Permaculture

I was planting peas around the apple trees ( and jujube and medlar) to chop up later for mulch/nitrogen,when I looked around and realized i was doing better than I thought. yes, all the tiny shrubs died in the extreme heat and drought last summer; the clover never came up; but so much else is working so well.

Natural yarrow (nutrient accumulator)and other interesting weeds pop up here and there. the comfrey( does it all- the bomb. food, nutrients, mulch) is doing wonderfully well and if the cosmos( for the butterflies) doesn;t come back, I'll re-sow that. the berry beds have stayed mulched, and when we cut grass in the summer I just pile it on to the plants for more mulch ( it stays dry and does not rot; a light mulching technique works fine).I could start some perennial onions or garlic here and there; and other flowers.Seed packets. Cheap.

In addition to the jerusalem artichoke patch( mulch material, food if wanted, and barrier plant), this year i plan to add horseradish patch. bug control and deer control-yeah. the horseradish needs a deeply dug spot-good drainage( a few inches of sand) and then lots of compost on top of that.I won;t replace the currants until the apple trees are creating more shade.By using peas, etc, and mulching in or allowing dieback of those plants, I might not need to try exotic nitrogen fixing shrubs. just cherries and currants  :)

and right next to all of this busy-ness is a flower garden that complements and extends what we are trying to do. Butterfly bush and pine cone flowers are excellent for the butterflies; the daylilies and iris ( we dug it all up. fat chance)well, so now we have about 40 new iris plants refilling the space!) and the daylilies spread over the daffodils as they die back, providing enough shade to keep the plant green as long as possible-meaning larger blooms next year.Actually the daylilies now are mulch, groundcover, and exhibition quality flowers,and really have taken to the site beautifully.We plowed it once-7 years ago. a little mulch or fertilizer now and then if we thought of it. that's it.

Eventually I would like the grass replaced by clover or alfalfa;we'll see how that goes.

Natural honeysuckle covers ground behind the fruit trees, as well as wild berry bushes and the cedars, pine trees and hardwoods.

this is becoming a diversified and highly productive area; and it's beautiful too.

Permaculture does not have to be hard work, or expensive. Just shift how you think; plant various perennials which help each other-and watch it all go!

Time for potatoes

yup, order them, go to your farm or seed store, or get out the greenish ones out of your cupboard ( those sometimes don;t work) set them in a single layer where they get some sun; once the green growth starts you are good to go.( greening them up first is called chitting. )

I used potato bags last year. easy and fun. but in super hot super droughty conditions, the potatoes did not reach full size in the last weeks. While i still recommend the bags, i am doing something really weird this year.

planting in rows in deeply dug trenches. And covering as they grow, into nice big hills.( trenches almost a foot with at least an inch of compost in the bottom)

I figure the bulk of soil will keep them cooler. Potatoes don;t like temps over 90 degrees.

I'll be putting compost and organic fertilizer in their bottom inch of soil, and adding a comfrey and nettle mulch before the heavy duty filling in goes on.(FEED potatoes. seriously)

this may seem like too much work for some-they are still kind of cheap at the grocery store. But you can grow varieties you have never seen at the supermarket-with far better taste, and moist and fresh from the ground.it's supposed to be quite a good return also on pounds per pound planted-if you make sure they have what they need! and if the trenches/row/hills are built up enough, I can forego the straw and that might be a good thing too. Wasn;t happy with growing them in straw.

I guess giving in to some old ideas-that work-is a good thing. I ordered hybrid tomato seed too-and cucumber, etc-to get a jump on disease etc. live and learn!