I came across this guy in my suggested youtube vids. His location is just a tad bit more mesic than mine but he has thought things through a lot. I dig him wearing a 82nd Airborne Division shirt, although my paratroop kid is no longer with that unit. This guy probably retired after his 20 or more years of service. I suspect that he was very successful in what he did in the Army...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFqS7_jVJI

Agreed. It won't be the "king's deer" anymore...

More people will watch like this.



The Permies forum is a good one on permaculture, like in the video.

https://permies.com/forums

I've done a lot of permaculture here on my farm. I have many hundreds of fruit trees, nut trees, fruit bushes, fruit briars and grape vines. I've cloned and propagated thousands of permaculture plants.

Keith

Keith C- Should should post of photos of your operations. I'm sure there are people that would like to see some of your work.

Keith C- Should should post of photos of your operations. I'm sure there are people that would like to see some of your work.

[img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2023/06/full-11798-178823-0524201457b_1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2023/06/full-11798-178824-img_6626.jpg[/img]
[img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2023/06/full-11798-178826-0707211823h_1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2023/06/full-11798-178831-0707211823b_1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2023/06/full-11798-178832-0713192036.jpg[/img]

Keith

Keith

Keith

Perennials
The gift that keeps on giving [img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attach...49774-178839-20220916_183505_resized.jpg[/im [img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attach...49774-178840-20220802_184119_resized.jpg[/img]
g]

What all is in that pot with the flower in it, Sage?

The brustle sprout looking things are sunflower buds, very tasty steamer with salt and butter or sauté in bacon grease. The purple plant is young amaranth or pig weed, lambs quarter, and mature lambs quarter seeds.
The flower of course is sun flower.
There is some yellow dock leaves in there somewhere. They are citrus flavor.
I love then steamed with lambs quarter and big weed. With a little salt and butter.

Our oldest grand daughter, future wild edible expert lol.

Pretty cool.

Keith C-

Great photos, thanks for sharing!!

Do you have both walnut and butternut trees? I tried to grow 2 butternuts down by my creeklet in the back of the house but they didn't thrive. Now after about 13 years, I have half of one left.

Some of your photos show a road close by. In a SHTF situation, are you worried at all that your food forest to too accessible to people passing through?

I've got a lot of black walnut trees, probably close to 100 large ones. The nuts stay edible in the shell for a at least 9 years. That G. Gardner Master Nut Cracker makes short work of them.

I bought a dozen butternut trees, but none of them made it. There's a blight that kills them in Ohio and they may have got it.

I put in 106 hazel nut trees, a couple of years ago. The deer and especially the rabbits have been hard on them and I lost most of them. . I added 18 more larger ones last year.

I have around 140 larger, producing sour cherry trees. They self spread both by the roots and seeds. I have them along 90 yards of stream bank, on both sides.

I have lots of mulberry trees, blackberries and black raspberries. I have wild gooseberries, but have never eaten them.

We get lots of puffballs, field mushrooms and pheasant back mushrooms.

I planted trees in the front and on both sides of my house, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines and plums. The cherry trees were planted by at least the fifties, though none are probably more than 20 years old. There are constantly new cherry trees sprouting up and old ones dying. They make really good cherry pie. A lot of my friend make mellowmels and booze out of them. I've been told that back in the seventies and eighties a dozen, little old ladies would come out and pick them when they were ripe. I have no idea what variety they are, but they have virtually no pest or fungus problems and would quickly take over my yard if I didn't mow.

I have 7 catawba grape vines on the arbor in my front yard. 2 years I put 156 grapevines on one of my hills. The deer and rabbits have been hard on them, but there's a lot of vines left, more than I need.

We have a decent sized herd of goats, pigeons, quail, guineas, peafowl, rabbits and chickens, including chickens that will still hatch eggs.

Yes, I have both a small road and a minor state highway nearby. In a SHTF situation, the plan is, if they can make it here, I have friends who are ex and current military members, law enforcement officers, other friends and relatives, some also in the military, that will come live here and help protect the farm.

Keith

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing the details!!

It's an old idea with a new name. Our ancestors planted food all around the world as they migrated or traveled. Some took root, others had to adapt to the climate, and some didn't thrive at all. When I bought my farm in the fall of 2016, I immediately started planting fruit and nut trees as they take the longest to produce. Each year we try to add more. Now, we have a small backyard orchard with nearly 4 dozen Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, and a lonely peach. I've had to adjust how we think about planting fruit trees, for example standard cherry trees don't like our soil, but Asian bush cherries will thrive.

I researched (studied) and found fruits that do well in my zone, as I strive to produce something for at least 10 months out of the year. I propagate hundreds (or more) plants annually to increase my supply. Figs, blackberries, elderberries and others are easy to propagate. We look for things with medical benefits too. And let's not forget the pollinators, without them, none of our food is possible. I try to teach people how to propagate plants, as buying hundreds or thousands is out of the question for most. We learned and try to teach how to work with what you have and make the most of it.