Category Archives: Agriforestry
Making bears and fruit trees get along
I’ve recently been involved in a discussion with the BC Food Systems Network about the relationship between bears and food security. In terms of food security, this issue is an extremely important one for anyone living where large predators exist. … Continue reading
Fire update with photos
Well the fire crews seem to be winning today. The wind direction has helped a lot. It changed dramatically from yesterday and has been driving the fire south and down a narrow valley away from the Bella Coola Valley since … Continue reading
Filed under Agriforestry, Wildfires
Working on the chainsaw gang
Lesson three from Dave was the most challenging (read ‘frightening’) to date. It is not that he insisted, but rather I figured that while I have someone here who knows what they are doing, I might as well make the … Continue reading
Filed under Agriforestry, Educational, How to...
The great transformation
When I hired Dave to clear the land I was excited by the prospect of gaining ground, and was looking forward to the job being completed. What I hadn’t counted on was that in order to get the job done … Continue reading
Filed under Agriforestry
Onwards and upwards
We’ve begun to clear the front fourty. What a job! We’re at it from 8 am until 5 pm. I’ve started flagging the trees that Dave will fall for us (notice the pink tape around some trees). Here are some … Continue reading
Filed under Agriforestry
To bee or not to bee
Since living in New Zealand, where there are more kinds of honey on any grocery store shelves than I ever thought could exist, I have wanted to keep bees. In New Zealand, until very recently, all honey had been organic … Continue reading
Ah, fiddlesticks
Spring is here and the running to keep up is set at a pace I’m not sure I can keep up with! The fiddleheads are up and gone and now we’re into stinging nettles. The spring has been really late … Continue reading
Tree Grafting 101
A couple of weekends ago I attended a fruit tree grafting workshop. Brian Campbell, a fruit tree grafter and beekeeper from Vancouver, flew in to teach the course. He brought with him a nice variety of scion (grafting) wood as … Continue reading
Filed under Agriforestry, Fruit Trees, How to...
The taste of place
The Essence of Canada Well, it wasn’t exactly cost-effective, but we did taste the terroir of our own birch/maple syrup for the first time yesterday. Yes, that word ‘terroir’ extends beyond wine to other earthy products, because syrups do have … Continue reading
Filed under Agriforestry, Educational, Food preservation, Just for fun, Learning to Farm
