Mac Johnson

Syd Smith wrote:
-The garden will be installed in what is now pastureland. It's pretty compacted. I plan to condition the soil with cover cropping and mulching for up to 2 years before installing the garden, but some modest mounds could also help build up a deeper soil bank that drains well.
-The ground is pretty flat (not great for swales), but it does pond in some areas, suggesting poor drainage.

Just by creating some small mounds you'll help some of your plants in these areas of poor drainage.  Just giving a little slope can provide the necessary movement of water to prevent rot and root smothering.  I live on the plains, and any area that has water pool likely has poor draining clay or something else underneath.  The capillary action of the mound will also draw some water up in times of drought.

I'd think about adding something organic to the small mounds.  Not a full hugel, but maybe leaf litter or sticks mixed in to be the water sponge that will soak up excess water and then release it slowly.  Personally, I wouldn't bring the dirt if you have somewhere you can dig and it is fairly fertile.  You'll be providing somewhere for the water to go if you dig in the same area.

Joao Winckler wrote: One thing worth considering as you scale up: a really large mound can create a rain shadow on its leeward side, so orienting the long axis perpendicular to your prevailing wind helps moisture penetrate more evenly. The keyhole path access is a good call too, makes it much easier to plant and harvest without compacting the mound itself.

That was something I had not thought about.  The mulberries would definitely cause some of that.  I'll amend my plan to take that in to consideration.  Maybe some plants that tolerate less moisture...  I am hoping to create many small microclimates throughout.  Even stretch a few zone 5 plants to my area with some creative hardscaping.  Thank you for your insight!

I've got some Hugelkultur mounds I've built over the years and feel pretty comfortable with the concept, now.  I've been a fan at their ability to produce and survive through droughts without supplemental watering.  Plus, the ability to contain gardens in circular plots I can mow around simplifies the maintenance and allows for control of more aggressive plants like jerusalem artichoke and raspberry suckers.  Now, I want to take all that I've learned and make a series of mounds including a larger central mound and include as many varied crops and their guilds that I can reasonably expect to grow in my zone (4b).  Part experiment, partly to show the locals what can be done, and mostly for food for my family and nutritious fodder for my livestock.

My plan at the moment is for one central mound (~18 feet across and 5-6 feet tall)  surrounded by 6 smaller mounds (~8 feet across and 3-4 foot tall) spaced evenly around the larger mound I'm calling satellite mounds.  I'm less concerned about these at the moment, as I will add them as I have time, and will start with the large central mound.  The mounds would each be specialized for guilds/livestock forage/specialized needs/etc. with the central mound being my most productive, cooperative, and desired plants.

I attached a hand drawn image of my initial thoughts for the central mound and quick drawing of the 7 total mounds for visual representation.

I'm worried the sunchokes will overtake the rest of the mound done this way, anybody have advice?  Want to use them for the groundnut support.  Clover and wild strawberry will be a lot of the soil coverage with astilbe adding more nitrogen fixing on this mound.  I'm also surrounding all mounds with chives and other alliums due to rabbits, deer, and voles.  I'm not a master gardener, just a guy with dirty hands and some time on his hands.

Thank you for any advice you may have!

While I can't be sure on all the details of your situation, I do know this feeling. I love blueberries. And despite doing all the courses, all the methods, with all the right parameters and I still can't grow them despite trying for years.

I have had some success with mushrooms, though. If I had to guess, it's a moisture problem and probably getting dry. Not because you're not watering enough, but because getting some of these commercial strains started may call for more consistent moisture to get them established. For me, it was almost daily watering a bed of wood chips and layers of blue oyster sawdust spawn over landscape fabric. My easiest mushroom, though, was the wine cap or king stropharia. Several bags of mushroom spawn in a pile of fresh ash and maple chips sitting in a tarp in a small depression so the base of the chips were always sitting in water. I've used these chips in hugelkulter beds, my regular garden mulch, and just keeping weeds down usually at one part inoculated and one part non-inoculated chips. I've been able to pick mushrooms from these chips the first year and more every year since. I've added fresh wood chips every year and mixed them in and close the tarp over the top for a while in the cooler months or if it gets hot and dry out. The wood chip pile is also a good source of big mushrooms if you keep it in the shade. Aside from making a pile of wood chips, it's low maintenance.

I've failed on several mushrooms I've tried to start (lions mane, shitaki, chestnut...) but these two just worked. I think it was a moisture problem when I failed.

One of the things that would have helped me with beginning gardening would be a plan.  For most of my life I grew tomatoes, because that's what my parents did and I knew how to can/process/cook with them.  I often planted without a plan for the reaping and would be caught with too many melon or a bunch of onion I couldn't store more than a couple weeks.  

As for the residual income question, I'd think so.  Hoping to write some myself.  I'd love to hear about your process and experiences if you do.

My food forest is finally getting big enough to produce more than we can eat reasonably.  I've been playing with the idea of using fruit scraps (apricot, peach, apple, pear, berries) mixed with fodder for final fattening of livestock before butchering.  I run chickens, ducks, geese, and goats.  I'd gone back and forth on the morality of fattening but I feel like it is fine as long as the welfare of the animal is respected and confinement is not used.  The animals sure like it.  The calories should be there.  I've even heard of successful foie gras without force feeding.

Any one tried anything like that?  How would you store scraps for later use?  Fermenting/silage?

Avid reader myself and have read a few of these mentioned.  To be a little contrarian, my favorite book that helped me is the one that inspired me onto the path where I eventually found permaculture and it's gardening mania.  I've now read Walden Pond a dozen or so times and it inspires me every time.  I needed the why before I went down my path of how to achieve it.  Not a lot of gardening know how in this one.  It's a philosophy around naturalism and the Transcendental movement.  

One-Straw Revolution helped me bring Thoreau's words to the world of Permaculture and Sepp Holzer's Permaculture fully indoctrinated me.

Exciting times!  It sounds like you have a good idea of where to start and some good knowledge on the systems.

One thing I would caution you on will be space. That's a large lot for having neighbors, but once you start planting trees and their required pollinators you'll start eating into your space.  You can grow under trees, but the majority of production garden foods won't do well.  I have shy of 7 acres and am having to plan my space out to make sure I don't mess up with plans for the future.  I recommend drawing out a map of your property and where you want to plant/build what over the next 5 years.  Think about where the shadows will fall once the trees are full grown.  This process helped me winnow away at the things I wanted to do to make a feasible plan that I'm still following some 6 years later (with adjustments).

Get to tapping those maple trees sooner rather than later.  There's a learning curve, but your property is already producing delicious calories and great sweetener alternative.

Start looking for Food Grade IBC totes.  You'll probably be able to find a farm, manufacturing plant, or food processing plant that throws there's away.  20 minutes with a sprayer and soap and you can have a good tote for free.

Carla Burke wrote:You can also make yogurt cheese....

Definitely giving this a try! Muffins too!

Thanks, everyone! Going to give some of these a try. I made a half gallon, but it's just me and 2 kids at the house this week. Going to freeze some. I love cheesecake and naan!