Permaculture Garden
We only just started our garden in the summer of 2013. With each growing season to come, we plan to expand it and grow even more. In the summer of 2014 we started out with just five raised garden beds and planted several fruit trees and berry bushes. A few volunteer sunflowers and squash plants also grew from seeds in the goat manure we used. Many of the bushes and trees we planted will require several years of pruning before we will be able to get a substantial harvest from them. Once the berry bushes establish themselves, we will hopefully be able to clone them and spread them further throughout our garden. We will continue to build more raised garden beds and build cold frames or mini hoop houses to help extend their growing season. The addition on the back of the house also has a flat roof that we would like to start some roof-top beds on. This may require some reinforcement of the roof. The back porch is also a great place to build a trellis gazebo for growing climbing plants, such as hops, grapes, and beans.
Greenhouse
In the Fall of 2014 we reconstruct our existing carport into a greenhouse. The existing structure was approximately fifty feet long by twenty feet wide. Turning this into a greenhouse greatly expanded our growing space and extend our growing season.
In April of 2019, three additional beds were installed in the green house! We are still working on our Rocket Mass Heater and hope to have it fully functional by fall to extend our season.
In April of 2019, three additional beds were installed in the green house! We are still working on our Rocket Mass Heater and hope to have it fully functional by fall to extend our season.
Other Houses
Once we are content with the state of our first house and are able to prove it to be a successful and worthwhile endeavor, we may try to expand to other houses. Purchasing another house will allow us to share the benefits of cooperative living with even more people and build our strength as a community. However, an additional cooperative may not be specifically for climbers. It may be geared towards artists or teachers, or any other group of similarly-minded individuals that have a desire to live cooperatively and sustainably.
