•
MIKE'S GARDEN
•
MIKE'S GARDEN
• MIKE'S GARDEN • MIKE'S GARDEN
What started as holly trees and a steep hill filled with trash, became one of our biggest teacher. It all started with the decision to stop re-weeding the whole garden every spring and summer and begin identifying the plants growing and selectively removing the ones we didn’t want and using them to build bio piles in the garden. Wow! Have we learned a lot here? Yes.
The garden that revealed itself
growth and succesSion
When developing a self-sustaining system, one of our key priorities is focusing on growth. Consider us the cultivators of the land. The weeding process is very delicate and careful, identifying all wild plants and using them for their benefit in the garden to boost our chosen plants. In the wild, plants grow on top of each other, creating abundant Arks of Flora & Fauna. We have been cultivating here for over 5 years and now own the seed bank. The chosen wild plants we have been working with, our own wildflower seeds and native plants, are becoming returners and dominant volunteers. In Permaculture, we focus on creating regenerative, self-sufficient systems.
It is hard to grow a fruit tree in an existing grass patch. Grass is a degenerative system that requires maintenance, time, water, and soil nutrients. That is why the soil under your grass is not alive and very hard to dig. Using wild plants and volunteers is a great way to remediate the land without needing to buy or do anything! When planting a tree in these conditions, we will surround it with friends, Lupine, Comfrey, and Yarrow. In this garden, we even used Fireweed. It came to us just by watching what appeared! A super-powered medicinal/edible plant, and great for composting.
