Southeast Gardens | PERMACULTURE HOMESTEAD Backyard Food Forest | Travelogue

Leaving. Lizzy, lose family farm on my, drive to permaculture, homestead, I passed, through, the Black River Preserve the. River, characterized. By, meanders. Ox, boughs, artesian. Springs, and mature, swamp, forests. Is stained. It's dark tea color from, the tannins, of dying, vegetation. The best way to see, it is in a canoe but I had to press on today. I am, in Columbia, South Carolina with. My friend Tori from, permaculture. Homestead, and I'm so excited to meet Tori in person, and to see what, he's got growing in his backyard food, forest we're. Going on a little treasure hunt and then we're gonna sit down for a chat so stay with us enjoy. The journey. And. Here's, Erin and she's gonna feed the animals, good, all. Right. Attention. Attention. How. Many rabbits do you have three. Okay. Did. I just eat one time a day yeah. And. You'll now get grasses, and stuff from. Wintory. Old weed. Line. Lay. Eggs. There's. A line to let your line to lay eggs this morning. That's. My job on the homestead right now well, that one is. Making. Things, with the things Tory grows here, in the. Garden so, finding. New recipes and interesting, ways to use the food your. Profession, is dancing and teaching dancing a ballet. Yeah which is awesome, good. Sweet that skill. I've worked on a long time to help somebody else now all, right have a great day. We've. Gotten tons of rain lately so I just need to dump out everything, that can store and catch water trying to get rid of mosquitoes out here but nothing goes to waste at. The permaculture homestead. Welcome. To the food forest our first treasure for you today is my goji, berry I love goji berry a great perennial, for zone 8 they, fruit, all the time huge clusters, of, fruit. And they start about mid-march, and they go throughout the whole year until fall, so, the goji berry are a favorite. Of our native pollinators especially. Mason bees goji. Berry is in the tomato family, they taste much like a tomato a handful, of these small goji berries has more lycopene, than. A full, sized tomato, this is tansy. Medieval. Times they use it as like a pepper they would dry the leaves and grind it and use it as a pepper I use. It to bring in native, pollinators just. To have beneficial, bugs in here really. Pretty button like yellow, flowers you'll see pollinators, on these all day, I don't, weed here on the homestead I kind of let things go wild, once or twice a year I'll come out and chop and drop just chop, and drop any overgrowth, right here is a native, muscadine. This, is a grape a wild great local, to zone 8 anywhere, in zone 8 you can grow it they. Are currently putting on their fruit, muscadines. Are great for juice and jellies. Get mash them boil them in wine and wine muscadine, wine is, a big popular, one down south, sweet. Potatoes, in buckets I am, rotating out, my spring, potatoes, and starting sweet potatoes, for the fall they should be ready by November. Got a little bug action, I see yeah once, again we're totally, organic, no pesticides. No, chemicals, of any type no weeding, nothing, really I'm really trying to find the hardiest plants that, can just take the damage and keep, on going. There. Is a woodchip, pathway, around, the whole food. Forest, just to make it easy to get around and, along. The way you can stop and see, guilds. Of plants, which, is a permaculture, principles just, planting in guilds okay, and this, I would call a sub tropical fruit. And tree guild, I've got this centralized, Moringa, tree which generally, gets 2030 feet tall, the, next layer down is, a shrub layer and. I've got things like hibiscus, here gorgeous. I have, nitrogen-fixing. Shrubs, in the form of Gumi. Berry le Agnes, um balata, this. Is goomy berry autumn, olive Wow. We. Have an herb layer. Ground, cover layer parsley. And, artichoke. Which. Is taken some pest damage but, it's still, alive it'll come back we have this root crop of ginger. And, a vining, layer if you need a vine layer we got some sweet potatoes, that, have naturalized. Here, on the forest floor so, the next treasure I want to talk about is water harvesting we. Don't have sprinklers, back here or drip irrigation, I utilize, a trench, system, or a swale dug on contour. In. This case my uphill, is this way and downhill, is this way so as water comes downhill it'll, fill up in this trench and then, soap and seep, downhill, to.

The Root zones of all my trees and shrubs downhill, it's a lot easier for, the plants, to stretch. Out their roots and find the water than, it is for me to inundate them with water and they, may get too soaked. So. Oh it's. So good, can. You make tea or something out of this hibiscus, okay. The leaves or the flowers or what. This. Right, here is one of my favorite, herbs, this is anise, hyssop and it's. Got this chocolate, flavor. To, the leaf. I'm. Using it as a companion, plant for my Mars grapes. So. This is the first year they've been in here I probably should prune the fruit off just to let it focus on growth, these are table grapes and I just put some companion, plants with it that like. To be with the grape that bring in pollinators, that deter, pests, by their smell and aroma parsley, is another one when it starts to flower it'll, bring in beneficial. Bugs. On. The grass actually, it'll just choke it out oh you've got the Appleman. I'm. Not afraid of it Mother Nature does a really good job of self, managing, this for me these. Raspberries you're going wild, the, blackberries, yeah we have a watchit ah Arapaho. Navajo, all the Indian, varieties. And then we have a Triple Crown and, a, prime art freedom, they're, all from the University, of Arkansas they're, all thornless, varieties, nice, bread, for the sow so. The next treasure I want to show you is, our chicken coop and run area, it's at the top of the property, it's pretty far from the house so it doesn't really bother us the noise and I, keep my bees back here as well we do suburban, beekeeping, and. Bees. Are under a lot of pressure nowadays, with, chemicals. Pesticides. They're. Under attack by predators, might, moths. Mice, it's, been tough for us to keep hives back here I really feel like I need seven, or eight hives to. Just keep up with the winter losses, that come currently. We have one hive on site we've had as many as two and I've. Tried to split them but. With winter losses, and bad weather and pests, we've, had a hard time keeping more, than one hive on site my, hope is this, spring, to go ahead and split this hive and have, two or three hives made from it passion, fruit is a great ground cover it's, a native, plant, here in zone 8 it prevents, the weeds from growing so, as you can see there's really no grass back here not a whole lot of weeds the passion fruit just kind of takes over it so, I get weed suppression and, an, edible crop at the same time do the chickens like passion fruit the chickens do not eat the passion fruit at all over.

Here I've got two plum trees they like to be together to pollinate, each other this. Is a meth leepung, and a santa rosa plum it. Has a ground cover of mountain, mint it's a very Hardy mint once. Again brings in beneficial, bugs got. This aromatic scent, that repels other pests, I have. A vining, layer of the passion fruit this, is a crape, myrtle, Oh once, again just, to bring in pollination, not edible and, you got your compost, decomposing. Over in the corner yeah, top of the property. Well. This is leftover from a pond project, that I did. Not complete, this, was me thinking I was gonna put a pond back here and realize it's just too wet in general, so, I do all my composting. At the top of the property, we are now standing at the highest part of the property, from. Here to my back door represents. About a two foot drop in elevation, so. What I get back here is all my compost, the chickens will come back here they help me turn it mm-hmm, it's weeds it's, chopped and dropped from my plants, it. Turns into this rich, black. Soil. That. I use in the spring it, looks sandy it is a little sandy, I live on a sand pit that's, great for carrots yeah. Bunch. Of other things it is and, sweet potatoes, right, I. Live. In a, it's. An ancient river basin I'm living in so, it's very very sandy, soil and the. First thing I did the first year and a half was just bring in organic, material, and grill, a lot of cover crops to try to get. Some sort of organic material, going so. This is a brown, turkey Fig, you had some frost damage, this year in the, past four, or five months, it's already, put on a good. Three four feet of growth this, particular, fig I'm gonna just let it go wild, I'm gonna let it get as big as it can and, I'll let the chickens go ahead and live in a truce tonight well they will love the shade. Yes. So these are all my old fruited, canes I'll chop, them I'll throw, them in my cage, and then, I'll bring the new canes to, the cage just to give, the forest, some sort of shape so I really got this living, art going on here it's an art installation it really is because underneath you have all this wonderful compost, that's breaking down this plant is wing'd sumac, a ruse, copal inium and they call it winged sumac, because, of the wings in between, the leaf pairs the, stem actually wings out. Okay. I let it grow the birds planted, it here and it's a shrub layer and what, I'll get in the fall is a large, red, droop, it's called and you can take that droop and make lemonade, or. Dry, it and grind it to make a spice that's how the Indians, used it we've got lambs quarters here, lambs. Quarters yes ma'am birds, brought that in and notes everywhere that's, right, this. Is a Lee jujube. Really. Good for hot temperatures. Beautiful. And how do you beat Jujubee, though those are like a little tiny ample things right that's right they do look like a tiny Apple early in the summer and if you let them ripen on the tree in, the fall they will shrivel up and kind of turn into a really sweet date is another name for it is Chinese date and. What's all this this is goldenrod, wild, one another, wild one okay. I let, the goldenrod go because, I need a fall source, of nectar for my bees it. Also is, just my visual, reminder, letting me know that hey fall is here it's time for me to do some bee maintenance. Mushrooms. Wild. Ones I do have. Some cultivated. Variety, I put out here. Comfrey. This. Is another native. Local, favorite, this is pawpaw, a Samoa. Table, and it's, currently about six feet tall. It. Started out as a stick in the ground two, years ago and it. Puts on North, America's, largest native. Fruit, and it's a big. About the size of a small football and, another, name for it is custard apple, because that's what it tastes like when you cut.

Into It and eat it out Moringa. Yes ma'am and you'll chop that back or yes. So. What will, that survive the frost, great. Question, I get that question a lot being, here in zone 8 we're in this, subtropical. Temperate, zone temperate, forest because we get a frost and. Moringa. Do not like a frost so this will die back. What. I've done though is cut, it back and. This. Year after a. Winter. It has grown, back at the root so it throws up suckers, when, it gets hot again basically, so, another treasure, here, on the permaculture homestead. Is community. And I got my community, helping me out everybody. Around here brings me their grass clippings, and nothing. Goes to waste. We. Use these grass clippings, as. I'll put them in the compost or, I'll, feed them to my rabbits, which. Then make manure, and I used that manure, to, feed my plants so. We've got this never-ending, cycle going, on, so. We fertilize here. Using natural methods this is a 55-gallon. Drum filled. With comfrey. And rabbit. Manure hmm, and I will let it sit in here and ferment, for a couple weeks, dip, it out using a five-gallon, bucket and I, will feed my plants with it basically we water our plants of, course but, I'd use a. Gravity-fed. System from. Source to sink the source being my roof and. The. Sink being my swales and. To. Make it easy i have a. Simple. Drain system. I. Have. Three, water, tanks, here on site, for, three swales that I have here and they're, not all lined up perfectly I do use some tubing, this. Is a simple pool tube and I'm. Gonna flood, another, swale up here my second, Swale it's. Definitely a more gentle stream here. Still. Pretty steady and, this. Too will meander down the pathway. It. Streams. In your backyard. I. Will. Pepper, vegetables. Throughout, the food forest floor here's. A small example, of that we have okra. Basil. There's, marigold. Here and more parsley, right over here, there's. Some green beans also coming. In little, bug eating hmm. But. They'll make it they're already wanting to produce just a tad. This. One here is sambucus. Nigra, black. Elderberry, it's, a local, native, edible, I actually, found, it in a ditch and propagated. It here on site it's, great, shrub layer. Wow. It brings in the mockingbirds, it brings in all types of native birds you. See them going at that elderberry. It. Has antiviral properties, the, berries do they also bring in a lot of native birds which is my pest control at the same time so. I've get this great privacy. Hedge I get. Beneficial. Birds coming in and I, get this antiviral. Berry right. At the time of year that we need it during. The fall and it. Flowers in the spring when, many people are getting the flu. Beautiful. Great, medicinal shrub, to have in your your, property takes a little while to pick those tiny berries, I would think. Just. Kind of brush your hand over it and they fall right on out. Wow. They're, kind of seedy they do need to be processed I cook. Them down I boil, them down I do. Not eat them raw okay, I'll either boil them mash out the juice and mix it with honey to, make a syrup or. I'll, boil it mash it filter, out the juice and add it to alcohol, to. Make a tincture. So, I am, certainly an artist, I do try to bring a lot of diversity into the food forest in just, my wingspan we've, got some asparagus. We've got pineapple, guava we've. Got some more Moringa, right here I've. Got longevity. Spinach behind, me and, I also have, rabbit, track during systems, here this is how I weed, my food forests I'll. Bring my rabbit along we'll pull the cage he. Will pull up the weeds eat them dig. It up leave. His manure and I'll. Come behind him and woodchip over that and that's how we kind of keep the, depths, of this food forest, fairly. Maintained. And weed free this is one of my new favorite, edibles I've planted this year it's genera, procumbens. Or longevity, spinach, and. It does require some shade so I have it planted underneath, my elderberry, which give it shade throughout the day it. Is a semi, subtropical. Plant doesn't. Like frost so it will die, in the in the winter and what. I'm going to end up doing is taking cuttings, it roots really well in a cup, of water I'll take cuttings in the fall and root it up until spring. This is a perennial, curly. Leaf kale it's been decimated. By white moth but, this, is Mother Nature doing her pruning, this, plant will come back in the fall it's already a year and a half old I expect, it to keep producing like this for another year and a half this, is my heritage raspberry.

Patch It is a local, everbearing, raspberry. It's been grown here for over 50 years it. Produces, twice for me once, in the spring and once in the fall you've. Already had a large spring, flush and it's, currently putting on its fall growth right. Now. So. This cane will produce for me in the fall and then once again in the spring and. You'll cut all those canes back for next year yes ma'am I'll chop it and drop it. This. Has thorns this, is the thorny variety, yes, well. Weren't, all the heritage, varieties, thorny. Yes. Ma'am mm-hmm. So. This is something they've bred to take the thorns out to make it easier for gardeners, I, don't, mind the thorns helps pests, stay away from it do. You have raccoons here no. Raccoons, sometimes. Squirrels, can be a problem. Not, that bad though squirrels, aren't too bad mice, maybe, every now and then they'll try to go for the chicken food what, about rats no, rats we, have snakes back here though to me. The wife and I have seen snakes, slithering. Around back here what kind of snakes a corn, snake and a rat snake okay, so, good don't leave some varieties I checked them up make sure they weren't poisonous. Well the rat it's, nice to have the red snake yeah care of your rat to take care of any mice a rat problem that we may have Wow ooh, and, what, would you do if you did see a poisonous, snake because it's very possible it. Is very possible with, all the ground cover here I don't. Know what I would do, I. Might, just let it be oh, wow. Got. To try that one I will. And, you can eat the stem on this this, is this, is like a sweet all the way down no hard no crunchy, mmm. I gotta get em variety, from. The figs and, the plum and of, course all the small fruits have produced real heavily, blackberries. The raspberries. The. Elderberry. The, gummy bear. So, the wire just performs. The function, of adding shape to. All the black berries hang yes ma'am and I mean it's also gonna work as building, organic material, into. This that I can grow into, I'll put annual, vegetables, into. This cage, in. The spring in March you. Mean. You'll grow them in there I will grow them directly, into the compost that I make in. The cages nice, so, you have to kind of get some shape here. It's, expanding, we're adding, more cages. To. Keep. My pathways, open. You. Know this right here is pineapple sage you.

Have Oregano. And catnip. All in, between two trees gear. Serving. As a ground cover preventing. Weeds from growing. Well. So, it's just the peaches that have stumped you so far so far just the peaches but as you can see the paw Paw's will get tall and I'll just prune the peaches down. Into. More like a shrub and less like a tree and I'll, let the paw Paw's be the overstory. Okay. It's break time what, are you gonna service we're gonna have lemon, balm Apple, mint and chamomile tea, a great herbal favorite I. Don't. Know if you guys can tell, but it's really hot here, he. Has had a little costume, change. Feeling. Better and we. Are drinking. Southern. Style iced tea in mason jars with, fresh. Mint and chamomile. Flowers. And, lemon balm. And. Some, of their, honey which, they collected last year how, many gallons did you say I, would say about 8 gallons, because, we had two of those five-gallon buckets about all the way for oh and. We sold quite a bit that was from two hives. Okay. Because. He. Says to eat this raw yeah, yeah raw is always best. Okay, it's gonna have a definitely. Taste like a plant, yeah. I've. Been eating raw food for a while now I'm pretty, used to it hmm. It. Is good yeah. No. Aloe kind, of taste to it. I mentioned, Malabar, because it's kind of got that Malabar, that's, true that's true, crying to it and I was gonna try, I'm. Not sure if I've had raw, asparagus before. So I'm gonna try this because, I saw him eating it you're gonna love it it's. Sweet. All the way down. Wow. Wood, chips I fully believe that it's the wood chips, somehow. That keep that tasting, good well. The. Thing I love about. Permaculture. Is. It's got a great story I don't. Have that story in my garden, I just, have the micro, farm in a in. Los. Angeles, you, have a very, well-maintained, garden kay I love it but. Permaculture. Like biodynamic. Has a great story, and I, can see why there's. A lot of interest in Tori's. Channel, so be sure you check out Tori's YouTube channel Toma culture homestead, and. He, is so, enthusiastic. And he's. The wealth of knowledge and he he's. Passionate about, what he's doing and you. Can, see from this video, his. Enthusiasm. And we. Just scratched, the surface what. We could be talking about here but you'll see more in-depth. Stories. And explanations. And information. On, his channel because, he intends, to take a, guild. At a time and just break, it apart and really talk about it but, we've had this wonderful overview and, thank you so much for having no problem, I appreciate you coming you will have to come and see me in Lhasa oh I certainly will, alright well he lived in Los Angeles so it's not above, the realm of possibility. Alright thanks, for watching appreciate, it god bless. You.

2018-03-26 19:48

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