haybale potatoes in a mulberry tree guild, a small work* experimenting with meeting multiple needs in concert:
protecting the growing spuds from marauding ducks, chickens, goats and geese;
offering continuous nutrient-rich mulch for potatoes and the mulberry, comfrey and self-sowing wildflowers to share;
no-dig to reduce labour, allowing us to grow potatoes near the roots of trees, nurturing soil life while producing a crop in a spot that’s already protected, freeing up space in the annual kitchen gardens;
water-holding in the dense hay for potatoes and tree and the whole guild of plants to have a slow steady drink despite free-draining shale;
increasing food production by mixing it up and thinking in mutual biodiverse relationships of reciprocity and collaboration not monoculture competition.
will my plan work? get the postcards to hear how this one turns out, in a future film.
with enormous thanks to our local permaculture mentors, moe, nigel and the folks down in their south end community transition emergency pod who grow food collaboratively, and to the appleturnover patrons.