perennial food garden
I have been under the weather, so not a lot of work has been getting done on our projects. Which is a bummer! We have a lot of commitments so things move slowly in general, but as long as I feel like we are making progress I feel good. When I feel like we aren’t making progress I start to look around and get overwhelmed at everything that I want to do, so it’s been frustrating.
I was feeling frustrated today at the lack of progress when I went out for chores. A thing on my short list of jobs is for us to gather all of the fenceposts in and around the barnyard in preparation for the new perimeter fence!! I want to use the posts to border the garden beds, so that explains some of the urgency. Anyway, I thought I would feel great if I made some progress and pulled out a post that was in the way of where I wanted to move the pasture gate. They are all pretty rotten and loose, so, easy, right? I grabbed it and started rocking it back and forth, but it didn’t want to go. It was actually at a corner, so braced to the next post which I’m sure was part of the problem. I was going to teach that post a lesson and I really put my weight behind it and… IT BROKE at ground level, slammed into me and then both posts and the brace and I fell flat to the ground. Graceful and competent as ever.
Back on topic! I am trying to focus on the good of this down time which is that I have had time to work on some paperwork and planning which is important and also technically progress. It’s just hard to see it when you look at the property. One of the things I’ve been working on is the garden.
I love cooking and eating and feeding people and I love making pickles and preserves, and freezing and canning food. I like the work and I like how the finished products make the produce last all year. We grew a lot of food at the old farm, but I have a giant, probably unrealistic, plan to go a LOT MORE food at The New Farm!!! I need to stray briefly here to talk about my Grandmother’s pantry. Most importantly, the pantry had swinging louvered saloon doors which is maybe the most magical thing ever and I have always wanted to incorporate them into a house where I live, but never have. Inside there were floor to ceiling shelves on one side and on the other side I think there was some counter space with shelves above? My grandfather also kept his seeds in this room that he saved for planting the next year. These memories, which may have been fabricated by my own subconscious, are part of the foundation of my relationship with food. From the beginning I knew where it came from and that the foods that came from that pantry were special. That someone who loved me grew and canned those foods for me, so I could sip slightly fizzy (maybe a little alcoholic?) grape juice from last summer during a few hands of gin rummy on a snowy Saturday. And maybe that’s why this brings me so much satisfaction? Or maybe it’s just that I need an excuse never to leave my house?
I have been working on this garden plan since we signed the contract on this property. It seems premature, but many of the things that I want to grow, aren’t going to produce in the first couple of years so I want to get them planted right away. I need a well thought out plan because in 5 years I don’t want to regret where I put 27 fruit trees. This plan may not completely prevent that, because who knows what I am going to want to do in 5 years, but still.
I had initially planned for 150 feet square which would contain everything in my imagination. A greenhouse, a potting shed, chicken coop, ALL the plants and trees, decorative water feature, beehives, flowers for cutting, hopes, dreams, and a Lutyens bench. My plan was to put it in the 4 acre field behind the house. We could graze the rest of the field and have the option for expansion when we prove to be unbelievable orchardists.
Then spring came and you could practically swim laps in that field, so plans changed!
The next best option is to put the garden in the yard around the house. We had planned to leave this area open for parking and/or putting up our big tent for events. However! There are some drawbacks to this plan: This field was really dry when we moved in at the end of summer. The grass was brown and crispy, so not really the idyllic spot for a big tent and fancy party. More kind of a depressing spot for a dusty, hot party. Dusty shoes, clothes, and hors d’oeuvres, sounds nice and gritty! Also that field will need to be mowed which takes man hours (literally, I never mow), wear and tear on equipment, and fossil fuels. Less mowing is better!
The space available in this spot will not accommodate my original plan, so I went back to the drawing board. I actually used a software from almanac.com, it’s pretty amazing for people like me who aren’t super knowledgeable about plants beyond what they taste like. We decided to halve the original plan which is probably more realistic. There is space in this field to expand into an L shape or U shape if it seems like that’s the right thing. I can’t imagine really needing more space except maybe for fruit trees?
This is where the plan stands as of now!
For this year, we are only planting perennial foods. It’s still probably taking on too much, but I wanted to get them in as quickly as possible so we start producing apples before I’m too old to pick them. In the plan, the beds that have little plants in them are the plants that we have coming this year. The other beds are labeled with things that are good companion plantings that I hope to grow in the future, but are all subject to change.
It’s so hard to look at the little cartoon fruits and veg and remember what the plan is, but I am pretty sure this is the list: raspberries, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, bush cherries, horseradish, red currants, black currants, blueberries, apples. And also because I lied in that last paragraph, I am planning to put in a couple of annuals: lavender, parsley, thyme, oregano, chives (nope, these are perennial), and dill.
Keep in mind that this plan is the current goal! All of those paths and beds are definitely not going to happen this year, but there’s no sense getting started if you don’t know where you’re going!