Making plans for a food forest

There are so many design ideas, growing methods, and outdoor/indoor homesteading projects I wish to implement on my little urban homestead.

Food forests, permaculture, guild planting, espalier, intercropping, succession planting, hugelkultur, raised beds, wicking beds, vertical gardening, container gardens, lasagna method,  forest gardening, and the list keeps growing…. Learning how to implement many design and gardening methods together is one that constantly has my gears spinning in my head.

These get broken down even further when you go into what materials to use for a raised bed, etc.

Add to all of that the various seed starting, transplanting, grafting, rooting methods and it gets more interesting.

There are just so many wonderful, inspired ideas out there; I want to use them all haha.

I have some older folded sod near the plum tree in my yard. I am considering using it to try my hand at hugelkultur. That one is a newer study subject for me. I think this method and the lasagna method are similar in the sense that you can do this on top of your lawn if you wanted *from what I have seen thus far at least* though the raised hugelkultur bed might be a better option depending on the materials at hand.

Recently we picked up a 100ft tape measure for $15 that is a bit more flexible and durable than others we have found.
Soon we will be getting the dimensions of yard and actually drawing it out on graphing paper.

I also picked up a Utilitech grow light at Lowes for about $15. I am sure it is not fantastic, but it was more affordable for the time being. I am going to test out this one, and if it does well, I will probably need 1-2 more before Spring.
We decided I would use the metal shelving unit I have outside in the garden for my grow station this year to save on buying a less than desirable one this year.

Today I have also been focused on organizing a list for a food forest. I have listed out things I want and have under different categories for the food forest; The categories are: Canopy, understory, vines, shrubs, herbs, groundcover, root crops, edge plants.

By putting the different plants under each category *some in more than one* it allows me to get a better mental layout by thinking in layers. From that I will then break it down further into seasons *for starting seeds indoors/outdoors/transplanting*, areas of the garden, growing methods, succession plantings, what is permanent and what needs replanting, etc.

I want to get a map out of what I would like my urban homestead to look like in the end, and then alter the plans for what I can do with it now, with what I have currently.

I know a food forest is not much of a “forest” on .18 of an acre, but I still think of it that way.

There is a lot I need to consider with my design. It is both fun and daunting. I am sure things will start moving more once the areas are measured and accounted for. This is probably a lot harder for me right now as this is my first time mapping out a food forest landscape without any experienced help aside from online blogs, videos, articles.. Once I get it down the first time it will be much easier, or so I hope.

Getting things in order for Spring

There is so much to do before Spring here on the homestead. I am hoping I get to everything on the ever growing list that needs to be done, not to mention in the right order for those that are more time sensitive.

Here is our urban homestead to do list for this years Winter going into Spring:

1. Make a seed starting station.
        What I mean by that is more than just my germination station containers I like to use. I want actual shelving with lights and heating.

2. Sort seeds.
      I need to sort seeds by season they are started, by whether they can be started indoors or out.
      I need to make a list of what I need to stagger for seed saving (As in I cannot plant more than one tomato at once unless I isolate the flowers or the seeds will not be pure)
   
3. Garden planning calendar.
  A list of seeds for each month with the space needed for each to go into the garden calendar and layout.
  Harvest dates need to go into the calendar.
     Expected harvest amount needs to go into the calendar so I can compare with the actual harvest amount.
   I need to put down dates for seed starting indoors & direct sewing. Dates for consecutive staggered sowings will also need to be dated.
    Which seeds will reseed themselves, and which need to be replanted.

4. Measure the garden area.
      The whole area needs to be measured and put onto graph paper for the garden design process.

5. Design the garden layout.
    This is more complicated, since I have to actually make 3 years of garden layouts *Modifiable of course* But this is needed so that I don’t plant something somewhere that will hinder me in the following year. My garden size will expand onto the present lawn eventually, so the plans will probably evolve as my usable garden space does.

6. Check the compost pile.
    This is my first year composting, and I am not sure the compost will be ready for use in the garden this year early on or not.

7. Check into natural bug elimination.
   I will be using all natural home made pest control options, as well as I was told diatomaceous earth is wonderful for getting rid of those pesky bugs.

8. To till or not to till?
   I need to decide what actually needs tilling and what can be no till zones.

9. Treat the soil.
    Our soil has either not enough nutrients, or it may just be the bug problem, but I plan on livening up the soil at least some this year, with progress on it every year until it is to my liking.

9. Slope steps.
   There are areas on the slope that are not easy to walk around either due to steepness or the cheat grass not giving much footing. I have slid down it a couple of times due to this. We need to build steps and possibly level out certain areas for gardening.

10. Move new strawberry plants.
      Last year when my strawberry plants put off runners I let those runners take root in pots. I need to cut the runners from the mother plant (Oh how alien sounding) and put them in their final location. I literally had strawberries developing on the new little plants into November. I just did not have enough sunlight for them to turn that vibrant red.

11. Get a hose.
      Since my last hose burst, I will need to purchase a new one and seriously consider how water will be moved to various areas of the garden that are not easily gotten to.

12. Seed germination tests.
      I have some seeds I am not sure of the viability for. I need to run some germination tests to see if they will be going into the garden or not.

13. Plan out other months of my calendar year.

14. Think about upgrading the freezer.
     I like to freeze, as well as can, and dry, so having a non working chest freezer is not good. When looking into it, it seems that a freezer that gets power to the light, but is not getting cold, is going to be a more expensive fix than just buying one. I am putting this here because it is something I have to think about during Winter/Spring, but may not get right away. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/much-run-freezer-per-month-67647.html This website explains how much power a freezer uses. I am hoping for a energy efficient freezer. I may consider turning the old one into a makeshift root cellar, but I am not sure yet.

15. Gas furnace.
     We have to see if once we renew our health insurance, and account for all other expenses, if financing a new gas furnace is possible. Having all electric heat has posed some issues this Winter, and we would need to start planning ahead for it now, if we plan to do it before next Winter. Basically we need to see if realistically we can do it this year or if we have to wait.

16. Plan for alternative cooling options.
     While we use our AC during the warm months, we would like to use it less, and utilize other means of keeping the house cool.

17. Clean the house.
    This will be during both Winter and Spring.

18. Clean up the spent plants.
   There are plants that did not make it into the compost pile that need to be removed from their spots. The strawberry patch needs to be de-weeded as best we can.

19. Harvest roots.
   Any roots I did not get to, or happen to be useful as I clean up the garden, will be cleaned and dried for later use.

20. Make garden markers
  I really have to decide what kind of garden markers I will make this year.

Reflection of this year

It is amazing how much can change during the course of a year. This past year has been full of major changes for my family.

We got completely out of debt during the first part of the year (Earlier than expected I might add)

We both bought used cars that were a much better upgrade from the ones that needed a whole lot of work. One of which I managed to get for half what it was worth, because I am awesome like that ^_^

We bought our first house

I had my first garden that was not confined to just container gardening

We learned how to remodel aspects of our kitchen and paint large rooms

We learned what happens when the drywall is too thin (Kitchen cabinet falls down.. Though it would have whether we had moved them or not due to the walls)

My husband learned more about electrical wiring

We got to experience our first winter in our new home, and also learn what it is like to have all electrical heating (We will most likely be getting a gas line run to the house eventually to help solve that little problem)

We learned what weather stripping is and why windows need to be covered during the winter

We both got tablets this year, which has helped with a lot of other aspects of our lives.

Things with both of our jobs changed a lot. My husband used to be sent home a lot due to various reasons, which was not exactly wanted. His position has slightly changed and now they do not furlough him as often.
I went part time at my job at the end of this year.


My brother who lives with us has become fully independent, and it is interesting to watch how each individual starts their adult life with all the responsibilities it comes with.

We decided to make an Urban Homestead a reality when we were searching for a home this year, which was a major decision, since we passed up a lot of places due to most not having any yard space to speak of.

I started seeing someone for my anxiety and depression.

Had my first wisdom tooth extraction.

We put up our first painting. Previously we did not decorate much. It did not feel permanent enough to hang anything. I leaned a painting against the mantle of our old place but that was it. This year is the first year we actually felt something was ours and we should decorate it. That sounds like a small thing, but really it was a bigger deal than you might imagine.

We are both constantly learning new things and creating new projects. This is just some of the more prominent things that happened this year. I think life needs balance. I do not ever expect my year to be only filled with good things. We learn from both our successes and our failures. It will be interesting to see how many things we shall learn and accomplish in the coming year.