Our construction site

It has been an active month in the food forest-to-be. Yuval, our food forest expert, calls this the infrastructure phase. I call this a mess. This work looks more like highway construction than forest development. 

A large bulldozer was joined by a small bulldozer and together, they gathered large rocks onsite to create terraces for the market garden. It is still all about rocks and now we are actually happy about this rocky win fall on our land as they are just piled up everywhere ready for the taking, both above and underground. 

The bulldozers also piled up boulders to create a lookout at the back. From up there, I can see parts of the Kinneret, much of the Golan, including the volcanoes that were responsible for tossing the boulders this way, and, shockingly, Mount Hermon. One day, I hope to see the tops of many fruit trees that will form the future food forest.

Trucks have been dumping soil for the market garden and gravel for the road and pathway. With the beeping of the tractors and the crashing of gravel and the dust clouds from the trucks, it feels like a construction site and not a garden. 

Yes, it still requires imagination and the place actually looks more like a parking lot than when we first started, so this is not saying much. Yet the tractors did start to dig holes for future trees. They dug them, filled them with earth, and then Yuval placed a stone with red spray paint to mark the spot. (Due to a late start, Yuval prefers to do all of the planting in the spring, so we will have to imagine these red marks as trees until then.)

The bulldozers also dug a long trench for the electrical and main irrigation lines. While digging, they removed some pretty hefty rocks. We hope to place these boulders in the forest as a reminder of what is hiding underground - or perhaps they can serve as reclining chairs should a giant drop by.

And yes, the bulldozers also hit boulders so huge, they broke a few teeth on their shovels, And so they had to use a drill attachment to break them in pieces. The incessant hammering sound of this was enough to make one insane, and I know one of my neighbors is suffering from the pummeling. There was no escape until those boulders were diminished to rubble and I could once again hear the sweet sound of cranes migrating overhead.

 

In the front, we are done with creating the beds and are starting to lay the irrigation lines. We placed bamboo fencing around the perimeter, closing it off from the road. The space now has a cozy, enclosed feeling, much like a room. I planted garlic bulbs, threw around some wild poppy seeds, replanted some nasturtiums that I found sprouting on the roadside, and planted a black-eyed Susan and a morning glory that I hope will grow up the fence. 

I am still holding off on planting leafy greens in the front as we are not sure if the porcupine has left the premises, and yes, he loves greens. To add to the list of predators that love greens, there are wild boars here. We had a positive sighting when our dog Sushi found a boar on his walk and chased him down the road. So yes, boars are also a threat to an edible garden. We will have to get on fence duty soon.

Once the irrigation lines are finished out front, I can count the spaces on the pipes and will then know how many herbs I can buy. (I do not think those predators will be interested in herbs, but will soon find out.) I already have my wish list and am excited to plant, but so far, weeds have found my cozy, clean, and rich beds and are proliferating. So much for the cardboard. Are these weeds a product of the goat manure, or did they simply fly in and make a perfect landing in this cushiony soil? 

We also placed two passion fruit vines below the front patio wall and hope they will wend their way up and maybe, if they are bold and adventurous, they will discover the pergola. I love the idea of having passionfruit falling from the wooden beams above.

The rain finally arrived, transforming the rock-hard soil into soft, dark, and claylike earth. It is actually beautiful soil, considering we were feeling a bit hopeless about its quality given that the place was turned into a parking lot 22 years ago.

Watching how the rain falls gives us an opportunity to put our permaculture knowledge about water to use; we are to slow, spread, and sink those raindrops as they fall from the heavens in abundance. 

On Friday, out we ran out in the pouring rain to see exactly where mini ponds and rivulets formed, deciding how we can reroute it to nourish the large trees. It is so basic and beautiful to observe the power of nature this way and then use practical solutions like trenches or rocks to redirect the nurturing flow, preventing water from flooding and destroying.

A truck just delivered a load of hoses for the irrigation system and laying the lines will be next week’s work. A few truckloads of mulch also arrived, filling the place with a sweet forest fragrance. 

Once those bulldozers are done bulldozing and the trucks finish their dumping, silence will return. I so look forward to working this land in quiet simplicity with my own bare hands.