Food forest and garden update

Before picture, about 45 days ago. I started sheet mulching the forest section preparing for dutch white clover.

After - I tried to keep all the angles on the pictures the same. Nice big growth on the peach tree - it was just branches before and now it's covered in lush green healthy leaves. The only fertilizer I used on it was stinging nettle compost tea - twice about 3 weeks apart.

Before - side view of what I hope will be a tree tunnel one day.

After - The tree in front is a peach, and two pears on the other side of it.There are currants on the side.

Before - looking down the alley. You can see how crap the grass was.

Before - here you can really see the grass I was working with. I can only imagine the soil I'm starting with is pretty terrible. It's going to take some time to fix this soil. Ideally I should have waited and done that first for a year. I started early before I got super interested in all this stuff. Hopefully it all survives and I can slowly rebuild the soil over the next few years - starting with some clover!

Sheet mulched it to kill grass, then rototilled it, and reseeded with clover. I think ideally I should have left the cardboard and put compost/manure on top and then seeded into that? Ah well, lets see how just rototilling and seeding works out.

I just cut if for the first time today in hopes of allowing it to grow over other competing groundcover/grass. Just before I cut it, it looked like a sea of clover - so that's good.

On the left is a pear tree with Rhubarb on the dripline. Bottom corner is comfrey which just started. Slightly off picture on the left is Lovage, Dill, Chives, Garlic.

Behind the pear tree is a raspberry bush which I will let grow rather while backwards and prune it hard as it pushes into the pathway.

On the right hand side is a serviceberry just offscreen bottom right. On the right is another peach tree. Behind that are strawberries and a persimmon tree. All trees have a comfrey at the eventual mature dripline. The outer (north) edge is lined with asparagus, garlic, and in the fall I will plant daffodils.

Before - Lonely baby persimmon

After - Persimmon tree that is behind the strawberries. Second circle is comfrey. Ignore the rocks, I'm probably going to move them, I'm using them to kill some competing grass, then I will expand the mulch more. I can't believe how much mulch I've gone through! At least 80 garbage bins full.

Behind these is asparagus, then blueberries/blackberries.

Behind to the right you can see the start of an on-contour swale with blueberries (3 varieties) planted on the berm side.

Closeup of the start of the swale. I think I may have dug the swale too deep and thin, and the hill too tall. Please give me advise if you think it's okay, or if I should dig up the blueberries, flatten the hill out a bit, and replant. I'm not sure they'd make it though - but I may be struggling to keep these wet enough because I think they may be too high.

In the future I will probably add some soil to the berm side and plant some fruit trees and grey alders/Siberian pea trees which I currently have growing in pots from cuttings. Hopefully by then (1-2 years) I should be able to take some comfrey cuttings also and add those into the guild. Perhaps sow over the groundcover with white clover also.

Before

After, blackberries on the left, blueberries on the right. You can tell they haven't been doing well. It's been a really really cold and rainy summer up here in Ontario. Barely any sun at all.

Before - tree path down to the lower garden.

After - not much change :)

Before, setting up the lower garden.

After - it's an unbelievable struggle to keep on top of all the weeds. I only properly mulched most of the beds a few weeks ago. I thought it would be okay to just mulch around the plants, like you do with trees. Clearly I have a lot to learn! I learned a valuable lesson this summer. Look at the front garden where I grew some Romaine lettuce... weed central - because I ran out of mulch.

Before - Lower garden is cucumbers on the right and peppers on the left. I planted some spindly weak broccoli that I grew from seed and put them behind the cucumbers because I didn't think they'd make it.

After - Well they did make it, and it's pretty crowded over here. I had to pull up a diseased cucumber plant, but I did get 3 cucumbers out of it. I still have two left and the one on the right looks like it's going to die of the same thing. I've pulled off tons of dead/dying leaves and left what you see here, hoping it will make it. The guy on the left is thriving and putting out another 8 cucumbers as we speak. I want to make sure he makes it.

The broccoli are starting to come. They had a really slow start from a crappy seed growth by me - not enough light, very leggy. Then they got hit by a really cold rainy summer with zero sun. I'm surprised anything is growing to be honest.

Before - Sweet/hot peppers on the lower right. On the left is what I thought was a watermelon (it turned out to be a tomato plant masquerading in a pot labled "waterbro".

You can see my pole-bean trellis all ready to accept pole bean climbers. Potatoes are planted infront of it and to the left down that portion of the garden.

After, left to right: peppers, the tomato/watermelon spy, something called "stinky" used to deter rabbits/deer. Lavender behind it in the wild.

The pole-bean trellis, all ready to accept pole-beans was surprised to find out they are actually bush beans. Ah well, no brilliant wall of green this year. Those beans are putting out double fisted handfuls of beans every other couple of days though, so I can't complain.

Before - World's ugliest tomato trellis. Cherry tomatoes in the back, beafsteak on the left and red brandywine at the bottom. Marigolds planted sporatically around.

Behind this are more peppers, some asparagus deer/rabit guardians, more stink plant and some lupine in the wood sun-edge

After - Tomatoes are coming up nicely. I sure like the look of the worlds worst tomato trellis - all natural and stuff... but I think next year I may do something more structured.

Before, looking back on beans/potatoes

After - potatoes were twice as high last week. I think they are either finishing up, or something is happening to them. Leaves starting to turn yellow and curl up. It could also just be the zero sun summer problem. It's also raining nearly every day.

I did dig a fairly elaborate mini-trench/swale system to help with drainage. I did this over 2 days last weekend - what a big job. I tested it and it runs really well... soaks water in, spreads it out, and overflows to the next tier-level downwards. I covered it with pine needles and hope it doesn't erode too badly.

Before - looking down at the free water source - runoff from various artesian wells all feed into this stream.

After

Before, blueberry bush.

After - blueberry bush. Trying to control some of the growth with cardboard. I will mulch over top of this as soon as it's mostly dead.

Again, the blueberry bushes aren't doing too well. I amended the soil with some aluminum sulphate solution, but I'm guessing it takes a while. It's only been 45 days. Also I have to remember that this is all planted on pretty crap soil and it will take a while for me to build organic matter into it. I planted everything with a triple mix/compost/manure mix.

Before - water source

After - water source

Before - coming back up the hill.

After - back view of the potatoes. Behind the garden you can see an open field area where I have some wild apple trees growing. I'm going to expand the food forest slowly into this area also.

After - Here's the start of the lower section. Three paw paw trees. Two look like they are clones, and the short guy I bought from another nursery, hoping that it's genetically different so that they will be able to cross polinate. I understand I may have to do it manually... I Just hope it works!

This lower area is pretty shaded from other rather large pines, cedars and ash trees, so I thought it would be a perfect spot for paw paws. The little guy got sunburnt pretty badly already - I hope he makes it.

Around the trees I planted more...

Comfrey! Which is finally coming up! I was scared it wouldn't. I am very excited to see this growing. I plan on expanding it into tons more.

Before - obligatory doggo.

After - obligatory double-doggo.

Before - Final view, entrace to the tunnel. Apple tree was inherited when we bought the place, and makes amazing apples. No idea what kind.

After - a lot of hard work, sore backs. Look at the color of the grass (top right section outside the food garden area) and the dutch white clover (super green central section).

Also added some grapes to grow up this dying/struggling ugly ass tree.

More doggos.

Doggo Guard.

Thanks for watching!

Next steps - harvest, then prepare the gardens for winter. I made about 60 gallons of biochar and it's busy getting activated by grass clippings, compost, flour and water. I'm going to try to mix in 5-10% into the soil wherever I can (garden) and maybe top dress near the fruit trees and hope it works it's way down. I don't want to damage root systems.

Then I want to propagate more comfrey so I can chop/drop it and use it in comfrey tea. I used stinging nettles this year, and comfrey will be a whole lot easier.

Then I want to add some cherry trees, plum, probably more peaches and pears.

I want to make a Huglekulture bed and grow squash/zuchini/cucumbers up it next year.

I want to get some oak and try to start growing some mushrooms.

I want to plant some Black Walnut so that maybe I can harvest it and make some cash!

More biochar, more berry bushes, figure out optimal tweaks on my guilds....

I have Siberian pea trees growing in pots from cuttings. I will plant those interspaced with the fruit trees. I have grey Alder seeds in the fridge cold-stratifying for seed starts next year.

I want to build a greenhouse.

I want to set up rainbarrels and drip irrigation lines, possibly using the greenhouse roof as extra surface area to collect and funnel water.

I'd like to grow some watercress in the stream. I'd like to start a wetlands guild near some wet marshy area where I already have some natural willows growing. Maybe learn how to make baskets with the willows, and propagate more of them (I just love how they look, although I understand apparently they are bad for ticks).

Man, I don't think I'm ever going to run out of things to do!

Any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!