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Our homestead, along with the surrounding Pacific Northwest is one big garden, and we strive to achieve seamlessness between the wild and our domestic growing things.
There are two deer-fenced areas where we grow annual vegetables, herbs, greens, and berries. These gardens serve to feed the homestead. The future years will incorporate another fenced market garden aimed at producing food for market or CSA, and a designated food forest area, though most of our gardens turn into food forests over time.
All of our gardens are organic and amended with only our compost, some rabbit manure from our rabbits, and some acquired mulch. Occasionally I may throw in some lime with a sensitive perennial. Building soil on top of our dense and acidic clay is always a priority around here.
We do all the work on the homestead by hand. The only fossil fuels used to garden here are the occasional but extremely rare lawn mower or weed whacker, and gas used to pick up plants or mulch.
We are leaning more and more toward herb, berry, and fruit production as we observe and see what wants to grow here.
Utilizing and creating microclimates through our many nook and cranny gardens, areas around the house, contoured land ect. allows for a wider variety of happy foods and medicinals.