can leverage your existing system into attaining more land to build out a larger or supplemental system until you're operating a large enough system to sustain your family and more.
That's the basic outline. Obviously, you can get into the deep with this, considering site, species, circumstance, etc...
What say you about this?
