YES! I just went seed collecting a couple days ago. My local Arboretum has an online plant list as well as an interactive map with locations of each species... they make it too easy lol. I got some red/pink sunchokes, HARDY KIWI SEEDS (and some cuttings, shhhh), eastern prickly pear seeds, and even some winecaps by chance. They even have sea buckthorn and haskaps on the plant list. I dont want to be digging any of their plants up but im gonna be on those fruits like flies. I am one lucky duck
I’ve been spreading some native seeds around that I have gathered from wild areas. I have been trying to recruit my neighbour and their kids to join me. I’ve also thrown in the occasional asparagus seeds so maybe in the future we can go foraging for fun. Love the video. Keep up the good work.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy is just annoying how they're usually sold just with one gender so you don't get any berries if you buy your plants from a typical nursery. I've never seen one go to ruit, only male flowers. If there aren't wild or otherwise accessible ones, you need to buy the seeds to start... I bought some heritage cultivar seeds that I'll have to send back once they go to seed.
I’ve been on a binge of your content over the past week, and have learned so much about why a lot of my gardening efforts have been unsuccessful so far. I’m excited to get going on fixing my poor soil and implementing these concepts to develop my food forest. And the wild aesthetic really appeals to me - I’ve always been a bit creeped out by neat rows of plants in bare soil and lonely trees in a vast lawn.
4:40 Parsley is a hardy biennial, setting seed the second year. You have to let it overwinter and then you get lots of parsley seed the following fall.
I love watercress from the garden. Here's my favorite thing I do with them: Chop or tear them up and add a splash of homemade apple cider vinegar, sea salt, walnut oil, walnuts, raisins, and some chopped chives. Simple and tasty. Takes the bitter from the cress away, but it's still pretty bitey/peppery which I enjoy. So glad to see the cress overwinters in zone 4. I want to try to spread some along a creek here!
This link is about video games interpreting forests and the experience of being in a forest. ua-cam.com/video/JgQ_buy8xJ0/v-deo.html As a kid I lived next to Dry land bush in the Australian Capital Territory (Black Mountain) and later on at the edge of temperate rainforest in Victoria. Now I am living next to monoculture pecan orchards in Chihuahua Mexico. It's the most artificial environment possible, where I don't have access, but in my imagination, and particularly at night when I am watering, it becomes my personal forest. It's the crickets, darkness, solitude and stars. It's the sounds of dogs in the far distance. My garden is a weed patch of grasses with a few scattered trees, but in my imagination it becomes a food forest. It has a long way to go. I like how this video explores the sensation of being in a forest. The fiction makes one more aware of reality.
I just planted my first two trees as I start my journey with permaculture-- two Mulberries beside my new chicken coop . Thank you for such informative content.
Thanks for the reminder about seeds. I'm going to go grab some lambs quarters from the sidewalks so I can grow them in a place I know is safe from sprays!
@@ediblelandscaping1504 Has Keith ever made a bad video? I do think they have improved with timing, content, photography, written comments etc over time... The bar was set pretty high from the beginning. It's the comment section that has really developed. The earlier videos didn't have dedicated followers sharing their experiences.
@@annburge291 I haven’t seen all his old videos, but I’ve got no issues with any I’ve seen. He gets controversial occasionally but is always open to any (non-abusive) comments. I look forward to his stuff.
According to my Northeast Foraging book by Leda Meredith, those evening primrose seeds that you were gathering at the beginning of the video are good toasted and used like poppy seeds. I am going to try that today. You have inspired me to get out and gather and scatter seeds today! Thanks!
Very interesting! From pfaf dot org on Oenothera Biennis: Root - cooked. Boiled and eaten like salsify[4, 12, 27, 33, 66]. Fleshy, sweet and succulent[74]. Wholesome and nutritious[2]. A peppery taste[159]. The taste somewhat resembles salsify or parsnips[183]. Young shoots - raw or cooked[2, 12, 52, 85, 183]. Mucilaginous, with a peppery flavour, they are best used sparingly[159]. Another source suggests that the shoots should not be eaten[9]. Flowers - sweet. Used in salads or as a garnish[183]. Young seedpods - cooked. Steamed[183]. The seed contains 28% of a drying oil[114]. It is edible and a very good source of gamma-linolenic acid[141], an essential fatty acid that is not found in many plant sources and has numerous vital functions in the body. The seed, however, is very small and difficult to harvest, it has to be done by hand[160]. Overall yields are low, making the oil very expensive to produce. It seems to agree, that seedpods can be cooked. The plant overall has a 3/5 rating for edibility.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thanks for sharing this information. I did gather some seeds and toast them and they were very tasty! They get stuck in your teeth though!
Great to hear from you, thanks for the effort! Got a question though.. Do you mind sending over a couple hundred leaf bags? On this side of the planet leaf bags are "sadly" not practised.. I called up a couple of gardening services to ask them to bring over their wood chips, because they need to pay to get rid of them, so fingers crossed, that they will bring them to us! I think there is no place on Earth more overregulated than Germany... We went through this process as well, planted a couple of fruit seeds in one of our hotter high gardens together with cuttings from a few bushes. Plus we collected seed from other plants, which we spread as well. As we are continuing to clear existing nonesense, I am planing to try my first grafting on a bird cherry and a wild apple in spring. Additionnally, I fount a website selling all kinds of trees for reforestation purposes, so they are super cheap and wild.
Avid seed forager here, both home and away. For folks who want to take a more deliberate approach toward propagating from seed, it's worth doing a bit of species-specific homework; your success rate will increase if you can "unlock the dormancy mechanism." [Random example: Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood) seed should be collected green, sown immediately, and overwintered for germination in spring. Missing the green window and collecting when tan/ripe in appearance-->poor germination.] I carry baggies and a marker with me August through October, often revisiting target plants multiple times if the seeds aren't ready. A great way to obtain fresh, local, native wildflower seed. Also pushes you to work on plant identification, a much undervalued skill. Aside: I had to smile at your advice, "Try to remember where you plant it." Not a chance without jotting it on a map, lol.
Man, I am so confused. I'm about to start gardening. I live on the banks (20 feet behind the house) of the Ocmulgee river in Georgia, about five miles into zone 8b. Sandy, silty soil laid down from centuries of the river flooding the banks. My house is on stilts and in seven years we've been cut off from the outside world about seven or eight times. Very little seems to grow accept the odd weeds and a persimmon tree that the deer have spread seeds and another dozen have grown in the last three years. I love what you do but the one fear I have is channels in the deep south that have lost their minds about Back to Eden and hügelkultur. Pete B: East Texas Homesteading and Deep South Homestead. The thread is that woodchips in the south attract termites and every creepy crawly under the sun plus FIREANTS. Are we just too hot and humid down here? I know that I sawed up a 'big ol' oak limb that fell. Left a good six foot length, about ten inches in diameter, on the ground as it was too heavy for my 62 year old arse to move. Less than four years later, it was soil. Nothing left. I have loads of cardboard, piles of woodchips, leaves soon, compost and access to all the horse manure a man could eat but am I cruising for a bruising? Thanks for listening. My counselor is no help.
I'm not sure, I would just be careful with woodchips near a house. However, my understanding is that they don't travel very far. For fire ants, we don't have those here, and I don't know much about them. Hopefully someone else can help.
Do you know if creeping Charlie is a bad ground cover? When i started converting my orchard to a permaculture food forest, the creeping Charlie kind of took over. I haven’t added in any of the small herbaceous plants yet, but I’m worried it might kill them when I do in the spring. But otherwise, I kind of like it! It’s low growing, the bees love it, and keeps out the grass. Should I pull it all up? Thanks!
I have tons of it. It is alleged to have an alleopathy towards fungal mycelium, and causes it to be suppressed. Its hard to quantify that concern, but all I can say is that I've had winecap mushrooms pop up around my creeping charlie, so I don't know how much to believe it. Other than that, I think it's a great plant.
Watching all your videos recently I’m really beginning to get a picture of what I want / need for my place. I got a list of plants I want to get, set ups I wanna make, methods etc… I wanted to really thank you for these videos, they’re so very useful and just love them! Thanks!
I'm so happy you said this about asparagus, people were trying to tell me to get rid of my female plant, I didn't. Now, I have mini ferns all over my asparagus garden. Happy.
People say that because the berries take some energy to produce, and because of that they tend to make smaller asparagus. But it's very short sighted and tunnel vision to think that way. The female plant offers so much more in terms of new baby plants. Even if we don't have room on our property, being able to plant some in the wild is so fun. The ditches here have wild asparagus all over, and I think what a blessing it is. I would love to thank the person who one day planted them, or the birds who did it.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy so lucky to have it in ditches! That was my thought too on the asparagus and why I left it, just to see. I love experimenting! Old farmer with a green thumb that can't kill anything even if I try.😉🤣 I've thoroughly enjoyed growing this asparagus, even in my second year they were huge, thicker than my thumb. I love a good challenge .😉
Thanks for the Fall tour, lots of awesome seeds, I need to get out and look for some, I know I have lavender. Your land looks so beautiful, it’s so refreshing to have someone that can appreciate the wild look. Everything doesn’t have to be manicured. Thanks for the video
I completely agree. I've are definitely in the minority. However I think if people understood just how in danger insects are, and just how badly we depend on them, and just how important a wild garden is for insects, I think we can turn people's mind around about "a wild look" being amazing 👏 😉 😜 😀
I save lots of extra seeds to give away to friends and family as well, when people get for free it encourages them to plant more . Gave away 5 fig trees that were propagated from cuttings of last years plant.
Great work. Can you clarify: This is a great time to do this based on weather or temperatures or what? I live in zone 7A Also, for the pear seeds for example are they like apples that they don’t grow true to form or your just doing it for the rootstock?
Both. That being said, wild apples are rarely actually BAD. The whole thing about seedling apples being bad due to genetic diversity is slightly misinformed. What is TRUE is that to get a "commercially viable" apple from seed is very rare. That's because a commercially viable apple needs to be 10/10 in so many categories: store, transport, bruise resistance, uniformity, size, taste, etc. Getting a homerun in all those categories is a long shot. However people always take that to the incorrect conclusion - that seedling apples aren't worth doing. That's just completely false. A seedling apple may be the best apple you've ever tasted, but it's sliiightly small, or it doesn't transport well, or it bruises easily. That may have zero impact on a homesteader's enjoyment of that apple. Or, it may be huge, taste great, store well, but it isn't "pretty". Maybe it's this rusty brown/green leathery skin apple. I have a wild tree near me that is exactly this. It looks "bleh", but man, that apple is AMAZING. My kids want me to peel it, but it's their favorite apple. I enjoy the slightly tougher skin - but then again, I eat my kiwis with the skin on also. Overall, it's still very much a pursuit worth doing - simple because it can be done so super easily. And worst case, you get a fruit that the wildlife will love, that feeds the bees in the spring and the wasps and deer in the fall. Or for apples, you get a good cider/vinegar apple. Or, as you mentioned, it's always potentially amazing rootstock to graft onto. All in all, very worthy pursuit.
English, Big Time Blue, Blue Cushion, Folgate, Hidcote, Loddon Blue, Melissa, Munstead, Sachet, SuperBlue, French, Kew Red, Edelweiss, Fred Boutin, Gros Bleu, Grosso, Hidcote Giant, Phenomenal, Provence, Seal, Spanish, Goodwin Creek, Sweet, Woolly. Those are all varieties I've purchased. I think most have lived. I don't really have a preference, infact I don't think I could identify any of them, or know which ones are which!
Do you notice you get much germination from this? This seems ideal for me but I've tried lazy planting strategies like this with no luck :/ could be my very dry climate
I'm in a dry climate. There has been times that I have sprinkled seeds and nothing has appeared in years. Then suddenly after a rain event, and 15 years later, suddenly all those lost seeds appear. Then more drought and they disappear again. Sometimes even the seeds that I do want to grow, such as amaranth for the leaves, decide that the soil in the tree wells isn't appropriate because it's has too much fungi in the soil.
In terms of germination percent? Probably not. In terms of number of germinations that I get per hour of my work? That ratio is off the charts. Sometimes it's best to optimize germination percent (if you are space-limited for example). Sometimes it's best to sacrifice germination percent for raw sheer output (if you have space but are time-limited). This is my scenario, and my goals are to maximize how many plants I plant per hour I spend planting. That means I collect a BOATLOAD of seeds, and I scatter them. I'd rather collect 1M seeds in an hour and have only 10% of them germinate, and still get 100k plants, than collect 100k seeds and get 90% germination. And by "having space", I would also include in that wild areas that you have access to play in. So for example, if your goal is to re-bug a city, then one of the most effective ways to do that is to plant right in a laneway between streets, or in wild ditches, or just outside fences at home depot, etc. So what matters is that you match your goal. For dry climate, that's honestly ideal. Wet climates, seeds may rot and mold. For a dry climate, your seeds will actually get preserved and lay dormant - possibly for decades or more. However, your impact in your actions are still unchanged if they occur with a time-delay. Your legacy is still great. You just may not see it, or it may take longer to see the impact you have had. But it doesn't make your impact any less powerful.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy That makes sense! I'm definitely not looking for a high percentage, just wondering if you do start to notice new seedlings in the spots that you've planted like this period it does seem like an ideal way for me to start plants too.
They might. If they do they'll poop out the seeds and the seed will now have a coating of nutrient and bile, which is perfect conditions for germinating. They may not pop up here, but they'll pop up somewhere. And I plant so many that I still get lots germinating. Even squirrels will forget some nuts and up pops a tree.
I don't have a set distance, because it completely depends on the tree. Typically I plant just a little closer than the adult tree's drip edge. But a 15 year old peach has a very different drip edge than a 50 year old walnut. The longer-living and larger trees get a little bit more room. In general though, I plant more densely than I should (roughly 2x as much), so that in the future I can choose the best trees and thin the rest. I.e. I'd rather spend a little more money upfront, but have resilience against tree death, and also have the luxury of picking and choosing the strongest trees to live for the next few decades.
Thus far I've spread out ratibida, liatris, gaillardia, echinacea and seeds from other native plants. Free is good! I bury them slightly under some mulch to keep the lighter seeds from blowing away. Speaking of reminding us to do things before winter temperatures arrive... I'm gonna try overwintering some brassicas this year (kale and collards). Any tips? I was thinking about mounding up some mulch at the base and seeing what happens. I have some in a sheltered area that should survive ok, but the stuff out in the open parts of the yard is probably going to be questionable (annual low is usually ~ 0-2 F here).
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Ok, that should be easy, then. They're growing insanely well right now with the cool temperatures. I'd love for them to go to seed next year so that I can propagate them.
Questions… I’m in 4B and wondering which lavender you have that makes it consistently? Sometimes mine does and sometimes not. Also, is that Chicago hardy fig? And does it get tree sized for you or stay a bush size? Also also, do you prune many things? I have grapes that do great and did so from year one but so many videos say things like that must be pruned. What types of things do you spend more time loving/working on? Do you plant when nature plants in all cases or do you buy tress and bushes and plant whenever? What are some things (material/ plants) you find best to use as borders between the food forest areas and the lawn that you mow?
Yep, my fig is Chicago Hardy. I had one that died, but then this one survived. I'll see this spring if it lived again - we've hit -40C a couple nights now, so it will have a challenging winter for sure. Last year the fig got about 6 feet tall, I'm not sure what it will do this year. It dies to the ground every year apparently, so we'll see. I have a few different lavender varieties. English, Laserwort, Avignon Blue, Blue Spear, Hidcote, and maybe a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head. For grapes, they only fruit on 1 year wood, so if you never prune them, then the fruiting area gets farther and farther along the vine, and it takes a lot of effort to push nutrient that far, and eventually they stop being so productive. Pruning them each season back to a few buds means that the rootmass doesn't have to push as far to push out new grapes. Wild grapes on the other hand will climb trees right to the top and only fruit 50 feet up in the air after a decade of growth. For my time, I mostly spend it on this channel. Between spending time with my family/kids, work and gardening, I don't have time for anything more! For the garden border, my favorite is comfrey. Large leaf to stop plants creeping in above ground, as well as deep wide roots underground to block creepers from coming in underground.
Some footage I was excited to add was when I was planting one of them, I ran into an apple from earlier in the season. It had transformed from an apple into a ball of worms. Unfortunately the video was REALLY shaky and out if focus, so I ended up cutting it.
Another great video. What variety are the fig trees you are growing ? Are they all Chicago hardy? Or any other varieties that are hardy to zone 4-5 ? Thanks.
The woodchips in that area are mostly broken down and will be refreshed this fall. I'm pushing into the woodchips and just barely into the soil level. Sometimes when I have a phone in 1 hand trying to video while I plant, I don't do it as well. But when i have access to 2 hands, I always go to soil level and push the seed into the soil proper. That being said, even ones that don't go all the way will generally just lie dormant longer. Rains will drag them down, and they will wait to germinate until the conditions are right. Seeds have this figured out. If you think about what happens in nature, the seeds fall right onto flowers and long grasses. They sit there and wait until they are brought down to the ground and have higher moisture. They may even lay dormant a full year and wait for another leaf drop season to cover them a bit more get the moisture higher and THEN germinate. Nature has this all figured out, and we can't really mess up too badly. Great comment, thanks.
Just saved a whole bunch of ground cherry seeds as well as loads of poppy seeds (the kind you get on bagels. They’re actually papaver somniferum or opium poppies
Oops! Didn’t finish my comment🤭. They have beautiful purple flowers too. I have a question I hope you can answer. I live in Toronto and planted an8X4 foot bed of garlic at the beginning of October. I only see about 4 plants growing in there. Does that mean that’s all I’ll have? Can I still plant more? Thanks for all the great information you provide. It’s inspiring me to plant more food, though I don’t have a food forest.
No, there should be more. Garlic is funny, sometimes it doesn't pop up in fall plantings and just stays dormant. But that being said, garlic is cheap, so I'd just buy a few extra bulbs and plant them.
I recently collected a variety of seeds and nuts while visiting a daughter in NJ and wondered if you have any specific recommendations regarding how to add them into my food forest landscaping so that they might actually grow: holly berries, butternuts, milkweed seeds are the three about which I am most interested.
If you have limited seeds you can try to start them in trays on a heat mat. Look up if they need cold stratification. They may need to spend some time in the fridge. Or you can do what I do and just plant them everywhere and see what happens.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank you for your response! I remembered what you have demonstrated in this and other videos and after looking up how deep to plant them, I put the nut and holly seeds into recently emptied large planting containers that were still sitting outside in the food forest, mainly so I can tell if/when the seeds come to life, then transplant them into the ground. I figure they'll get stratified just fine through a Kansas winter. The milkweed seeds were a bit damp so I spread them out to dry and will soon scatter them onto my rather steep front hill that I am converting from grass to flowers. I used to have such a problem "wasting" seeds until I noticed that nature produces a huge surplus of seeds all the time. I have learned through experience that nature will often rearrange my planting designs anyway, so I have gravitated more toward just planting a lot and seeing what happens!
Just search for king stropharia spawn. It will come in a plastic bag and look like clumpy white sawdust. You will want fresh non-pine wood chips and cardboard. There’s plenty of videos showing how to get a bed of them going. Just keep in mind you have to have a medium that is void of most other fungi or mold because when they are trying to get established it’s best to not have too much competition.
What is your fall propagation method for black locust? I was waiting for spring, so that scarification and germination would happen at an opportune time. Do you do the hot water scarification, and then just stick it in the ground?
Yeah I've just planted the seeds before, but then I read they can take 10 years to germinate if you don't scarify them with boiling water. Now I boil them first then plant. I also did a test where I used sand paper on some, and planted those also. I'll see if any pop up next spring.
Yes, I think that's the ideal way. Now do I always do it? No. If I'm planting in the wild, I don't, I just sow the seeds. I don't care if they pop up now or in 10 years. But if I'm planting on my land then I do it.
For us, parsley is biennual, not annual. It flowers and sets seed the 2nd year. During the winter it dies back almost to the ground and then grows well the following spring.
Love this Keith! I keep telling my wife how many free seeds and plants there are everywhere that most people don't take advantage of. Whether you end up planting them yourself, selling them, or giving them away it's all great! It's such a positive thing to do in my mind because the end result is more trees!
that was what i was looking for. how your figs turned out, cant wait for mine to fruit. great video keith. im still collecting seeds from any dinner we have that has them. cheers
I've been seeing a lot of comfrey popping up in places I didn't remember planting in. There are some places I've probably planted to the same tree seeds several times. I've only been at this two years, so I am chomping at the bit to actually see something happen with the seeds. The only tree I have sprouted in the ground (that I noticed) is a horse chestnut. I know it takes time, but so far only transplants and cuttings have had significant success. So I channel that into impulsively burying seeds. To be honest, I am making it harder for myself by trying to leverage the existing birches to do the ground preparation for me, instead of laying cardboard myself, but that's what I get for being a lazy obsessive-compulsive wishy-washy semi-purist. But I'm only obsessive compulsive about planting stuff. Why am I ranting? There's nothing to rant about. This comment has gone on long enough and I am well past making a fool of myself. Thanks for the vid!
Great videos. Keep up the hard work. Last spring I started some peach trees from seed and I'm trying to find the best way to make them survive this winter. They're still in pots. Any ideas? I'm in the south of Montreal zone 5b. Thanks.
Dig a hole, put the pots in there, cover them with soil and or leaves, woodchips, anything. Alternatively you can keep them in a semi warm cool spot like a garage for the first year.
Have you ever seen Prairie Plant Girl's channel? She's in Saskatchewan. The two of you could easily be siblings or cousins. You even have similar mannerisms. I just noticed it today. Anyhow, love your channel, this was a good reminder of our roles as humans to help spread the seed around as the animals do.
I've become quite fond of Asian pears recently. I've been pulling seeds out of them to give a try next year. They're so good and they store better and longer than European pears I don't understand why they aren't more common... what's the catch?
Probably. I don't really know to be honest. If they do, they'll still not destroy the seed. They'll eat the pear and either the seed will drop haphazardly in a new random spot, or they'll eat the seed, poop it out, but now coated with nutrients. It's a win either way.
Loved the tour into the wilds. Its lovely seeing so many seed pods. I have trouble buying seeds that haven't been coated in pink poison. I have to collect seeds from bought food because roadsides and many gardens are bare. I have much more luck planting seeds than I do from planting potted plants from nurseries. The potted ones seem to be doing fine until the temperatures get into the 4Os and suddenly they get extremely stressed and some die regardless if they are watered (or not watered). My husband bought me four pear trees and yellow elder vines this week, a very lovely gesture since he had previously declared that he was never going to buy me another plant since I didn't approve of his transplanted pecans from his friends yard. I had rudely called them 'lame old horses stomping in the potential food forest'. We didn't have the wells then and I didn't see how we could water them. I hope the pears survive. I wasn't prepared with cardboard or sawdust to smother the grass, so I ended up reluctantly digging it out. This isn't really an area where pears grow easily and I have never managed one from seed. The main issue I have is access to edible plants that survive severe temperature swings. When the winds come, it can drop from high 30Cs to freezing with in 24 hours. I seem to end up planting the same thing over and over again. There is a limit how many prickly pear pads, malva, pumpkins, pomegranates and peaches we can eat. My parsley didn't manage to seed this year. The squirrels seem to like it. I need to plant more to have abundance for all. Love the walk through your garden.
One thing that is nice in those scenarios (harsh weather conditions - whether that is hot, cold, dry, wet), is that any plant that is putting off seed in that situation has at least (likely) survived some really harsh conditions. Those are the genetics that you REALLY want.
I can attest to oregano establishing. It spreads and takes over like a weed, but you can dry and save it for the winter and insects love the flowers so in the right spot theyr'e really nice!
Disclaimer - I'm not an expert, and you should never eat anything without doing proper research. These are edible, but nothing to write home about. Lots of work for minor reward. Beans are rather tasteless and low nutrient quality. I would say it's best to just buy a packet of beans and then save/spread those around.
Thank you, again, for another wonderful and informative video! Pond question: I am planning a small wildlife pond on my property, similar size as your overgrown three foot deep pond. I notice that one doesn't seem to have any real moving water force, so how do you keep mosquitos under control while at the same time providing so many benefits for the other wildlife? I'm in Southeastern Michigan, and the mosquitos just seem to be getting worse and worse here each year. I'd hate to end up avoiding my gardens because I made a perfect breeding ground for them...
Thanks for supporting the channel:) All my ponds have moving water. The one that looks like it doesn't is actually fed from an artesian well overflow pipe that pumps out 3 litres per second of flow 24/7/365. That flow enters my river system I created, is purified by the watercress there, and then eventually meanders to the far edge of that 3 foot deep pond. The 3 foot deep pond then has an L pipe that is built into the lowest dam wall, and it overflows through that l pipe. Some of my very early videos may show some details on it. I would never have a pond that is stagnant. Not just for the mosquito problems, but also because moving tumbling water helps oxygenate it and keep the pond aerobic. This creates healthier microbiology, attracts predatory insects like dragonflies, and reduces methane emissions.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank you so much for the feedback! I am in the planning stages for mine right now, and hope, one day, to have something as beautiful as yours on my nearly half acre urban lot. Since I don’t have an artesian well, I’ll likely have to add some type of pump (but then I worry about winters and clogged filters). You are an inspiration! Thank you for all you share! 😁
What part of Ontario are you in? I have a friend who's family just bought a farm and he's running it using permaculture principles. He's in the Fenelon Falls area which according to the Canadian growing zones is 5a but based on the annual lows of the last few years it might only be 4b if you use the US system (US zones are based purely on annual lows, Canadian system also takes other factors into account). I was wondering if he'd be able to grow paw paws, hardy kiwis, peaches, cherries and other fruit that are meant more for zone 5-6. Also where'd you get paw paw seeds from? They're pretty hard to find around here. Also, how long have you had the fig tree for? Did you leave it unprotected last winter or did you bury it? And what variety? I'm hoping to plant one or two next spring. Last winter was really mild, these were the annual lows for Pearson Airport for the last few years 2010: -19C 2011: -21C 2012: -16C 2013: -21C 2014: -24C 2015: -26C 2016: -26C 2017: -14C 2018: -24C 2019: -23C 2020: -21C 2021: -15C I assume that it was very mild everywhere in Southern Ontario, not just Toronto, so maybe plants that survived last year would need more protection on more typical years?
I don't like to give out my exact location but we are between Ottawa and Toronto. We had a pretty mild winter last year but we did have a week of -40C. We are in a weird spot where we get these 1km wide bursts down from Hudsons Bay that laser beam us. It can be -20 in the township over and we will get -40C at night. I have had figs for 4 years now, but this one here is only 1 year old. They have all been Chicago hardy variety. We just leave it "unprotected", but its in a microclimate. Tons of thermal mass (surrounded by rock and water), full south exposure, and a windbreak to the north, plus down a hill on the north side, but also a lower hill on its south side which pulls cold settling air further down. It's literally a perfect microclimate there (which is why we planted it there).
Paw paw seeds were from someone we found in a Facebook group, who lives about an hour away. I got in contact with them and they gave us 3 small paw paws to try. I saved the seed from them.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy The branches survived -40C? Or did they grow back from roots? It looks too big for it to have all come back from roots in one year which is why I'm surprised. Does the thermal mass really make a difference in winter? In mid winter, I'd assume the water's surface would be frozen, creating an insulating layer that prevents the water from warming the air, and the rocks would be covered in snow and therefore not able to absorb solar radiation?
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy That's an impressive amount of new growth then. I wonder your figs yielded more than potted plants (overwintered in garage/basement) would have? When did they start producing?
YES! I just went seed collecting a couple days ago. My local Arboretum has an online plant list as well as an interactive map with locations of each species... they make it too easy lol. I got some red/pink sunchokes, HARDY KIWI SEEDS (and some cuttings, shhhh), eastern prickly pear seeds, and even some winecaps by chance.
They even have sea buckthorn and haskaps on the plant list. I dont want to be digging any of their plants up but im gonna be on those fruits like flies.
I am one lucky duck
Holy smokes that's the jackpot right there!!
You sow your seeds like a squirrel hides nuts lol. It’s great! I can’t wait to see the results in the coming years!
That sums me up in a nutshell (heh)
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy 🥰🤣
🥰🤣
I’ve been spreading some native seeds around that I have gathered from wild areas. I have been trying to recruit my neighbour and their kids to join me. I’ve also thrown in the occasional asparagus seeds so maybe in the future we can go foraging for fun. Love the video. Keep up the good work.
Something like asparagus can have such a massive payoff too. Literally decades of food in the future secured for 5 seconds of work in the present.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy is just annoying how they're usually sold just with one gender so you don't get any berries if you buy your plants from a typical nursery. I've never seen one go to ruit, only male flowers. If there aren't wild or otherwise accessible ones, you need to buy the seeds to start... I bought some heritage cultivar seeds that I'll have to send back once they go to seed.
I’ve been on a binge of your content over the past week, and have learned so much about why a lot of my gardening efforts have been unsuccessful so far. I’m excited to get going on fixing my poor soil and implementing these concepts to develop my food forest. And the wild aesthetic really appeals to me - I’ve always been a bit creeped out by neat rows of plants in bare soil and lonely trees in a vast lawn.
4:40 Parsley is a hardy biennial, setting seed the second year. You have to let it overwinter and then you get lots of parsley seed the following fall.
Thanks Pat!
I love watercress from the garden. Here's my favorite thing I do with them:
Chop or tear them up and add a splash of homemade apple cider vinegar, sea salt, walnut oil, walnuts, raisins, and some chopped chives. Simple and tasty. Takes the bitter from the cress away, but it's still pretty bitey/peppery which I enjoy. So glad to see the cress overwinters in zone 4. I want to try to spread some along a creek here!
This link is about video games interpreting forests and the experience of being in a forest. ua-cam.com/video/JgQ_buy8xJ0/v-deo.html
As a kid I lived next to Dry land bush in the Australian Capital Territory (Black Mountain) and later on at the edge of temperate rainforest in Victoria. Now I am living next to monoculture pecan orchards in Chihuahua Mexico. It's the most artificial environment possible, where I don't have access, but in my imagination, and particularly at night when I am watering, it becomes my personal forest. It's the crickets, darkness, solitude and stars. It's the sounds of dogs in the far distance. My garden is a weed patch of grasses with a few scattered trees, but in my imagination it becomes a food forest. It has a long way to go. I like how this video explores the sensation of being in a forest. The fiction makes one more aware of reality.
This is a great talk by James White ua-cam.com/video/oBTqOMzXZAo/v-deo.html and Elaine Ingham ua-cam.com/video/7fNJIpllsZg/v-deo.html
Chalenge accepted 😂, send me some sea buckthorn berries and I will find a way to make a yummy dish or preserves. Love experimenting!!
I just planted my first two trees as I start my journey with permaculture-- two Mulberries beside my new chicken coop . Thank you for such informative content.
So excited for you! Thanks also for supporting the channel 😀 🙌
Enjoy your journey. Remember that the journey is just as important as the destination.
Nice element placement!
Thanks for the reminder about seeds. I'm going to go grab some lambs quarters from the sidewalks so I can grow them in a place I know is safe from sprays!
I had a suspicion a new video was coming. UA-cam has been showing your old videos in my recommended since yesterday.
@@ediblelandscaping1504 Has Keith ever made a bad video? I do think they have improved with timing, content, photography, written comments etc over time... The bar was set pretty high from the beginning. It's the comment section that has really developed. The earlier videos didn't have dedicated followers sharing their experiences.
@@annburge291 I haven’t seen all his old videos, but I’ve got no issues with any I’ve seen. He gets controversial occasionally but is always open to any (non-abusive) comments. I look forward to his stuff.
LOL the algorithm has become sentient. All beware.
According to my Northeast Foraging book by Leda Meredith, those evening primrose seeds that you were gathering at the beginning of the video are good toasted and used like poppy seeds. I am going to try that today.
You have inspired me to get out and gather and scatter seeds today! Thanks!
Very interesting! From pfaf dot org on Oenothera Biennis:
Root - cooked. Boiled and eaten like salsify[4, 12, 27, 33, 66]. Fleshy, sweet and succulent[74]. Wholesome and nutritious[2]. A peppery taste[159]. The taste somewhat resembles salsify or parsnips[183]. Young shoots - raw or cooked[2, 12, 52, 85, 183]. Mucilaginous, with a peppery flavour, they are best used sparingly[159]. Another source suggests that the shoots should not be eaten[9]. Flowers - sweet. Used in salads or as a garnish[183]. Young seedpods - cooked. Steamed[183]. The seed contains 28% of a drying oil[114]. It is edible and a very good source of gamma-linolenic acid[141], an essential fatty acid that is not found in many plant sources and has numerous vital functions in the body. The seed, however, is very small and difficult to harvest, it has to be done by hand[160]. Overall yields are low, making the oil very expensive to produce.
It seems to agree, that seedpods can be cooked. The plant overall has a 3/5 rating for edibility.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thanks for sharing this information. I did gather some seeds and toast them and they were very tasty! They get stuck in your teeth though!
"Somewhat organised" 😅😊
Did my seed collecting here on finland like a month ago? But my seed order from an arboretum hasn't come yet.
Great to hear from you, thanks for the effort! Got a question though..
Do you mind sending over a couple hundred leaf bags? On this side of the planet leaf bags are "sadly" not practised.. I called up a couple of gardening services to ask them to bring over their wood chips, because they need to pay to get rid of them, so fingers crossed, that they will bring them to us! I think there is no place on Earth more overregulated than Germany...
We went through this process as well, planted a couple of fruit seeds in one of our hotter high gardens together with cuttings from a few bushes. Plus we collected seed from other plants, which we spread as well. As we are continuing to clear existing nonesense, I am planing to try my first grafting on a bird cherry and a wild apple in spring. Additionnally, I fount a website selling all kinds of trees for reforestation purposes, so they are super cheap and wild.
That's awesome Sam! We have a conservation authority here who has been giving free oaks and maples to plant.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy didnt hear from that here..
It is Halloween but we are the ones getting the treat.
Great video great ideas
Avid seed forager here, both home and away. For folks who want to take a more deliberate approach toward propagating from seed, it's worth doing a bit of species-specific homework; your success rate will increase if you can "unlock the dormancy mechanism." [Random example: Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood) seed should be collected green, sown immediately, and overwintered for germination in spring. Missing the green window and collecting when tan/ripe in appearance-->poor germination.] I carry baggies and a marker with me August through October, often revisiting target plants multiple times if the seeds aren't ready. A great way to obtain fresh, local, native wildflower seed. Also pushes you to work on plant identification, a much undervalued skill.
Aside: I had to smile at your advice, "Try to remember where you plant it." Not a chance without jotting it on a map, lol.
Always great advice to do research on specific plants. Many of the good general rules have exceptions.
Man, I am so confused. I'm about to start gardening. I live on the banks (20 feet behind the house) of the Ocmulgee river in Georgia, about five miles into zone 8b. Sandy, silty soil laid down from centuries of the river flooding the banks. My house is on stilts and in seven years we've been cut off from the outside world about seven or eight times. Very little seems to grow accept the odd weeds and a persimmon tree that the deer have spread seeds and another dozen have grown in the last three years. I love what you do but the one fear I have is channels in the deep south that have lost their minds about Back to Eden and hügelkultur. Pete B: East Texas Homesteading and Deep South Homestead. The thread is that woodchips in the south attract termites and every creepy crawly under the sun plus FIREANTS. Are we just too hot and humid down here? I know that I sawed up a 'big ol' oak limb that fell. Left a good six foot length, about ten inches in diameter, on the ground as it was too heavy for my 62 year old arse to move. Less than four years later, it was soil. Nothing left. I have loads of cardboard, piles of woodchips, leaves soon, compost and access to all the horse manure a man could eat but am I cruising for a bruising? Thanks for listening. My counselor is no help.
I'm not sure, I would just be careful with woodchips near a house. However, my understanding is that they don't travel very far.
For fire ants, we don't have those here, and I don't know much about them. Hopefully someone else can help.
Do you know if creeping Charlie is a bad ground cover? When i started converting my orchard to a permaculture food forest, the creeping Charlie kind of took over. I haven’t added in any of the small herbaceous plants yet, but I’m worried it might kill them when I do in the spring. But otherwise, I kind of like it! It’s low growing, the bees love it, and keeps out the grass. Should I pull it all up? Thanks!
I have tons of it. It is alleged to have an alleopathy towards fungal mycelium, and causes it to be suppressed. Its hard to quantify that concern, but all I can say is that I've had winecap mushrooms pop up around my creeping charlie, so I don't know how much to believe it.
Other than that, I think it's a great plant.
Watching all your videos recently I’m really beginning to get a picture of what I want / need for my place. I got a list of plants I want to get, set ups I wanna make, methods etc…
I wanted to really thank you for these videos, they’re so very useful and just love them! Thanks!
Thanks for watching! Good luck with your food forest, it will be so fun!
I'm so happy you said this about asparagus, people were trying to tell me to get rid of my female plant, I didn't. Now, I have mini ferns all over my asparagus garden. Happy.
People say that because the berries take some energy to produce, and because of that they tend to make smaller asparagus. But it's very short sighted and tunnel vision to think that way. The female plant offers so much more in terms of new baby plants. Even if we don't have room on our property, being able to plant some in the wild is so fun.
The ditches here have wild asparagus all over, and I think what a blessing it is. I would love to thank the person who one day planted them, or the birds who did it.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy so lucky to have it in ditches! That was my thought too on the asparagus and why I left it, just to see. I love experimenting! Old farmer with a green thumb that can't kill anything even if I try.😉🤣 I've thoroughly enjoyed growing this asparagus, even in my second year they were huge, thicker than my thumb. I love a good challenge .😉
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Isn't that the essence of the problem? Tunnel-vision thinking is what got us into this mess.
Thanks for the Fall tour, lots of awesome seeds, I need to get out and look for some, I know I have lavender. Your land looks so beautiful, it’s so refreshing to have someone that can appreciate the wild look. Everything doesn’t have to be manicured. Thanks for the video
I completely agree. I've are definitely in the minority. However I think if people understood just how in danger insects are, and just how badly we depend on them, and just how important a wild garden is for insects, I think we can turn people's mind around about "a wild look" being amazing 👏 😉 😜 😀
I save lots of extra seeds to give away to friends and family as well, when people get for free it encourages them to plant more . Gave away 5 fig trees that were propagated from cuttings of last years plant.
That's awesome
It’s great that you enjoy all the veggies you grow. A long way from the boy that refused to eat salads as you said it was just leaves.
I always used to say that I eat the things that eat the leaves.
Great work. Can you clarify:
This is a great time to do this based on weather or temperatures or what? I live in zone 7A
Also, for the pear seeds for example are they like apples that they don’t grow true to form or your just doing it for the rootstock?
Both. That being said, wild apples are rarely actually BAD. The whole thing about seedling apples being bad due to genetic diversity is slightly misinformed. What is TRUE is that to get a "commercially viable" apple from seed is very rare. That's because a commercially viable apple needs to be 10/10 in so many categories: store, transport, bruise resistance, uniformity, size, taste, etc. Getting a homerun in all those categories is a long shot.
However people always take that to the incorrect conclusion - that seedling apples aren't worth doing. That's just completely false. A seedling apple may be the best apple you've ever tasted, but it's sliiightly small, or it doesn't transport well, or it bruises easily. That may have zero impact on a homesteader's enjoyment of that apple.
Or, it may be huge, taste great, store well, but it isn't "pretty". Maybe it's this rusty brown/green leathery skin apple. I have a wild tree near me that is exactly this. It looks "bleh", but man, that apple is AMAZING. My kids want me to peel it, but it's their favorite apple. I enjoy the slightly tougher skin - but then again, I eat my kiwis with the skin on also.
Overall, it's still very much a pursuit worth doing - simple because it can be done so super easily. And worst case, you get a fruit that the wildlife will love, that feeds the bees in the spring and the wasps and deer in the fall. Or for apples, you get a good cider/vinegar apple. Or, as you mentioned, it's always potentially amazing rootstock to graft onto.
All in all, very worthy pursuit.
I don’t have any real comment except that I love your floaty head in the thumbnail
lol
What type of Lavendar do you plant? Looking for good zone 4 variety.
English, Big Time Blue, Blue Cushion, Folgate, Hidcote, Loddon Blue, Melissa, Munstead, Sachet, SuperBlue, French, Kew Red, Edelweiss, Fred Boutin, Gros Bleu, Grosso, Hidcote Giant, Phenomenal, Provence, Seal, Spanish, Goodwin Creek, Sweet, Woolly.
Those are all varieties I've purchased. I think most have lived. I don't really have a preference, infact I don't think I could identify any of them, or know which ones are which!
So is this both the best time of year to collect seeds and the best time of year to forget them in the ground?
Haha totally yes
💞
knowing which seeds to plant and where is a tough nut to crack for me.
Slowly learn a plant a week. That's very manageable. Look them up on pfaf dot org. After a year of that you know 52 plants. That's how I got started.
Do you notice you get much germination from this? This seems ideal for me but I've tried lazy planting strategies like this with no luck :/ could be my very dry climate
I'm in a dry climate. There has been times that I have sprinkled seeds and nothing has appeared in years. Then suddenly after a rain event, and 15 years later, suddenly all those lost seeds appear. Then more drought and they disappear again. Sometimes even the seeds that I do want to grow, such as amaranth for the leaves, decide that the soil in the tree wells isn't appropriate because it's has too much fungi in the soil.
In terms of germination percent? Probably not. In terms of number of germinations that I get per hour of my work? That ratio is off the charts.
Sometimes it's best to optimize germination percent (if you are space-limited for example).
Sometimes it's best to sacrifice germination percent for raw sheer output (if you have space but are time-limited). This is my scenario, and my goals are to maximize how many plants I plant per hour I spend planting.
That means I collect a BOATLOAD of seeds, and I scatter them. I'd rather collect 1M seeds in an hour and have only 10% of them germinate, and still get 100k plants, than collect 100k seeds and get 90% germination.
And by "having space", I would also include in that wild areas that you have access to play in. So for example, if your goal is to re-bug a city, then one of the most effective ways to do that is to plant right in a laneway between streets, or in wild ditches, or just outside fences at home depot, etc.
So what matters is that you match your goal.
For dry climate, that's honestly ideal. Wet climates, seeds may rot and mold. For a dry climate, your seeds will actually get preserved and lay dormant - possibly for decades or more. However, your impact in your actions are still unchanged if they occur with a time-delay. Your legacy is still great. You just may not see it, or it may take longer to see the impact you have had. But it doesn't make your impact any less powerful.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy That makes sense! I'm definitely not looking for a high percentage, just wondering if you do start to notice new seedlings in the spots that you've planted like this period it does seem like an ideal way for me to start plants too.
Aren’t animals going to eat your pears when you plant them that way?
They might. If they do they'll poop out the seeds and the seed will now have a coating of nutrient and bile, which is perfect conditions for germinating. They may not pop up here, but they'll pop up somewhere. And I plant so many that I still get lots germinating. Even squirrels will forget some nuts and up pops a tree.
What distance do you put your fruit trees apart from eachother
I don't have a set distance, because it completely depends on the tree. Typically I plant just a little closer than the adult tree's drip edge. But a 15 year old peach has a very different drip edge than a 50 year old walnut. The longer-living and larger trees get a little bit more room. In general though, I plant more densely than I should (roughly 2x as much), so that in the future I can choose the best trees and thin the rest. I.e. I'd rather spend a little more money upfront, but have resilience against tree death, and also have the luxury of picking and choosing the strongest trees to live for the next few decades.
Thus far I've spread out ratibida, liatris, gaillardia, echinacea and seeds from other native plants. Free is good! I bury them slightly under some mulch to keep the lighter seeds from blowing away.
Speaking of reminding us to do things before winter temperatures arrive... I'm gonna try overwintering some brassicas this year (kale and collards). Any tips? I was thinking about mounding up some mulch at the base and seeing what happens. I have some in a sheltered area that should survive ok, but the stuff out in the open parts of the yard is probably going to be questionable (annual low is usually ~ 0-2 F here).
Honestly I didn't do anything special and I had them in Feb. They survived through -30C or so (last year was a mild winter)
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Ok, that should be easy, then. They're growing insanely well right now with the cool temperatures. I'd love for them to go to seed next year so that I can propagate them.
Questions… I’m in 4B and wondering which lavender you have that makes it consistently? Sometimes mine does and sometimes not. Also, is that Chicago hardy fig? And does it get tree sized for you or stay a bush size? Also also, do you prune many things? I have grapes that do great and did so from year one but so many videos say things like that must be pruned. What types of things do you spend more time loving/working on? Do you plant when nature plants in all cases or do you buy tress and bushes and plant whenever?
What are some things (material/ plants) you find best to use as borders between the food forest areas and the lawn that you mow?
Yep, my fig is Chicago Hardy. I had one that died, but then this one survived. I'll see this spring if it lived again - we've hit -40C a couple nights now, so it will have a challenging winter for sure. Last year the fig got about 6 feet tall, I'm not sure what it will do this year. It dies to the ground every year apparently, so we'll see.
I have a few different lavender varieties. English, Laserwort, Avignon Blue, Blue Spear, Hidcote, and maybe a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head.
For grapes, they only fruit on 1 year wood, so if you never prune them, then the fruiting area gets farther and farther along the vine, and it takes a lot of effort to push nutrient that far, and eventually they stop being so productive. Pruning them each season back to a few buds means that the rootmass doesn't have to push as far to push out new grapes. Wild grapes on the other hand will climb trees right to the top and only fruit 50 feet up in the air after a decade of growth.
For my time, I mostly spend it on this channel. Between spending time with my family/kids, work and gardening, I don't have time for anything more!
For the garden border, my favorite is comfrey. Large leaf to stop plants creeping in above ground, as well as deep wide roots underground to block creepers from coming in underground.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thank you!
💛
You don't have to cover your fig?
It doesn't help when it gets to -40C. Covering helps with winds.
Really GREAT Video - SHOWING us how to do little things that are powerful :) PS I love being reminded how to and when to do things.....Alarms AWAY :)
Those pear pits don’t look gross, I heard my vermiculture worms squeal with delight at the sight!
Some footage I was excited to add was when I was planting one of them, I ran into an apple from earlier in the season. It had transformed from an apple into a ball of worms. Unfortunately the video was REALLY shaky and out if focus, so I ended up cutting it.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy I love when they ball around food!
Yes ! Let’s rebug the planet!!!
Yes!
Another great video. What variety are the fig trees you are growing ? Are they all Chicago hardy? Or any other varieties that are hardy to zone 4-5 ? Thanks.
So far all are Chicago hardy. It's all anyone up here sells.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank you.
You seem to be planting in the wood chips and not the soil underneath. is planting in the wood chips going to work?
The woodchips in that area are mostly broken down and will be refreshed this fall. I'm pushing into the woodchips and just barely into the soil level. Sometimes when I have a phone in 1 hand trying to video while I plant, I don't do it as well. But when i have access to 2 hands, I always go to soil level and push the seed into the soil proper.
That being said, even ones that don't go all the way will generally just lie dormant longer. Rains will drag them down, and they will wait to germinate until the conditions are right. Seeds have this figured out. If you think about what happens in nature, the seeds fall right onto flowers and long grasses. They sit there and wait until they are brought down to the ground and have higher moisture. They may even lay dormant a full year and wait for another leaf drop season to cover them a bit more get the moisture higher and THEN germinate. Nature has this all figured out, and we can't really mess up too badly.
Great comment, thanks.
Just saved a whole bunch of ground cherry seeds as well as loads of poppy seeds (the kind you get on bagels. They’re actually papaver somniferum or opium poppies
Oops! Didn’t finish my comment🤭. They have beautiful purple flowers too.
I have a question I hope you can answer. I live in Toronto and planted an8X4 foot bed of garlic at the beginning of October. I only see about 4 plants growing in there. Does that mean that’s all I’ll have? Can I still plant more? Thanks for all the great information you provide. It’s inspiring me to plant more food, though I don’t have a food forest.
No, there should be more. Garlic is funny, sometimes it doesn't pop up in fall plantings and just stays dormant. But that being said, garlic is cheap, so I'd just buy a few extra bulbs and plant them.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thanks so much for your reply. I think I will
I recently collected a variety of seeds and nuts while visiting a daughter in NJ and wondered if you have any specific recommendations regarding how to add them into my food forest landscaping so that they might actually grow: holly berries, butternuts, milkweed seeds are the three about which I am most interested.
If you have limited seeds you can try to start them in trays on a heat mat. Look up if they need cold stratification. They may need to spend some time in the fridge.
Or you can do what I do and just plant them everywhere and see what happens.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank you for your response! I remembered what you have demonstrated in this and other videos and after looking up how deep to plant them, I put the nut and holly seeds into recently emptied large planting containers that were still sitting outside in the food forest, mainly so I can tell if/when the seeds come to life, then transplant them into the ground. I figure they'll get stratified just fine through a Kansas winter. The milkweed seeds were a bit damp so I spread them out to dry and will soon scatter them onto my rather steep front hill that I am converting from grass to flowers. I used to have such a problem "wasting" seeds until I noticed that nature produces a huge surplus of seeds all the time. I have learned through experience that nature will often rearrange my planting designs anyway, so I have gravitated more toward just planting a lot and seeing what happens!
Indeed!
where did you get your original spores for the mushrooms? I will be buying in the next couple months so I will want canadian resources
It was a place called Wylie Mycologicals that unfortunately is out of business now.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thanks!
Just search for king stropharia spawn. It will come in a plastic bag and look like clumpy white sawdust. You will want fresh non-pine wood chips and cardboard. There’s plenty of videos showing how to get a bed of them going. Just keep in mind you have to have a medium that is void of most other fungi or mold because when they are trying to get established it’s best to not have too much competition.
@@saltriverorchards4190 thanks. that's real helpful. Hardest part will be getting wood chips here, especially no pine.
@@julie-annepineau4022 yeah they don’t care much for pine. Especially cedar.
What is your fall propagation method for black locust? I was waiting for spring, so that scarification and germination would happen at an opportune time. Do you do the hot water scarification, and then just stick it in the ground?
Yeah I've just planted the seeds before, but then I read they can take 10 years to germinate if you don't scarify them with boiling water. Now I boil them first then plant. I also did a test where I used sand paper on some, and planted those also. I'll see if any pop up next spring.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy so you do hot water in the fall.
Yes, I think that's the ideal way. Now do I always do it? No. If I'm planting in the wild, I don't, I just sow the seeds. I don't care if they pop up now or in 10 years. But if I'm planting on my land then I do it.
For us, parsley is biennual, not annual. It flowers and sets seed the 2nd year. During the winter it dies back almost to the ground and then grows well the following spring.
Love this Keith! I keep telling my wife how many free seeds and plants there are everywhere that most people don't take advantage of. Whether you end up planting them yourself, selling them, or giving them away it's all great! It's such a positive thing to do in my mind because the end result is more trees!
I see a face in your woodpile at 17:59. 😂 I need to get outside and spread some seeds.
Good eye! Thanks for heads up, I could see it too!
@@carolthompson3579 it cracked me up. 🤣
that was what i was looking for. how your figs turned out, cant wait for mine to fruit. great video keith. im still collecting seeds from any dinner we have that has them. cheers
What kind of fig is that?
Chicago hardy
My Allah bless you
Thank you kindly 🙏
Great reminder, thank you!
I've been seeing a lot of comfrey popping up in places I didn't remember planting in. There are some places I've probably planted to the same tree seeds several times. I've only been at this two years, so I am chomping at the bit to actually see something happen with the seeds. The only tree I have sprouted in the ground (that I noticed) is a horse chestnut. I know it takes time, but so far only transplants and cuttings have had significant success. So I channel that into impulsively burying seeds. To be honest, I am making it harder for myself by trying to leverage the existing birches to do the ground preparation for me, instead of laying cardboard myself, but that's what I get for being a lazy obsessive-compulsive wishy-washy semi-purist. But I'm only obsessive compulsive about planting stuff. Why am I ranting? There's nothing to rant about. This comment has gone on long enough and I am well past making a fool of myself. Thanks for the vid!
HAHA awesome comment. Yeah, the best part about all of this is that you can tailor your own plan to your own needs and desires.
What plant is that at the very beginning?
Evening primrose, Oenothera biennis
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank you!
Great videos. Keep up the hard work. Last spring I started some peach trees from seed and I'm trying to find the best way to make them survive this winter. They're still in pots. Any ideas? I'm in the south of Montreal zone 5b. Thanks.
Dig a hole, put the pots in there, cover them with soil and or leaves, woodchips, anything.
Alternatively you can keep them in a semi warm cool spot like a garage for the first year.
I will see you soon x
Have you ever seen Prairie Plant Girl's channel? She's in Saskatchewan. The two of you could easily be siblings or cousins. You even have similar mannerisms. I just noticed it today. Anyhow, love your channel, this was a good reminder of our roles as humans to help spread the seed around as the animals do.
Weird, I could totally see her being a cousin. She actually looks a bit like my sister (she has a channel called Barn Boots and Country Roots).
I've become quite fond of Asian pears recently. I've been pulling seeds out of them to give a try next year. They're so good and they store better and longer than European pears I don't understand why they aren't more common... what's the catch?
I don't know, we really enjoy them too. My wife likes them more than our bosc and bartlet
Do you have any problems with squirrels digging up your pear cores?
Probably. I don't really know to be honest. If they do, they'll still not destroy the seed. They'll eat the pear and either the seed will drop haphazardly in a new random spot, or they'll eat the seed, poop it out, but now coated with nutrients. It's a win either way.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy that makes sense - thanks!
Loved the tour into the wilds. Its lovely seeing so many seed pods. I have trouble buying seeds that haven't been coated in pink poison. I have to collect seeds from bought food because roadsides and many gardens are bare. I have much more luck planting seeds than I do from planting potted plants from nurseries. The potted ones seem to be doing fine until the temperatures get into the 4Os and suddenly they get extremely stressed and some die regardless if they are watered (or not watered). My husband bought me four pear trees and yellow elder vines this week, a very lovely gesture since he had previously declared that he was never going to buy me another plant since I didn't approve of his transplanted pecans from his friends yard. I had rudely called them 'lame old horses stomping in the potential food forest'. We didn't have the wells then and I didn't see how we could water them. I hope the pears survive. I wasn't prepared with cardboard or sawdust to smother the grass, so I ended up reluctantly digging it out. This isn't really an area where pears grow easily and I have never managed one from seed. The main issue I have is access to edible plants that survive severe temperature swings. When the winds come, it can drop from high 30Cs to freezing with in 24 hours. I seem to end up planting the same thing over and over again. There is a limit how many prickly pear pads, malva, pumpkins, pomegranates and peaches we can eat. My parsley didn't manage to seed this year. The squirrels seem to like it. I need to plant more to have abundance for all. Love the walk through your garden.
One thing that is nice in those scenarios (harsh weather conditions - whether that is hot, cold, dry, wet), is that any plant that is putting off seed in that situation has at least (likely) survived some really harsh conditions. Those are the genetics that you REALLY want.
I can attest to oregano establishing. It spreads and takes over like a weed, but you can dry and save it for the winter and insects love the flowers so in the right spot theyr'e really nice!
I'm okay with that 👌
Nice! I have collected a ton of native seeds over the years, mostly Strophostyles helvola beans (are these edible?) for a far-future food forest.
Disclaimer - I'm not an expert, and you should never eat anything without doing proper research.
These are edible, but nothing to write home about. Lots of work for minor reward. Beans are rather tasteless and low nutrient quality. I would say it's best to just buy a packet of beans and then save/spread those around.
You the man!
Thank you, again, for another wonderful and informative video!
Pond question: I am planning a small wildlife pond on my property, similar size as your overgrown three foot deep pond. I notice that one doesn't seem to have any real moving water force, so how do you keep mosquitos under control while at the same time providing so many benefits for the other wildlife? I'm in Southeastern Michigan, and the mosquitos just seem to be getting worse and worse here each year. I'd hate to end up avoiding my gardens because I made a perfect breeding ground for them...
Thanks for supporting the channel:)
All my ponds have moving water. The one that looks like it doesn't is actually fed from an artesian well overflow pipe that pumps out 3 litres per second of flow 24/7/365. That flow enters my river system I created, is purified by the watercress there, and then eventually meanders to the far edge of that 3 foot deep pond.
The 3 foot deep pond then has an L pipe that is built into the lowest dam wall, and it overflows through that l pipe. Some of my very early videos may show some details on it.
I would never have a pond that is stagnant. Not just for the mosquito problems, but also because moving tumbling water helps oxygenate it and keep the pond aerobic. This creates healthier microbiology, attracts predatory insects like dragonflies, and reduces methane emissions.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thank you so much for the feedback! I am in the planning stages for mine right now, and hope, one day, to have something as beautiful as yours on my nearly half acre urban lot. Since I don’t have an artesian well, I’ll likely have to add some type of pump (but then I worry about winters and clogged filters).
You are an inspiration! Thank you for all you share! 😁
Thanks so muc, and best of luck
What part of Ontario are you in? I have a friend who's family just bought a farm and he's running it using permaculture principles. He's in the Fenelon Falls area which according to the Canadian growing zones is 5a but based on the annual lows of the last few years it might only be 4b if you use the US system (US zones are based purely on annual lows, Canadian system also takes other factors into account). I was wondering if he'd be able to grow paw paws, hardy kiwis, peaches, cherries and other fruit that are meant more for zone 5-6. Also where'd you get paw paw seeds from? They're pretty hard to find around here. Also, how long have you had the fig tree for? Did you leave it unprotected last winter or did you bury it? And what variety? I'm hoping to plant one or two next spring.
Last winter was really mild, these were the annual lows for Pearson Airport for the last few years
2010: -19C
2011: -21C
2012: -16C
2013: -21C
2014: -24C
2015: -26C
2016: -26C
2017: -14C
2018: -24C
2019: -23C
2020: -21C
2021: -15C
I assume that it was very mild everywhere in Southern Ontario, not just Toronto, so maybe plants that survived last year would need more protection on more typical years?
I don't like to give out my exact location but we are between Ottawa and Toronto. We had a pretty mild winter last year but we did have a week of -40C. We are in a weird spot where we get these 1km wide bursts down from Hudsons Bay that laser beam us. It can be -20 in the township over and we will get -40C at night.
I have had figs for 4 years now, but this one here is only 1 year old. They have all been Chicago hardy variety. We just leave it "unprotected", but its in a microclimate. Tons of thermal mass (surrounded by rock and water), full south exposure, and a windbreak to the north, plus down a hill on the north side, but also a lower hill on its south side which pulls cold settling air further down. It's literally a perfect microclimate there (which is why we planted it there).
Paw paw seeds were from someone we found in a Facebook group, who lives about an hour away. I got in contact with them and they gave us 3 small paw paws to try. I saved the seed from them.
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy The branches survived -40C? Or did they grow back from roots? It looks too big for it to have all come back from roots in one year which is why I'm surprised. Does the thermal mass really make a difference in winter? In mid winter, I'd assume the water's surface would be frozen, creating an insulating layer that prevents the water from warming the air, and the rocks would be covered in snow and therefore not able to absorb solar radiation?
It died to the ground. That's all new growth!
@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy That's an impressive amount of new growth then. I wonder your figs yielded more than potted plants (overwintered in garage/basement) would have? When did they start producing?