Within weeks of moving in, the three trees that were on site were taken to the ground and the large, choice sections staged for mushroom inoculation. An incredible amount of work ensued - really, a crazy amount of hauling - to build up the soil and suppress weeds.When the work was hard, I dreamt about how great everything was going to look. It wasn't as uplifting as I was hoping once all the beds were set up, either; in fact, it didn't look like much, so I kept dreaming.
By April we had favas chopped and strawberries poppin. Our lettuce and greens were making wonderful additions to sandwiches and warm early spring soups.
Although a good amount of fertility had been built already within a very short amount of time, there is still a few years of soil building ahead. As I build soil and establish more diverse plants, I build up a system that is capable of holding more life. It starts with insects like the potato bug and pollinators like caterpillars and will expand to include larger organisms like chickens and ducks next year.
It's been an exciting year. I've sketched up plans for a small nursery to grow starts and cultivate mushrooms in controlled conditions, and there would be space to grow insects (for all sorts of purposes ;) We've got ideas to install a pond for the chicken coop we'd love to have. Of course these things will get done when we have the budget for it - in the meantime we've managed to find awesome ways to enhance the backyard space, like designing a bonfire pit and setting up a hammock.
The garden has changed tremendously since this last January. It doesn't take much to get out there once and a while and do some maintenance work, and the work is well worth it when I consider how much I benefit from having so many awesome plants right in my backyard.
