Mary Antico

Thanks Andrea. I am well-aware of this coop because my friend who moved up there from Montreal a year ago volunteered with them over the summer. She will definitely be involved with my project, and I may be able to source some of my plants from them. However they are not right on the shore, so my site (if I go ahead with the purchase) will have it's own challenges. I found two plants that I could use as hedge windbreaks, Rosa rugosa and Hippophae rhamnoides. Once I am there I will also try to source some native plants that I can use. There is a site that shows land use/ownership in Quebec so I will be able to easily identify public land. There is so much of it along the shoreline, I really don't think anyone will mind if I take a few plants. And of course I will be able to collect seeds galore, and also forage for wild food of course. I can't wait!

Thanks so much for all these awesome replies. My primary goal is not to make money. The truth is that I had been gardening for a number of years in a rented first-floor apartment when I was displaced by a new owner. I had completely transformed the back courtyard (with the original landlord's permission) into a shared garden (for the occupants of the triplex). It practically destroyed me because I had become so rooted to that spot, and I spent a ton of time in the garden designing new beds, planting all kinds of different things. I just fell in love with cultivating. I am also an oil painter and I felt that the garden was my canvas in the summer. Now I am in an apartment in Montreal with no access to outdoors, not even a balcony. That is why I have decided to move to the only area of Quebec where I can afford to buy a good house on a decent piece of land. My priority is to be able to cultivate something in the soil. I don't feel that I can live without doing that.

Someone above mentioned that their first move wouldn't be to truck in soil. I'm wondering why not? The soil would be coming from a local source that I have already found. It's not recycled soil. It's likely sourced in the boreal forest close to the coast.

I really like the idea of a fast-growing hedge I could grow as a windbreak. I have started a data-base for potential plants and I will research Eleagnus Umbellara and add it.

Another idea is to start plants from seed (starting indoors and then transferring out, like to a greenhouse) that I could sell to people in the region who want to garden with perennial plants that are suited to the area. The closest garden centre is about 1.5 hours away to the west of my village. About an hour away to the east is a very small town which I don't think has any garden centre. The population in the area is very small even though it's a very large area. Like only a few thousand. So certainly I am not thinking that I could make a living selling plants, but it would be a great hobby and I figure I could recoup my costs at least. And it would be a wonderful way to connect with other people from the area!

There are a few edible vegetables that grow wild along the coast in the area. Honkenya peploides (sea chickweed), Lathyrus japonicus (sea pea) and Ligusticum scoticum (sea lovage, also called Scot's lovage). So I think I will be able to cultivate those. And of course lots of different berries can be grown in the area. I love the idea of growing for the birds. There is a series of islands close by that serve as a bird sanctuary. It would be so awesome to see how many birds I could attract!

And yes lots of seaweed for fertilizer. And there is a type of very small fish called capelin that rolls in by the millions at the end of May, early June. You can go to the shore and just scoop them up in nets. I know people use them for garden fertilizer, although I'm not sure exactly what the best way would be to harvest a large quantity to build good soil. I thought if I trucked in topsoil I could start some sort of a compost bed with the soil and capelin and cuttings from whatever is growing around there. I will also be able to easily haul stuff out of the boreal forest because most of the surrounding area is all public land.

And yes, WHOOFER volunteers is an awesome idea!

Hi and thanks so much for your response. I have been learning a lot about no-till, regenerative growing practices and that is very appealing to me, but perhaps you are right that starting with raised beds would be a good idea. I have already located a source of topsoil in the area that can be trucked in. And the idea of a greenhouse in the back is awesome, especially given that there is a door from the basement to the back that could maybe be an entrance to the greenhouse from the indoors.

Hello. Am I crazy to think I could start some sort of a permaculture garden/nursery on this plot of land very near the shoreline in a boreal climate area (borderline subarctic) on the north shore of the Gulf of the Saint-Lawrence?

The first attachment shows the lot, which is being sold along with the house/lot just above it (left side). The second shows the broader context of where it is. The village is on the shore north of the left end of Anticosti Island. I came very close to purchasing a house across the highway with a much larger lot but it fell through on inspection, although the cost was much, much cheaper. I'm going to have to decide if I want to go ahead with this property on the shoreline very shortly.

I see a bunch of potential problems:

1) I want to truck in topsoil to start but the truck would have to pass on the lot to the right (which does not have a house on it).

2) Obviously very sandy. I would be basically starting from scratch trying to build soil

3) Wind. I guess I would have to put some sort of fast-growing windbreak in but I don't know how feasible that is

4) Salinity. I am assuming that the wind would carry salinity and the groundwater would be saline as well. I realize I will be limited in what I can plant anywhere in this area, but I don't want to be too limited.

Any input from more experienced growers will be greatly appreciated, because I am going to have to make a purchase decision in early January. I am kind of in a hurry because I found a family to take over my lease in Montreal for March 1st. So obviously I would like to purchase before then, but I don't want to make a huge mistake, and I do have a friend that will let us stay with her for awhile.

Hi. I also just bought a property on sandy soil. I would like to follow along here because whatever suggestions you get will be useful to me as well.

I am planning to put in some cover crops as soon as I create beds next spring. I'm thinking that most of next summer will be creating beds and cover cropping them to start building soil. I have also purchased a lot of perennial seeds. So I will start those next summer in pots I guess and then plant them in the beds once I chop and drop the cover crops in late summer/fall.

Thanks for the info I will definitely check out that site.

Airtable.com.  It's awesome!

Hello,

I am building a data base in Airtable of plants that are hardy to zone 3 that I have purchased (seeds) for my eco-gardening project in the North Shore region of Quebec (Minganie). I don't know if all of these plants will work in my area, but I'm going to found out!

Airtable is very user-friendly and it allows me to invite collaborators. If you are gardening in Zone 3 and would like to view the database (work in progress) and share your experience with / comments on the various plants, message me and I can give you an access link.

Mary

Hello,

I am buying a house on about an acre in the Minganie region of Quebec, which is on the north shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence. I am really looking forward to learning more about permaculture. I would also love to connect with other permies who are in a similar environment/climate. What is the best way to do that on this site?