In the Heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland we are Planting the Future!
The old John Eyler Homestead – once completely logged – is now Regenerating into a Dynamic Food Forest
If the future is nuts.. then the fine folks at Stoney Spring Farm on the historic John Eyler Homestead site are well set. This hillside farm nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains feels like it is right out of a John Steinbeck book, a peaceful ‘away’ place many of us dream about.
This beautiful site has just become more majestic with over 1,000 fruit and nut rich plantings in a dynamic agroforerstry/permaculture design created and implemented by Michael Judd of Ecologia Design.
The first objective of the site design was water. Being a hillside farm water was sheeting off, leaving the soil dry even just a few days after strong rains, and pulling organic matter off with it – a double loss!
To slow, sink and spread the water we created swales on contour that consist of a dug out basin and corresponding downhill berm. These swales on contour are capturing the water sliding down the hill falling into the basins which then sink all that wonderful water into the water table – hydrating the soil for 30-40 feet downslope. This key design completely changes the soil dynamic and thus the success of whatever is planted.
Swale
So, what did we plant?! Over 1,500 Trees!
Overstory:
Northen pecans, hybrid chestnuts, hickories, select black walnuts, heartnuts, pine nuts, sweet oaks,sugar maples, honey locusts, persimmons, mulberries, willows..
Understory:
Paw paws, hazelnuts, juneberries, elderberries, hawthorns, cornelian cherries, red buds, spice bushes..
Ground Covers:
Mountain mint, running comfrey, bee balms, clovers..
A perennial abundance that will feed human and wildlife alike for hundreds of years. This is true legacy in action.
Gratitude to Bobby Srour & Jeanne Grillo of Stoney Spring Farm for planting the future!
Looking to create an agroforestry haven? Get in touch with Michael to explore options.
info@ecologiadesign.com
240.344.5625
Learn more about Agroforestry here – https://ecologiadesign.com/agroforestry/
Learn more about swales here – https://ecologiadesign.com/raised-beds/
Agroforestry for Small Farms & Homesteads – A Food Forest Design for the Future | Old John Eyler Homestead, Maryland
Posted In: Edible and Ecological Landscape Design