North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Angermayer" <hangermayer@isp.com>]

Jim,

You've mentioned before about people driving by to look at your place,
because it's an anomaly.  Sort of an oasis in a desert.  You have my
curiosity up.  Do you have any summer pictures you could post?  Would love
to see them.

Mark
KS

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Fruth" <>
To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Cc: "Jackie Kuehn" <jakuehn@verizon.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 11:17 AM
Subject: [NAFEX] Cheap way to increase organic matter


>     When I moved here, most of my land was yellow blow sand and what
little
> organic matter there was, was one shade grayer than yellow.  Now I have up
> to 14" of rich black dirt, the envy of area farmers and it didn't cost me
a
> cent.
>     When I moved here, I lived on a dead-end road with very little traffic
> from except my (few) neighbors.  I put up signs saying, "Leaves and Pine
> Needles Wanted," and word spread quickly.  People from miles away brought
me
> their leaves and I spent my Winters spreading them.  The most I received
in
> a single year was over fifty cubic yards.  I removed the wheels from a
> semi-circular metal garden cart, fastened a piece of flat iron around the
> opening big enough to hold a 30 gallon can, making a make-shift sled that
> moved easily across the snow for moving leaves to where them would be laid
> down.
>     When Spring came I tilled them in as best I could.
>     I still put up my signs every Spring and Fall but I'm fussier now.
> Nowadays, I only want pine needles and pine needle/leaf mixtures.  I hire
> neighborhood kids to spread them.  Every two or three years each area of
my
> one acre garden/orchard gets a new covering of mulch and every Summer
> tourists drive by to see a garden with no weeds.
>
> Jim Fruth
> Brambleberry Farm
> Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
> For jams, jellies & syrups:
> www.bberryfarm.com
> (877)265-6856 [Store]
> (218)831-7018 [My Cell]
>
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