James Landreth

If you're in the area it should be a neat event! I'll be going;it's taking place at my friend Laura's home. It'll be kind of like an old fashioned barn raising

Devin Lavign wrote:I am in Oroville and looking to plant hazelnuts when I am ready.

Something you will run into is most reputable dealers will only sell in spring as that being the plants season.

Some nurseries I am looking at are:

https://www.starkbros.com/products/nut-trees/filbert-hazelnut-trees/showall

https://raintreenursery.com/nut-trees/nut-trees-filberts-hazels

here is a whole list to go through https://members.oregonhazelnuts.org/page/Nurseries

don't forget Arborday trees https://shop.arborday.org/product-nursery.aspx?zpid=847 though they only see eastern hazels for some reason.

hope this helps, and let us know of you successes and failures.

Burnt ridge usually has decent hazelnuts

It is true that acorns are edible (usually with processing) but something to keep in mind is that chestnuts often produce every year in this kind of climate. And walnuts also produce more often. Oak trees often only produce a bumper crop every few years, as a method of controlling pests. While I see the value in planting any tree, including natives, I think that creating a landscape that can support people during famine is important as well

Hi John,
Are any of these going to be food producing trees? With food trees you get a double impact. Not only do they sequester carbon and green a space, they lower pollution and carbon footprint by negating the long shipping distance of industrial food

I would consider looking at the hazelburts that St. Lawrence Nursery carries. But I don't know how blight resistant they are. They cater to environments even colder than zone 5.

It's not entirely  "permaculture " but a great start would be The Encyclopedia of Country Living." It covers a lot of skills and highlights a great many schools of thought. It is interesting and easy to read

Orin Raichart wrote:Hello James,

There are three things I hope you will consider once you get your grants.

Firstly, I'm hoping you also plan a small processing/preserving building too for every garden/food forest you plan.  I've noticed much food from community gardens, public bushes, and public trees going to waste.  One method I like is to dry everything:  a solar dehydrator the size found on this site here would do the job for you.

Secondly, you'll need a lot of containers to store the dry food in: my small garden took up a great deal of food storage space once dried. A small building and large solar dehydrator will help actually keep the food from being wasted on the ground. The small building would hold the dried food canisters inside for later distribution.

Thirdly, you'll need to package the food so that the users (homeless and others who are hungry) actually want to eat the food. Sounds strange but, the homeless are not really into canned corn or canned green beans as I've noticed when I've volunteered in food banks.   A homeless person/hungry person who has no means is going to look at a full ripe squash and think, " What am I going to do with this???  I don't have a stove or a refrigerator and it'll make big mess which I don't have the water to clean the mess up with.....heck, it will make a mess outta me!!!"

But if you plan the food combinations before you plant the food forest/garden products, then you can distribute the dried food in tasty combinations: sunflower seeds, butter nut squash, and dried banannas are one idea. Another idea is kale chips dipped in chillis.

A dried package, like a dried shell of of some sort, say a dried hollow gourd so you don't have to buy plastic or paper bags, filled with things tasty dried items, removes all the issues a homeless person /hungry poor person may have with garden food.  Now the person can hold it in one hand and use the other hand to dip and eat...... and the "bag" isn't going to add to the general trash of the neighborhood...it'll decompose.

Harvest time could be a large church gathering to process the food to be dried. Once dried, a a certain number of hollow gourds could be filled (or maybe dried food wrapped in large leaves...possibly small baskets make from the squash vine), and the rest stored for later food gourd making parties.

Without these steps, a great deal of food will be lost (which I see quite frequently).

Good luck and let us know what you develop.

Thanks for all the thoughts. Virtually all of our churches are equipped with commercial grade kitchens and large storage spaces. And, though we are moving in the direction of holding food preservation classes etc, that will have to be in someone else's hands. I'm an unpaid volunteer developing tens of food forests across the region and won't have time to take that aspect on. But we do have people more dedicated to things like distribution and outreach to the homeless

But it is true,  that growing the food means very little if we don't get it out to people in a way that they can use it

John Weiland wrote:If this hasty recipe has appeared here before, my apologies.  But the following is for those who crave some sort of egg-nog substitute for the holidays, with the ability to modify for your tastes and preferences.  It's quick and 'scalable' so you can make a single glass or larger amount if desired.

For ~ 1 cup of "vegg-nogg":

-- 1 cup of your preferred non-dairy milk, keeping in mind the normal 'body' of egg nog.  
   (I've been using oatmilk....but others will suffice or surpass this and adding some sort of vegan 'creamer' might help kick it up a notch.)

-- Sweetener to taste.  Yeah, I'm still using granulated sugar, but many sweeteners could substitute and this should be added and mixed in to suit your palate.

-- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.....again, to taste.  If I only have the 'artificial' vanilla on hand, it's bumped to a teaspoon here, but your choice.

-- Dash of nutmeg.....and mixed in with the rest of the ingredients if so desired.

Finally, the kicker...and mixed in well:

-- small (!) dash of Himalayan 'black salt'.  Sulfury!.....and gives the eggy flavor and bouquet, but if overdone will probably cause gagging. ;-)  Still, this last ingredient is crucial for my taste buds to believe that egg nog is passing my lips.   Maybe worth a try.....

Would coconut milk work?

I agree with John. Maybe yuzu?

I'm hoping to actually do it through my denomination, as other ministries are done I believe. Would that work?