This is a Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1. I took the video and it was quite long so I had to break it up into three parts. Part 1 and 2 are a walk around the outside of the homestead and taking a look at the plants in the winter time. Part 3 is a look at some of the inside projects going on or that will be going on.
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Part 1
We begin with Part 1, where we have started all of the previous walks around the homestead, by the front blueberries. The blueberry buds are swelling up already getting ready for spring.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Blueberry bud
The next plant on our tour is Sweet Scarlet Goumi. I will be trimming this plant way back in the next couple of weeks and using the cuttings for hardwood cuttings out at the farm. Then I will dig the plant up and move it out to the farm. It may not make it because it is so big at this point, but I feel the new owners of this house will likely remove the plant due to its location.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Sweet Scarlet Goumi
Just to the north of the sweet scarlet goumi are two nanking cherry bushes. These are bush type cherries that taste both sweet and sour. This variety is one of the first plants to flour in the spring in this area.
Next
Next in the video we walked past the pear, peach, nectarine, and plum trees on our way over to the Illinois Everbearing Mulberry. This is another plant that I will be taking hardwood cuttings from and will dig up and try to move it to the farm in WV. This tree is not really in the best location and bears fruit that stains the sidewalk by the pool, so I would think that the new owners would likely remove this tree as well.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Illinois Everbearing Mulberry
The next tree on the walk is a Bing cherry. Although it is healthy and flowered last year, I do not have another cherry tree close by to cross pollinate it. I did have one about 20 feet away, but it died about two years ago.
Can You Really Eat That?
Two Rose of Sharon bushes were our next stop in the video. Many people have this bush, but few realize that both the flowers and leaves are edible. I tried both last year and they weren’t bad. The flowers were good, but the leaves were a little older and were a little stringy. If you catch them early in the season they make a good lettuce substitute.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Rose of Sharon
My arbor is laying on its side in the back yard right now. I laid it over so the wind wouldn’t blow it over and break it again. That happened to me about three years ago and ever since I repaired it I lay in down in the fall and pick it back up in the spring.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Arbor
Pretty Pond (not in the winter)
The fish pond was running a little low on water a few days ago, so I unplugged the pump. Now the pond is frozen over. Temperatures went into the mid-forties today, so I filled the pond up and started the pump again and the ice started to melt. If ice sits on the pond for too long, then gases can build up under the ice and kill the fish.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Fish Pond
In the hougalkultur mound we show a hardy hibiscus, black currant, four honey berry plants, two nanking bush cherries, a fig tree, a goji berry, two Hansen’s bush cherries, a pomegranate, maypop, a high bush blue berry, and two low bush blue berries.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Hougal Mound
The Old Garden
We also provide an update on the old garden area. This area is being removed and grass will be planted to make it look more like suburbia so it will sell better. I will have a small garden area in the back, but all of the big square foot garden beds are being removed. The four strawberry patches will be removed as well and the strawberries will be transplanted to the WV farm.
Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Garden Area
Cornelian cherry is the next tree on the list. Mine have not flowered yet, but looking at the buds on the tree this year, I think we are going to get quite a few flowers this year.
Right next to the cornelian cherry is a kousa dogwood. It fruited for the first-time last year and has lots of buds again this year. The fruit is about the size of a quarter and has a custard like texture.
All of the softwood cuttings that I have been overwintering in the garage were moved back outside over the weekend. The long-range forecast does not show any temps down in the teens or below, so they should be good to stay outside.
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The Video
Check out the video below titled Sustainable Homesteading in Maryland Part 1 – Pasadena Maryland
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