Donna's in the Food Forest
@oncontour.bsky.social
Posts from the Native Food Forest and Rain Garden project at Christ the King Lutheran Church in SW Ohio. A work by the community for the community.
Original plant lists & layouts here:
https://www.ctkluth.org/food-forest.html
Original plant lists & layouts here:
https://www.ctkluth.org/food-forest.html
I can't walk across the lawn right now because this is happening everywhere. Cicada's can be troublesome to newly planted or small woody plants, but they are also beneficial to the ecosystem in numerous ways. Read the surprising list of good things cicadas do here: cicadas.wisc.edu/good-or-bad/
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May 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I can't walk across the lawn right now because this is happening everywhere. Cicada's can be troublesome to newly planted or small woody plants, but they are also beneficial to the ecosystem in numerous ways. Read the surprising list of good things cicadas do here: cicadas.wisc.edu/good-or-bad/
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May 20 is World Bee Day! To celebrate I am posting an Eastern Carpenter Bee photo-bombing my shot of Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis) in our native food forest. Baptisia is one of the few deer resistant nitrogen fixers in Ohio and we love it! #Insects #NativePlants #Permaculture 🐝
May 20, 2025 at 1:09 PM
May 20 is World Bee Day! To celebrate I am posting an Eastern Carpenter Bee photo-bombing my shot of Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis) in our native food forest. Baptisia is one of the few deer resistant nitrogen fixers in Ohio and we love it! #Insects #NativePlants #Permaculture 🐝
I looked at putting QR codes on the plant labels for the food forest. Found several sticker options on Etsy. Didn't like using plastic, and wondered how they would hold up, so decided instead to put a metal QR code on the food forest sign which leads to website with plant lists, layouts, and more.
May 16, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I looked at putting QR codes on the plant labels for the food forest. Found several sticker options on Etsy. Didn't like using plastic, and wondered how they would hold up, so decided instead to put a metal QR code on the food forest sign which leads to website with plant lists, layouts, and more.
This newly emerged cicada, decided to rest on some Ostrich Ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) potted up and donated to the food forest by our friend in the local conservation district. More on the edible delicacy of fiddlehead ferns later. Enjoy the beautiful bug! #Bugsky #Permaculture #NativePlants
May 16, 2025 at 2:03 PM
This newly emerged cicada, decided to rest on some Ostrich Ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) potted up and donated to the food forest by our friend in the local conservation district. More on the edible delicacy of fiddlehead ferns later. Enjoy the beautiful bug! #Bugsky #Permaculture #NativePlants
There is something royal about them. I cannot capture the extraordinary beauty of Red Columbine flowers floating above the generous foliage. Tougher than it looks. Began with 10 wintersown seedlings. Now hundreds cover and protect the soil. Love this plant! #NativePlants #WinterSowing #Permaculture
May 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM
There is something royal about them. I cannot capture the extraordinary beauty of Red Columbine flowers floating above the generous foliage. Tougher than it looks. Began with 10 wintersown seedlings. Now hundreds cover and protect the soil. Love this plant! #NativePlants #WinterSowing #Permaculture
A happy mushroom family enjoying all of the cool, wet weather we have had this spring in southwest Ohio. We are always excited to see fungi in the soil of our young food forest which began as mostly clay. #FungiFriends #Permaculture #Mushrooms
May 9, 2025 at 1:05 PM
A happy mushroom family enjoying all of the cool, wet weather we have had this spring in southwest Ohio. We are always excited to see fungi in the soil of our young food forest which began as mostly clay. #FungiFriends #Permaculture #Mushrooms
The early May 2025 blooms in the Rain Garden include Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea) in the swale and Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) on the berm. Great spring combo that is so bright it can attract attention from the street, 100 yards away. #NativePlants #Permaculture #RainGarden #Gardening
May 7, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The early May 2025 blooms in the Rain Garden include Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea) in the swale and Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) on the berm. Great spring combo that is so bright it can attract attention from the street, 100 yards away. #NativePlants #Permaculture #RainGarden #Gardening
And this is the bench in the food forest. It was donated by a neighbor and my husband refinished it in the spring of 2023 in the Behr "Wood Chip" color. It still looks pretty good. I have to blast bird poop off of it with a hose in the summer and that has contributed to wear in some places.
April 25, 2025 at 10:34 PM
And this is the bench in the food forest. It was donated by a neighbor and my husband refinished it in the spring of 2023 in the Behr "Wood Chip" color. It still looks pretty good. I have to blast bird poop off of it with a hose in the summer and that has contributed to wear in some places.
And I'm working on (or should I say stalled on) the second board of the sign which will say "AND RAIN GARDEN." I didn't wait long enough between coats of the white reflective paint and it cracked. Now I will need to use my husband's dremel to remove most of the white paint and start over.
April 25, 2025 at 10:25 PM
And I'm working on (or should I say stalled on) the second board of the sign which will say "AND RAIN GARDEN." I didn't wait long enough between coats of the white reflective paint and it cracked. Now I will need to use my husband's dremel to remove most of the white paint and start over.
The sign is kind of a work in progress. The posts were burned using the Japanese wood-burning technique. The board was stained in the Behr "Wood Chip" color. And the QR Code is still taped on in this photo with the blue painter's tape. Can't believe I didn't get a better pic. 😜
April 25, 2025 at 10:21 PM
The sign is kind of a work in progress. The posts were burned using the Japanese wood-burning technique. The board was stained in the Behr "Wood Chip" color. And the QR Code is still taped on in this photo with the blue painter's tape. Can't believe I didn't get a better pic. 😜
Rhubarb is up and looking good! It's not particularly drought tolerant, so when all six of our plants disappeared during 2024's historic drought I thought they were toast. Some look better than others, but all are accounted for. Welcome back, Rhubarb! #Permaculture #Gardening
April 25, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Rhubarb is up and looking good! It's not particularly drought tolerant, so when all six of our plants disappeared during 2024's historic drought I thought they were toast. Some look better than others, but all are accounted for. Welcome back, Rhubarb! #Permaculture #Gardening
The delicious, nutritious greens of Cutleaf Coneflowers are coming on strong in the rain garden and are ready for a 1st harvest. I really like the taste of this plant. Read about how to cook this native American beauty here: foragerchef.com/sochan/
#Permaculture #NativePlants #Gardening #RainGarden
#Permaculture #NativePlants #Gardening #RainGarden
April 23, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The delicious, nutritious greens of Cutleaf Coneflowers are coming on strong in the rain garden and are ready for a 1st harvest. I really like the taste of this plant. Read about how to cook this native American beauty here: foragerchef.com/sochan/
#Permaculture #NativePlants #Gardening #RainGarden
#Permaculture #NativePlants #Gardening #RainGarden
Does this sheep look smug to you? I had some fun visiting Permaculture expert, Doug Crouch, of TreeYo Permaculture. These devilish sheep knocked down those boards onto that electric fence which allowed them to step over and trample through his garden. I think they have no regrets. #Permaculture
April 12, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Does this sheep look smug to you? I had some fun visiting Permaculture expert, Doug Crouch, of TreeYo Permaculture. These devilish sheep knocked down those boards onto that electric fence which allowed them to step over and trample through his garden. I think they have no regrets. #Permaculture
Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) popping up now, are a powerful medicinal, used by Native Americans and studied by scientists for its anti-tumor, anti-viral, and other properties. Caution: only the ripe fruit is edible, raw, in jellies or dried.
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Herbalism #Nature 🌱
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Herbalism #Nature 🌱
April 7, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) popping up now, are a powerful medicinal, used by Native Americans and studied by scientists for its anti-tumor, anti-viral, and other properties. Caution: only the ripe fruit is edible, raw, in jellies or dried.
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Herbalism #Nature 🌱
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Herbalism #Nature 🌱
Yeah, it's been a few years since I grew indoors, but this was my setup. I stole my husband's shop lights from his workbench in the garage, and hung them up under a folding craft table by some old jewelry chains. I raised the lights higher as the seedlings grew. LED lights do not get hot.
April 6, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Yeah, it's been a few years since I grew indoors, but this was my setup. I stole my husband's shop lights from his workbench in the garage, and hung them up under a folding craft table by some old jewelry chains. I raised the lights higher as the seedlings grew. LED lights do not get hot.
Indigenous Landscape's "Native Plant Agriculture" book is now a FREE download. Applicable to the Midwest, South, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States within the US. My print copy is well worn from regular use. 🌱
lovenativeplants.com/npabook
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Biodiversity #BookSky
lovenativeplants.com/npabook
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Biodiversity #BookSky
March 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Indigenous Landscape's "Native Plant Agriculture" book is now a FREE download. Applicable to the Midwest, South, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States within the US. My print copy is well worn from regular use. 🌱
lovenativeplants.com/npabook
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Biodiversity #BookSky
lovenativeplants.com/npabook
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Biodiversity #BookSky
First sprout in the Winter Sowing containers is an annual ground cherry. 🌱 Low temps in the 30's this week here in southwest Ohio, but warm enough in the mini-greenhouses. We should have blooms in May and fruit in June. Love Physalis grisea!
#WinterSowing #NativePlants #Gardening #Permaculture
#WinterSowing #NativePlants #Gardening #Permaculture
March 23, 2025 at 2:50 PM
First sprout in the Winter Sowing containers is an annual ground cherry. 🌱 Low temps in the 30's this week here in southwest Ohio, but warm enough in the mini-greenhouses. We should have blooms in May and fruit in June. Love Physalis grisea!
#WinterSowing #NativePlants #Gardening #Permaculture
#WinterSowing #NativePlants #Gardening #Permaculture
Don't believe me? Most of the plants in this photo came from those jugs! This was taken July of that same year. The beets were direct sown and the marigolds were purchased.
March 15, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Don't believe me? Most of the plants in this photo came from those jugs! This was taken July of that same year. The beets were direct sown and the marigolds were purchased.
Eager to plant your veggies but still have too many cold nights ahead? You can use the winter sowing technique on annual veggies too! And these mini greenhouses produce tough, sturdy plants. This tutorial shows you the steps we use: youtu.be/8B6VVvLytdI?...
#WinterSowing #Gardening #Permaculture
#WinterSowing #Gardening #Permaculture
March 15, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Eager to plant your veggies but still have too many cold nights ahead? You can use the winter sowing technique on annual veggies too! And these mini greenhouses produce tough, sturdy plants. This tutorial shows you the steps we use: youtu.be/8B6VVvLytdI?...
#WinterSowing #Gardening #Permaculture
#WinterSowing #Gardening #Permaculture
March 14, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Want to see more butterflies? Plant species native to your area for their babies to eat. This Black Swallowtail caterpillar is enjoying the Golden Alexanders in our native food forest. You can plant food for wildlife and humans.
#NativePlants #Biodiversity #Permaculture #Insects #Nature 🌱
#NativePlants #Biodiversity #Permaculture #Insects #Nature 🌱
March 8, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Want to see more butterflies? Plant species native to your area for their babies to eat. This Black Swallowtail caterpillar is enjoying the Golden Alexanders in our native food forest. You can plant food for wildlife and humans.
#NativePlants #Biodiversity #Permaculture #Insects #Nature 🌱
#NativePlants #Biodiversity #Permaculture #Insects #Nature 🌱
Baby bunny warming itself in the sun, watching over my mini greenhouses full of seedlings (Apr 22.) I can't wait for this year's perennials to sprout. Very soon! Now it's time for me to plant my annual seeds outside in this kind of container. Seeds don't mind the cold.
#WinterSowing #NativePlants 🌱
#WinterSowing #NativePlants 🌱
March 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Baby bunny warming itself in the sun, watching over my mini greenhouses full of seedlings (Apr 22.) I can't wait for this year's perennials to sprout. Very soon! Now it's time for me to plant my annual seeds outside in this kind of container. Seeds don't mind the cold.
#WinterSowing #NativePlants 🌱
#WinterSowing #NativePlants 🌱
Today is World Wildlife Day - reminder that we live in a web of life and that all of this breathtaking and astoundingly good creation rises and falls together.
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Nature #Insects 🌱
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Nature #Insects 🌱
March 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Today is World Wildlife Day - reminder that we live in a web of life and that all of this breathtaking and astoundingly good creation rises and falls together.
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Nature #Insects 🌱
#NativePlants #Permaculture #Nature #Insects 🌱