Planning an Herb Garden + Planting for Dog Food

[MommaDogs]

Hey all, long intro here... I've been so busy with my RL lately, I haven't been on here much. However, my turkeys ate my entire yard last year. Long story short, I thought they'd spend more time in the woods eating the free food rather than my lawn, berries, and herbs. They ate it all. It's gone, gone, gone, my yard looks like the New Mexican desert. Now it's time for revenge and eating them. (They're actually long gone)

 

I thought I'd post my thoughts, lists, vendors, and final plans here and perhaps help someone else or even get some sage advice as my task is so huge that I'm sure to make some mistakes.

 

First things first, I have a quarter acre capable of being planted for lawn, garden, permaculture, and herbs. The rest is woods. My yard is very shady, with a large, 50+ year old maple in the center of it. My herb garden - I don't have exact measurements, but probably 50x20 feet, is mostly sand. I tap the maple, but it's old, with many dying limbs and I likewise tap surrounding trees. I have not had a tree doctor look at my maple. I love it, but may remove it and some other saplings around my property in the spring. I also have a few clearings in the woods that I have thought of stealth planting with various crops.

 

I am a wild foods enthusiast, so some of my gardens look like decoration but are actually ostrich fern, cattail, daylily, raspberries, etc.

 

The only thing I have left is some permaculture - all two years old. Two peach trees, an English walnut, four apple, two cherries, a highbush cranberry, hops, and potentially a gooseberry or a raspberry. We'll see in the spring if they actually come back or not. I'll be getting no production from them worthwhile for some time.

 

Gone is everything else, raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, kiwi, horseradish, blueberries, comfrey, and all my herbs. Including my lawn.

 

This year the chickens will be getting enclosed and a tunnel system devised to lead them to the woods for forage, but kept out of my yard and the front of the house.

 

My lawn dies every single year. No matter what, I can't keep it going. This year I am going to have my soil tested and probably have to dump some topsoil on it. I suspect the fact that I consistently dig up remains of the railroad tracks that are long since gone and my very high iron content in my well are linked and possibly linked to nothing surviving long around here.

 

So, you can see the tasks ahead of me. Feel free to jump in with thoughts, glean anything you can as I plan throughout the next several months. My task is very great and very complex. Out of my yard, I must be able to sustain my family, including my four leggeds, give my bees specific meals, especially the medicinals to enrich their honey with, and take care of any medical needs my family has that can't be wildcrafted. I'll have to find a clean source of top soil, a clean 'affordable' source of manure (my grassfed meat farmer charges a pretty penny for her manure), source my plants, plan the companion plantings, and cut those from the list that I don't need or can plant or locate elsewhere.

 

I'm starting now because it will take the planning phase to be several months long. I usually start planning my garden in late Jan, but being alone this year with no man around, and more cash strapped than ever before, I'll be looking for plant and seed swaps, to barter and trade, etc.

 

Who knows, maybe this will be interesting to no one but me... but I hope that someone will take something away from my endeavors.

 

I'm beginning now by going through books I have for lists, the dog food I feed, and next I will order the catalogs. I know it's all online, but somehow I always get through the winter so much better with the catalogs spread all over my bed on a Saturday morning.

[MommaDogs]

Here's my first pass list for dog food, some of which doubles as chicken and bunny food, and of course, all can be people food.

Almonds

Apples

Basil

Beets

Blackberries

Blueberries

Broccoli

Caraway Seed

Carrots

Cauliflower

Celery

Chicory Root

Cranberries

Dill

Tomato (sundried)

Figs

Flax Seed

Garlic

Ginger

Green Beans

Lemon Balm

Marigold Flowers

Millet

Parsley

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Rosemary

Sage

Spinach

Sweet Potato

Watercress

[Annarchy]

Welcome back MommaDogs!

 

Sounds like you have things planned out already.

 

I would agree the railroad ties are probably doing quite a bit of damage. The Creosote used on them is not healthy. I have a telephone pole next to the fence in my yard and the plants that live next to it are miniature compared to the same cuttings planted elsewhere.

 

I am in the process of expanding my garden and looking at what options I have for plants that can survive 110+ degree summers.

 

Looking forward to hearing how your endeavor works out.

[themartianchick]

Have you thought about raised beds, MommaDogs? An online friend in Canada built some waist-high raised beds in his yard to keep from having to bend over to tend it. That is something that I'm considering for our future place to ensure that I'd be able to continue to grow things despite having back issues that will likely get worse.

 

While I already have some raised beds, they are certainly not waist high.Even regular raised beds would get your food out of the "bad" dirt and reduce your weeding, etc.

 

I'd definitely be interested in following your journey. I have an interest in knowing how to grow a basic diet to feed any critters that I might have.

[MommaDogs]

Hey, Annarchy, thanks for the welcome back. I hadn't even thought of the creosote. DUH. I was thinking of all the metal that pops up everywhere. Also all the old farm equipment that people just dumped into the woods back then.

 

Yes, TMC, I've got raised beds but they're only raised to the top of the border of rocks I have, which are about softball sized. I really need soil all over, though, as nothing grows, and raised beds don't help my lawn any. And I can't raise up more around the herb garden since I'd be covering the well up. I literally have a half acre of dirt right now, no joking.

 

I found this cool plant, and I'll be adding this to the list of potentials... says it can feed poultry. Well, my poultry sure do like peas, so this may be a good addition.

 

http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/productdetails.cfm?ProductID=M095

[Amishway Homesteaders]

............and the good part about a herb garden is once you buy all the plants (or seeds) for the most part - thats it. They will come back each year (well here in NY anyway). so you get to spread out the cost of planting over a few years instead of like tomato plants that you have to buy each year.

I have had mine for over 10 years now and it is still doing great.

[Ambergris]

Have you considered some less common near-wild foods, like serviceberries, cornels, mulberries, plum, apricot, pawpaw?

[MommaDogs]

LOL... herbs last if turkeys don't eat them all. My herb garden was finally complete after 5 years of planning, and painstaking planting, caring for, etc... and the turkeys decimated it ALL.

 

Actually, Ambergris, you are correct in suggesting that as most people don't go that far in their planning... Yes, most of what I grow is unrecognizable by most as food or medicine. You'd have to be well versed to know I was growing anything edible, other than my fruit and nut trees and what was in the raised beds, of course. For example, up here the high bush cranberry is not a frequently eaten food, but I find it delicious and very nutritious... with sugar of course. Most people don't realize that all daylily plants are edible, as are all viburnum. (not all delicious, of course)My "lawn" will be a combination of dandelion, lambs quarters, plantain, mints, violets, low growing berries and other "steppables" such as Irish moss and thyme to name just a few. All very good for the honeybees, all very good for me for eating and teas. My only criteria for my plants are that they can be neglected, can survive cold winters, and are usable in one way or another for food or building material. We actually have a New England Wild Flower Society nursery where I can buy local wild edibles, but they are often priced between 25-40% higher than the catalogs. As much as I want to support them, I often look at what they have and price around for it. Likewise, in the western part of my state, there is a man who grows every wild edible that will grow in our climate (his is more cold than mine slightly) - and he does a lot of stealth gardening. Very cool place to visit. I bought paw paws from him last year along with a very cool vine, and hardy orange (never even knew we had one out here) - all dead now, leaves were stripped. Oh, the paw paws were eaten by my ever vigilant Anatolian, of course. She makes sure there are no saplings or low hanging branches for anyone to get stuck by.

 

Usually I set out to plant 50-75 plants and I'll select 400 from the catalogs. LOL - I'm a true addict, ya know? The only thing that gets me through the cold winter is looking at catalogs and the February indoor garden show nearby.

 

Keep the suggestions coming. Even if I already thought of it, others out there may benefit. Remember our ever present lurkers. Hi guys!

[Amishway Homesteaders]

LOL... herbs last if turkeys don't eat them all. My herb garden was finally complete after 5 years of planning, and painstaking planting, caring for, etc... and the turkeys decimated it ALL.

 

 

 

Herb stuffed Turkeys are very pricy in the stores...........................

so hope you got to save some money there. LOL

[MommaDogs]

 

 

 

Herb stuffed Turkeys are very pricy in the stores...........................

so hope you got to save some money there. LOL

LOLZ - the funniest day was the day I was out there feeding leftover stuffing to the turkeys... took me a second to see the irony and then I just had to laugh. Eat it up, guys. Eat it up.

[carr]

Here's my first pass list for dog food, some of which doubles as chicken and bunny food, and of course, all can be people food.

Almonds

Apples

Basil

Beets

Blackberries

Blueberries

Broccoli

Caraway Seed

Carrots

Cauliflower

Celery

Chicory Root

Cranberries

Dill

Tomato (sundried)

Figs

Flax Seed

Garlic

Ginger

Green Beans

Lemon Balm

Marigold Flowers

Millet

Parsley

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Rosemary

Sage

Spinach

Sweet Potato

Watercress

 

 

MD ... I would be interested to know what all you feed your dogs, and how you use this list in their feeding.

[LaBellaVita]

I just watched this video yesterday and it came to mind as you need to improve your soil...

 

This guy says that he just uses mulch he gets from a tree service, lets it decompose and he has the best soil, its light, not compacted, it has good ph, weeds don't grow in it, etc. He also adds manure to it.

 

http://backtoedenfilm.com/

 

Don't know if you have a chipper, or access to one, or a tree service, but its something you could look into since you have so many trees and are thinking about taking some down.

 

Here where I live I found a couple of tree service companies that will give you a truckload of free mulch the next time they are on your side of town, so I'm going to sign up. Don't know how soon I'll get it, so I'll have to be flexible here in the beginning and may do some square foot gardening in the meantime, but I thought if I could get a truckload or two (one truckload is supposed to be around the size of a Suburban) I could really get a good-sized garden started. Was going to use raised beds but this mulching idea certainly has some benefits... anyway, check it out. The idea may not be perfect for you, but it could get you brainstorming.

 

[Amishway Homesteaders]

IF you have an animal that scratches it fur ? or loses hair on rumps do to itching or from hot weather.....................

Grow some Bea Balm!

dry the leaves (or use fresh) and put into a jar with a little bit of hot water (make a tea) when cool rub on area that is showing skin. Repete as needed.

we make a cup at a time and it last a week in jar.

This is OK IF you friend (animal) licks it as just Bea Balm.

Maggie (cat) every fall would lick her sides until she had bare stops, and She is a Black Cat). So the first sign of skin and we start rubbing this on her every night and it stops it.

This year I told Lori we were going to start it as soon as the heat came on and nothing is showing so far so I guess it works well!

also a very 'cheap' way to go as no Vet, no pills and no bills!