Alexander Rodewald

Has anyone had experience using comfrey in pastures for ruminants?  

I'm curious if it would work well in clumps throughout my paddocks, and I imagine the animals would eat it down to the stalk.  So, might reduce the risk of spreading.  

Here is a quick update in our first growing year after taking a full sabbatical year...

Sabbath year started in Sep. 2021 and ended Sep. 2022.  That whole year, the chickens (layers) had free range of the whole property.  Cows grazed as normal.  American Guinea Hogs cleared some land on the North side of the property, where I also found 8-9ft volunteer peach trees.

In the Fall of 2022, I mulched a bit and put garlic everywhere.  Potatoes went under the mulch (hay/bedding) in the ground-level garden.  Then, Winter happened, and we harvested our AGH's.  

In the Spring, I started a new orchard (food forest) where the peach pits had volunteered.  This was also where the hogs had cleared weeds and tilled the surface a little.  The Sabbath let me observe how poorly the previous orchard's location was.  Grapes and black berries love the old location, but fruit trees didn't.  So why fight nature?!

It is now July 11th, and in spite of the May-June drought, we finally got some rain and things are bursting!!  Those potatoes that over-wintered are up to my thigh and covered in purple flowers.  The food forest (which is only 2 months old) looks like it's been there for a couple years.  Pumpkin leaves are a deeper green than I've seen, and wider than my shoulders with many female flowers.  Everything is just bursting, even first year rhubarb.

On the negative side, there does seem to be more weed pressure.  Thistles especially have been spreading everywhere.  (I probably need goats!)  Mulch has kept much at bay, but I've been chopping/dropping more than ever out of necessity.  This might help the soil in the long-run, but it's more than I am used to.  Also, the garlic did not like the North side by the food forest, to my astonishment.  It's great everywhere else.  

I'll keep updating a bit in the future, but for now, the biggest take-away is that I was able to really observe and react to what the Land wanted to do.  Our land was very low fertility with no worm activity from tillage and row cropping, but seems to be coming alive; probably from a combination of animals, permaculture techniques, and the sabbath rest.

Eric Hanson wrote:...is it allowed to plant a cover crop to grow during the 7th year but not harvest it?  If so, this might be a great time to add in a legume or annual seed mix so as to bulk up your land while it rests.

Very interesting information, thanks for sharing.   -Eric

Eric, I guess that depends on your conviction.  We literally let it all go, because that was the "letter of the law".  However, I prayed about this for a few years before doing it and felt at peace with it.  Even our house landscaping rested without annuals this year.  We rested just as much as the land!

As I mentioned in the OP, without imposing anything on the land we were able to see it's natural bent.  I grew closer to God as I walked around the property seeing and commenting about what He was showing me.  That was worth it!  (Not to mention the motivation and ideas we now have!)

Thanks for raining on my parade, Brandon!  haha  (jk)

You're right about the promises being for Israel, but I believe that many of the mechanisms for blessing are baked into the systems of nature/creation.  I'm not trying to be legalistic, but am trying to live abundantly by working with the creation's natural (God-designed) tendencies.  

Jenny, we had a wet summer, so I did not need to water anything.  (This is not always normal for NW Ohio after June.)  My pastures were green all year, so the Dexters were happy.  Also, I failed to mention that pumpkins, winter squash, and birdhouse gourds volunteered from some seeds that must've been sown in a previous year.  I even had some zinnias pop up in what was the vegetable garden.

I read in the Jewish Torah (or the first 5 books of the Old Testament) about commands with promises attached.  The one that peaked my curiosity, as it comes to regenerative gardening/farming, was the command to let the land rest every seven years.  In essence, it lies fallow.

The promise in Leviticus 25:18-22 says: " ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety.  Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.  ‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?”  Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years.  And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest."

Since the Jewish calendar year starts over every Autumn on the 1st of Tishri, which was 7 September 2021, I harvested everything I could prior to that.  Then, I just let it all go!  Since then, I haven't planted a thing, nor pruned.  

What's been interesting are the observations that I've been able to make as I watch the land do what it wants to do.  Wild grapes exploded on the south side.  Wild blackberries and strawberries came up near my driveway.  I even found fruit trees (peach & pear) on the North end where kids had thrown their pits.  These trees were already 7-9 ft high when I found them!  So, guess where I'm going to plant my grapes, berries, and food forest?

Today is the 1st of Tishri once again, so I am ready to plant/prune!  As for the fertility, I'll have to follow up next year with an update.  If it works, it's just one more tool to enhance fertility without chemicals!!  A tool that used to be a mainstay, but has been forgotten due to intensive farming practices.  I'm sure someone with more knowledge can expound.

While we're proudly sharing our first calves, I cannot resist...

This is the first heifer calf born on our property, Pearl.  We bought her mother, Clementine, in March 2021.  The two have taught us so much about having homestead cows!  For anyone who has a perimeter fence, cows are fun and rewarding.   We look forward to the day when both of these girls are producing tasty steers!  (not to mention the milk/butter!)

Hello Isaac!  I have thought about using NRCS for perimeter fencing and high tunnel, but am worried about the government getting too "in my shorts".  Sounds like you have experience with this, so what has been your impression about their oversight?  Is it ongoing, and/or are there stipulations about what you have to do with the site afterwards?

Caley, we just bought our first homestead cow, a Dexter, in March '21.  She has been a joy to our family, and has taught us more than any book!  However, starting with some research is highly advisable.  I started on YouTube and Permies.com, of course, and then read books all Winter.

Check out:  Permies.com - Homestead Cows

Some things I wish we would've done:
1. Don't be in a hurry!  Make friends with homesteaders and farmers in your area, which I wish I had done more.  The connections since owning a cow could've helped us select the right one at a good price.  Ask them about supplements and hay, etc...

2. Pasture, Pasture, Pasture!  At least some permanent fencing is a must, and I would make sure that the cow is trained to poly-braid, etc.  Plan to rotate paddocks, because a muddy cow is an unhappy, stressed cow.  (and no fun to milk!)  Watch a few Greg Judy videos.

3. Buy a tame animal with a sweet disposition.  If possible, spend a couple visits seeing how the cow interacts with people (see #1).  A skittish or aggressive cow won't do for a family milker, and maybe not even a beef cow.  Remember the calves learn everything from the mama.  

4. If the cow is bred, ask for the evidence and press the seller for a calving date.  We were told that ours would calve in June/July, but turns out she didn't get bred until just before we picked her up!!  It's almost November and her udder is just starting to swell.  (Do the sellers know what they're talking about?)

5. For beef, my advice is to go with a mid-sized standard breed.  Some of the rarer breeds might be tempting, but learning on a $1,200 animal is different than learning on a standard $300-400 one.  

Man, there's so much to say, but I hope this helps!!

I have the idea to build a 3-walled, un-plastered straw bale barn for the winter, as a warm place for my Dexter and calf.  Roof would be corrugated metal on a round-wood frame.  In the Spring, the bales will be used as mulch.

We live in NW Ohio, so the land is flat as a pancake and the Winter temps range from 4 to 40 F.  We could have no snow all season, or we could have a blizzard!  

Any Advice?  What other short-term barn-building methods would this group recommend?