restorative agriculture and our food supply

[Victoria Pich]

We've been trying to apply some permaculture principles in our garden. I planted comfrey around the drip lines of two fruit trees, and then put down newspapers and dirt/compost under the tree, with oregano, chives and wild arugula on top of that. The comfrey mines the soil for minerals and makes excellent mulch. It seems to blanket the tree roots well, and the trees are doing fabulously. We're rid of that pesky grass, and the herbs are in flower. For the first time, the pears don't have scabs on them. And there's more food for the bees.  Also, the yellow raspberries are so envious, that they are moving forward and invading. That's fine. I have friends who need some, so I will dig them out. Breakfast is often eggs with herbs and some other veggies, followed by grazing among the fruit...

We've also been using our chicken tractor to start new beds, and one of those beds is, appropriately, dedicated to feeding the chickens. It is full of fluffy kale and orach. We're trying to find natural ways to keep the hens cool in summer. They now have some honeysuckle and hops planted around the fencing of their yard, though they did gobble up some of the lower-hanging hops leaves.

Dinners are often a big stir fry of our veggies, which are coming on early. Last night we ate a lot of my padron peppers. I'm working on starting our food from seed, preferably seeds I saved myself. This year I am challenging myself to properly save some squash seeds. Sounds easy, I know, but the trick is to isolate a brand new squash blossom, pollinate it, and tie it closed, to prevent cross pollination.

I feel strongly that we all need to learn how to save seeds, grow them into plants, harvest and cook, save seed... Otherwise, we are not in control of our food supply. I think taking control of our food supply is not only a revolutionary act, it is also good kung fu!

[Joseph Bronson]

This is great Vicki. I would like to see more posts from you and other students letting us know how your working on better food supply as part of your Kung Fu.