I’m currently clearing out a portion of a 5 acre site for a house and garden area. I went through and identified tree by tree before clearing, and I’m so glad I did. There were many edible sumacs, black cherry, hickory, black raspberry, fodder trees, nitrogen fixers, and more. The food forest was already halfway planted! Once I determined where the most valuable trees were, I made my design accordingly to keep as many as possible. I was able to build my greenhouse behind a wall of sumacs which allow light through in the winter, then shade it in the summer. I strategically left evergreens behind it to reflect light and hold heat. I’m building coops under nitrogen fixers and evergreens which protect birds from predators and also help make a great mulch I can empty out. I left many trees at the top of the hill and north sides to keep feeding soil. Definitely cut carefully, tree by tree!
This is great to read. Exactly! Know your plants, know your context before you start modifying. You could spend years and thousands of dollars destroying what was already a lush established food forest if you don't know what you are working with!
I just wanted to say that you have been a huge inspiration for me over the last 3 years. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your journey!
On my Alaskan property, I am cutting down cottonwoods to allow more light for the garden and solar panels. I cut high stumps to covert them to oyster mushroom totems. In an experiment, I cut wedges in the tall stump and put sawdust spawn inside before screwing back the wooden wedge. My first flush of oysters took six weeks. This coming summer should be very productive. By using a living stump, there seems to be more moisture. Both the wedges and traditional totems are working well. If you are cutting more hardwoods I recommend doing some research to see what mushroom prefers that tree.
"Squirrels moving through the landscape" - when someone goes to such way of viewing the property they manage, we are absolutely sure that they are in tune with Nature.
What a great video! I have been doing the same thing at my place. It can feel like a slow process if one is used to starting and completing projects over a weekend..... however by working steadily over time(many seasons) the best practices and options reveal themselves and give you a great end result.
Thank you so much for pointing out directions to the camera! This place looks great, awesome that wildlife is doing your planting for you! This selects for tree species that the animals actually want to eat, very cool
I really enjoy these style videos of just walking the land and making observations. I can also completely echo the value of joined canopies for boosting wildlife. This is my season to get out and really observe where animals are using my land, and the most amount of foot-traffic is happening in areas where the canopies are touching.
As usual, There are some really great comments here. I'm very happy to be in tune with so many others striving for that balance within ecosystems. I'll share some notes on this one, its a little close to the heart because I have to do an extensive 'clearing' of plantation pine because they are suffocating the only aquifer on my 35 acres. (many neighbour's drill up to 3 wells before finding one with a small report) After 4 years of observation, thinning, and returning the biomass to the already thin soil, I have concluded that the design of the plantation is detrimental to both the aquifer, and surrounding animal ecosystems(myself include) So for that, and many other reasons, I have been thinning extensively and returning the 5 acre aquifer fields to Savanah, (100years back it was recorded as such, on shallow, fissured bedrock, 1 foot soil, mainly acidic, water table currently 18ft below silt loam at low point of landscape) I have studied and selected every tree capable of holding life beyond its detrimental mono plantation design, and its unfortunate that I have maybe only 40, out of 600 plantation trees that have enough low branches to provide nesting habitats to keep the entomological aspects in balance. I also leave a 200 ft natural buffer between neighboring farms. Its a shame how initiatives like mass tree plantings can become so monocropped that it lines up with intensive mono Ag practice and only buffers the clear cut industry, exclusive of ecosystems. Fortunately, though, without so much as a puddle on my 35 acre farm, by returning every cut back into the landscape and building mycelium matt networks, I now have amphibious life returning! Really! highest water table is still 18ft down in the silt, even more so on neighboring properties, and my 5 acre 'fallow' fields are full of frogs! Its really amazing how the simple act of 'rearranging of what you got' benefits so much more than just your own existence. This year I'm trying out some blueberry, haskap, and service berry beds on the high side of my cluster orchard, in the returned Savanah field. I leave a lot of native wildflower standing for the winter birds in all the areas I do extensive work to. If I had to estimate, it would be around 80% wildflower Savanah for the 3 acres in the aquifer portion. I do have animals, and am including 2 acres of pasture as well, higher up in the aquifer, and utilizing the cluster orchard and mycelium matts lower down as a catchment and bio filter.( perculation is 3 minutes t time... it goes right down anyway lol) I'm also a little jealous of edible acres very high clay content sometimes! Lol. Thanks for sharing people.
So glad to have folks like you in the world keeping an eye on whats happening and trying to move things in a better way. Thank you so much for the important work you are getting into there. I hope it keeps evolving and deepening for you Eric!
Thanks for the perspective, I've been in observation mode this winter in a stand of mostly red maple and sweetgum. Going to harvest some more mushroom logs and open up some more space for any excess trees from the nursery that go unsold. It'll be good to have this fresh on my mind heading into the thicket! Thanks Sean!
Great info. I'm 10 acres of a 40 acre grain field. Years of dead soil remedy, so now ready to plant. Wild plum & Aspen planted by wind & wildlife is spreading abundantly.
The landscape that you started with (similar to your neighbor’s property) appears to have been a forest. Two questions: 1) Did you have rich soil at the start? If not, what was the composition? 2) I’m wondering what you intend to plant in the hugel mound?
Soil was pretty junky... very wet silty soil that is poorly drained and shallow to bedrock... In the hugels we'll focus on super hungry annuals for the next little bit and then transition into perennials (squash, amaranth, corn, etc for now, perennials TBD)
@@edibleacres Glad to hear that “junky” silty soil can be redeemed! 😃 I live in the northeast and have clay & rock dense soil. I can’t tell you how many pounds of rock I dug out 4 years ago for a 4x4’ raised bed, in order to level and line the bottom with old rotting firewood-modified hugel bed). I now have a second 4x4 raised bed and a 3x12ft in-ground bed where there was grass....just a tad smaller than your garden ;-) Mulching w/wood chips, fall leaves and mushroom compost (waste from a nearby mushroom farm) my production has improved each year. I now have black loamy soil where there used to be clay. The soil is not the only change I’ve noticed. Last season, there have been more wildlife (lots of birds, chipmunks, groundhogs, fox, mice) and many more insects/worms in my small garden. What are some of the wildlife changes you’ve noticed on your property over the years?...would be an interesting episode! Would love to see updates on your hugel mound plantings, I’ve wanted to do one but am afraid of it being destroyed by pests...watching you succeed may be the push I need to “just do it!” 😁 Thanks for sharing your experience, I really appreciate the information, and your intuitive style of gardening!
This is such a fantastic video! I was especially interested in the idea of a windbreak for those in the northeast. I have a dense canopy to the west of my urban garden (the neighboring wild lot) and have been complaining about the shade, but I should probably be grateful for the protection!
Timely information. Thank you. It was so hard to watch 9 of our neighbors alders come down but they weren’t healthy, leaning like crazy, snapping and breaking during high winds. So, I’d like to give a little advice to empathic newbies like myself. Making these sacrifices in order to improve the health of your land and it’s inhabitants is okay, it really is. Take the time to observe, give a good hard think about what the benefits and downfalls of any action will be, make an informed decision and continue to manage the area afterwards. Now,if I can only take that advice... 🙃
I hear you on this... Sometimes it can be hard to cut down a tree. But then I remember that the Ash tree I cut down can potentially be a place where an American Persimmon can go, with maybe 1-2 paw paws around it to the south and east, a few currants to the north, maybe a raspberry thicket to the west, and a ton of perennial herbaceous foods and medicines... Then it's like, "ok wheres the chainsaw" :)
Thanks for your thoughts. Always inspiring =) Did you make a video about your bamboos yet? Would love to hear your thoughts on root barriers, what varieties do well for you and so forth.
I'd be happy to share notes on the bamboos we grow. Maybe I can get help from some folks to help identify some that I lost the tags to! I'll keep that in mind as a winter topic.
@@edibleacres I'd love to know more about your thought process when working with Bamboo as well. For example, are you planting them mostly for privacy screens or wind breaks? Or do you make use it for other things like the shoots for food, the excess leaves for mulch, or the cut culms for building and trellises? I've just planted a privacy screen using a running style bamboo and most people that I talk to are scared that the bamboo will take over. In my mind, I'm excited for an almost eternal supply of mulch and trellises!
Just today I was doing succession work with some hemlocks. Theyre infested with wooly adelgid and elongate hemlock scale; so i thinned the more infested lower branches to let dappled light in for the pawpaws, persimmon, and black raspberries that will be planted in the understory; in addition to the goumis, elderberries, and hazelnuts that I had already planted on the hemlocks' drip edge. Funny enough I was looking for videos on persimmons recently and came accross your video on black walnut and juglone tolerant plants; one after one all of the species im planting were listed in the video 😂 Whats more; black walnuts that squirrels already planted in the area are telling me that a black walnut overstory is definitely an option. Sometimes things make more sense that you even know. Edit: In the hemlock area there is also chinese yam that was there even before my parents bought the house and had me. I was truly DOOMED to become a permie, it makes so much sense now.
This isn't a question about Food Forests per se, but something you mentioned at about the 10:25 mark got my attention. It was the bitternut hickory, which you said could produce oil you could press in the future. I searched the list of your videos in regard to pressing your own oil from nuts etc. but couldn't find anything. Have you ever done a video on the topic of growing particular plants for oil, or even featuring those types of plants/processes? Thanks!
I haven't done a video on this topic, because we have a lot to learn too! But luckily we have at least 5+ years before they start cropping so ample time to think it through... I own a 'piteba' oil press that I plan to use for our small scale.
The most natural way to clear land after removing trees is either goats or hemp. The goats will eat everything, the hemp kills all plants by denial of sunlight. Both take one season.
@@johnytwo I have to think that it would be yes for the hemp, not sure about goats. A hemp plant can reach upwards to 20-30' tall shading a ten foot space or so. Not much survives under them.
I really appreciate your thoughts on this. I live near a national forest and have hundreds of oaks on my property. The problem you mention early on in this video is one I mulled over for several years: with all of these oaks blocking the sun, how can I start a food forest? Maybe you'll disagree with my current plan: I've committed to having roughly 80 of the larger oaks logged this winter. Definitely a broad stroke, there. It took me about five years to mull that one over, but ultimately I decided that I could make this a much more diverse, interesting, and productive place with them removed. Though I'm committed to that, your perspective is helpful in thinking about the oaks that will remain, as I want to retain as many of them as possible. I have already learned that there actually *are* a lot of plants that can well grow in the understory and that my hesitation to plant until the oaks were cleared was purely a psychological one, so I appreciate you bringing that up for others. I think it's a great lesson to simply try to work with what you have. Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts. I'm finally getting back into watching after exhausting myself with work in the fall and enjoying a little break to recharge. It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do--I hope you've had time for a break, too!
Hope it all goes smoothly. Ideally keep as many trees to the north end of what you have stewardship over, and focus on thinning out trees that are already heavily represented in your area. Good luck!
That's definitely the plan--really, the plan is to not remove anything else unless it proves to be absolutely necessary. The oaks have a high canopy, and I'm sure I can grow a lot around and below them. I like your suggestion of watching how the trees lean as they're growing; I hadn't thought of that, and it makes a lot of sense. I'm going to miss the oaks that are set to be removed, but I'll appreciate the money (to be used to remove a couple trees that threaten the house and hopefully to purchase some older fruit trees that can be productive soon) and the "waste" materials they'll leave for me to use. There will be hugelkulturs-a-plenty. I also have to add that I'm glad that I've been prudent and slow. There are at least a dozen trees that I've considered removing over the years, but in retrospect realize that there was/is no need for that. How many plants really need FULL sun? If I had been reckless, those trees would be gone, and I'd be waiting decades for their replacements.
Are there other reasons a fruit tree may lean hard? We have a plum planted in an area with no light competition and a forest to the north for wind protection. It is about 7’ tall but arches to the east.
Have you tried straightening the apple tree.? I have feen working with one rescued from an over growth of popular, jacking it up a little higher with a post each winter. The plum trees are very tall and flexible so I have been able to tie them together or to big trees I have not removed yet.. With the trees upright the deer only prune what is below head height . With increaced light and transplanting mason bees down to that grove I am starting to get good production.
Cool idea. I'll keep it in mind although this tree feels pretty seriously established in this shape. Maybe I figure out a prop so it can't fall any further forward...
I could listen to you talk about the trees all day! I would love to get a video like this one about what you have done, or would like to do, in those areas between shady tree canopy and sunny production areas (that isn't planting shade loving plants)? I remember a few videos of yours regarding an old dieing cherry tree that you didnt want to cut down, and what you were trying with that... maybe I'd like to get your recent thoughts on that type of thing? I have a lot of these kinds of areas that I'd like to keep in my new yard, and cant get enough good suggestions for how to tackle them :)
Cool, so glad you find it valuable... We'll plan to make a lot more videos about the guilds and specific tree connections in the spring when things green up again...
Great video! We actually sell properties that can be transformed into a food forest. This info is helpful for those who like to spend time away from the city.
Hi there, I just discovered your channel and I’m really enjoying it. We just bought about 40 acres of youngish woods which we’ll be living on and observing over the next few years - this was a really helpful video. There are a few big trees (pine and a couple poplar nearing the end of their lives) near the house that we need to take down this year. I’m wondering if you do anything before you take down a tree? Say thank you? Pour out some whiskey? I find myself really struggling with this (I hear you on being able to plant so many more trees and understory plants in those spots, and that was also helpful) and yet, they need to come down so they don’t crush the cabin...
You can do whatever you feel you need before you cut them. They don't want the whiskey so save that for you :) I think appreciating them is in order, out loud or in your mind... Focusing on what can happen with all their body parts to heal and nourish and build soil in your landscape all makes sense, and thinking about all the new plantings that can happen makes a lot of sense as well.
Thank you, some very useful information. I have a rented property in central Missouri so limited in what I can do to it. We have about 20 acres of grass and woodland surrounded on 3 sides by arable farm land. The forth side is wooded down to the river. I have about 40x100ft rectangle of very open land to grow in. It gets baked in the summer and blasted by wind a lot of the time. I decided mid last year to start clearing a very overgrown patch of trees that surround a catch pool. We have access to the north and east side. I have cleared out the Japanese honeysuckle and some dead trees. For now I have covered the ground with seeds, a mix of lettuce, kale, mustard, coriander and other frost hardy greens in a hope that they cover the ground and prevent weeds now that I have opened up by removing the Japanese honeysuckle that smothered everything. I know There are about 5 mulberries and some oak in there but not sure what else. I hope that this will give me somewhere to grow things that struggled in the heat last summer. It is also next to my chicken coop and has given my chickens somewhere to scratch. The cover was too thick before and they tended to scratch in the farmers crop instead. I would love advise on native perennial edible/beneficial plants that would do well here.
well, why not use some pioneer trees first to shade the soil. They use seeds of birch on the hills, where all spruces were killed by the barkbeetle (it is eating up all Europe these years). Or search for hardy bushes, I dont know, like serviceberry or sea buckthorn, or elaeagnus, or stuff.
I dream of foraging for wild edibles (trees, berry bushes, nut trees/bushes, etc...), propagating from seeds or cuttings, and inoculating my existing land along with management you’re suggesting
Im a in rochester ny. Im curious when to start tapping the sugar maples. First winter on my property and not sure itll be great with such a mild winter. I just dont wanna miss it
as much as i know, there will be a time in the late winter/early spring when the temps during the day will be above freezing, like in late Feb/early March, this is when the sap will start running consistently. I'm going to throw a few taps in at the first signs of these temps and test.
@@ServiceTrek I’ve got a huge maple by my house i can tap first and watch closely. Might do that to test and after I know its running ill tap the other 6 or 7 i have access to .
I've always appreciate your stewardship videos. Reinforcing the bio-region specific planning is helpful too. I'm always curious about how water management is planned hand in hand with over-story reduction. In our forest's bio-region- (temperate rain forest), the removal of any trees creates water runoff/erosion, and nutrient loss immediately. Since we're a hill farm, topography also plays a dramatic role. How do you plan your water fluctuations with removal, and then replacement of trees?
Appreciated your fertility hugaculture using the canals. We do that here too, though with flow and nutrient catchment basins. Because of steeper slope, we implemented earthwork swales before planting- in a horse pasture with a few struggling fruit trees. Replanted with food forest, below that are chicken systems and sheep barn which supplies added fertility to developing food forest, with long term (60 year) plan to phase out animals as forest will be fully self supportive by then.
The more hilly the landscape, the more detailed minded you have to be. We are relatively flat so it is 'safer' to clear. But the critical thing is to protect and cover soil and plant as many trees/diversity as you can.
I have 2 acres of cedars and Japanese bush honeysuckle. I have been thinning the cedars, and cutting the honeysuckle at the same time planting nitrogen fixing black locust root suckers (from my swales area.) I'm playing the long game of converting the cedars to more productive to me food forest. There are also some callery pears that have been bird planted, that are getting grafted with more desirable varieties of pears and Asian pears as I can. I figure they already have fantastic root systems to survive amongst the cedars, so why not? Soon plum suckers will be dug and planted out there too. And again, different plum varieties will be tried on the new trees. Questions for you: Have you had any push back from neighbors? And what is the zoning for your 6 acre site? Agricultural?
Really nice note here to remember... Facilitating really hearty trees that could be grafted onto is a very nice move. Sounds like such a great place you are developing there.
@@edibleacres Thanks. I don't have the skills or time to video it all like you have. But I sure have been having fun playing with the tools of permaculture. :) Also, I'm applying for my nursery license because of your talk the other night. $40 plus $1.50 per acre... so, $52 for a year. This will let me *legally* sell scions, thornless blackberries, and comfrey. Its a start.
I currently have the perimeter of my suburban 3 acres lined with a brush wall. Any tips on things I could plant in/around this wall to make it more attractive for the neighbours sake? Zone 6a Great vid!
Its most likely an invasive species forming that brush wall (privot, honeysuckle amur) so find out what it is mostly made of and replace with native plants.
I saw on one of your videos (but I couldn’t locate it) you have talked about growing mushrooms. I would love to grow them but I’m afraid because I no if you make a mistake with them and eat a wrong one you could get really sick. Can you do a video about growing mushrooms?
Hey Sean and Sasha ! Very helpful video- couple of questions- 1) the fact that you use conifer in the hugelmounds doesn't make them acidic?- how long until you plant in those 2) I see some dead standing trees on your land...you leave them for birds/animals or are they going to be used for firewood? Cheers
I can't say for sure about the acidity... I think that the acidity would get less and less as they age, so I don't think too hard about it. Some mounds made entirely from pine will be where we sprinkle ashes from the wood stove in the spring when we clean out, and with enough compost it should all even out over time. The key is to plant fast/annual/low risk plants early on (eg.... turnips, radish, maybe summer squash, extra/older seed packets/etc) so you can learn where the piles are. If they thrive and grow like mad, you may be ready for some shrubs and higher value plants the next year. Experiment! The dead standing are for habitat and wild creature value, yep!
@@edibleacres Thanks for the tips and explanations- I'll be experimenting for sure as I chop/drop a few windblown older trees in the coming weeks. Cheers!
Do you find that the tannins in Red Pine slow the break-down of tree trunks and branches so much that they don't make good Hugle mounds (for soil feeding) but do make good berm structure (because the wood lasts in-place)? Or do the tannins not make much difference? I am in Western Ma., with *very* similar land & plant species.
Definitely notice that the logs take a LONG time to break down, but the bark breaks down quickly and soil can build around them so it doesn't seem like a deal breaker.
I enjoy watching these videos because I am always learning something new. I am just starting my own food forest and it seems like a lot of deciding where to put things is to use common sense, like how much sun an area gets or what the water flow looks like. There are some other 'common sense' things that seem to be easily over looked like winter winds and where snow is piling up. Are there any more easily overlooked 'common sense' tips out there? I would love to know!
Hello, thanks for this vid. Thats exactly, what I need now. I am considering buying two properties in the Czech Republic (hardiness zone 6) for establishing food forest and little veggie garden too, and I have some questions considering sunshine hours: One of the plots is a about 300m long 100m wide strip going from north to south through forest (mature spruces west, mature deciduous east). There is also mountain ridge with old beeches to the north rising just behind the property, that steeply rises 100 more meters up. The other of the plots is in similar place, but is not surrunded with forest. Do you think, that the mountain and the forest would be a serious weakness of the property? Both plots are very, very slightly sloping south. Thanks for any advice.
Sounds like a lovely context actually... WIth some overstory management and altering, you've got a great basic layout for buffering from heavy winter winds but good sun access... Seems great.
I have seen on. Some of your videos that you grow mushrooms. I would love to grow them but they frighten me because I know eating a wrong one can make you very sick. Can you do a video about growing mushrooms?
You can search our videos for mushroom and see some various videos we offer on them. Wine Cap is a great starter mushroom to try growing, easy to grow and ID!
Privet I cut back to encourage more dense growth where we want it. Privet can be shaped into a very robust wall for deer and an impenetrable wall if you manage it. Where they grow on the boundaries they are welcome and managed in this way. Japanese knotweed is incredibly beautiful and does a lot of soil building, but I wouldn't encourage it in the middle of a property. On the boundary it woudl certainly be welcome.
Which species of squirrels are you promoting? There is evidence that some may be vectors of Borellia-infected ticks. Additional evidence suggests that squirrels and deer are mutualistic, e.g. they forage together, and provide vigilance to predators at differing heights and ranges in the woodland. How do you approach the problem of Lyme Disease in your management plan?
Grey squirrels are who are around, would love to see some other types but that's who we've got. Lyme is just all around so I have to just trust that my body will figure out how to work with it in the long run. Got it once back in the day and have then managed it without any chemicals a few times afterwards. I think my body is getting on board and figuring it out. Cool to think squirrels and deer work together!
Sean, Do you know if Bitternut Hickory is the same as a Pignut Hickory ? I have several bitter tasting nut trees identified as Pignut Hickory (Zone 6). I get a huge harvest every other year, that I am reluctant to compost or use in any other way. Can the nuts be extracted for oil, and what can be done with the oil? I also read that some people use the catkins as a flour substitute. I use their catkins as mulch on my garden beds. By far the best mulch bar none.
I don't believe they are the same tree, but I'm not 100% sure. VERY worth looking into details on this. I understand bitternut hickory to be nearly fully functional as an olive oil replacing tree once established. THese are some seriously important future tree crops... Pignut/bitternut aside they are most likely all critical for our future lives.
I may have asked this before but I am doing a cattle panel greenhouse and we get really bad winds from the south south/west. What part of it should I put towards the winds? Like what part should face south?
Normally I orient these structures east to west, but if you get intense winds from the south you may consider a north south orientation, maybe with some nice dense shrubs planted about 10' or so to the south to help break the incoming wind (hazels, elder, etc...)
Apparently allelopathy from evergreens is/was not an issue? Residual impacts to soils where trees were removed? On-going impacts from remaining evergreens that overhang food forest?
wow 2009? You are a true OG edit: yes! clear cutting is destroying the forest and the benefity you get from it and really sucks because it's taking away from the eco system. In Germany we pretty much only do selective tree cutting and always leave part of the forest for it to regenerate, we also have less available space though than you US guys
(Context: Like many of your viewers, I have no plans to start a nursery. I love your channel, and with all sincerity, do not want the following comment to be perceived as critical.) A question I ask myself with increasing frequency: how much "production" is enough, and when does favoring "production" based on our limited human understanding become a less-than-optimal use for the land? Streetside, I have a staggering amount of food production and soil regeneration happening. The land is generous where we have encouraged healing. My few back acres of pine, ash, and oaks are of huge wildlife, watershed, and all-around ecological value; I feel like the best management here is to remove incoming bittersweet, burning bush, etc. from the understory and to let Nature continue to do as Nature does. Every time I see or hear a pileated woodpecker, I wrestle with our generally accepted understanding of "productive plants."
This is such a great comment, and something I'm focusing on for my project in the coming years. I have planted enough production plants for the humans on my land, and I'm trying to learn more each year about ways I can ramp up production and habitat for the non human inhabitants.
I hear you on this.. I think there is a potential capacity to explore in our scenario a chance to grow an incredible amount of nursery stock to support other people and maybe focus on increasing high nutrient density food that we can donate into our local food shed. I have some lofty goals I think and the 6 acres here could be more fully utilized I believe... Something to find a balance with I'm sure.
@@edibleacres Worthy goals, I am sure. We would all do well to think through our own goals as thoroughly. In many other scenarios, less intervention may be more beneficial in ways we do not yet understand...Nature has a head start on us in terms of research and development.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Lol, merely typing from shifting themes and variations playing in my head...as landholders, we are stewards, de facto natural resource managers, and those "resources" certainly have a human dimension. But where does permaculture potentially undercut conservation biology or dismiss ecology? I have questions, not answers. Winter is such a good time to think, to read, even re-read. Maybe some Aldo Leopold.
@@formidableflora5951 Well, here in the Czech Republic we have agencies that occupy themselves with land conservation and habitat restoration. We have plans for biocenters and biocorridors for the whole country using both existing biotopes and planned ones. Thre can be always done so much more, of course. Agroforestry might be a huge help too.
I wish our new neighbors knew this. We live in a heavily wooded area and they came in and clear cut all but a few trees on their 5 acres and dumped them in a big pit they dug. I just don’t understand why you would buy property in the woods if you didn’t want property in the woods. There are plenty of properties in the area for sale and they didn’t get a good deal on the place.
Just lost my job to the plandemic and I will be finally working on my land with the little resources I have. My land is desert with no plants or trees.
Oh wow... so glad you’ve chosen this new direction w the resources you have! I’m in the desert as well... in a big city on edge of a large desert preserve ... no trees... very rocky soil... I’m starting with mostly hugelkultur and Leon containers ... but will start small ground beds using the waffle method ... And some trees
I’m currently clearing out a portion of a 5 acre site for a house and garden area. I went through and identified tree by tree before clearing, and I’m so glad I did. There were many edible sumacs, black cherry, hickory, black raspberry, fodder trees, nitrogen fixers, and more. The food forest was already halfway planted! Once I determined where the most valuable trees were, I made my design accordingly to keep as many as possible. I was able to build my greenhouse behind a wall of sumacs which allow light through in the winter, then shade it in the summer. I strategically left evergreens behind it to reflect light and hold heat. I’m building coops under nitrogen fixers and evergreens which protect birds from predators and also help make a great mulch I can empty out. I left many trees at the top of the hill and north sides to keep feeding soil.
Definitely cut carefully, tree by tree!
This is great to read. Exactly! Know your plants, know your context before you start modifying. You could spend years and thousands of dollars destroying what was already a lush established food forest if you don't know what you are working with!
Great starting point! Exciting!
Thank you, thank you! This was the video I needed!
I just wanted to say that you have been a huge inspiration for me over the last 3 years. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your journey!
So incredibly happy to know that :)
On my Alaskan property, I am cutting down cottonwoods to allow more light for the garden and solar panels. I cut high stumps to covert them to oyster mushroom totems. In an experiment, I cut wedges in the tall stump and put sawdust spawn inside before screwing back the wooden wedge. My first flush of oysters took six weeks. This coming summer should be very productive. By using a living stump, there seems to be more moisture. Both the wedges and traditional totems are working well. If you are cutting more hardwoods I recommend doing some research to see what mushroom prefers that tree.
Great note here for sure, and so glad that worked well for you, so awesome!
"Squirrels moving through the landscape" - when someone goes to such way of viewing the property they manage, we are absolutely sure that they are in tune with Nature.
I'm about to transform my little garden into a food forest Island in the middle of the urban city
Me too! ... mine isn’t exactly little... but not that big either. Are you going to vlog?
@@OfftoShambala i never thought about it too vlog Maybe i need to try it out
something we have been thinking about lately! thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Any time!
What a great video! I have been doing the same thing at my place. It can feel like a slow process if one is used to starting and completing projects over a weekend..... however by working steadily over time(many seasons) the best practices and options reveal themselves and give you a great end result.
Exactly, this is a 12 year project so far and still a lot more to modify and adjust.
This answered one of the questions I had been mulling over! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
This is a fantastic video, it's given me plenty to think about for my 1 acre block.
This is exactly what I am looking for. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Please make WAY more of these Observations and Review videos on a regular basis going forward.
We'll try!
I love your philosophy and videos.
Wow! Lots patience’s create tons of great things.
So true!
Good call on that selective clearing. Smart. 👍
Thanks 👍
Thank you so much for pointing out directions to the camera! This place looks great, awesome that wildlife is doing your planting for you! This selects for tree species that the animals actually want to eat, very cool
I really enjoy these style videos of just walking the land and making observations. I can also completely echo the value of joined canopies for boosting wildlife. This is my season to get out and really observe where animals are using my land, and the most amount of foot-traffic is happening in areas where the canopies are touching.
Winter is great to see whos moving around, footsteps in the snow, etc.
I’m so happy you made this video. We have a similar property(in some ways). Ours is wet and has lots of trees as well so I found this very helpful.
Thats great, glad you found it useful.
As usual, There are some really great comments here. I'm very happy to be in tune with so many others striving for that balance within ecosystems.
I'll share some notes on this one, its a little close to the heart because I have to do an extensive 'clearing' of plantation pine because they are suffocating the only aquifer on my 35 acres. (many neighbour's drill up to 3 wells before finding one with a small report)
After 4 years of observation, thinning, and returning the biomass to the already thin soil, I have concluded that the design of the plantation is detrimental to both the aquifer, and surrounding animal ecosystems(myself include)
So for that, and many other reasons, I have been thinning extensively and returning the 5 acre aquifer fields to Savanah, (100years back it was recorded as such, on shallow, fissured bedrock, 1 foot soil, mainly acidic, water table currently 18ft below silt loam at low point of landscape)
I have studied and selected every tree capable of holding life beyond its detrimental mono plantation design, and its unfortunate that I have maybe only 40, out of 600 plantation trees that have enough low branches to provide nesting habitats to keep the entomological aspects in balance.
I also leave a 200 ft natural buffer between neighboring farms.
Its a shame how initiatives like mass tree plantings can become so monocropped that it lines up with intensive mono Ag practice and only buffers the clear cut industry, exclusive of ecosystems.
Fortunately, though, without so much as a puddle on my 35 acre farm, by returning every cut back into the landscape and building mycelium matt networks, I now have amphibious life returning!
Really! highest water table is still 18ft down in the silt, even more so on neighboring properties, and my 5 acre 'fallow' fields are full of frogs!
Its really amazing how the simple act of 'rearranging of what you got' benefits so much more than just your own existence.
This year I'm trying out some blueberry, haskap, and service berry beds on the high side of my cluster orchard, in the returned Savanah field. I leave a lot of native wildflower standing for the winter birds in all the areas I do extensive work to. If I had to estimate, it would be around 80% wildflower Savanah for the 3 acres in the aquifer portion. I do have animals, and am including 2 acres of pasture as well, higher up in the aquifer, and utilizing the cluster orchard and mycelium matts lower down as a catchment and bio filter.( perculation is 3 minutes t time... it goes right down anyway lol)
I'm also a little jealous of edible acres very high clay content sometimes!
Lol.
Thanks for sharing people.
So glad to have folks like you in the world keeping an eye on whats happening and trying to move things in a better way. Thank you so much for the important work you are getting into there. I hope it keeps evolving and deepening for you Eric!
What you do and how you think about it beautiful. So much inspiration and information here. 💚
@14:45 I enjoy your rambling observations. You have a keen eye and a unique perspective. I'd like to hear more about your Zone 3 and 4 work
Something to consider. We'll share notes on the minimally managed zones at some point. Thanks for your interest.
Thank you for sharing this information! Your try it and see method is inspiring 🌳
Glad you find it valuable.
Thanks for the perspective, I've been in observation mode this winter in a stand of mostly red maple and sweetgum. Going to harvest some more mushroom logs and open up some more space for any excess trees from the nursery that go unsold. It'll be good to have this fresh on my mind heading into the thicket! Thanks Sean!
Great info. I'm 10 acres of a 40 acre grain field. Years of dead soil remedy, so now ready to plant. Wild plum & Aspen planted by wind & wildlife is spreading abundantly.
So glad things are evolving there.
Very helpful! And very thought provoking. those of us who tend to jump in with both feet will benefit from your more thoughtful, controlled approach.
Brilliant information and suggestions.
Thank you for the information....
The landscape that you started with (similar to your neighbor’s property) appears to have been a forest. Two questions: 1) Did you have rich soil at the start? If not, what was the composition? 2) I’m wondering what you intend to plant in the hugel mound?
Soil was pretty junky... very wet silty soil that is poorly drained and shallow to bedrock... In the hugels we'll focus on super hungry annuals for the next little bit and then transition into perennials (squash, amaranth, corn, etc for now, perennials TBD)
@@edibleacres Glad to hear that “junky” silty soil can be redeemed! 😃 I live in the northeast and have clay & rock dense soil. I can’t tell you how many pounds of rock I dug out 4 years ago for a 4x4’ raised bed, in order to level and line the bottom with old rotting firewood-modified hugel bed). I now have a second 4x4 raised bed and a 3x12ft in-ground bed where there was grass....just a tad smaller than your garden ;-) Mulching w/wood chips, fall leaves and mushroom compost (waste from a nearby mushroom farm) my production has improved each year. I now have black loamy soil where there used to be clay.
The soil is not the only change I’ve noticed. Last season, there have been more wildlife (lots of birds, chipmunks, groundhogs, fox, mice) and many more insects/worms in my small garden. What are some of the wildlife changes you’ve noticed on your property over the years?...would be an interesting episode!
Would love to see updates on your hugel mound plantings, I’ve wanted to do one but am afraid of it being destroyed by pests...watching you succeed may be the push I need to “just do it!” 😁
Thanks for sharing your experience, I really appreciate the information, and your intuitive style of gardening!
@@jangsy33 at least you have planty of rocks for other purposes
Scotts pine can be very protective but ya you need to watch them too ;) much love xoxox
This is such a fantastic video! I was especially interested in the idea of a windbreak for those in the northeast. I have a dense canopy to the west of my urban garden (the neighboring wild lot) and have been complaining about the shade, but I should probably be grateful for the protection!
Late day shade is note super impactful in crop yields I find... better to have the protection in general..
@@edibleacres so helpful! Thank you!
Timely information. Thank you.
It was so hard to watch 9 of our neighbors alders come down but they weren’t healthy, leaning like crazy, snapping and breaking during high winds. So, I’d like to give a little advice to empathic newbies like myself. Making these sacrifices in order to improve the health of your land and it’s inhabitants is okay, it really is. Take the time to observe, give a good hard think about what the benefits and downfalls of any action will be, make an informed decision and continue to manage the area afterwards. Now,if I can only take that advice... 🙃
I hear you on this... Sometimes it can be hard to cut down a tree. But then I remember that the Ash tree I cut down can potentially be a place where an American Persimmon can go, with maybe 1-2 paw paws around it to the south and east, a few currants to the north, maybe a raspberry thicket to the west, and a ton of perennial herbaceous foods and medicines... Then it's like, "ok wheres the chainsaw" :)
@@edibleacres with me it’s where’s the guy with the chainsaw 💚 and what in the world will grow well here that he will let me plant 💜
I just love this channel
Thanks for your thoughts. Always inspiring =) Did you make a video about your bamboos yet? Would love to hear your thoughts on root barriers, what varieties do well for you and so forth.
I'd be happy to share notes on the bamboos we grow. Maybe I can get help from some folks to help identify some that I lost the tags to! I'll keep that in mind as a winter topic.
@@edibleacres I'd love to know more about your thought process when working with Bamboo as well. For example, are you planting them mostly for privacy screens or wind breaks? Or do you make use it for other things like the shoots for food, the excess leaves for mulch, or the cut culms for building and trellises?
I've just planted a privacy screen using a running style bamboo and most people that I talk to are scared that the bamboo will take over. In my mind, I'm excited for an almost eternal supply of mulch and trellises!
Just today I was doing succession work with some hemlocks. Theyre infested with wooly adelgid and elongate hemlock scale; so i thinned the more infested lower branches to let dappled light in for the pawpaws, persimmon, and black raspberries that will be planted in the understory; in addition to the goumis, elderberries, and hazelnuts that I had already planted on the hemlocks' drip edge.
Funny enough I was looking for videos on persimmons recently and came accross your video on black walnut and juglone tolerant plants; one after one all of the species im planting were listed in the video 😂
Whats more; black walnuts that squirrels already planted in the area are telling me that a black walnut overstory is definitely an option.
Sometimes things make more sense that you even know.
Edit: In the hemlock area there is also chinese yam that was there even before my parents bought the house and had me. I was truly DOOMED to become a permie, it makes so much sense now.
late to the party, but better than no party... good info on lay out...cheers
This isn't a question about Food Forests per se, but something you mentioned at about the 10:25 mark got my attention. It was the bitternut hickory, which you said could produce oil you could press in the future. I searched the list of your videos in regard to pressing your own oil from nuts etc. but couldn't find anything. Have you ever done a video on the topic of growing particular plants for oil, or even featuring those types of plants/processes? Thanks!
I haven't done a video on this topic, because we have a lot to learn too! But luckily we have at least 5+ years before they start cropping so ample time to think it through... I own a 'piteba' oil press that I plan to use for our small scale.
The most natural way to clear land after removing trees is either goats or hemp. The goats will eat everything, the hemp kills all plants by denial of sunlight. Both take one season.
And for those of us who can't grow hemp legally (Kentucky, small holding) I use sorghum sudangrass.
really? even blackberries?
@@johnytwo I have to think that it would be yes for the hemp, not sure about goats. A hemp plant can reach upwards to 20-30' tall shading a ten foot space or so. Not much survives under them.
I really appreciate your thoughts on this. I live near a national forest and have hundreds of oaks on my property. The problem you mention early on in this video is one I mulled over for several years: with all of these oaks blocking the sun, how can I start a food forest? Maybe you'll disagree with my current plan: I've committed to having roughly 80 of the larger oaks logged this winter. Definitely a broad stroke, there. It took me about five years to mull that one over, but ultimately I decided that I could make this a much more diverse, interesting, and productive place with them removed.
Though I'm committed to that, your perspective is helpful in thinking about the oaks that will remain, as I want to retain as many of them as possible. I have already learned that there actually *are* a lot of plants that can well grow in the understory and that my hesitation to plant until the oaks were cleared was purely a psychological one, so I appreciate you bringing that up for others. I think it's a great lesson to simply try to work with what you have.
Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts. I'm finally getting back into watching after exhausting myself with work in the fall and enjoying a little break to recharge. It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do--I hope you've had time for a break, too!
Hope it all goes smoothly. Ideally keep as many trees to the north end of what you have stewardship over, and focus on thinning out trees that are already heavily represented in your area. Good luck!
That's definitely the plan--really, the plan is to not remove anything else unless it proves to be absolutely necessary. The oaks have a high canopy, and I'm sure I can grow a lot around and below them. I like your suggestion of watching how the trees lean as they're growing; I hadn't thought of that, and it makes a lot of sense. I'm going to miss the oaks that are set to be removed, but I'll appreciate the money (to be used to remove a couple trees that threaten the house and hopefully to purchase some older fruit trees that can be productive soon) and the "waste" materials they'll leave for me to use. There will be hugelkulturs-a-plenty.
I also have to add that I'm glad that I've been prudent and slow. There are at least a dozen trees that I've considered removing over the years, but in retrospect realize that there was/is no need for that. How many plants really need FULL sun? If I had been reckless, those trees would be gone, and I'd be waiting decades for their replacements.
Are there other reasons a fruit tree may lean hard? We have a plum planted in an area with no light competition and a forest to the north for wind protection. It is about 7’ tall but arches to the east.
Have you tried straightening the apple tree.? I have feen working with one rescued from an over growth of popular, jacking it up a little higher with a post each winter. The plum trees are very tall and flexible so I have been able to tie them together or to big trees I have not removed yet.. With the trees upright the deer only prune what is below head height . With increaced light and transplanting mason bees down to that grove I am starting to get good production.
Cool idea. I'll keep it in mind although this tree feels pretty seriously established in this shape. Maybe I figure out a prop so it can't fall any further forward...
I could listen to you talk about the trees all day! I would love to get a video like this one about what you have done, or would like to do, in those areas between shady tree canopy and sunny production areas (that isn't planting shade loving plants)? I remember a few videos of yours regarding an old dieing cherry tree that you didnt want to cut down, and what you were trying with that... maybe I'd like to get your recent thoughts on that type of thing? I have a lot of these kinds of areas that I'd like to keep in my new yard, and cant get enough good suggestions for how to tackle them :)
Cool, so glad you find it valuable... We'll plan to make a lot more videos about the guilds and specific tree connections in the spring when things green up again...
@@edibleacres that makes perfect sense! I look forward to it :)
Good info appreciate it
Great video! We actually sell properties that can be transformed into a food forest. This info is helpful for those who like to spend time away from the city.
Hi there, I just discovered your channel and I’m really enjoying it. We just bought about 40 acres of youngish woods which we’ll be living on and observing over the next few years - this was a really helpful video. There are a few big trees (pine and a couple poplar nearing the end of their lives) near the house that we need to take down this year. I’m wondering if you do anything before you take down a tree? Say thank you? Pour out some whiskey? I find myself really struggling with this (I hear you on being able to plant so many more trees and understory plants in those spots, and that was also helpful) and yet, they need to come down so they don’t crush the cabin...
You can do whatever you feel you need before you cut them. They don't want the whiskey so save that for you :)
I think appreciating them is in order, out loud or in your mind... Focusing on what can happen with all their body parts to heal and nourish and build soil in your landscape all makes sense, and thinking about all the new plantings that can happen makes a lot of sense as well.
Thank you, some very useful information. I have a rented property in central Missouri so limited in what I can do to it. We have about 20 acres of grass and woodland surrounded on 3 sides by arable farm land. The forth side is wooded down to the river. I have about 40x100ft rectangle of very open land to grow in. It gets baked in the summer and blasted by wind a lot of the time. I decided mid last year to start clearing a very overgrown patch of trees that surround a catch pool. We have access to the north and east side. I have cleared out the Japanese honeysuckle and some dead trees. For now I have covered the ground with seeds, a mix of lettuce, kale, mustard, coriander and other frost hardy greens in a hope that they cover the ground and prevent weeds now that I have opened up by removing the Japanese honeysuckle that smothered everything. I know There are about 5 mulberries and some oak in there but not sure what else. I hope that this will give me somewhere to grow things that struggled in the heat last summer. It is also next to my chicken coop and has given my chickens somewhere to scratch. The cover was too thick before and they tended to scratch in the farmers crop instead. I would love advise on native perennial edible/beneficial plants that would do well here.
Hoping other folks comment and share some ideas for you here... If not hopefully I can come back around and share some notes.
@@edibleacres thank you, I am sure there are some knowledgeable people that will help.
well, why not use some pioneer trees first to shade the soil. They use seeds of birch on the hills, where all spruces were killed by the barkbeetle (it is eating up all Europe these years). Or search for hardy bushes, I dont know, like serviceberry or sea buckthorn, or elaeagnus, or stuff.
I dream of foraging for wild edibles (trees, berry bushes, nut trees/bushes, etc...), propagating from seeds or cuttings, and inoculating my existing land along with management you’re suggesting
That is a lovely dream, I hope you make it come true!
Im a in rochester ny. Im curious when to start tapping the sugar maples. First winter on my property and not sure itll be great with such a mild winter. I just dont wanna miss it
as much as i know, there will be a time in the late winter/early spring when the temps during the day will be above freezing, like in late Feb/early March, this is when the sap will start running consistently. I'm going to throw a few taps in at the first signs of these temps and test.
@@ServiceTrek I’ve got a huge maple by my house i can tap first and watch closely. Might do that to test and after I know its running ill tap the other 6 or 7 i have access to .
Very mild winter so it's hard to know... Maybe February or so or even later this month?
I've always appreciate your stewardship videos. Reinforcing the bio-region specific planning is helpful too. I'm always curious about how water management is planned hand in hand with over-story reduction. In our forest's bio-region- (temperate rain forest), the removal of any trees creates water runoff/erosion, and nutrient loss immediately. Since we're a hill farm, topography also plays a dramatic role. How do you plan your water fluctuations with removal, and then replacement of trees?
Appreciated your fertility hugaculture using the canals. We do that here too, though with flow and nutrient catchment basins. Because of steeper slope, we implemented earthwork swales before planting- in a horse pasture with a few struggling fruit trees. Replanted with food forest, below that are chicken systems and sheep barn which supplies added fertility to developing food forest, with long term (60 year) plan to phase out animals as forest will be fully self supportive by then.
The more hilly the landscape, the more detailed minded you have to be. We are relatively flat so it is 'safer' to clear. But the critical thing is to protect and cover soil and plant as many trees/diversity as you can.
I have 2 acres of cedars and Japanese bush honeysuckle. I have been thinning the cedars, and cutting the honeysuckle at the same time planting nitrogen fixing black locust root suckers (from my swales area.) I'm playing the long game of converting the cedars to more productive to me food forest. There are also some callery pears that have been bird planted, that are getting grafted with more desirable varieties of pears and Asian pears as I can. I figure they already have fantastic root systems to survive amongst the cedars, so why not? Soon plum suckers will be dug and planted out there too. And again, different plum varieties will be tried on the new trees.
Questions for you: Have you had any push back from neighbors? And what is the zoning for your 6 acre site? Agricultural?
Really nice note here to remember... Facilitating really hearty trees that could be grafted onto is a very nice move. Sounds like such a great place you are developing there.
@@edibleacres Thanks. I don't have the skills or time to video it all like you have. But I sure have been having fun playing with the tools of permaculture. :)
Also, I'm applying for my nursery license because of your talk the other night. $40 plus $1.50 per acre... so, $52 for a year.
This will let me *legally* sell scions, thornless blackberries, and comfrey. Its a start.
I currently have the perimeter of my suburban 3 acres lined with a brush wall. Any tips on things I could plant in/around this wall to make it more attractive for the neighbours sake? Zone 6a
Great vid!
If they'd survive your winters, what about grapevines, then let the neighours know that they're welcome to pick them?
Its most likely an invasive species forming that brush wall (privot, honeysuckle amur) so find out what it is mostly made of and replace with native plants.
Youpon Holly! Pretty, and the only caffeinated plant native to North America.
Are black Locust susceptible to Ash die back; I have started some seed in London UK, and Ash die back is very prevalent here.
I have some larger box elder trees that could be the upper canopy or I could thin them out. Any thoughts on box elder trees in food forest?
We have some seedling Box Elders we cut and manage as pollards. Very very fast growing, great source of mulch
I saw on one of your videos (but I couldn’t locate it) you have talked about growing mushrooms. I would love to grow them but I’m afraid because I no if you make a mistake with them and eat a wrong one you could get really sick. Can you do a video about growing mushrooms?
Hey Sean and Sasha ! Very helpful video- couple of questions- 1) the fact that you use conifer in the hugelmounds doesn't make them acidic?- how long until you plant in those 2) I see some dead standing trees on your land...you leave them for birds/animals or are they going to be used for firewood? Cheers
I think he said the stumps are for animals. And about the acidity. Might be wrong, but he might have said, that it balances with time?
I can't say for sure about the acidity... I think that the acidity would get less and less as they age, so I don't think too hard about it. Some mounds made entirely from pine will be where we sprinkle ashes from the wood stove in the spring when we clean out, and with enough compost it should all even out over time.
The key is to plant fast/annual/low risk plants early on (eg.... turnips, radish, maybe summer squash, extra/older seed packets/etc) so you can learn where the piles are. If they thrive and grow like mad, you may be ready for some shrubs and higher value plants the next year. Experiment!
The dead standing are for habitat and wild creature value, yep!
@@edibleacres Thanks for the tips and explanations- I'll be experimenting for sure as I chop/drop a few windblown older trees in the coming weeks. Cheers!
Do you find that the tannins in Red Pine slow the break-down of tree trunks and branches so much that they don't make good Hugle mounds (for soil feeding) but do make good berm structure (because the wood lasts in-place)? Or do the tannins not make much difference?
I am in Western Ma., with *very* similar land & plant species.
Definitely notice that the logs take a LONG time to break down, but the bark breaks down quickly and soil can build around them so it doesn't seem like a deal breaker.
I enjoy watching these videos because I am always learning something new. I am just starting my own food forest and it seems like a lot of deciding where to put things is to use common sense, like how much sun an area gets or what the water flow looks like. There are some other 'common sense' things that seem to be easily over looked like winter winds and where snow is piling up. Are there any more easily overlooked 'common sense' tips out there? I would love to know!
No particular tips/tricks to offer, but the more you can watch and ask questions of your landscape the more info you'll get.
Hello, thanks for this vid. Thats exactly, what I need now. I am considering buying two properties in the Czech Republic (hardiness zone 6) for establishing food forest and little veggie garden too, and I have some questions considering sunshine hours: One of the plots is a about 300m long 100m wide strip going from north to south through forest (mature spruces west, mature deciduous east). There is also mountain ridge with old beeches to the north rising just behind the property, that steeply rises 100 more meters up. The other of the plots is in similar place, but is not surrunded with forest. Do you think, that the mountain and the forest would be a serious weakness of the property? Both plots are very, very slightly sloping south. Thanks for any advice.
Sounds like a lovely context actually... WIth some overstory management and altering, you've got a great basic layout for buffering from heavy winter winds but good sun access... Seems great.
I have seen on. Some of your videos that you grow mushrooms. I would love to grow them but they frighten me because I know eating a wrong one can make you very sick. Can you do a video about growing mushrooms?
You can search our videos for mushroom and see some various videos we offer on them. Wine Cap is a great starter mushroom to try growing, easy to grow and ID!
What would you do with Japanese Knotweed? or Privot? These are invasive and are an issue. How would you control or get rid of these?
Privet I cut back to encourage more dense growth where we want it. Privet can be shaped into a very robust wall for deer and an impenetrable wall if you manage it. Where they grow on the boundaries they are welcome and managed in this way.
Japanese knotweed is incredibly beautiful and does a lot of soil building, but I wouldn't encourage it in the middle of a property. On the boundary it woudl certainly be welcome.
Which species of squirrels are you promoting? There is evidence that some may be vectors of Borellia-infected ticks. Additional evidence suggests that squirrels and deer are mutualistic, e.g. they forage together, and provide vigilance to predators at differing heights and ranges in the woodland. How do you approach the problem of Lyme Disease in your management plan?
Grey squirrels are who are around, would love to see some other types but that's who we've got. Lyme is just all around so I have to just trust that my body will figure out how to work with it in the long run. Got it once back in the day and have then managed it without any chemicals a few times afterwards. I think my body is getting on board and figuring it out.
Cool to think squirrels and deer work together!
Sean, Do you know if Bitternut Hickory is the same as a Pignut Hickory ? I have several bitter tasting nut trees identified as Pignut Hickory (Zone 6). I get a huge harvest every other year, that I am reluctant to compost or use in any other way. Can the nuts be extracted for oil, and what can be done with the oil?
I also read that some people use the catkins as a flour substitute. I use their catkins as mulch on my garden beds. By far the best mulch bar none.
I don't believe they are the same tree, but I'm not 100% sure. VERY worth looking into details on this. I understand bitternut hickory to be nearly fully functional as an olive oil replacing tree once established. THese are some seriously important future tree crops... Pignut/bitternut aside they are most likely all critical for our future lives.
I did not find anywhere, what your hardiness zone is?
We're zone 5b.
I may have asked this before but I am doing a cattle panel greenhouse and we get really bad winds from the south south/west. What part of it should I put towards the winds? Like what part should face south?
Normally I orient these structures east to west, but if you get intense winds from the south you may consider a north south orientation, maybe with some nice dense shrubs planted about 10' or so to the south to help break the incoming wind (hazels, elder, etc...)
@@edibleacres thank you 🙂
Apparently allelopathy from evergreens is/was not an issue? Residual impacts to soils where trees were removed? On-going impacts from remaining evergreens that overhang food forest?
Yeah, I think over time I'm learning it's a real thing. Tough to grow around them but plants still do make it, slow and steady.
wow 2009? You are a true OG
edit: yes! clear cutting is destroying the forest and the benefity you get from it and really sucks because it's taking away from the eco system. In Germany we pretty much only do selective tree cutting and always leave part of the forest for it to regenerate, we also have less available space though than you US guys
I actually have been planting shrubs and trees as I am in the open.....
Different contexts for sure...
(Context: Like many of your viewers, I have no plans to start a nursery. I love your channel, and with all sincerity, do not want the following comment to be perceived as critical.) A question I ask myself with increasing frequency: how much "production" is enough, and when does favoring "production" based on our limited human understanding become a less-than-optimal use for the land? Streetside, I have a staggering amount of food production and soil regeneration happening. The land is generous where we have encouraged healing. My few back acres of pine, ash, and oaks are of huge wildlife, watershed, and all-around ecological value; I feel like the best management here is to remove incoming bittersweet, burning bush, etc. from the understory and to let Nature continue to do as Nature does. Every time I see or hear a pileated woodpecker, I wrestle with our generally accepted understanding of "productive plants."
This is such a great comment, and something I'm focusing on for my project in the coming years. I have planted enough production plants for the humans on my land, and I'm trying to learn more each year about ways I can ramp up production and habitat for the non human inhabitants.
I hear you on this.. I think there is a potential capacity to explore in our scenario a chance to grow an incredible amount of nursery stock to support other people and maybe focus on increasing high nutrient density food that we can donate into our local food shed. I have some lofty goals I think and the 6 acres here could be more fully utilized I believe... Something to find a balance with I'm sure.
@@edibleacres Worthy goals, I am sure. We would all do well to think through our own goals as thoroughly. In many other scenarios, less intervention may be more beneficial in ways we do not yet understand...Nature has a head start on us in terms of research and development.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Lol, merely typing from shifting themes and variations playing in my head...as landholders, we are stewards, de facto natural resource managers, and those "resources" certainly have a human dimension. But where does permaculture potentially undercut conservation biology or dismiss ecology? I have questions, not answers. Winter is such a good time to think, to read, even re-read. Maybe some Aldo Leopold.
@@formidableflora5951 Well, here in the Czech Republic we have agencies that occupy themselves with land conservation and habitat restoration. We have plans for biocenters and biocorridors for the whole country using both existing biotopes and planned ones. Thre can be always done so much more, of course. Agroforestry might be a huge help too.
I wish our new neighbors knew this. We live in a heavily wooded area and they came in and clear cut all but a few trees on their 5 acres and dumped them in a big pit they dug. I just don’t understand why you would buy property in the woods if you didn’t want property in the woods. There are plenty of properties in the area for sale and they didn’t get a good deal on the place.
:(
Thats so very sad to read.
Just lost my job to the plandemic and I will be finally working on my land with the little resources I have. My land is desert with no plants or trees.
I hope you can help steward a ton of new life in your landscape. Good luck to you!
Oh wow... so glad you’ve chosen this new direction w the resources you have! I’m in the desert as well... in a big city on edge of a large desert preserve ... no trees... very rocky soil... I’m starting with mostly hugelkultur and Leon containers ... but will start small ground beds using the waffle method ... And some trees
oak = acrons
oh god, the thumbnail for the video is corrupted and makes your face look horrible hahahaha