Well in the case of the Kosmic Kale it is for easy propagation of new plants. When you harvest the Kosmic kale leaf a new plant grows out of the harvested node. After a few weeks that plant can simply be pulled off and put in soil - store it out of sunlight for a few weeks and you have a new...
I just have to share this as we start moving into the 2015 growing season. Here is one of my favorite gardens on Youtube and it is definitely one worth watching.
What kind of trees?
Very generally; I look for mulch plants (Comfrey, Siberian pea shrub, rhubarb), nutrient accumulators (Comfrey, horseradish) , nitrogen fixers (Siberian pea shrub, scarlet runner bean), and ground covers (strawberries, wild ginger, mint) but it depends on the tree...
In the woods we can see low growing ferns and herbaceous plants growing under trees. In your orchards or around your fruit trees are you utilizing any intentional plant communities or are you just pulling off the 'mulch and mow' routine?
There are two camps here. Get them small when the flowers die and they taste better (all theory of course) wait for them to die back and they get bigger if they are genetically capable of it. Plants only grow to their genetic potential and no bigger.
I say, harvest one of them and make a...
Wait, wait wait. You don't want any high nitrogen based material mixed with any carbon rich material. Carbon material goes on top of your nitrogen rich material or you will end up with nitrogen lockup beneath the soil surface.
nitrogen will get locked up in the carbon and not be plant available...
We are down to patches of snow here and there. I've started sowing peas and greens. The greens might need another pass but I've got a lot of seed so it isn't really an issue. :)
My experience is:
I use worm castings (and spent coffee grounds) everywhere.
I setup a wheel barrel with composting worms in the garage (ding! +1 lazy point). I cover the worms with something lite and add any of the house scraps to the barrel. In the beginning of the fall I shovel out the...
My wife makes a mean minestrone soup with kale and last years canned tomatoes - or this years fresh tomatoes depending on the time of year. It really fills out the dish. :D
The "Judge my dirt" phrase really comes from my daughter. She is at a farm expo in Nebraska and looks up and starts laughing. Then she snaps a picture and sends it to me. It says "Judge my dirt! dirt competition." I was also surprised by the use of the term dirt instead of soil. It's turned into...
Okay here is the skinny from Food Forest Farms and Cornell.
They Fruit after year five, on a yearly basis - ripening around October - They will also ripen in the refrigerator if they would be winter killed in your region. It is possible for them to fruit earlier but that is generally not...
Some plant suggestions for full to part shade.
Wild Ginger, Blueberries, Paw Paw Trees (produce in full to partial shade), Gooseberries, Kales, Chards, strawberries, herbs herb herbs.
***deer. I confuse deer with two 4 foot fences staked 3 feet apart. I don't know what it is about it, but...