Ye Old Farm

[The Helpful Gardener]

I hear he's keen on those that help themselves...

We're just cheering for you...

Congrats on the new gig, Sage; just landed a good deal myself. Very happy for both of us. C'mon, economy...



HG

[Sage Hermit]

Originally posted by Sage Hermit
I pray you all get rewarded graciously by God for helping me.

Mother Nature?

[garden5]

Sounds like you have a lot of great things to look forward to next year , great to hear about the new job, as well!

Half the fun of gardening is planning out the future seasons .

Glad to hear your employment is going good as well, HG.

[gixxerific]

Nice place looks like you still have a lot of work in front of you. I want to come and play.

Great idea using all the barn wood for this and that.

Not sure if you know this or not. Not sure either the condition or quality of the barn wood but people pay a LOT of money for it. We see it used as fireplace mantels or beams in ceilings etc. You wouldn't believe how much they pay for this stuff either. Something to look into if that so interest you.

[Sage Hermit]

Tell me about it. I had stacked up all these cedar poles and people in the area were very interested in getting them from me but I need em for building raised beds and stuff.

Come play in my flowers! Next year I plan on starting a massive sunflower patch and harvesting honey. If you like archery too thats fun. We fish in the river and you can catch clams. Would be nice having The Helpful Gardener Community members come and give me feed back but we are almost in Canada. Its by Sandstone, MN and getting subzero temps. is common.

P.S. My list of seeds to swap is almost finished.

" "

Go Gixx!

[DoubleDogFarm]

Sage,

I've practically been in your back yard. My cousin and her husband owned Sah Kah Tay on Cass Lake, off highway 2. They sold the resort years ago, but still live in Bemidji. My aunt and uncle owned a resort on Norway Lake. Sunset Resort was the name. Spent 6 weeks there one summer.

My parents are from a small town Noonan ND. Right on the Canada border.

Eric

[Sage Hermit]

Dear everyone,

My goals are 90% complete. last 10% involves building a stable green house and finish collecting native plant seeds.

Seeds:

Sweet Basil + Tai Basil
Native sun flower
catnip
Marigold mixed colors mainly orange.
meadow rue
Valerian
Tomato
Sage brush
Sage salvia officianalis
Mint
Day lilies
Purple prairie phlox
black samson echinachea
black eyed susan
brown eyed susan
morning glories - mixed colors mainly purple.
patunia purple
poppys red

bergamot
hysops
Violets
Ferns lady
Fuchsia
Butter and eggs
Lupine.
Pink clover

Stinging Nettle
Wild Mint




Once I learn how to grow trees from combs and seeds and other methods I will update my list with trees.

We have 2 cedar trees and a lot of pine and other cool trees! I need basswood trees and plum and apple trees.

My vision is to put as many awesome plants and bees in my farm and have super honey! Also I need to figure out the moss cultivation so I can grow it too.

Love

[Sage Hermit]

Year old. Raspberrie/Catnip/Lemon Balm


These mounds are growing morels...


New Mint and Pineapple Sage extension. Sage is turning brown. Rained a lot wonder whats up



Beginning of double curve

[Sage Hermit]

The area I am building in has tons of raspberries and so I will simply relocate them to the mound. The originall experiment used first year canes and this year they reached their full potential and out grew and out produced their free counterparts outside the mound. Food for me and flowers for bees. 0 cost.


Got the system down. These mounds should be in construction for a long time period.

I added 18 Pineapple Mints, 18 Spear Mint, 18 Regular sage (salvia officianalis), 5 Catmints, 18 Tai Basil, 18, Lavender, 5 Basil Mint, 7 Chocolate Mints, 5 Grapefruit Mint. 1 Goji berry bush, 18 rosemary 10 thyme.

My plan is make a huge arching row around the property of herbs then put some bee hives in later.

I still can't get over the fact that morrel mushrooms were growing in my mounds that were untouched for a year. That was a good sign that the fukuoka style is perfected.

[greenheirloom]

I think it has a ton of potential. Looks like a beautiful old farm. Get out there and get started with it!

[Sage Hermit]

Thanks for that interesting fact about sunflower honey crystallizing quicker. Interesting to know. Plan for adding basswood will take place this year perhaps. I wonder if there is a company that truck in large ones. Basswood is a highly medicinal food source and has a minty flavor when used for producing honey. My teacher's apiary started by planting basswood and pink clover. His Wife also grows Rhubarb and other foods for cooking. He mentioned basswood and clover as being their food source and since his honey was the best I just assumed it had a good reason so I looked it up.Really need to rely heavily on those for medicinal honey but bees like variety too and their health is important as the honey.
I really love the basswood and clover honey but I want to also alternate with sage honey. Sage honey is also very beneficial and has a completely different taste that is my second favorite. 3rd is Orange blossom but I would love some lemon blossom honey! drooling now.

We will talk more when I get out there again and take nice pictures. I love taking pictures of my hard work. Hope you all are doing well and you in the drought areas get a flood:

[Sage Hermit]

The Original Herb Mound. Raspberry and Catnip

Catnip seeds for life.

Next section of the Herb Mound. Pineapple Sage.

2nd Section: Pineapple Sage / Sage / Spearmint/ Lemon Balm/ Catmint/ Pineapple Mint/ Thyme.

2nd Section close up

3rd Section: Catmint/Tai Basil/ Sweet Basil/ Sage/ Pineapple Mint/ Pepper Mint

4th Section: Sage/ Thyme/ Lavender/ Rosemary/ Spearmint/





Tasty tomatoes!


Subtle side

[Sage Hermit]

Hi All you Pumkins. I have been gone for a really along time and just wanted to say Hi. This year was fun and exciting and I have been so busy! I met a Farmer who I traded all my herbs for her veges. I traded a lot of thyme basil mint sage and catnip for all kind of wonders like chocolate sweet peppers, yellow water mellon, cantaloupe , corn, Hot peppers you name it. It felt really good like having a lot of money in the form of plants. Made some progress on the mounds. Will be digging until it gets too cold.

[Sage Hermit]

Parsley and Rue.


Double Curve



SOD FLIPPING. 3 shovels deep.

[Sage Hermit]

I was told that it deters mosquitoes. Its one of the only things in this garden I didn't plant to eat.

[Sage Hermit]

Its nice to hear from you MG. I was actually thinking about your farm because my friend said she wanted to by an acre of land. I told her thats plenty of space to grow everything she needs plus some. how is it going? That little letter is a keep's sake.



Straightening out x 40 ft.

[Sage Hermit]

500 + hours

Long long ago in the before times there was a feed & well house. Constructed from wood and glass, nails, shingling, electricity wires it was highly efficient but I had to seriously clean it all and build/ plant where it once was. The tee pee of wood are the support beams or at least the ones that hadn't rotted entirely yet.

RV + Fire Hose = Coupe De Grace

Saraba ; farewell.


uncovered well




Bashira

[Sage Hermit]

The well is not a new find however now we may begin renovation on the well system due to the last portion of the building being secured. We had anticipated this from the beginning.


> : D Property Taxes went down every time I demolished something! @ : 3


I'm very behind on planting trees but this year I have planted around 50! Once before I commented about the Apple and Plum Guild methods. These are unique styles that make food gardens. We will also better the natural environment by adding natives to them & preventing unwanted invasive ones from occupying desired soil space. I will need a lot of help and see myself asking many questions on this website.


some of the trees we purchased online from a reputable source. We planted about 10 apples 20 plums 10 Apricot 2 hzlnut trees 10 bass wood 5 pine 1 cedar


Probably apple


Probably Plum need to go back and label the trees because not all of them are labeled and they all kinda look the same. Some of the trees we planted last 2 years ago grew 5 feet!

Birth of the Apple Guild



Threw in 3 Grape vines

One of these is probably a hazelnut


Plum Guild / Lolipop Guild

Took HG's advice and put in Currant

I have very little knowledge when it comes to trees.

[Sage Hermit]

We are cultivating these mushrooms now. They appeared last year in my Herb mounds. This year it seems they like 1 year old locations on the mound and the mounds have grown a great deal. My friend now grows them. they say when the lilacs are in bloom it is Morrel season. Just thought I'd share.

[!potatoes!]

if you really want to share, i'll send you my address

morel season was 5 or six weeks ago here.

[Sage Hermit]

[MObeek]

To Sage Hermit,

Earlier, you mentioned that you're interested in bees. Since bees like your land, you could just build a bait hive and let them come to you. Check out this link for more information. It is a vertical top bar hive. http://www.warre.biobees.com/

[Sage Hermit]

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Forked Burm now turning into the Great Wall of China!

I can see my future self running out of space. about another 30 feet and I reach the corner of my property where there is a big Meadow Sweet colony. Surveying the land I discovered an endless sea of black raspberries and strawberries. These will go in the outer wall. Some of the trees I planted the first year are huge now!

Became successful at my job and can pay for all my farm needs no problem!! I really am the Sage Hermit when I am not doing Massage Therapy in the Twin Cities.

[Sage Hermit]

Chamomile comes back along with all kinds of mint basil oregano marjoram.


I thank you all for your help. This picture is from after the first mound experiment a few years ago. In the ditches themselves grows a lot of useful plants. I am weeding there and spreading clover seeds now. Been reading up on Fukuoka and a guy named Kailash Murti from India. My intention is to increase the amount of food for not just me but every living creature. I like the guild idea and plan on placing 2 where the mounds fork. We have officialy been drought free this year am excited for the plums.


The original mound experiment was about ten feet long. Cut 2 feet with a shovel and flipped that over a 4 foot space. On the other side I would cut another 2 feet and flip that over the 4 foot space. Cover that with cardboard and a layer of straw. Water and cut holes and transplant in partner plants. The out come was amazing. Just in the ditches grew morel mushrooms and I took raspberries that grew wild here and put them in. Today if you look at the raspberries in the mound versus outside you see the mound is making very large healthy fruit in abundance.

[parker34]

Love the set up you got there. My folks have a cabin not far from you, east of Askov. Really cool thread to follow.

[Sage Hermit]

Doubled the size of the mounds by cutting out 4 ft strips in stead of 2. The strips are then folded into an arch and stacked up. Finished they stand 3 1/2 ft tall now.







Bee Balm, Milk Thistle, Catmint .






the whole time I would take frequent berry breaks. The whole Northern edge of the farm now contains these hills. The whole wall will be dedicated to raspberries.

parkker34- thx for your interest in the farm. We had an amazing berry year. Gave my first tour the other day to a curious neighbor. Shared my techniques with him and some berries.

[AnnaIkona]

Sage, you're amazing! I realized it's been almost 3 years since you last wrote. Your posts are really inspiring! How's it going?