Our figs are starting to ripen. The picture below shows a fig that got a little over ripe, but the insects definitely don’t mind.
Pumpkins
Pumpkins are always fun to grow. Pumpkin is such a unique flavor.
Figs and Pumpkins!
Category: self-reliance
Expanding Our Orchard
“The plan” is to install the next phase of orchard just after Thanksgiving. We’ll offer a class in planting fruit trees for anyone that wants to learn and join in as we plant the next phase of our orchard. I’ll post the class invite on the website once it is scheduled. It would be great if you could join us for a day of planting trees and wonderful fellowship.
Back Field Plans
This fall we plan to add the next wave of fruit trees to the back field. These include
- Peaches – Contender, Redhaven, and Belle of Georgia varieties
- Asian Pear – Korean Giant and Chojuro varieities
- Plum – Byron Gold, Methley, Ozark Premier and Blue Damson varieties
- Plumcot – Spring Satin variety
- Nectarines – Carla Rose variety
- Black Walnut – native
- Asian Chestnut – Dunstan variety
- Mulberry – Dwarf Everbearing
We also have a pecan tree that didn’t survive. So we’ll replace that pecan tree. The variety is Occonee. Pecans have very specific pollination periods so it is important to choose the correct varieties so they can cross pollinate and produce pecans.
Campsite Plans
We want to keep plenty of room for tents in the back field campsite as we add more fruiting plants to the mini-food forest there. We hopee to add blueberries this fall. The selected rabbit eye blueberry varieties are Premier, Columbus, and Tifblue.
Food Forest Plans
One of the plants that has struggled in the food forest is the blackberries. We plan to take out part of the blackberries and their trellis. Then we can come black and plant fruit trees. We’ve already replaced part of the blackberries with black chokeberrie (you may recognize them as aronia berries). I’m hoping to add additional chokeberries to the food food forest along with plum trees (Methley and Ozark Premier varieties).
Field #2 Plan
We have an area of field #2 that stays fairly dry, which is ironic compared to how wet the rest of field #2 generally is. This is most likely caused by the depth of the water in that one area. We plan to add goji berries to the dry area. The goji berries have in the food forest in the hugelkultur mound and we hope to continue the success in field #2.
Mowing Grass and Enjoying the Crinum Lillies
Crinum lily in bloom
Crinum lily in bloom
Crinum lily in bloom
Crinum lily in bloom
Crinum lily in bloom
Crinum lily in bloom
Crinum lily in bloom
Motherwort is Growing
Motherwort is a medicinal plant with studies that show it has benefits for the ciculatory system. There are also anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Extracts from this plant may also help stimulate the uterus and fight bacteria. This is our first time growing motherwort and it is doing well.
Motherwort is doing well
Motherwort flowers up close
Motherwort is doing well
The black walnut trees are doing better as we remove brush from around them and cut back grapevines that are growing in the trees
Where to Find Me? Find Me Under this Old Hat!
Somtimes it is good to take a few minutes and just sit at the picnic table and enjoy being outside, especially after working hard on the farm.
As Sawyer Brown says, “you never need to wonder where I’m at, you can find me hanging out under this old hat”
First Comfrey Harvest
Over the past year we have been planting comfrey in the food forest. We have also started planting comfrey with many of the trees and bushes that we plant. Comfrey is a great plant that has several jobs on the farm. These jobs (also known as function stacking for the permaculture crowd) include:
- ground cover that suppresses grass and weeds for the plants and trees that we plant the comfrey around
- living mulch that we can chop and drop in the fall to compost in place
- medicinal plant that can be used in a salve or poultice
Today, we harvested enough comfrey leaves to make a full run in the freeze dryer. The plan is to freeze dry the comfrey and then make a salve. I’ve never made anything before with comfrey so this will be a new experience
We plan to offer comfrey on demand. When an order is placed, we’ll schedule a day for porch pickup in Sanford (most likely a Saturday). This allows you to have comfrey that was harvested earlier in the day. Next year we hope to offer comfrey root cuttings so you can plant your own comfrey.
The picture below shows comfrey leaves ready to go into the freezer and then the freeze dryer.
Elderberry Harvest Continues
We are still harvesting elderberry. The dry weather in June seems to have caused us to have smaller berries this year, but we are still getting a nice harvest.
Figs Growing Taller and Taller
It is nice to see our fig trees continue to grow. Many of them are covered with figs. We can’t wait to try them
Potato Growing Class Wraps Up
We have a great time during the last session of our potato growing class. I am proud to say that we finished with 100% of the people that started the class. We had a nice harvest of potatoes. It was great to work with everyone for a class spanning several months
Currently Available Produce
This week we have
- elderberries
- garlic (very limited supply)
- raw honey from the farm in Bennett
- raw honey from Troublesome Gap
- goji berries (you pick – email to schedule a time)
Visit our online store to place your order. We do porch pickups in Sanford, NC. Just select “porch pickup” as a shipping option when you place your order. Visit the online store here or click on the “Store” link at the top of the page.
Lack of Rain and Hot, but Some Plants Do Well
The fig trees are loving the high temperatures and growing like crazy. The warm spell in Feb of 2023 caused a lot of damage to our figs but now they are recovering nicely. The birds are enjoying the seeds from the sunflower heads
Future Plans
We have a wooded section on the farm comprising several acres. This part of the property was actively farmed 30 years ago. One of the goals for the farm is have a park like appearance. Having a beautful farm adds to the enjoyment.
The are several areas that were previously terraced and farmed but are now tree covered. We would like to reclaim an area for growing elderberries. There is an area with great microclimate. There is also flow of rainwater draining off the field that we can manage to provide an area that won’t need irrigation.
We’ve been working to manage the area grown up areas to
- build abundance
- return part of that abundance to the land and wildlife
- provide a home for wildlife, diverse native plants and insects
- provide pollinating plants for the bees on the farm and other pollinators
The first step is to have a plan that is open to pivoting. I’m realizing how important it is to be able change plans are we learn and discover more about farming and about our property. The next step is to remove brush, dead trees and small trees that don’t support the goals of the plan. This week I had an opportunity to do some work with the bush hog. Here are some pictures of the results.
Garlic Incoming
We harvested most of our garlic today. Once we have it processed, we should have a limited amount available for sale. We didn’t use any insecticides or pesticides and we practice regenerative farming where we try to continuously improve our soil. Once we have an idea of what we have available, I’ll post it here. Please keep in mind that we only harvest garlic once per year, so when we sell out we won’t have more until this time next year. In the meantime, here are some pictures of part of the garlic and onions that we harvested today
Getting Young Trees Ready for Summer
The project this week was getting the young trees ready for summer. This involves pulling off the anti-deer cages, weeding around the trees and then putting mulch around the base of the trees. The mulch helps to keep the soil around the tree moist. It also helps trap water when we water the trees during the summer months. As the mulch breaks down, it will also provide nutrients to the trees.
The elderberries are coming right along. We are looking forward to having a great elderberry harvest.
Test planting of figs and persimmon in the back field
Fig in the back field, one of several
Comfrey and fig growing in the back field
Elderberries are coming!
Wonderful elderberries
Toad hiding in the garlic
Toad hoped down from the garlic
Peaches!
Peaches
Figs growing
Sunflowers showing off
Such a cool flower
Upcoming Availability and Harvest
Its been a busy year on the farm. Many of our plantings will take years before we will have a crop.
Here are some upcoming crops that we hope to have available for sale soon:
- elderberries
- honey (local, from the farm)
- garlic – one crop per year so make sure to order all you need for the year (should be available in 2-3 weeks)
- onions – one crop per year so make sure to order all you need for the year
- figs – very limited quanties
- blackberries – limited quantities
We don’t use pesticides or insecticides on our crops and practice low-till regenerative farming.
We’ll send out an email when we know exact dates of availability. Thanks for following along with our journey.
Berries are Blooming
We’ve been getting ready for the farm tours so this will be a shorter post. We are seeing lots of green growth all over the farm. The elderberries, blueberries and blackberries are starting to bloom so it won’t be long before we have berries. The potatoes are starting to bloom so its time to hill around them to encourage potato growth.
Planting Medicinals and Building a Fire Circle
There are always plenty of projects going on at the farm. One of our initiatives for this year is to build a garden for medicinal herbs. We have elderberry and comfrey in several places on the farm, but there are so many medicinal herbs available. It would be nice to add some of those to the farm. We just planted witch hazel bushes. Witch hazel has medicinal properties and provides pollen in the very early spring to the bees. The very early spring is a time when bees may have difficulty finding enough pollen. Witch hazel also has a unique flower. Combining these three advantages is an example of function stacking. Function stacking is where one item, in this case witch hazel bushes, does multiple jobs on the farm. Function stacking is a term commonly used in permaculture circles. We planted witch hazel in the driveway loop and in the back field between the pecan trees.
Benefits of witch hazel
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/witch-hazel-benefits-uses
We’ve also been slowly adding yaupon holly. The picture shows a test planting in the back field. The back field tends to be warmer and drier. There is also a soil type that isn’t available anywhere else on the property. Yaupon holly is also used to make tea. As far as I know, it is the only caffeine bearing plant that grows in our climate.
Camp and Forage Experience in the Making
Another project we’ve been wanting to work on is building a fire circle for the camping spot in the back field. We call this site “The Middle of the Field, Literally”. The site is in the field with wide open views and skies. The site is round and encircled by a cultivated ring what currently has a cover crop in it. Right now the cover crop is a mixture of sudan / sorghum hybrid and buckwheat. Right now there are several places with buckwheat growing on the farm. The cover crop helps build better soil. Inside the cultivated ring is another ring. This ring consists of plants found on the farm. Right now those plants are fig, elderberry, pawpaw, elephant ear and blackberries. The goal is to have a variety of fruit that is available inside the campsite. That allows you to get up and pick a blackberry, fig, pawpaw or elderberry right in the campsite. This should be a unique experience – camp and forage for a snack without leaving the campsite. The campsite is a walk in campsite (about a 1/4 mile way) for a nice and remote experience. As the plan moves forward, we plan to add signage and trails directs visitors to other areas in the farm that have other perennials. Maybe one day we can offer a foraging experience for visitors. It would be nice to add pick your own apothecary tour from our medicinal garden.
Campsite rental info: https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/north-carolina-simply-us-farm-and-camping-retreat-zwjhp868/sites/639687
We just added blackberries, fire circle and a bench. We also mulched around the plants. The back field gets constant sun and wind in the summer and can get dry. We applied a heavy mulch around the plants. The thick mulch helps to suppress weeds and regulate the moisture at the plants roots. This helps the plant’s roots from drying out in the summer and going through dry and wet spells between summer rains.
The camp and forage concept for the campsite will take a while to come together. It will probably take 2-3 years before the plants grow enough to have a nice crop of fruit and berries. The pawpaw will be 5-10 years. We are taking a long view of how to develop the property. We have done a good bit of customer research using design thinking principles as a guide. Part of my day job is doing industrial design. At work I use a computer and sketches to develop concepts. The farm is this wonderful confluence of developing voice of the customer, vision development and sketching. The important difference is that on the farm we use a tractor and trees and plants to create a sketch and then a prototype. Thanks for following along with our journey.
Gifted Roses Blooming
Our neighbor gave us 2 roses that she had dug up. We planted them at the farm a few weeks ago and boom, we have flowers.
Bees and Stumps and Flowers for Moms
The bees are super active and a little grumpy. I definitely could hear their buzzing as I was filling up the UTV with mulch from the wood chip pile near the hives.
We thought this stump had a cool look so Connie took a picture. Such a unique patter in the base of the stump
We stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant on the way home. It is good that restaurants in the country are used to smelly and dirty people who have been working outside. They were giving out a flower to every mom that ate a meal. That was a nice pre mothers day treat.
I’m a mechanical engineer turned weekend farmer, so I’m just smart enough to know that there is a lot that I don’t know especially when it comes to farming, permaculture and food forests. I’ve been heavily influenced in my love of farming and permaculture by my Mom and Dad and also by people like 
Connie has her certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from CCCC. She really enjoyed the classes at the community college and learned a lot. The program was a mixture of classes and work on the school farm. What she learned has really added to our technical proficiency on the farm.