Cj Jones

Hello Paul, I am an eternal neophyte and don't post often, so feel awkward speaking now. Here for a few years and still learning to feel initiated, and always humbled by the forum. I just want to say, thank you for sharing this part of the journey and godspeed.

Thanks, John!

Hello John,

I'm very excited about the idea of this book. Planted my first canadensis last year and await berries. Am I correct in thinking that I could prepare these berries the way I would aronia (say, as a jelly with a hint of lemon) and that most of the astringency will fade?

Thank you!
CJ

Welcome, John! As a recent permieprentice, I really appreciate any and all ideas that pop here, especially those that involve plants that I have bravely put in for the good of the land without a great sense of how I will make use of them, like elderberry!

--CJ

Newbie observation from Louisville, KY: I find that along with sorrel, one of the first things to pop, especially if I disturb the soil, is clusters of thin wild onion. I would love to know why. Are they just latent and waiting for a nudge or is this a stage of succession...or both?

Welcome! I am a newbie and love the soil chats on this site. Excited to read your book.

Just amazing, Travis, and overcoming the guesswork would really help me get a handle on my water issues. Ok, I'm sold on scale models made of stuff I have lying around. Will make that my first winter project. Thanks all!

Travis, that's fantastic. Was this your first foray into cardboarding or is this something you've done before?

Antonio, thanks for your response. Yes, I started with a non-scaled survey document, which helped. But what I meant here is that I could not see the physical land well when I stepped onto it. There was a mess of overgrown non-native vines on all the fencing and 12 non-native evergreens planted 2-deep in a 12X5ft space (I kid you not) by the misguided previous owner. I had no access to an aerial view, which would have helped, because the property is too small to zoom into it on Google Earth. My backyard is quite shallow, maybe 15ft from the house to the back fence on two levels, so it was hard to move about physically and I could not make sense of what was the 'base' and what was not permanent, especially regarding tree cover. Overall, I felt like I had to clear some of it assess it well.

But I am loving all these ideas and agree that I could have jumped into it sooner if I'd been braver and more creative from the get go. :  )  Thanks, everyone!

Thank you so much for dialoguing with me Jasmine and Antonio. Yes, I am thrilling in how learning various methods has shocked me out of my routine way of doing things. It's affecting all of my life. And, Antonio, I appreciate you saying that some have, let's say, material planning methods, while others are more cerebral and even spontaneous in their design process. One of the challenges for me is that my suburban plot was heavily landscaped when I got here. That means until I get out and undo some of what's there (or at least think my way past it), I can hardly see the base map on land or in my mind. Unthinking what I see has been a huge challenge. But I'm getting there! And, Jasmine, thanks for the reminder that anything around can help you plot. When we moved in, I found lots of rock, cinder blocks, wood (lumber and logs), and pavers on this land. A treasure trove. I gathered it all up and it's been incredibly useful in figuring out ways I can work with the occasionally steep slope my house sits on. It made me commit to not bringing anything else onto the land--so making all retaining elements and beds from what I've got for cost and also least work moving it. I am doing a PDC project on my own for my human and feline family (for several reasons, one of which is healing from a trauma), which means I am the physical as well as the creative constraint. Making those initial decisions about limits was crucial to seeing what was possible. I've yet to make a sand tray, but think it would be incredibly useful.

Anyway, I'm really grateful to you for the insights!

On the subject of unexpected results/effects of the smallest levels of tinkering being "interesting," I think I could write a novel... : )  My garden has been a relentless mirror, teacher of hard lessons, and source of awe since it let me nest on it 3 years ago.