John Point

I am boiling maple syrup for the first time. This year. I am just finishing off tonight (Sunday) I estimate I will have at least 15 gallons of sap by next weekend but I won’t have time to boil them this week or next weekend. I am thinking of freezing the sap in 1 litre bags and use the sap for making home made beans. Has anyone done this or is this a bad idea?

I ended up getting a deal from the local conservation area on 10 of 3 different bushes. High Bush Cranberry, Elderberry and Nannyberry. I am going to use them as a hedgerow. Should I mix them together or keep them separate?

I couldn't find a thread about this but I assume there is one on here somewhere so please feel free to guide me there. I am pretty new to this and I  am finding the "on contour" part of permaculture the most difficult. How do you find the contour of your land? Is it as simple as using a site like this http://www.giscoeapp.lrc.gov.on.ca/matm/Index.html?site=Make_A_Topographic_Map&viewer=MATM&locale=en-US or do you need to hire a surveyor?

Great question. I have wondered the same thing myself. I will sometimes add leftover coffee to a bucket of water and let it sit overnight before adding it to the garden. I am not sure if I am accomplishing anything. I do the same thing with the leftover water after boiling vegetables. Can anyone confirm if this is a productive thing to do or just a waste of time?

Hi Michelle,

I didn't realize that Stephan had a video. That sounds like a great investment. I may also contact him about a tour or consulting. Thanks for great advice!

I am planning a small orchard based on ideas from the YouTube videos by Stefan Sobkowiak at Miracle Farms. What I am confused about is the spacing. Most of the trees I am interested in recommend different spacing between trees and rows. ie Apples and plums. Do you default to the larger distance of the 2 species? Do you keep a consistent distance between rows? If you are using guilds with lupine, yarrow, daffodils, etc do you increase the space between trees? I am pretty new at this and want to get it right. I plan on eventually having an orchard of approx 60 trees but likely won't plant them all this year. And advice is greatly appreciated. I am located in SE Ontario in zone 5b.

Abbey,

Thank you for the detailed reply. Would adding a significant amount of Seaberry help with deers because of the extra thorns or would it make the hedgerow more attractive? I don't mind sharing some of the production with the wildlife in the area but I don't want my efforts destroyed either. I do think willows are incredibly attractive especially when woven I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice on the hazelnuts.


I will have to do more research in french drains and digging a bog garden. They both seem like great ideas. I have heard some horror stories  of bamboo spreading onto other properties and being very difficult to contain. I will look into meadow sweet.

I would like to keep some parts as bog and connect the raised bed area by trails.

My primary purpose of the hedgerow is privacy but if deer become a major problem I love the idea of a junkpole fence. I do need to keep the deer out of the forest garden.

Thanks again for detailed post. You have given me a lot to think about.

Thank you K Putnam.

I had thought of goumi as part of my tree guilds in my food forest area but not for the Hedgerow. That makes good sense to include a nitrogen fixed in the Hedgerow. I will look into the Nanking Cherry as well.

Michelle,

Thank you for your ideas. I will look into Seaberry. I have never tried them so I don't know if I enjoy the taste but they sound like a good fit due to the height, thorns and fruit.

I have a limited budget and I am looking into programs that provide trees at a discounted rate. I am in the Quinte / Northumberland / Prince Edward County Area.

So far I have found the following programs:

http://www.forestsontario.ca/planting/register-as-a-landowner/

http://www.ltc.on.ca/stewardship/tssp/tsp/

Does anyone have any experience / feedback on either program or know of any other programs?