Robert Dobie

Hi Fallon, I just checked out the map and looks like you are about 55 miles from my farm as the crow fly's. Not sure how far of a drive it is from Mahone Bay to the Digby area ? I am still on the West coast in Vancouver about to start a mural project then onto a print making project as well as putting the finishing touches on a couple oil paintings heading South to a University in the US. Spending my free time what little I have of it right now getting some tools and other gear and part of my seed collection together for my trip out to NS in a few weeks. Weather looks like it is starting to warm up a bit so just waiting for the snow to melt. I will be heading to the old farm and have not walked the property yet so wont know what I am dealing with until I get there but the first trip will be a camping trip. Most likely will only be there for a week or two on the first round and back again in the late summer for a while. Be there 5-6 months to get things in gear full on about this time next year but will see how thing go on the first round this year. Lots to do if I am going to get the house in order, set up a working studio space, and get to designing the growing spaces and start planting. The old orchard will be needing a major pruning for starters to see what is worth keeping or taking cuttings from. A good adventure for sure and a bit of a culture shock from Vancouver and my time spent in the big show in Southern California. Looking forward to getting out to Nova Scotia and will keep in touch with you. Once I get the ball rolling I will have lots of extra veggie, herb and fruit plant on the go and quite happy to pass a bunch on to you that you may not have. I think we are pretty close to the same growing zone 6b as far as I know. I have tried the purple mooseage function here thinking it was an option to message people here direct but according to the message I received back from permies nobody gets the messages other than the permies moderators. Not sure what the point of that is but seems to be a waist of time and function. I am guessing we all have to post our email address on the forum. I added mine to my profile page but don't see it if I go to my profile page. Have a look and if it is not there I will send to you via this thread. Can also stay in touch via text message but have yet to see if my cell is going to work anywhere near the farm. Seems like the Annapolis Valley is a bit of a trip back in time but that might not be such a bad thing. Cheers, Rob

Hi Blake, you are right ! Pretty hard to remove the Political as we live in a Nanny State for the most part. I am quite happy to govern myself and don't beg for any services. Good thing we all live in a Common Law jurisdiction and our consent is required for all contracts including being governed. I will just continue on my merry way and try to help anyone out that is trying to help themselves along the way. I think the plot of land you are working with is enough to feed yourself. I did pretty good working with a city lot for several years. I just really like gardening and have run out of space. Found a super deal on the East coast so decided to dive in head first and move to the other side of my home country. No point in having a million dollar mortgage ( Death Pledge ) on a bulldozer special in my home town. We live to grow and grow to live so thought it was time to make the move and really build something. Actions speak louder than words and we can only really lead by example in the end. We all need to take the time to inspire and educate all those coming up behind us that are heading in the same general direction. It is pretty easy to see that we collectively will not solve our problems doing more of the same. We have all been living a lifestyle based on borrowed time for the past century. The ones that have figured out how to live with less will do OK, the rest I don't think will fare to well when the time comes. Self sufficiency is where it is at. We all need to become more self reliant and keep it close to home. Take care or your friends and neighbours and your community. I am not holding my breath waiting for our leaders to do the right thing on our behalf. Hope I don't get asked to edit this again, or maybe I am in the wrong section. Have not been able to find the "Cider Press" political section. Pretty sure that was the name of the forum area suggested by the moderator. I really am far more interested in growing things, making art and having a good day every day. I do think it is our duty though to overstand what is being foisted upon us slowly but surely. All I can say is I am happy my Grandparents were good teachers and had me gardening pretty much as soon as I could follow them around the garden as a child. I have been told by many that my ideas are way out there but I am not doing anything everyone from my Grandparents didn't do on a daily basis. You couldn't just go to the local market for food in the old days, you had to grow it. The older I get the less I need - food, shelter, water and clothing. All the other stuff does not mean a whole lot without the basics. Critical thinking, ethics, honor and common sense seem to be a thing of the past. I think I am off topic with the Big Box Store theme here once again so time to sign of and call it a day. Cheers, Blake

Lisa, you hit the nail right on the head !

Hi Blake, all the best with growing your food forest. I was asked to edit my last post of anything political so just removed most of it as there would not be to much of the message left or what was left would not have made much sense. Anyway it seems most here get what is going on anyway. I am just getting started on a 50 acre farm on the east coast in a few weeks as soon as it warms up a bit. Won't be able to check in to Permies without hitting the coffee shop in the little village about 4 miles down the road from the farm. Will check in when I can ! Cheers

Hi Gioia, I am wondering where you are on the planet ? If you are still on this site ? If you have found a permaculture partner yet ? I have left a couple photos on my permie singles post a couple days ago if you get this message. P.S. Great pic's of you and your kids !

Good Luck with the blueberry bushes Matt !

Hi Blake, sorry to hear your local nurseries have such a poor selection to choose from. I get it about just wanting to get some bee attracting flowers in ASAP.

Hi Matt I would dig them up again and build a raised box or big pots and fill it with peat moss and replant them or move them to a much less wet area on your property and dig a couple big new holes filled with peat moss. Drainage is a must as blueberries do not like rich soil or soaking wet soil. I have all my blueberries planted in 16 inch or so high raised beds with straight peat moss with nothing added to the peat moss and no fertilizer at all for the past 7 years. I just built the raised beds with a few steaks to form the shape of the raised boxes and a few pieces of cedar 2"x8" I had laying around deck screwed to the steaks for the sides. My bushes are all over 5 feet tall now and are getting so bushy I have been taking cuttings from them to thin them and starting new bushes to gift to friends and neighbours the past couple years. Hopefully it will keep them from coming by to raid my blueberry patch. Cheers, Rob P.S. Not sure how cold your winters get but the couple bushes I have in cedar pots I wrap with big bags of leaves around the sides of the pots with a few small bags of leaves stuffed around the top of the pot to insulate over the winter and keep the soil from freezing up. The composting leaves in the bags also give of a bit of heat and those couple bushes seem to get a bit of a head start in the spring.

Hi Matt the last 2 bushes I planted I picked up at my local Farmers Market in the summer time. They had already produced berries for that year. After I planted them in a raised bed of peat moss they wilted and dropped a few leaves but bounced back a couple weeks later. I got about 8 pounds of berries from each of the 2 new bushes the following year. I gave one of the bushes to a friend a couple years later and it dropped a few leaves after the move and replanting. I would think your bushes will be OK but you may not get any berries until next year. They don,t like to sit in real wet rich soil and prefer well drained peat moss. Good luck with them !

Might be a good idea to add a growing zone tag along with each members ID for their growing zone. A lot of stuff going on in Florida or Southern California and warmer climates is pointless for someone gardening in the Norther States or anywhere in Canada or to far North in the Northern hemisphere. A growing zone puts things into perspective for me anyway. I also think it is very important to do whatever we can to help any of the younger generation if they are interested. I think that growing food is something everyone did in my Grandparents generation but somehow got lost in the supermarket / fast food generation of my parents. I am very thankful my Grandparents instilled gardening in me at an early age. If we don't teach the next generation of young farmers how to do it the old school way Monsanto will have a very easy go of it in destroying the natural food supply. Monsanto and corporations like them are well on there way to messing our planet and food chain forever. In June of 2014 Putin orders war alert and tells Obama to "Stop Monsanto, or we will". Bees are dropping dead at a rapid rate and it has been proven that it is a direct result of the pesticide genes added to GMO crops. Anyone producing this garbage food or allowing it to go-ahead should be put out of business. They won't even label GMO's in Canada and pretty sure it is the same in the US. I don't want to eat it but am sure I already have to some degree. That is one of the main reasons I am into farming and permaculture. I need to know where my food is coming from. I may be getting of topic here again but I am new here and have not had a chance to get through all the subsections of this forum so please bear with me. Thanks