Author Archives: Rachel Jamison

Long Overdue Updates…

RewilderLife Posted on by

 

The past few weeks have flown by and I have been busy with my small business, with family stuff and with the homesteads.  It all flew by so fast!  And it dawned on me, I haven’t updated my friends that follow me here in some time. I am not sure how time flies so fast but it does!  Anyway, here I am with an update.

August was a blur, it was hot, it was rainy, it was humid…oh my was it humid! We are made of some pretty tough stuff when it comes to working hard and suffering through weather.  After all, we do have Northern Michigan winters and I love them. But one Sunday a few weeks ago it was 99% humidity and 96 degrees F  (how do you add that little zero at the top when on your computer? I digress.). Needless to say when given the choice between sweating it out working outside at the new homestead or going home to our suburban homestead where we have air conditioning and a long list of things to do, we caved and went home to AC and low humidity.

 

And just to be sure we were on our toes, Mother Nature tossed in some nights with upper 30’s. These nights have slowed the ripening of my heat loving crops like tomatoes and peppers. But my brassicas have loved the cold nights and I am harvesting cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.  Time will tell if I started the brussels sprouts early enough to reap a harvest. With just a couple weeks left before our first frost date some of my tomatoes may have to be pulled and ripened inside. The peppers could probably be put under some frost blankets and greenhouse plastic in hopes they turn. It is so much easier with wildcrafted things.

 

Speaking of this year has been a year of foraging for me.  I continue to learn about wild edibles, their uses and when to harvest.  I am a long way from being an expert but I am using so much variety now. We harvested a small amount to wild blueberry because the bushes don’t produce much. I did add some compost to a few bushes near the fodder trees and it worked!  We got more berries on those bushes than the others, so I will do that again this fall. I harvested tons of mullein, mulberries and the leaves, sorrel, chickweed, dandelion, thistle, yarrow, plantain, blackberries, goldenrod and so much more. The blackberry and mulberry harvest were amazing.  I have gallons of each in the freezer. In fact, the blackberries are still coming but we have stopped picking them.  We have left those for the wildlife and for Mama Bear and her cub so they can get enough calories for winter.

Oh!  Did I mention Mama and Baby bear?  Yes, we have black bears here.  We have some game cameras out and we catch all sorts of things like coyotes, raccoons, fox, possums, skunks and now Mama and Baby bear. I have to admit it is a little unnerving to know they are wandering around the woods. We are a lot more aware of where the dog is and of what is going on around us.  We aren’t noisy people except when building fences or using the tractor but that is exactly what you are supposed to do to warn them you are around.  Apparently they don’t want to see you either. Despite all this I think its really neat they are here.  I am sure they have enjoyed the bumper blackberry year as well.

Another update is we have been talking more and more about moving to the acreage.  It is our dream.  I will miss the abundance we have created at the suburban homestead. I will miss the stunning sunsets and moons reflection on the lake. I will miss amazing neighbors.  But our time here at the suburban lot is coming to an end.  The house is too big and the lot too small. We need space to grow and have livestock. Space for the grandkids to come and run free. Space to hunt and forage. And while I have worked and helped on other farms for over two decades it is time I have a forever home and a farm of my own.  A place to grow old and sit on the porch snapping beans in the breeze while the chickens run around catching bugs. It is time I fill my inner Laura (if you don’t understand this see here).

I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams…

Thanks for coming back!

RWL

New Homestead Wildings and Adventures

RewilderLife Posted on by

 

In 2020 this property was full of discarded logs and tree tops from past logging operations.  It had been logged three times that we could tell from records.  The logs were stacked high enough we had to climb on them to view the entire acreage.  Mixed among this mess was brambles and thistle.  If you’ve ever had to try to walk through that kind of pokiness it isn’t fun.  It was a mess. But we could see a diamond in the rough.  We could see the new forest among an old growth one, the ponds, the sugar maples,  the wild fruit, the flora and fauna. It could be regenerated and turned into a beautiful working homestead all while restoring the wilderness areas we wouldn’t be using.

In September of 2020 we purchased it and started cleaning it up.  We moved the piles and endless piles of dried tree tops, a fire hazard, we pushed, sawed, drug and piled them up and then covered
them in dirt and then planted them.  Fast forward three years to 2023 and those piles have shrunk considerably and became home to many living things.  They are also no longer a fire hazard, after two years of drought it is a relief to have them taken care of.

In 2021 and 2022 we planted grasses and grains in the paths that were cleared of logs. They have turned into green meadows now full of life and beauty. The winter rye we have planted has held back the brambles (This was something an old farmer told us) and help shade and improve the soil. It will be planted again this year.  We did try winter wheat, buckwheat, daikon radish (we have some clay in spots) we haven’t gotten enough rain to sustain these crops as well. Maybe next year.

 

We continue to work on the soil so we can eventually farm and graze animals here. We are learning a lot while we do this. We are also getting into fantastic shape!  One method we have used this year is called crimping. It’s a method many no till farmers use for cover crops. This method helps reduce erosion, heat on the soil, and mitigates the loss of nutrition bare soil can cause.  We chose to do this because we don’t have a lot of equipment and we could just push the rye down with our small tractor bucket.  We also chose to do this because our land is hilly and erosion can be a problem. You can also use a board to crimp grasses and just step on the board to flatten the grasses.  This works well in smaller areas such as gardens where you use cover crops.

 

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to build our permaculture paradise and make decisions.