Permaculture at StonePath

Permaculture has always been an important goal in our garden planning. The ability to depend on a variety of small fruits and berries both for fresh eating and canning appeals to us.

I thought I'd showcase our efforts to this point, we are far from finished but definitely on the "path".

We have a lovely blueberry patch in the main garden. This is the second year for these bushes. They were purchased from Raintree Nursery in Morton, Wa. The young bushes transplanted well, and survived the winter in fine shape.

We have a total of eight plants that should provide a good harvest in the next few years.

For Mother's Day this year, my wife received a Sour Cherry from our children. This was a locally purchased tree in wonderful shape.

It was bought both as a celebration of Mother's Day and a memorial to her Dad who passed away last summer.

I am planning to add a second cherry near this one next month.

Last year we added an elderberry bush that was also purchased locally. Elderberry's have a long mythical history with Celtic peoples, and since my grandparents were Irish I thought it would be a fitting tribute to my ancestors to have an elderberry at StonePath.

Elderberry's were sacred in Saxony and much of the rest of the Celtic world. Their fruit have many uses beyond wine and jam, to include medicinal uses.

Grapes have long been the staple, permaculture kings at StonePath. Our vines are all Concord grapes, which are native to Ohio and thus very hearty.

Last year we made wine for the first time. It was a fun experiment but we're going to stick with jelly.

Frost hit the vines hard this year and I worried we would lose them, however, they came back with gusto.

This is the current state of affairs, however, we have plans that might include a dwarf apple orchard, more small fruits (perhaps raspberries), and an asparagus bed.

New cedar planting beds

 Another project we tackled this past weekend was the addition of three raised planting beds outside the main garden.

The area selected had been the site of a large Maple that we removed two years ago and had the stump taken out last summer.

The ground was pretty poor due to the amount of sawdust and debris from the stump removal. I decided that rather then spend time and money amending the soil for grass, I would build planting beds instead.

The bed frames are built from Michigan cedar that my wife's father had harvested and milled from the cedar swamps in Northern Michigan. Since he passed away, we have been thinking of how best to use some of the wonderful wood that we got from him.

Part of the materials we did receive consisted of 1" x 4" x 50" planks. They are a touch to small for the shed we intend to build, but perfect for this application.

The beds were simple to assemble and place. I added some good amended topsoil with additional compost from our bin and now we have added an additional 48 sq.ft. of planting area at StonePath.

The cedar should resist rot for many years to come, and are a wonderful reminder of Shelley's dad every time we work in them.

Planting StonePath

This is traditionally our official planting weekend at StonePath. It has revolved around a vegetable flat sale that our local garden center has every year at this time. 

They have a 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. sale with steep discounts on the flats. Since we have increased our seed starting every year, our flat purchases have declined, however, we still needed a few items for this year.

We purchased all our peppers - a flat of King Arthur (a sweet green pepper), a flat of sweet banana peppers, and our hot pepper of the season a hybrid Hungarian wax pepper.

We also picked up some herbs; more basil (we did start quite a bit ourselves), two thyme varieties, rosemary, and oregano.

The driveway side of the house has been a very fruitful tomato bed. This year we have two varieties planted here, both of them heirlooms; Thessaloniki, and Tiffin Mennonite.

This is the completed hot pepper bed and herb garden. Last year our hot peppers made all of our peppers a bit to warm. This year we have separated them as far apart as possible.

Next year, this will probably be just our herb garden.

Since we utilize individual raised beds, we can pack a greater amount of vegetables per planting area. One of our beds will more then accommodate a full flat of peppers or tomatoes.

We finished planting with a tally of 92 tomatoes of three varieties; Thessoloniki, Tiffin Mennonite, and a hybrid Celebrity. 73 peppers, three beds of zucchini, a bed of acorn squash, three beds of pickling cucumbers, a bed of 36 broccoli, plus our lettuce bed and herb garden.

Path through the blueberries

We love the look of stone, hence the name StonePath Farm.  Our goal is to have permanent stone paths throughout our garden and at other areas on the farm.

Stone brings with it a sense of permanence and instant age. The look and feel of real stone under our feet makes us feel connected to the earth.

We decided, this spring, to put a path down through our blueberry patch.  Before we had lots of empty space that was a constant weeding opportunity, so we needed to do something. A stone path was just the ticket.

We use a blue flagstone as the stone choice here at StonePath. It's easy to work with, relatively inexpensive, and very durable.

The first step is to lay out the path and the designe we like. I can shape the stone with a chisel if necessary, however, this path literally fell right into place.

The next step is to outline the stone with a knife, cutting into the ground about as deep as the stone. We remove the dirt, set and level the stone, and replace dirt around the edges.

I suppose most people at this point would say that we needed to add a base of crushed limestone or similar material. I understand that is the "preferred method", however, we have found that the stones stay perfectly in place using this method. Even in high traffic paths, we have very little movement or heaving.

At the bottom of this path we will have a granite bench, ready to offer a bit of rest during a warm summer.

Building garden beds

My stated goal is to be completely no-till. I am moving StonePath in that direction, however, I still am not quite there.

I thought I'd illustrate the method I use to prepare each bed for spring planting. I have developed a combination method using my broadfork and my Mantis tiller that yields very good results.

We plant in individual raised beds at StonePath. We find them much easier to use for the intensive manner in which we plant. Each bed can be maintained and tended separate from the rest which means if we have a problem, it's contained automatically, and conversely if something is working well in one bed, we can duplicate it in the others. It gives us the ability to experiment.

The beds are all roughly 4' x 8'. This size allows us to work the bed easily form each side. We do have a few larger beds which we designed for larger crops such as vining crops.

In preparing the beds, the first step is going over the bed with my broadfork. The fork loosens ands opens the winter compacted ground, and also aides in weeding. Weeds are much easier to remove when lifted in this manner.

 This is what the bed looks like after the inital use of the broadfork. The bed has already lifted itself a few inches above it's starting level. The ground is aerated and open, all the weeds have been removed.

We next bring in the soil amendments. We are totally organic at StonePath, so it's critical that we maintain our own compost bin. The compost is cow manure, leaf mold, last years, end of garden plant material, egg shells, and scraps from the kitchen (no meat or cooked items) that has aged since last year.

Once the compost has been raked over the forked bed, I bring the Mantis into play. The Mantis is a great tiller for small, raised beds. It's easy to handle and direct and does a nice job of breaking up the dirt clumps.

The only thing I don't like about this tool (and tillers in general), is the damage done to the organisms in the soil. That is why eventually, I will be excluding this step.

The other problem tillers bring is that they create "hard pan". Hard pan is a polished hard surface made just below the tiller's tines as it works the soil. This hard layer a few inches below the surface of the ground can prevent deep root growth and affect how water drains in the soil.

To alleviate this problem, I again go through the bed with the broadfork. It breaks up any hard pan, and further opens the soil.

When the bed is finally raked smooth, I have a workable garden bed that is approximately 8- 10 inces deep of nice soft loam, ready to plant.

Product report - Fisher Blacksmithing



To say that I am a fan of Tuli Fisher and his line of garden tools is an understatement. In my mind there is something awesome about using a hand forged tool, it's like reconnecting with the past.

In this day and age of throw-away junk, made in China that barely lasts a season, having something that you know will be passed down to your children and grandchildren, really brings time and generations together.

In my tool shed, I have many antique tools that still see lots of use. I have forks made over a century ago that still eagerly work StonePath as they were meant to when they were new. They were forged in an era that valued permanence, that prized toughness, and welcomed challenge.

Fisher Blacksmithing of Bozeman, Montana represents that same ethic in tool making. Mr. Fisher calls his tools "heirloom quality" because he makes them to last, forging them as tools were made in days gone by.

It is, however, one thing to make a tool by old means but Tuli Fisher brings another seemingly lost quality to his business, he stands behind his product with integrity.

My absolute favorite tool of his is the square hoe. That hoe is constantly by my side in the garden tackling a list of tasks. This past weekend I broke my square hoe. I was devastated.

I contacted Tuli and gave him pictures of the broken tool. He quickly deduced a  rivet hole may have been drilled a touch off center leaving an area thin and causing the break. He never made excuses, and quickly asked my shipping info so that he could get a replacement out immediately.

That type of business ethic added to a wonderful tool makes me a fan for life. I highly recommend these tools and give a call to Mr. Fisher, he's a gentleman worth getting to know.

Tidings from StonePath

I've been slow to post because we have been very busy around StonePath. Getting the beds ready to plant, along with a couple projects we've added have left little time for other things.

The garden is about 85% ready to go. This weekend our goal is to have the entire garden planted so all our attention is focused in that direction.

We did manage to get two different zucchini varities in the ground and pole beans. We planted approx 90 runners of beans as you can see from the tripods that are pictured. We plant two heirloom varities; Kentucky Wonder, and Rattlesnake.

The picture also shows our broccoli and beet beds that are progressing very nicely.

 The lettuce bed in the kitchen garden is doing very nicely. While I crave nice neat rows, there is something wonderful about the little imperfections that come when you let your daughter plant a row or two. It kind of reminds me of how God let's us help spread His Kingdom, even though He doesn't need us and we most likely will screw something up.

 Our dragon who has been with us from the beginning is a very good garden guard.

We have somewhere in the range of 120 tomatoes, all started from seed, hardening off. My wife is very good at seed starting and next year we intend to completely plant everything from seed at StonePath.