Lizz Potter

I have a pile just like this here too.  The problem with the pile here is there is so much rotting wood and nails that I have zero desire to go through it any more than to ensure there is no PT lumber in the pile.  There comes a point when trying to salvage stuff (to me) is just a waste of time.  Being realistic about what you will and will not do in terms of projects is a line we should all learn to draw so our properties don't get filled with piles of shit that we will "do something with someday" but really someday never comes and then its a nuisance because its still there and not dealt with.  Since we know there is no PT lumber in it, we just plan to burn it.

I don't like to waste things but there also comes a point where I have to put my foot down in terms of my sanity and my time.  I do salvage a lot of by-products from various sources around the farmstead but sorting through piles of rotten wood and old pallets filled with bent rusty nails is just a headache and my time could be better spent doing more valuable things here.  We have more than enough firewood as we process our own and for others as a side gig.   The dry wood shavings are saved for the floor of my chicken coop, the bits of bark, chips, and scraps that come off of processing get utilized all over the farm for compost/paths/critter homes/mounds etc.  So most suggestions for uses on here are things we are already using our wood scraps from processing firewood for.    But everyone is different and everyone has a different situation.  This is simply what I would do based on my situation.

My favourite is to chop chicken hearts and livers up and fry them with mushrooms and onions and loads of garlic for a nutrient dense side to any meal.  Freeze a  handful (give or take, depending on your personal preference) of hearts and livers for easy to grab portions for this.   Also using those same portion packs to chop up and add to any sort of ground beef/meat mixture (ie: spaghetti sauce, lasagna filling, hamburgers etc) is a superb way to throw mega needed nutrients in a way you'll hardly notice or taste once the meal is cooked.  Its kind of like those hidden tricks to get kids (or adults) to eat more veg...puree that sweet potato and put it in your pasta sauce.  MMmm and its extra filling too!!  

Otherwise I just throw them to my cats and dog, they love them!  If you have pets and don't mind a bit of effort, slicing the livers and dehydrating them make amazing little treats....  for folks making raw food the taurine content in chicken hearts is vital to add to raw food for cats.

People who make their own raw food are always on the hunt for the livers and hearts if you're not wanting to use them yourself. Usually in half pound lots and frozen works great.  I used to work as a whole animal butcher and we could never keep those things in stock.  Most people loved my suggestions for hiding them in their burgers or lasagnas as they found the taste a little difficult to deal with, but where they felt the difference of including them in their diet, they kept coming back for more.

thank you! Looking forward to learning lots :)

thank you! happy to be here! :)

Right off the bat, I am not sure if this is the right place for this post, but because it deals with where I want to have a food forest, I hope it is.

*Farm is located in Nova Scotia*
My partner purchased this farm property over 5 years ago, but we didn't live here full time until 2019.  At this point, I was beginning to get interested in food forest systems and began to explore the larger area of forest that is in the South West end of the property, but also spans the entire West end of the property.  this span is over 800m of overgrown forest edge  This is where the headache began.  
I went for a walk in the spring when it was pretty bare, and counted over 30 various piles of garbage along the back 300m (ish) of woods edge.  This edge of the woods is also at the top of a slope going down into the woodlot towards a brook.  These piles varied in sizes from one pile having multiple chest freezers, old washers, silage plastic and various scraps to piles filled with household garbage, including an old real estate sign with the previous owners name on it (clearly not out garbage).  We were aware of one pile near the back of the property as its in plain sight, and I'll be honest, older farms tend have a bit of a pile somewhere so that one we accepted.  I won't go into details but the previous owner did end up hiring someone to clean up the majority of the mess they left.
The guy who came to asses refused to let the previous owner 'take care of it' as he knew it would not be properly taken care of.  On the day of garbage removal,  I counted over 5 quad axel dump truck loads and 3 double axel dump truck loads leaving the property of garbage.  And that only was from a span of about 300m.  They got the bulk of it but there is some they couldn't get...the issue is that some of it has made its way under tree roots, and if we remove it, we feel we are creating more of a problem than a solution.   We have erosion issues and its a bit of a mess... we are at a bit of a loss as to how to approach this.

We have looked into hiring someone, but the issue is that there are very few folks who take a permaculture approach in the area, we found one and meet virtually but she was hesitant to help as we are on the other side of the province.   She was only hesitant as the cost of additional KMs travelled outside their work zone adds up fast, and quickly becomes rather expensive.

What I am wondering is, what is the best way to approach this?  I would like to get a food forest in place however, I would like to do what I can to mitigate erosion, while improving soil quality and also, if possible, not disturb the forest.  There is a lot of standing and fallen dead wood and plenty of mushrooms growing everywhere.  Its an area that I would like to leave mostly untouched, but I feel there is some work to be done first.

I have attached a few photos.  The back/top of the slope is East, and the slope runs down towards the West.  Since having the garbage removed, we can already feel that the Earth is breathing better, there is so much new growth and it feels more peaceful.  However, the erosion is still happening and I would like to have some remediation to the soil before trying to consume anything grown on this area of land.  

Any suggestions or help is appreciated.  
Thanks for your time
Lizz

This is a very old thread, but just wanted to give it a prod.  Im in NS and would love to interact with others currently living here and doing permaculture/closed loop approach to farming.  Thanks!

Good day folks!

My name is Lizz and my partner are in our early 30s and I live on a 160+ acre farm in rural Nova Scotia.  Our farm is currently home to the two of us, our two cats, a dog, a bakers dozen head of cattle and a small flock of teenage chickens.  I would love to see the addition of bees, and an increase in the size of my chicken flock (dual purpose of course).   We intend to be as close looped as possible for the farm with minimal inputs as possible.  In terms of our animals, the only input for the cattle is straw for bedding as we do not grow grains, and my organic chicken feed.  I hope to be able to reduce both of those inputs over time.
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Our farm as I mentioned is located in Rural Nova Scotia.  The land is a mixture of hilly woodlot, pastures, fields and of course ‘yard’.   We have a lot of road frontage, and I intend to plant that with  native trees and shrub species for privacy barrier and also to put a buffer between us and the conventional dairy farm across the road.
There are 2 brooks on the property, one in the woodlot and one that runs from a pond up the hill.  My partner being heavily interested in engineering and anything mechanical intends to utilize the natural slope for a bit of water power.  That is certainly a project for the future, but is great to take into account as we plan what to do with the land.
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We have major issues with erosion especially along the banks of the brook.  The previous owner used to just let his dairy cattle go wherever they wanted, which meant they walked anywhere along the brook, and trudged through the trees lining the brook.  The pond that supplies that brook is also fed water no longer being able to be held in the ground thanks to clearcutting going on behind the property we have a mess of sediment and erosion happening.  
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We were one of the first people in the area to get solar panels, and are very happy to see more and more folks with them.  While we are grid tied, we produce enough energy to earn some money as well as have our power needs looked after.  If the weather cooperates this weekend, we hope to get our windmill aerator installed.  I came across that as a way to help fix the issues arising from stagnant water and to improve the drinking water we have.  Here’s hoping it will work!
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I came across permaculture because conventional anything drives me bonkers.  I have always liked doing things differently.   I really became interested in Biodynamics, I studied the lectures and understand what is being said however, I don’t feel that any one approach is the correct one, but a mixture of many is what makes things work.  Being rigid and dogmatic will cut off opportunities to learn, cut your vision short of observing and of course hinder growth.  This is why I don’t identify with any labelling system humans have tried to come up with for anything and everything from the food being eaten to the lifestyle being lived.   Permaculture, to me is a more modernized less celestial version of Biodynamics.  I know many would like to give me a mouthful of well chosen words to try to debunk that statement, but that is how I see it, and you will not change my view.  
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I have two youtube channels that I throughly enjoy, one being "Stefan Sobkowiak - The Permaculture Orchard" as he is in Quebec and a very similar growing region to our farm, as well as "Edible Acres" as Sean is full of information, loves to share his ideas and knowledge and is an endless source of inspiration on the channel.
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I hope that was not too long of an introduction!  I will end it with a few photos from around the farm