Thinking Again

I'm tired today.   That's a bad thing.  I've already been out and done the chores.  Feeling a bit chilly and my feet are soaking wet.  I have no waterproof footwear.  I look at chore boots at the store.  Then I feel greedy and evil and after a bit, I become wholeheartedly ashamed.  Underneath all of the bad feelings, I still want the chore boots and some extra thick warm socks to wear underneath them.

Oh well.

I have been trying to immerse myself into new and amazing knowledge.  It seems to be working  I have been in a funk for some time now so keeping my mind busy, learning new stuff, is slowly pulling me back onto the high ground.  I had been reading a bit of Joel Salatin and he has some good stuff.  He also has some incredibly obnoxious advice.  He says that when you need something bigger accomplished just have the folks from your church out to help you.  Well, for one thing that seems like a very mercenary reason to be a member of a church and in many, if not most cases, when someone finally finds there little piece of heaven, it isn't amongst people they grew up with. Entire congregations don't usually show up to do a barn raising for a stranger.   Mr. Salatin is farming a farm that he got from his dad.  That is a huge advantage.  There is no reason why he should even have a mortgage.  There is so much I could accomplish if we weren't paying a rather large mortgage payment.  Regardless, a year or two ago, Mr. Salatin got my feet wet on what some of the possibilities for the micro farm can be.

Recently, I found a youtube video called, "A Farm of the Future".  The original program was broken down into five ten minute sections, which makes it easier to stream out here in the country.  It posed some problems that I hadn't thought about before. The show comes from the UK and I hadn't given thought to what it was like financially to farm there when they pay more for a liter of fuel then we do for a gallon.  They gave statistics of how much  fuel agriculture takes.... and it's a lot!  How long will the gas keep coming?  How will we feed people when it's gone?  Okay, so those are some of the problems.  We won't moan and groan about them because the solutions are much more interesting.

This program got me to looking at permaculture more closely.  It isn't all sinking in yet but it does seem as if there are different kinds.  The program  interviewed some people who specifically dealt with forest gardening.  You don't actually need a forest.  You create a plant "guild".  You start with the tall stuff.  Usually apple or nut trees.  They form your canopy.  Then you want to form your understory.  These can be dwarf fruit trees... cherries, peaches, etc.  Next to the understory will be the shrubs.  Blueberries for instance.   Next will be shorter still, herbs, possible annuals.  Then up under the canopy you can plant vines to climb the trees.  Pole beans for instance.  The variety is endless.  Not all of the plants need to be fruit bearing.  It is encouraged that some of the plants be pollinators, some should be good companion plants for the over all health of the garden, some should fix nitrogen.

I have a lot more to learn.  I have some books I want to look at.  One by Martin Crawford and he also has a number of youtube videos.  Lots to learn.  That's good... it keeps my mind busy while I am digging fencepost holes.  Which should be what I do, as soon as I get dry and warm again.

Louie