Mulberry Hill Microfarm

Today I'm talking with Lara at Mulberry Hill Microfarm.

 

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00:00
You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Lara  at Mulberry Hill Microfarm.  Good morning, Lara. How are you? Good morning. I'm fantastic. Thank you so much for inviting me to chat with you guys. I appreciate that. Oh, you're welcome. I'm so happy when people say yes, because without you, I don't have a podcast.

00:29
That just helps.  Where are you located, Laura? I'm in Northwest Arkansas  in a tiny little bump in the road called Evansville. Okay, how's the weather there this morning? Hot.  Hot and very sticky.  Actually, for us, it's been a fairly mild summer.  We've had a lot of rain.

00:56
And typically this time of year, we're sitting at 97, 98 degrees. Sometimes we're over a hundred. And really it's just been this week that we're getting into  the nineties  solidly.  And for us,  that's a nice break. Yes, we're having a break today too. It's supposed to only be 71 degrees for the high and it's supposed to rain all day.

01:25
Oh, that sounds  heavenly. Yeah, I think there's probably a short nap in my future this afternoon because this is very good sleeping weather. Oh, excellent.  Be bold. Make it a long nap.  I can't. I've got too much to do, but I might crawl into a book for a few minutes and see if my eyes close. We'll see what happens.  That's what happens when you get over 40 years old. You realize that naps are a gift.  Right. Remember when we used to fight those?

01:54
Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. Now that was silly.  Now I now I want them badly. Yes.  Yeah. Okay. So tell me about yourself and what you  Well,  I've been an educator  for almost 20 years now,  and I think that's something that's run  in  the family when we get together for  holidays and reunions. It feels more like.

02:20
teacher professional development as much as it does,  just seeing each other and catching up on family news.  But there's also been  a strong presence for conservation in our family.  My  grandfather  worked  in  Southeast  Arkansas  conservation efforts.

02:46
Water purity, he did a lot for Felsenthal Wildlife Preserve in South Arkansas to work with them and make sure that chicken plants weren't dumping water into the system and  things like that. And so  they were avid hunters and fishermen on the Saline River  for a very long time.

03:11
And so  even though I wasn't terribly close to my grandparents, there was still that  thread  that was always present  about conservation efforts  and ecosystem health  and whatnot. And I think I carried that with me for a long time,  kind of dormant.  There were marriages, there were children, there was the career in education that was very successful, but there was always this sort of

03:41
little nagging in the back of my soul that said, a little land, just a few trees here and there, just a few birds here and there. And so I started that journey kind of late in life. I did not start until I was 48. I am 52 now and I am loving it.

04:05
I feel like there is a fulfillment here in some of the things that I'm doing on  my tiny acreage. We're only just over an acre and a half.  But there is a sense of purpose and meaning  here that I have finally sort of plugged into and it's made my life  very rich, very wealthy.

04:33
Fantastic.  I figured that you didn't have a lot of land because you are a micro farm, right?  Right.  I think that's probably still a generous  labeling for us.  I started out here 150 years ago.  My tiny little patch of land was hardwood forest, hickory,

05:02
Elm ash, hackberry, black walnut, black locust, and it was cleared for cattle grazing. Uh, but there have not been cows on my part of the property for probably 60 years. Uh, so it was just mowed as a lawn. The trees had been cleared long ago and so the topsoil had completely degraded. I don't know.

05:32
sort of slid downhill into the creek and is probably sitting at the bottom of Lake Tenkiller right now.  And I just felt like I wanted to  regenerate this  little piece of nature. And so that's been my focus for four years. When I first came out and started planting trees again,

05:57
There's a layer of  grass and grass roots and then there was just slabs of clay. No root systems,  no organic material. There were places where there weren't even worms present and that kind of thing. And I've been working  for the last four years to change that. And I have been,  I think truly gobsmacked at just how  quickly

06:26
the ecosystem  is changing,  even though the acreage is very small. Yes, I'm not surprised at all at how fast it's changing for you because nature wants to do what nature wants to do.  So if you just take away the things that are preventing nature from doing what nature does,  she's going to have at it and she's going to have at it fast.  Absolutely. And being able to

06:54
You know, I've done a lot of reading, I've done a lot of research, but this was finally getting to do this hands on and seeing those changes. And there's not a place on my property now that I can dig a hole where there's not worms. Watching that ecosystem really flourish and come to life and how it changes just year to year has been.

07:23
Fascinating  and truly joyful. Yes.  I can't agree with you more, Lara. We are called a tiny homestead. That's name of our place.  And we have a little over three acres. And it's always been a farm kind of place. mean, it started out as a big acreage with a farmhouse on it and a barn, an actual barn, not a pole barn. Oh, nice. A red barn.

07:52
The red barn is long gone. I'm so sad about it. But there had been nothing grown where we grow our garden for 40 years. The last thing grown there was pumpkins. And so we've been fighting the weed battle for four and a half years now. And my husband is so frustrated with it because he's the gardener, which means that when those weeds come out, he's the one that's going to have to fight with them.

08:20
So he said to me the other day, said, I have to find something to knock these weeds down that isn't going to ruin the dirt. Yes. And said, I am on it and I  am going to be digging tomorrow  when I have time to find something that will make the weeds not come up, but the plants be good. Good luck with that. It is a challenge.  I know  he's tried so many things and  it works short term, but

08:48
What most people don't realize is that there are layers and layers and layers of seeds in the grouse. And so when you get rid of that first layer, there's another layer behind it and the next one down and the next one down. so basically to get rid of that first layer, you're just making room for the second layer to grow. I've seen the same thing. I'm out here and I took it little bit different approach.

09:16
I didn't fight it. I am letting it happen.  My neighbors probably hate me because they're used to this property being  mowed like a lawn.  And I let the weeds take it over.  And then  it's creating a huge amount  of biomass.  And then I go and sometimes it's my riding lawnmower and sometimes it's the car  because it's so thick.

09:44
And I run over it and just lay it all down flat. So the soil is never bare.  And  when I started doing that,  the fungal content of the soil  grew exponentially.  And so I've created a mulch  there  and  those, those weeds that I just push over in the fall.

10:11
protect my soil and that's breaking down. in four years, we've gone from most of the property had between two and a half and 3 % organic material. adding all of this biomass every year now to the top, our organic content in our soil is now 5 % in four years.

10:42
That's impressive. That's  right.  I'm not  trying to brag, but like I said, this is happening so much faster. I thought that would be a 15 year project and it's happening in  four.  Now I've  added some animals to the system that are helping that.  I got into rabbits two years ago  because I was buying  rabbit manure.

11:13
But what comes out, what goes into your rabbit determines what comes out of your rabbit. So I was buying that manure and I was putting it places and I was noticing that I was propagating mulberries and they were coming out, but the leaves were shriveled and whatnot because the hay that had been fed to the rabbits had been treated with Grazon. And that's just one of those things that you can compost it for a year.

11:43
break it down, put it in your garden, and it's going to kill plants for two or three years.  So I finally said, okay, if I'm going to do this and I have to  add this organic material to get these results, need to be  in control of the inputs  all the way through the system.  And so I bought a few rabbits and a few rabbits became a few more rabbits.  As they are supposed to. As they are supposed to.

12:11
And then this year I added poultry to the system.  So I expect that organic material percentage to go up even more and I will retest our soil in probably another two years.  Okay, so you're talking a lot about regenerating your soil. Yes. So do you grow produce or anything?

12:40
Tiny bits here and there. have  found  frustratingly that it seems to  rate raising protein seems to be a whole lot easier than raising produce.  And I wanted to get the soil healthy everywhere  before I commit to produce in a larger way. I planted trees and berry shrubs.

13:10
fairly quickly on the property. But you know, that takes time for trees to mature. And I'm getting my first peaches from the property this year. And I was able to harvest enough black raspberries to make my own jam for the first time in my life. Isn't that the best? It really is.

13:40
And there are a few little jars there in my pantry, but they're jars that are, you know, I know where that food came from. I know the quality of the health. I know that I can pass those on to my grandkids and I know what they're eating. know, so I have just a variety of trees that I'm waiting on their maturity. There were, there was one.

14:10
apple on  the property.  And so I added a few apples. I've added peaches. There are plum trees. There are pear trees. There are hazelnut trees. There are  cherry trees and bush cherries. And now there are the black raspberries and there are blackberries. Now I've planted asparagus just about anywhere that I can  poke it next to something else.

14:35
so that it'll break through that clay layer because asparagus roots are crazy. They  go up to 13 feet deep.  They're going to help  mine that clay  and leave a path  for  the baby fruit trees to be able to grow roots.  I'm doing everything that I can.  I can see the produce coming. I can see that being the part of the system.

15:04
that as it matures,  that'll be a larger part of the farm.  You mentioned pumpkins,  and I have my first few pumpkins out on the property now that have actually grown because the soil now holds enough moisture that the plants aren't dying in the summer. Yep. So it's progress.

15:33
That's all you can ask for. And I'm so impressed with what you're doing, Lara. You are. You're amazing. mean,  it sounds it sounds really dumb to say it that way, because anybody can do this. But you but you are doing the work and you are putting your heart and soul into it. And so that's amazing. Well, it's it's joyful work. And between this and then being able to,  you know, have that

16:03
have still have that career in education where I can go and then  share these things  with my high school kids because the majority of my students are are 12th graders. They're seniors. They're just about to take those steps out into the adult world.  And many of them are fearful. Many of them are fearful about the political  climate, but they are fearful.

16:31
for climate change. They  genuinely worry,  where is my food gonna come from? How are we gonna feed ourselves? What if things get so hot and so dry that the hay doesn't grow  and there are no pumpkins? And so being able to take my little nook and cranny farming techniques and being able to say, well,

16:58
let me show you what can be done. And it's not just a theory. It's not just something you've researched on the internet or read about. It's,  wow, my English teacher's really doing this and it really does work. And  she brings in  pickled Jerusalem artichokes for us to try. And she brings  in  bunny street tacos for us to try.  And, you know, they look at it and they say, okay,

17:26
I think I could make this work. And some of them  over the last few years have come to me and said, hey, would you mind, you know,  giving me a, a,  Kuka melon start, or could you bring in some more of those Jerusalem artichokes? I want to plant those in a, in a corner of my uncle's yard or, hey, if you end up with some extra mulberry trees, let me know. And I'm going to, I've got a place to plant those and seeing that is

17:55
very encouraging to me. You are converting them  one student at a time. Yes, keep doing that.  Well, and it's so  simple because so many people think, well, I don't have a lot of land. I can't do this.  And I mean, I have a deck  where I have  mineral tubs that were used for cattle  and I'm growing all kinds of food just on my deck.

18:25
So even if you're apartment bound, even if you have a little  patio and you can find a place for two really large  planters,  there's a way to still create your own produce and be part of it.

18:42
Absolutely. I'm so glad I got to talk to you today. We're not done yet. But you are cementing the thing I always say on the podcast, which is do what you can with what you have, where you are. That's right. That's right. Absolutely. Because you can. I I had a friend years ago, I think I was in my 30s, and she lived in an apartment and she had a small balcony. She was on the second floor.

19:12
And she filled that balcony with containers full of soil and she grew herbs and flowers and I think she did radishes and carrots and stuff.  she  had the greenest thumb I've ever seen.  And I was just like, someday you're gonna have a yard, you're gonna an actual yard and you're not gonna be able to walk through it without touching a plant. And she's like, that's my hope. That's awesome, yeah.

19:41
Lawns don't feed you.  Can't eat grass. No.  I mean, it's nice and tidy looking  and that's great if you want to  have that sort of appearance  of the old English manners and whatnot. But  when,  you know, when things  get harder, I'd rather have the food forest than  the estate. Me too.

20:07
We're working on our own food forest here in Minnesota on our property. Oh, yay.  We have,  um,  I think we have 16 apple trees that we've put in over the last four and a half years. Oh, wonderful. We have wild plum. We have two alderman plum. That's the, the variety that we've got. We have, we have wild black raspberries.  Oh, nice.

20:34
We put in some peaches and we actually got peaches last fall. We won't have any this year because  the trees did not bloom or the windstorm that came through took the petals off. not sure which.  What else? We have two honey berry plants that someone gave me last year that  we're trying to keep alive. We're not very good at it, but they're still alive. Maybe next year.  And we just keep putting things in.

21:02
that will, you know, five years from now, produce enough to feed us and for us to sell in our farm stand and at the farmers market. Absolutely. So I'm right there with you, sister. It's a wonderful job. That's wonderful. It's good work if you can get it and keep it. Absolutely.  I plant things  randomly through the yard. I'll stop and,  you know,  other people impulse buy, I guess,

21:31
clothing and electronics and I impulse by seeds and I'll just walk through and say, well, let me just put some here and let me put some here and let me put some here.  And I don't keep up with it.  I don't write it down and said,  if it will work here, it will thrive on its own. And if it doesn't, it'll just add to those layers of dormant seeds sitting here.  And maybe in 60 years, the conditions will be right and it'll come up then.

22:01
You know, I'm just,  I put out potential and then I see what responds.  That's a great way to do it. It's like chaos gardening. It is, it is.  So sometimes things I'll think, oh man, that didn't come up. And then a year later I go, oh, I do have gladiolas over there on the fence line. Interesting.  And you live in a state where you can let them stay in the ground over the wintertime. I do. I can't do that here. I'm sorry.

22:32
But at the same time, then I can't grow tulips. They won't grow here.  It doesn't get cold enough. Yeah, they need that cold weather.  It's a trade off.  we put in gladiola bulbs three springs ago, I think,  and they bloomed and they were pretty. And my husband said, you want me to dig the bulbs up and store them in the barn? And I was like, nope. And he said, why? And I said, because I don't want you to have to do it every year.

23:02
I have successfully grown gladiolas.  They were pretty. I don't love them enough to keep growing them. He's like, okay, good.  He's grateful. Yes, absolutely.  You said you have rabbits. You have chickens. You have quail. Is quail one of those animals? I I have quail. I also added ducks and turkeys this year. Oh my.  Well,

23:31
It's been interesting.  I think in my little local community, as my students kind of get out and talk about the crazy things that I do,  people  want  to contribute to that. They want to help. So  I had  one student's father who gave me a pair of Narragansett turkeys,  a two-year-old Tom and a year old hen.

24:00
I had another lady that I had given a rooster to.  She had gotten turkeys. It wasn't for her. So I got a second juvenile pair of Narragansett turkeys. I had another student whose mom sent me four quail.  I thought chicken math was when you went to the store and you bought too many chickens on your own. I didn't realize it was because

24:25
You know, all of these people who also raise things and get excited, they want to see you succeed. You know, they want to contribute to that. They want to help you on the same journey that they've found joy in. And it's just been a surprise,  just an, and looked for absolute joy. So  I have,  I have poultry I did not expect this year  and  I love them.

24:54
That was so much fun.  I'm starting to think it's not chicken math, it's livestock math.  I think you're probably right.  And I contribute too. Uh-huh.  My husband will shoot me if I actually bring this up to him. But I've been in my head for about a week debating getting  a  livestock guardian dog. We have a small dog.

25:24
We have a mini Australian shepherd and she is not a  livestock guardian dog by any stretch. She is a pet and she's lovely and I love her beyond life itself. But we had a raccoon show up here a little over a week ago. They come to find out it was a mama and she had at least three babies with her that are half her size already.  And those little boogers got four of our chickens. Yes,  and they will be back.

25:51
Um, we have not seen them in three days since my husband and my son shored up the run and the coop. So we're kind of hoping all the noise and activity might've gotten them to go. I hope so. But, but I keep thinking we should get a livestock guardian dog that is already, you know, over six months old and neutered because we would probably get a male and that can be outside. They can live in the barn because I can't have another dog in the house. We don't have room. Right.

26:20
And I keep wanting to float this to my husband and he's just going to be like, I don't want any more animals. And I'll be like, I know, but do you want to keep the animals you have?  That's a fair point.  And  I've considered the same thing here because I also have,  I have a standard Aussie  and  he does like,  it's been interesting because he too was, was a pet  and he still wants to herd.

26:48
the ducks more than he wants to guard the ducks. But having the poultry out and for him to just sit on the deck and be able to watch, even my dog is happier now because I feel like he has a job now.  And so if we have turkey poults  or if we have quail hatchlings, you know, he wants to smell them.  He wants to keep an eye on everybody.

27:15
If a bunny gets out of a cage,  he becomes sort of distraught and he's just like, you're not where you're supposed to be. Mom, I'm going to whine about this. You know, we need to do something. And so he's,  he has taken on a very active role  in,  what we're doing here. So I've been pleased, but at the same time, he's just one pup.  And I think our biggest threat is coyotes  here.  And.

27:44
He'll bark, but you can tell that he doesn't want to engage. And I don't blame him being one dog. But if he had a companion who was larger, I think that might change things a little bit. So  we're also considering that.  I can't say we're considering it because I haven't actually floated the concept yet. so, I don't know, hesitant to even bring it up with him right now. But

28:13
We can't get a Pyrenees because Pyrenees roam.  We don't want him roaming. So I'm trying to figure out what we would get that wouldn't roam. So I have to do some research because I need to be forearmed here on this one.  Better  have those questions answered because he's going to ask.  Yes.  And we can't really afford a very expensive dog right now.  And so I need to figure out if there are livestock guardian dogs that need homes.

28:42
in shelters because we would be happy to adopt one. That would be fine. Yeah. If you contacted your shelters, I'm sure they'd keep an eye out for, surely there are rescues. Oh yes, there are. Awesome. And I just, I need to get past the, don't think he's going to want to do it. Therefore, I haven't looked deep into it deeply enough. So I have to start looking deeper into it before I bring it up. That's fair.

29:09
But either way, I would really rather not lose any more chickens to  juvenile raccoons that are adorable  and that we're going to end up killing because they can't keep taking our chickens. It's a very mixed feeling, very mixed emotion, isn't it? I hate it. Yep. Yeah. Because as nature lovers and as people who want to preserve that and work with it, you hate to kill something that  is just

29:39
minding its own business, living its life, doing its thing.  But if you want to preserve what you're working on, yeah, you have to, you have to make some hard decisions there. first line of defense is deterrence.  Our last line of defense is shooting it. That's fair. Cause I don't want to kill those babies if we don't have to, you know, they were here before. Well, they,  particular raccoons weren't here before we were,  but

30:09
nature was here before we were and I don't want to destroy nature. want to work with her, you know?  It does work out better that way.  Exactly.  Okay, Lara, I try to keep these to half an hour. We're at 30 minutes and 30 seconds. So where can people find you?  Facebook's probably the best place right now. My farm page is Mulberry Hill Microfarm  and our email is

30:38
Mulberry Hill micro farm at gmail.com. So feel free if you have questions or if if our farm can help your farm in any way We're uh, we're down for that  Awesome,  lara. Thank you so much for your time and your thoughts and I appreciate you  so much  and As always people can find me at a tiny homestead podcast.com. Have a great day. Lara. Thank you. Thank you so much