The mound beds and gardens are already paying off for all of our hard work! The freshness, flavor and variety makes one crave salad nightly. Tatsoi, kale, collard greens, leaf lettuce, green beans, atomic grape tomatoes are on the menu now, for starters. The “bounty bin” refrigerator drawer I upcycled and spray painted came from trash left to rust beneath a saw palmetto cluster next to the Duck Garden. Made of thick heavy steel, I’m guessing it is from a 1960’s or earlier refrigerator. We finally added actual banana plants (Manzano Apple Plantains) to the Banana Bed we named months before, and they should spread quickly in the rich decaying substrate. The chickens provide eggs that make bread, cake and cookies that are out of this world, and from our first yield of potatoes came purple mashed potatoes for Sunday dinner – a first for us.
James V. Freeman is an established visual artist (oil painting) with a deep interest in natural history, plants and farming. He has had numerous solo shows, a solo museum show, an upcoming museum show and his work has been featured in many publications to date. He currently has a studio in Williston, Fl at the family farm and homestead, "Cactus Island", and as a farmer, specializes in growing columnar cacti of the Caribbean and Gulf countries as well as the aquatic Madegascar Lace Plant. James and his mom Sharon manage and develop the permaculture homestead.
Cactus Island Nursery
One Comment
Suzanne
Purple mashed potatoes!!!! I had no idea. Love seeing the oopsie bread!