Agroforestry & Wildcrafting
Making money off of bush land
This is the reforestation program on steroids. Add to the above:
- Willow copses managed for basketry and willow furniture.
- Log piles managed for Shiitake mushroom production.
- Dogwood rows managed for floral twig production.
- Birch thickets for making wreath cores.
Ginseng plots under the trees.
Each one of these can either be done as a small scale demonstration unit, or if the active schedule permits, it can become part of your main production line. Warning: This sort of thing can distract you from growing trees. This may be the point to take on a permaculture partner.
Workshops
As a hub we become a point of contact, we build brand awareness. Part of this requires that we need to have examples of what we talk about. This is useful in selling trees anyway. We already have a demo garden with most of our ornamentals and shelterbelt trees in it. This requires development of rest room facilities.
Possible topics:
- Edible landscaping.
- Grafting
- Landscape design for acreages
- Irrigation set up
- Patio gardens
- Woodlot harvesting and maintenance.
- Reforestation of Poplar Bush.
- Willow coppicing for basketry, twig wreaths, floristry, and willow crafts.
- Dealing with Pocket Gophers.
There may be possibilities as a teaching location for guest lecturers.
- Permaculturists may want to set up demonstration plots.
- Local classes may want to borrow the highly diverse bush for classes in ecology (or may want to hire staff to do a talk and demo on local plant life.)
Lodgepole Pine in our front yard.
Share