Iverson Heritage Farms

01/30/2023

This year will be the year of cover crops. I have several I am going to trial. Yellow sweet clover is one of them. It has a great root system. Deep tap root opening up the soil aerating it, a dense root system which provides great organic matter when the crop is terminated, drought tolerant, and it’s a great pollinator forage plant. This crop will help open up our soils, provide a lot nitrogen (clovers are a legume) and it’s a heavy nectar flowing plant.

Great for our pollinators. Sweet clover is a biannual so it puts a tremendous amount of growth into its root system first then in the second year the growth is focused into the rest of the plant. While top growth is visually pleasing for people, when using cover crops for soil health, the root system is the most important. It’s a win win with this cover crop. Later we’ll share more about our other cover crops on the homestead.

01/21/2023

More important than ever.

01/19/2023

This is true! Real photos of our beekeepers “sting face” will be in the comments.

01/17/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwkrsqpKeh8&list=WL&index=90

Beautiful! Everyone should strive for this to some level. Doesn't have to be nearly this large. Companion planting, planting for beneficials insects and birds, soil health. Soil, soil, soil!

Happy New Year! I thought this video would be the perfect start to 2023, sharing Peni Ediker's incredible permaculture homestead in Carmarthenshire, Wales. H...

01/13/2023

I am guilty of doing this and I know many do this but I no longer like the idea of buying a beautiful plant for a holiday season only to throw it away. Such a waste IMO. So, I repotted my poinsettia so it can grow into the beautiful tree it is in Mexico and it’ll be added to our collection of indoor plants and trees.

01/10/2023

It's time for a tongue twister 😂

❤️‍🔥 This is a Pyrrhuloxia (peer-uh-LOOK-see-uh) a very close relative of the Northern Cardinal that makes it's home in the arid deserts of the southern US. The root of the name translates to "flame colored and crooked" referring to its chunky and curved bill. Now see if you can play it in Scrabble next game!

01/03/2023

12/21/2022

Yule Blessings!

11/30/2022

Happy Holidays Everyone.

**WE ARE CLOSED FOR THE SEASON**

Re-open date TBD.

11/29/2022

https://youtu.be/yXPrLGUGZsw

A great watch.

The first film about Viktor Schauberger’s life’s work. A comprehensive survey of historical facts, current research and various practical applications into b...

11/24/2022

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Here we have two species of Turkeys. Our North American species and the Mexican / Central American (Belize and Guatemala) Ocellated Turkey. These are the only true Turkey species in the world.

11/21/2022

Coming back home for the winter.

11/18/2022

Most likely done moving dirt for the year with her.

11/18/2022

Tar Spots on Maples
You may have noticed black polka dot forms on maple leaves. It is most commonly seen on silver, red, and Norway maple trees.
Cornell tells us that these spots - Rhytisma spp - do not cause damage to the host tree. When possible rake and destroy infected leaves or mulch but be sure to cover the pile so that spores are not spread and turn the pile before new leaves emerge in the spring.
Fungicides are not recommended as they are costly and mostly ineffective.
Both Cornell and MSU indicate tar spot is a minor problem and mostly cosmetic. But if your trees show evidence of tar spot and DROP most of their leaves in the summer, contact CCE at [email protected]
Hat tip: Mary Ellen Calta
Resources:
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/factsheets/tarspotofmaple.pdf
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/black_polka_dots_on_maple_tar_spot

11/17/2022

Winter is here for the farm and I’m enjoying our feathered friends. Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Tufted Titmouse, Black Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinch, Red Bellied Woopecker, Hairy and Downy Woodpecker, Evening Grosebeak, Blue Jays, Crows, Ravens (flying by), Red Tailed Hawk, Junco, and more are all our winter residents.

11/17/2022

To my New York followers. Stagecoach Coffee - Cooperstown has a new baker and her stuff is on point!

11/16/2022

I can’t wait until we have these maples!

I don't think this Maple near Bromley, Vermont could be any more peak than this!

11/16/2022

My view tonight while I did dishes.

11/16/2022

That time of year. Lights are our friends.

11/15/2022

Look how beautiful these Balsam Fir pine cones are. One of the things I'm constantly planning is how to develop our land to bring in more wildlife and to provide for us in ways of food, shelter, beauty, and encouraging symbiosis in our small ecosystem.

Being native to the PNW and my wife having lived a majority of her life there, we miss our evergreens. I have plans to introduce several types of evergreens from Balsam Fir, Fraser Fir, Douglas Fir, American Tamarack, and a variety of softwoods for food and beautification of our land. We started this last year but I found that we (and our tree babies) will fare best if I pot all these up in Spring after delivery and nurture them for a year or so before planting them. This will give them a higher chance of success in becoming established for our region and adjusting to our unique microclimate.

The biggest challenge is deciding where to put all these. Time will tell.

11/12/2022

Look at how beautiful these Balsam Fir pinecones are. Being a PNW native, and my wife having lived most of her life in the PNW, we both miss our evergreens. I am planning on adding multiple species of Firs to our land to accomplish multiple things; provide additional food and shelter for various species of birds and mammals, provide a more homey feel for us and add to the aesthetics of our land. This is in addition to various food producing trees (nuts and fruits) for us and the wildlife and other softwoods for habitat and for our own enjoyment.

For Spring of 2023 we'll be adding Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce, Fraser Fir, and American Tamarack (aka Eastern or American Larch), American Chestnut, more Eastern Redbud, more Serviceberry, October Glory Maple, Sugar Maple, more Quaking Aspen, Paper Birch, Hazelnut, Ginkgo Biloba, American Beech, American Hornbeam, and more White Flowering Dogwood. I'd like to add apple and peach trees but we'll see if the fields they'll go in will be ready for them.

This past Spring we direct planted our new saplings and some made it, others did not. So my plan is to pot all these up and have a nursery designated for them to grow and be nurtured so they can adapt to our unique microclimate and increase our chances of them surviving. Our land is a pretty plank canvas right now but I have to plan carefully and not crowd our fields too much or s***f out fields with trees as that habitat itself is home to our Indigo Buntings, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Juncos, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Bluebirds.

We can't wait to see these grow up and grace our land. We look forward to sharing photos with everyone as they grow!

11/12/2022

I’m on it!

11/10/2022

This is in Eastern WA. Foothills of the east side of the Cascades.

11/08/2022

We’re getting there. It’s been a bit slow going when you have to move dirt so far away from the area you’re digging. But 3/4 of the hole is dug and ready for blocks. The last section will be dug out later as it’s my only access to the hole for placing the ecology blocks.

11/06/2022

This is a great graph for all of us.

11/06/2022

Our oakleaf hydrangeas are on fire this autumn. They look so beautiful. Can’t wait to add more to the gardens. Still on the fence about having these on the farm for flower production.

11/03/2022

Cover crops are so very important. But when you plant them, don’t forget about them. Treat them like a cash crop. Tending to their needs will help them accomplish their goals of amending the soil etc.

A cover crop in your garden over the winter will protect biodiversity, soil structure and fertility in ways that are obvious and beneficial.