The last path to homestead entry was April 2023; so much has happened since! We moved the hydroponics to the greenhouse for improved yields as the very niche wasabi project failed when summer temperature exceeded the tolerances. A larger hügelkultur pit was dug, and produced a healthy crop of corn and squash. We processed, consumed, and (mainly!) sold pork harvests. We planted dozens of fruit trees including cherry, plum, fig, olive, and peaches to complement our apples and elderberries. The tropical greenhouse was improved with air circulation from a solar-powered fan for the citrus trees (lemon, lime, yuzu, and orange). This greenhouse also kept raspberries producing all year round.

This blog is a never-ending renaissance of sorts and is heavily influenced by my scientific training and philosophy of stoicism. Living every day as though it is the last, we embrace the chaotic world as it is; with courage, moderation, justice, and temperance. Learning from the past, making educated guesses for the future, assessing that prediction as new evidence becomes available, then refining our model of the world to better fit the reality we experience. I see this model as a vaccine against ignorance and outside controls.

Failures, surprise successes, and learning points –

1. Pigs – The pigs were very easy to cultivate, feed, and sell. They did a great job tilling the land and introducing organic material to the soil. They are also escape artists and are destructive. From a marketing perspective, the average family in this area wants bacon and a quarter of the meat harvested. However, the local laws regarding slaughter and butchering prevent cost savings for small-scale operations. As such, the pork sold has been a net zero profit product with 5-star reviews despite our $6/pound hanging weight cost.
2. Tropical hog panel greenhouse – The plastic used for the greenhouse tears and is likely not UV stable for long term use. It was also the target of the aforementioned destructive pork minions. The greenhouse has served the purpose for short term establishment of our tropical trees. Without the swine invasions, we will see how long this one lasts.
3. Basement Aquaponics – Wasabi was unsuccessful in the basement so we moved the aquaponics/hydroponics to the greenhouse. The first winter in the greenhouse, the water froze in the greenhouse and the system died. Power and heaters this winter have kept the plants and system alive. Wall-based pipes allowed for more hydroponic grow spaces, but obstructions led to overflowing and leaking. Keeping the flow going without overflowing the system was necessary so we modified the plastic cups to be deeper in the system while regulating the flow from the water pump. This seems to have fixed the issue and we have been growing lettuce all winter.
4. Hügelkultur – Burying logs, covering them with compost, mulch, and cardboard before backfilling them with native soil seemed like a great idea. The first iteration was lackluster as the native soil is clay. The only plants that thrived were those that were able to survive the clay and get their roots down to the nutrient-rich layer. We adapted and mixed in topsoil to the clay as well as mulch which allowed the root systems to penetrate easier while maintaining the water balance throughout the growing season. A larger hügelkultur inspired growing plot was successful last year for growing corn and squash, we didn’t have to water which was nice.
5. Trees – Apples were planted in abundance before we arrived and continue to produce more than we can eat. The pigs benefited from this abundance as did our pork buyers (apple-finished pork is delicious). We purchased a small grinder and press to make cider. We peeled, sliced, and dried apples for future snacks. The peels were saved to make apple cider which failed as it fermented into vinegar, so we embraced the product and made apple cider vinegar. Our apples mature at different times throughout September and October, but we lack variety of fruit selection. We had already started citrus trees but decided to start peach, plum, fig, olives, and cherries on the property.

Adjustments going forward –

1. We are downsizing the drove of pigs and transitioning to an agriculture focus. A single pig is sufficient to feed a family for the year, we realized we do not eat that much pork. Male pigs have boar taint, and thus are not desirable for their meat. The single pig in the spring can be fed with our scraps and leftover agricultural products through the summer and fall. Processing a pig at home for personal use is laborious, but I have become efficient at it throughout this past year. The late-fall-to-early-winter processing also allows for less risk for pests and more time to process compared to warmer months. Also, a single pig is much less likely to escape and damage the other projects or gardens.
2. Greenhouses will be used to start vegetables this late winter so that they are able to be planted earlier. In the spring and summer, we will grow our peppers and heat-loving plants with a combination of planters and hydroponics.
3. Hydroponics usually requires liquid nutrients to feed the plants. Though I don’t intend to have fish in the greenhouse anytime soon, aquaponics is the classic solution to creating nutrients from waste. I will be experimenting with compost tea and old Korean fertilizer techniques (letting weeds and scraps rot in a vat of water to extract the nutrients) to provide the nutrients to the system and to keep the nitrifying bacteria active. Introducing weeds and scraps directly to the system is not recommended as it clogs the pipes; it is better to take the tea or nutrient-rich water and introduce it directly into the system.
4. Hügelkultur plots worked well and we will be expanding this over the next year to 4 plots. The plan will be to rotate from root to leaf to legume to fruit and back to root. Around these plots, I planted trees on the north side. The goal is to have an abundance of fruits and vegetables so that we can establish a “U-Pick” field to support our business side of the farm.
5. Fruit trees were planted and mulched in the fall. As we expand the hügelkultur, the northern sides will be populated with fruit trees. Cherry, fig, plum, peach, and olives have been planted so far. Additionally, I am working with the conservation society and received some free Douglas Fir and cedar saplings that I were planted along the creek to help with erosion mitigation, water management, habitat conservation, and future lumber should it be desired.

This is not an exhaustive list of the work done and planned, but highlights our learned points and the adjustments we made to reach our goal of sustainable agriculture (as well as profitable business practices!). We are still in the investment phase, and it has taken years to reach this moment. The work to do all this is not easy but has brought value to my life in the way of humility (of my capabilities) and respect for farmers (and my community). It has heightened my understanding of the mutual dependence of our society.

Stoics embrace courage, moderation, justice, and temperance. I reflect on this daily as I observe the farm as well as the larger world. Courage is not destroying and bullying to get our way, it is having the character and personal fortitude to say no to injustice and set examples for others, even at personal cost and suffering. Moderation is not being a billionaire at the expense of others. Justice must be equally applied to the population and ourselves; a just law is equitable, equally applicable to and enforced for all citizens regardless of status. Temperance is self-control and not being impulsive; allowing ourselves time to have a healthy response that we can stand behind later.

I know that my friends and I enjoy writing this blog and look forward to resuming the work. Please feel free to reach out to us at RevHealthDoc@gmail.com for any questions or comments.