erratic entities

The sun has started to shine in earnest and all of us mammals are excited about basking in it, enjoying the warmth of that massive nuclear ball that provides us with the radiation we need to sustain our lives.

We have seedlings started and designs in the works for our gardens, and the more work we do, the more work there is. We have to design a a windbreak that protects a 100'x50' garden that lies behind the shop, with south and west exposure. The northwesterly winds are a hindrance to the garden in the spring. So far we are thinking about a polyculture of red cedar, highbush cranberry, korean pine nut, jack pine, and a dogwood. We are also looking to plant some red osier dogwood over on the north side of the pond, along with maybe some serviceberries.

First project for Local Roots is almost underway, I'm exited about getting out there in the sun. Meanwhile I'm stuck at home trying to paint the trim in the hallway for a little cash.

My russian comfrey plants are growing crazily. I can't wait to get them into the ground, as I hear they do not like to be potted, although at this point they seem as happy as any plant I've seen in a pot.

We have a variety of hops rhizomes that are ready to go into the ground, to join the others around the perimeter of the back garden. This year we are going to add compost to the soil when we plant them, because last year we didn't and the hops grew weakly, which surprised us as we have a couple hops vines in the backyard that grow like crazy in poor soil.

We have most of our seeds, except for the Fedco seeds, so I can't wait to get those. Once we get our diggingin.org site up and ready we will be posting inventories of seeds, plantings, designs, and all kinds of fun stuff. Meanwhile, I'll be posting random observations and info on here.

I might be helping a friend build some coldframes later on today.

What are you up to this spring?

native flora and fauna

Last Saturday I went to a conference on native flora and fauna called Through the Eyes of Nature:The Birds' View of Landscaping

It was pretty interesting. I could sum it up in a few sentences. Basically it's all about providing the basics of food and shelter in as many ways as possible to attract the most species of fauna as possible.

1. Native plants don't need as much maintenance as exotics. They are genetically programmed to thrive on tough conditions.
2. Native fauna enjoy living and eating in pockets of native plantings.
3. Birds in particular like a variety of native plants, from the tall oaks, to the medium birch, to the low juneberry, to the small bearberry. Most birds like trees under 15 feet tall or so.
4. You can attract twice as much species of bird if you add a water feature to your landscaping, twice more then that if your water feature flows or drips in some ways.
5. Dead trees and brush (snags) provide sanctuary and food to birds.

A lot of this repeats many of the lessons I've learned form Forest Gardening and Permaculture principles.

Landscape architecture is extremely important for overyielding polycultures. Perennial polyculture patches of native species of various heights and structure fill various niches that are necessary to provide food and shelter for the most amount of fauna species as possible.