Forest Garden Tour UK - Summer Fruits & Beneficial Flowers
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 พ.ย. 2024
- We are so lucky to enjoy harvesting beautiful fresh berries from our UK Forest Garden from the middle of June right through until the Autumn Raspberries finish and in mid Summer the fruit trees are just getting going too.
Lots of beautiful flowers and herbs benefit both us AND the Insects, which feels more important than ever this season as our insect popular has taken a notable decline since Spring.
By creating insect friendly areas we get to witness the magical synergy between nature’s floral wonders and their crucial roles in our ecosystem. By incorporating more plants and flowers into our gardens and landscapes, we not only enhance our own well-being, we also support the vital roles that insects play in our ecosystem. Let’s nurture this symbiotic relationship and enjoy the bountiful benefits it brings. We hope you enjoy joining us for a mid summer stroll around our Food Forest 💚✌️🌿
We are Dan & Laurie and our land is called Freedom Forest - Its 3 acres in the South of England where we are creating an edible oasis and trying to provide as much for ourselves, from our land as possible, where we are completely off grid.
Our food growing journey began together in 2017 when we created our first No dig lasagne bed. Every year we grow more and more and now we are currently around 60-80% self sufficient in our food needs.
Our style and methods are inspired by permaculture and we try to be thoughtful about how and what we do, to be as gentle on the planet as possible.
We are MASSIVELY grateful that you choose to watch our Videos and support us in this way, however, If you appreciate and get value from what we share and would like to help us a little more, you can become a Freedom Forest Patreon (link below).
It takes us about a day to film some video and another few evenings to edit it, Patreon provides a way you can support what we do with any size donation you wish, it could simply be the value of a packet of seeds! We have many projects coming up, as well as wanting to improve our videos with better camera equipment... maybe even a drone one day to make our videos even more detailed and better quality for you to enjoy! You can help make it viable for us to keep putting the time into making these videos by becoming a Patreon. In return your name will appear in the end credits of our videos and we'll message you a password for the 'members area' of our website where we share more of our favourite recipes exclusively for our Patreon's 💚
/ freedomforestlife
Enjoy & Thanks for Watching
✌️🌿 Peace and Plants
#Freedomforest #forestgardening #permaculturegardening #foodforest #selfsufficientliving #gardentour
I am usually plagued with cabbage white butterfly, but none this year. The flea beetle on the other hand are definitely in abundance. Ladybirds too which I'm delighted to see
Our cabbage butterflies have been very late getting going this year, they are hear now, but only just ... I'd say a good month later than normal. So glad you are seeing ladybirds 🐞 appreciate you watching and commenting 🙏✌️🌿
I saw tonnes and tonnes of insects at Hinton Ampner today which was great to see, paritcularly with both you and Charles Dowding commenting on lack of insects - anxiety!
This is great to hear Samarronn 💗 we have been watching closely and there was evident reduced activity for a good few weeks here - we had a number of messages, including from an ecologist who had just completed a study on grasslands not too far away that was incredibly bleak. As I mentioned, they have still been here, which i truly do connect to the diverse ecosystem we have - numbers are 100% on the up again now in the last week and since filming this video, despite the increasing I feel it is still a situation that requires as much awareness as possible, as over all and over the years insect numbers are decreasing rapidly - probably the slowness has been due to the hugely reduced sunlight hours this year and volume of rain (yet still the powers that be feel that shading out the sun is a potential solution to climate change - which is laughable in my humble opinion)! Overall anything we can do as individuals to create positive change, favourable environments, awareness of industrial impact etc is a step in the right direction I feel, don’t let it make you feel anxious though, use that energy in a positive way instead and focus on what you can do - im sure that will light you up instead 💚🐝✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife thanks for taking the time to write this. Very informative. I will try to channel the anxious energy :D
You can preserve gooseberries pretty well in a closed bottle of fresh water without adding anything else. Same thing works even longer with rowan and lingonberries. Gooseberries preserved this way will store well at least until Christmas.if kept cold.
Wow! I've never heard of this before - sounds great, I will look into this for sure 🙏✌️🌿
Search for the term Vattkrusbär, there is atleast one article in english where you can read about it.
Your food forest looks amazing it's a funny year tho less of everything here too, and things are definately struggling but the insects is realy noticable when the lavender is in full flower and I've seen one bee, the only thing doing well seems to be wood pigeons munching all the perenial kale, and slugs going for the gourmet plants
Its a trick season for sure! I had a load of precious young kale plants munched last night by slugs too, they had been in the ground nearly I week - I usually find, if they survive the first 2-3 nights, they normally make it - so I was a liitle suprised! Insect number are defo picking up here, by the day I woud say - this morning, it was still, as I was having my breakfast in the Food Forest I could here lots of different buzzing all around me 🙏💚🌸
Our allotment neighbour had his entire huge drop of pink gooseberries stripped out last Saturday. We think birds the culprits.... never happened before.
Your blackcurrant cordial recipe just delicious. Made 6 bottles already. Frozen 4 of them.
HI Pauline - I do agree, I think Birds are getting their fill, however, I also think it could be Mice, Voles or Rats at play also - possibly, sniffing them out when they reach peak ripeness ... the other day, one of the bushes we had well covered that had a lot of fruit it still - suddenly all disapeared over night - Here, the birds pick them off a few each day, so you barely notice for a week!! 🤣 So glad you are enjoying the cordial - love hearing this 🙏 great that you've got a good freezer stash too - I just made my last half batch the morning - last of our Blackcurrants 💜
Awesome tour yet again ⚡⚡ about josta berries: I havent really had a good harvest either but I saw simplify gardening has CRAZY josta berry bushes. He showed the in gis last tour. Btw, I have no affiliation with him at all - just really impressed and want to get to the bottom of how to grow them 🤔
Thanks Simon, I’ll see if I can check out that tour, we like Simplify Gardening too 💚 ours had tons of fruit earlier in the season, but picking are slim now. It grows like mad too, we gave it a serious reduction in size 18 month ago, to keep it in check, which meant no real fruit the first yr after and now this winter it’s going to need doing again, so for that reason, I have to say I am actually debating removing it this winter and replacing with another standard gooseberry, which I actually prefer I think … all part of the learning 💚 glad you enjoyed the vid and appreciate your comments as always ✌️🌿
My gooseberry plants are still quite young so i haven't had the nice problem yet of how to preserve a glut. I'm growing hinnonmaki red and yellow varieties and am impressed with both. The yellow variety is sweeter, whilst the flavour of the red seems to be more intense. I've been adding a few to breakfast smoothies each day but need to harvest the bulk soon....i'm thinking a rhubarb, apple, and gooseberry crumble will work well.
Would love an update on your purple cherokee tomoatoes when convenient. Mine are growing outdoors and whilst the weather hasn't been ideal I do have a few moderately sized green tomatoes maturing well. Compared to my other tomato varieties, i'd say the cherokee plants are somewhat smaller in size, and fruit production is relatively low, but i was prepared for this. I have a few black moon plants growing in the same bed and their leaves have had a bit of blight on them, so If i can just get a few cherokee tomatoes making it through to the plate this year i'll be happy. Need some good weather for the next month or so.
Love reading your comments Tony 🙏 hoping to do another polytunnel tour/update this n the next week 💚✌️🌿
Try gooseberry crumble - definitely our favourite way to use gooseberries. We have also noticed less insects this year. But not really surprising after the cold rainy last year and such a cold summer this year. We live in Shropshire Hills and had only few days reaching 18C mostly less than 15C and overcast. Our bees are desperately looking for food but not finding it - plants might be blooming but not producing nectar (needs to be at least 17/18C). So guessing weather is the main reason for insect decline
Hi Silvie, I have some gooseberries in the freezer - I will defo try these in a crumble 😋 I hope your insects build up again, ours definitely have here again, thankfully. Still on the light side - WAY more than a few weeks ago though 💚 Thanks for your comment and for watching 🙏✌️🌿
Love your dungarees. May I ask where you get them from ☺️
Hi Vanessa, thanks - they are from @Tweedyclothing - I love there stuff and ethics - small localish business and really awesome couple too ... www.tweedyclothing.com/. 💚✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife nice one. I’ll have a look 👍🏻
At the very beginning you show an apple tree that is "one of our most productive year in year out love this apple tree", but sadly don't mention which apple tree it is.
Update: oops realised its written on screen "king of the pippins" 🤭 thank you 🙏 Saving your video in my collection of inspiring ones, as we start out with our wee mini forest back garden with the intention of growing as many varieties of fruits as we can in a wee patch 😊
Hi Anne, I think the name of the tree should og flashed up on screen - I to do that as much as possible when I don;t mention the name of variety ... It's 'King of the Pippins' that one. Thanks for watching & messaging Anne - Appreciate it 🙏✌️🌿
Ah I was amending while you were replying. Thank you 😊🙏 I'm now rewatching and taking notes for our plant planning 😊
@@freedomforestlife I'm assuming I can find info about the taste and behaviour of the apple when I look up the name, but from your point of view, is it an eater or cooker, sweet or sharp, mealy or crisp?
@@freedomforestlifere what to do with gooseberries. When I grew them in the past I made gooseberry jam. People don't generally think they like gooseberry jam, but when my kids were young I used to make jam tarts with them for school events and fairs and everybody loved them, asking for more never guessing they were gooseberry. So that's my tip 😊
Here's the notes from our inventory - Spur Bearing, Upright Habit, Good Keeper 3m+, Reliable Cropper, late, medium crispy I would say - its a cox variety of apple. I use for cooking and eating. Glad your picking up some planting inspiration for your garden 💚✌️🌿
Don't blueberries require special soil since they naturally grow in kind of moggy environments?
Our blueberries grow well in loam soil with a feed of sulphur chips.
They ideally like acidic (ericaceous) soil. Some gardeners believe that the plant will create the conditions it needs to grow if you provide the rich organic biodiverse growing conditions. It makes sense to me, but I'm just starting out. Mine are in pots just now, I've dressed with pine needle mulch, but apparently wood chip, leaf mould and coffee granule mulches are also good. I shall find out when I plant my blueberry bushes out. Still researching, I think there's complementary plants, but I'll probably start them off with some organic ericaceous compost and mulch them with woodchip and pine needle mulch and then see what happens 😊
They perfect acidic soil I believe. We dont add any amendments - our soil is naturally slightly acidic here though, we do give them a good mulch of either compost or woodchips in the winter.
Thanks for watching ✌️🌿
I realise this might be a bit of a controversial comment, but I feel like a lot of people dismiss hunting as a way to gain food resources. I've never personally ate woodpigeon but apparently it is good. You could keep the numbers manageable while also utilising them as food?
In a way I feel like this is what is meant when people talk about the amazon as a garden, humans lived there in harmony with nature but also shaped the ecosystem. They played a role of predator as well as selecting the plants they wanted to grow.
I apologies if you guys don't eat meat.
On the subject of herbal medicine, I used to be quite dismissive of it, but over the last few years its really been eye opening seeing how far corporations have their claws in things. When you talk about Saint John's wort, the conspiracy theorist in me thinks that the reason a regulation like that would exist is because large companies don't want people to access free alternatives to their expensive drugs.
The system relies on people consuming products and being dependant. People like you guys are a threat to that. That's why there are a lot of regulations in place making your way of life harder.
I am also concerned about the pendulum swinging the other way as people start waking up to things like this and start to dismiss modern medicine. I just wish we could be free to choose, and educated enough to think critically.
Sorry to get slightly political. All the best guys, I love what you are doing.
Hi, thank you for your thoughtful comments 🙏 I completely understand what you mean about humans living/working within their habitat and ecosystem and it certainly seems that most tribal/native people over time did a much better job of looking after the environment that we mostly are now! If we really needed to do this for survival and management we would - right now we do choose not to eat meat (for several reasons) and feel privileged to be in the position for this to be a choice - If I did eat meat now, my choice would be only wild foraged! I'd say your pretty much on point with the St Johns Wort too - back in the 80's (I think it was) Pharmaceutical companies put a lot of money into researching St John's and they were unable to isolate the compound that provides its medicinal benefits - meaning their are unable to synthesis and recreate a version of it, like they do with many drugs. Strikes me that this is potential one of the reasons why this herb is largely outlawed in medicine! Defo a place and need for modern medicine like you say, transparency and education is what is needed across the board in may aspects of the world, is my view 🙏 Really enjoyed reading your comment - thank you ✌️
@06a09 • I absolutely agree with you. As they say here in Ireland 🇮🇪 "enough said" 🙏🏾😉
@@joanflemmingkendrick1107 🙏🙏🙏Joan - Im flying into dublin on Thursday, then driving out to Kerry, visiting friends - very much looking forward to it - I love Ireland and feel very at home their 💚
My comment has been deleted
Hi Treecutter, I can't see any held or deleted comments ... What was your comment? 💚✌️🌿
you can do everything you can, but you cannot solely influence climate change or pesticide usage.
We need to stop these people and organisations (UN WEF) who are creating this artificial "climate change" in Ireland they are spraying us like insects almost everyday...
Hi Lianne, solely, perhaps not… if we all do nothing, nothing will change either though and big corporations will continue to make all the decision and changes they choose. I believe awareness and education is key as a surprising number of people have NO idea at all that their food and environment is being sprayed or filled with Chemicals that definitely are not proven to be safe … if this had to happen first many of the common products we all know and use would not be available, instead we have to work it out for ourselves due to lack of transparency. It may seem like a case of ‘what difference can little ole me make’ I feel the reality is that if we all make changes on the micro level, collectively that becomes MARCO 🌍 and if MANY of us simple start saying NO to certain products, foods etc, the market will reapond … very quickly infact …. I believe it only has to be a 5% change for the market to response infact 💚🐞🌸🌳 its also AMAZING how quickly nature can heal itself when left alone … she will be here thriving long after we humans are gone, should we not choose to take greater care…. That’s my view anyway 🙏💗Appreciate you watching and opening up this dialogue too 💚✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife I agree with you, but sometimes it is so frustrating that I lose hope anything will change.
It is fustrating for sure - we feel the same somedays, also feel its best just to turn any negative thoughts/energy around and look at all the beauty and save that energy to stand even stronger in your ways and morals, keep spreading the word and doing whatever you can to support ethical companies, products etc and lead by example 💚✌️🌿