Hello all! And welcome back. In the last couple posts, we visited the Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market, and then the Border Free Bees pollinator pasture just down the road.
Now, to end this weekend series, we will visit the Fair Vote BC protest (briefly) and then the Permaculture Food Forest at Mission Creek Park as well. Oh yeah, this was one satisfyingly busy day. I love volunteering all day long, for good causes, and I love getting my hands dirty in the soil too...
Before we got to go to the food forest, Allisa zipped us over to the Fair Vote BC protest. Although I do not entirely have faith in our government systems, and really consider myself an anarchist, I don't mind participating in such an event. I will show my support to those people who just want our democratic system to be more fair, I hope it works for them, and it is really fun having people honk at you, or yell that you are idiots. Either way, lots of fun!
Welcome to the food forest! This place has been designed to follow some permaculture principles, and as seen above, to mimic the structure of a forest (but with mostly edible plants). Elana Westers is the lovely lady who designed this place, and she is part of our permaculture group here too! Along with my teacher, Lucie, my ninja Ryan and our wise woman Allisa. A bunch of other new and cool people joined us today as well.
Let us take a tour, and explore some of the plants we found here! They are nearly all native, and everything here is edible in some shape or form!
Here is our friendly native ground cover, kinickinick. This is a traditional food and medicine of the native Sylix peoples, and it can be found all over the vally, including at Cedarville! It apparently is good when fried, but is super super bitter. I believe the Sylix people used the berries or leaves to smoke, like tabacco, and I think it has other medicinal properties too.
Hmmmm, I think I recall this pretty flower being one of many kinds of fruit on a single, small fruit tree here in the garden. I guess they are trying out the splicing of many fruit tree verieties onto one tree! How interesting, I can't wait to see when this small tree is tall and fruitful. Permaculture things can take a while.... but it will definately be worth it in the end!
We also see here some taller bushes in the food forest, as the stuff on the ground has not entirely grown in yet (it is early spring too). In front, I believe we have a dog rose, though I may be mistaken. The big spikey bush behind it is most definately our good friend Oregon Grape, the tall version (usually you find the short kind in the wild) and it is in full bloom too!
Ahh, in the first photo we have some mysterious plants that I forget about, and lots of grass that needs to be pulled. However, in the second and third photos, we can see some oregano coming up along with a nice sage plant too. I will harvest some of these guys before we leave, I am desperate for fresh spring greens and herbs!
Strawberry patches, what I think are lillies of some sort, and lemon balm! Oh, I love lemon balm so so soooo much! I can't wait to come back here in a month when everything is growing in full swing, since you are totally allowed to harvest from this place as much as you would like as long as you are mindfull not to take too much.
I took a couple pictures of some interesting plants I might want to add to my own collection, especially the honeyberry! That sounds soo delicious! Choke cherries are pretty yummy too, but not as much and they grow really tall and probably take a good amount of work. Luckily, I can get these guys just across the lake if I feel so inclined.
I also found this really interestingly decomposed leaf... the strangest things fascinate me, this thing was totally transparent and really neat. Id love to make art with it, but it was so fragile I let it fall back the the ground to decompose some more.
Oh yes the first harvest of the year. A food forest sure is a productive place, even in mid April! I got some sage, lots of chives and wild garlics, thyme, lemon balm and a lil bit of chocolate mint, as well as oregano! Honestly, I ate most of it well I was picking. I am a wierdo like that, I just eat herbs all the time. I am a supreme muncher, especially in the garden!
That is about it from that crazy awesome weekend, I thank you very much for joining me on such adventures! I hope you enjoyed our time at the Farmers Market, Pollinator Pasture and Food Forest. I had a really enriching time, socializing with good people and doing good things. I hope this might have inspired you as well, to see if there are similar projects going on wherever you are in the world!
Many thank yous for stopping by, stay tuned as I will be posting more about my permaculture course and other activities soon!
Nice article with good explanation. Your images are also wonderful giving me a lively experience. I feel it will be great if there are such forests near my area as well. The tree count and greenaries are reducing gradually near my locality. It is concrete blocks and concrete floors everywhere. Not at all a healthy sign. It is highly refreshing to read this article. Thanks.
I am glad this has enlightened your tired soul so to speak, I too grow weary of concrete! The only bonus to sidewalks is that I can skateboard, but other then that they suck, we need to grow more. Whereever you are, it is worth it to see where things are growing and protect those areas fiercly, which can start with some pots of herbs on your balcony <3
I hope you can see more of these things irl my friendd!
That looks amazing! A lot of work. And I agree, the little leaf looks awesome :-)
a lot of work in the beggining, yes. but eventually we will hardly need to upkeep this food forest at all, other then to eat from it! Permaculture is always trying to get the most yield out of the most little work possible, as mother nature does.
Thanks for stopping by!
A great idea and project, Food Forest amazing :-) Do you forge or is there no possibility for that?
Oh yes I am an avid wildcrafter. I live near a vast expanse of wilderness, and so I often am harvesting wild medicine, and in the summer, berries! In the city too, there are plenty of ally ways and community gardens where you can find something to eat in the warm months!
Very interesting and educational. Good to know there is a place to go that can teach what to look for in the wild for sustenance. Great survival info.
Wonderful .
That permaculture forest looks awesome! Probably a bit too large scale a project to try when we get around to it (it's a plan for the next house whenever we move) but can dream XD
permaculture is just so adaptable, you can fit it in anywhere! Please do share whenever you get around to it, I love to see others projects. <3
Ahhaha my permaculture project is actually going to be 3x this size, but i have a 10 acre homestead. Now thats gunna be a lot of work.
Ooh wooooow :O
Yeh we were looking at 5 acres, but now because of where I feel like I need to be the largest block we've found so far is half acre, also been looking at a couple of quarter acre ones but I've made things hard XD
I will be posting about it as we're setting it up in the hope that people with more experience can go OI NO DON'T DO THAT or "add this over here" while we're in the setup stages, but it won't be for at least a few more months as we have to move first :)
I guess it took you long in the process. I really appreciate your great effort.
@skycae.
I have not actually put much effort into this place before, other then to pull some weeds and eat some herbs and berries aha
What an interesting place it is. Some of the plants I have never heard of and the bonus you get to taste the edible plants. The honey berry sounds delightful. How did it taste?
Indeed, there are even plants here that I have never heard of! And I am a little obsessed with plants lol, and tasting them. Sadly the honeyberry has not begun producing yet, but if it does this year i am certainly going to taste it, i hope it tastes like honey!
Beautiful! I do like that area. I spent some time near Grand Forks, but on the WA side - with weekly or semi-weekly forays across the border.
Are the Sylix one of the Salish tribes? The sounds are so similar. I love how some of the local trade languages are being taught again.
The Okanagan is amazingly awesome, id recomend it to anyone ahaha, just in the summertime only. So lively here in Kelowna...
I think they are salish... I am not sure though. They do teach the language here too!
That's awesome on the language part.
I loved the winter up that direction too. :)
Thank You @skycae for you quality permaculture post - It has been Featured in the @offgrid-online Weekly Review curation :)
I appriciate the mention! It helps me buy more compost and seedlings lolol
Love this, @skycae. We are into permaculture, too although haven't realized our dream homestead quite like you :)
I love the decomposed leaf....the veins are fascinating resembling an xray image. They look beautiful framed - like a piece of fragile lace.
ahh yes, I am lucky. lots of work to do here too! I cant wait to permaculture everything
HMMMM I really really want to start pressing flowers and making art out of dried leaves and stuff, good inspiration! I didnt even think of making art with it!
Nice will be really nice to see that forest grow and mature, I cannot wait to be in a position to plant my own, once food forests are established you can still manage to be a bit nomadic and let nature do it's magic, I love that. I really like Geoff Lawton's approach. Been enjoying your walks.
Yess the best part of permaculture really is that long term it is low maitnence... im planning on being a granny lol and having a food forest garden. Nature does wonders :P I am glad you have been enjoying! More things to do soon...
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