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Community Squash Tasting Day
Saving seed and growing food is inherently place based. The characteristics of the seeds you save becomes the nourishment that fills your and possibly others’ bodies. It is one of the great gifts of growing food. Cooking it and sharing it brings us together and infuses us with a sense of place.
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Introducing Air Potatoes
Given our shifting climate, increased drought and flooding events and general instability, I think it is wise to start allying with a myriad of crops- especially those that are notably vigorous. I love potatoes and sweet potatoes a lot, and they do really well for us here, AND diversity is key in creating resilient systems. After a few seasons growing D. batatas and one growing D. bulbifera, I feel encouraged to continue experimenting with these plants. The batatas especially, given its cold hardy nature, would do well in and amongst shrubs and trees. In this instance, it has even taken a liking to one of our common food forest nitrogen…
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Growing Yardlong Beans: Easy Gardening Success
This year in growing the yardlongs we are “staying on top of” our bean harvest, enjoying faster prep time in the kitchen and delicious homegrown meals. We will be saving these seeds and growing them again!
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Growing Pawpaws from Seed
When growing out from seed, fruit quality can be expected to be similar to that of the fruit from which it came. A Susquehanna fruit will yield seeds with a high quality fruit, although not identical to its parent. Choosing seeds from selected cultivars means you can grow high quality fruit without the fuss of grafting and increase genetic diversity. For pollination purposes it can be helpful to have a wider variety of individuals too.
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Seeding the Permaculture Nursery at Mountain Jewel
This year at Mountain Jewel we have been busy planting seeds for the future. In air prune beds we have planted a variety of hybrid Chestnuts (Chinese x Japanese x American x European), Select Chinese Chestnuts, Persimmons, Select Pawpaws and English Lime. All of these plants thrive in our bioregion. These trees will be available fall 2020 to purchase through our website. We offer shipping and local pickup.
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How to Plant Bare Root Trees
The most economical and successful way to plant trees is to obtain bare root stock. This means the tree was lifted or dug from a field or nursery bed during the dormant season. The trees are shipped without soil or medium and are thus feasible to send through the mail. Bare root trees are ideally planted in the fall to reduce the shock and stress of being uprooted and moved.
