The weed tree massacre is nearly finished, with the second big line of trees down. We were thinking this would make a great Iowa chapter of Treehuggers Unlimited! We’re putting all of the wood to good use as firewood, garden mulch, garden paths and soil retention dams. Those last few trees on the right have go to as well, but as the days get warmer, there’s little heart in donning chainsaw safety gear to take them out.

Paul’s been busy hauling, splitting and stacking firewood. We expect to have a bulldozer here soon to remove stumps and shape these terraces into two steps, or berms we’ll plant our fruit trees on next spring. We’re well on our way to our edible savanna. 

Do you have any suggestions for the best cultivars and (semi-dwarf) root stock for apples, pears, paw paws and plums? Comment below and let us know!

Our WWOOFers Carrie and Daniel have been helping haul slash and then working in the garden, preparing beds, weeding and planting corn, beans and cukes. They’ve also discovered a number of guinea nests, including one with a turkey egg in it! Other finds – a few morels and 2 snakes.