02/15/2025
Hello everyone! The winter season, while slow, is the time of dreaming up and planning our next permaculture adventures. We think of last season's failures, the successes and the new things we'd like to try.
Last year was a strange one- or, perhaps, the new normal. Warm temps in March forced the budding of our peach and nectarine trees and then the hard freeze killed them. From four trees, we picked just one peach. Then the rains came. And persisted. I have never seen that amount of insect/slug damage. We had to reseed and replant multiple times. Our black raspberries suffered considerable damage and our cherry crop was completely lost to rot.
But the weather improved. Our red raspberry and blackberry harvests were some of the biggest yet. Our new golden raspberries, lavender and Asian pears flourished. And we ended up with enough fruit, veg and herbs to stock our freezers. Diversification is the key. If Mother Nature says no to something, there's always something else available to accept her yes.
For this season, we plan to expand our golden raspberry, black raspberry and asparagus patches. We are adding hazelnut, persimmon and elderberry. We are also adding French tarragon, Moroccan mint and edible pansies to the mix. We plan to continue to grow more okra and Scotch bonnet peppers for our West African friends. Before the tariffs hit, we went out and bought lumber for more raised beds and have finally purchased some cattle panels for a sturdy, resilient trellis system.
Thanks for reading. Who would like to share their plans for growing season 2025? We would love to hear from you!
Peace!
