A view out your kitchen window encompasses a lot of life. Farm landscapes are hardly boring?everything from your new goat shed to the chickens strutting across the yard to the neat rows of your garden tells a story of rewarding, hard work; a love for the land; and dreams coming to fruition (hopefully sooner rather than later). At the edge of your pasture, a darker, wilder place looms: the forest.
Traditionally, farmers kept woodlots for timber and firewood supplies, for use as fencing materials, or for producing other products, such as maple syrup. With knowledge and creativity, even if you don?t have a large forest, you can make your woodland an even more active part of the life on your farm. The possibilities are as abundant as your curiosity and interests: collecting plants and other materials to craft into beautiful objects or delicious foods or developing formal long-range plans that can contribute to your farm?s income, for example. Here, we offer ideas to help you step into the woods with a keen eye for opportunities.
Bringing the Forest Home
Before you do anything, learn what you?ve got. If you understand the character of your woods?both the plants that grow there and noteworthy features such as streams, cliffs and springs?you can creatively and responsibly make it a valuable part of your farm. A good first step is to meet with a local naturalist or forester to walk through your woods. This expert can help you learn about the plants growing in your forest, including the poisonous or rare ones?in both cases, avoid them! You?ll likely want to spend more time on your own with field guides, but a naturalist will offer insightful information about your specific forest. Ask lots of questions!
As you learn, record the important biological and landscape features of your forest in your farm journal to help you organize and plan for woodland uses. Sketch a rough map to help you visualize the layout of your forest.
Does your woodlot have a lot of paper birch trees? Some people use birch bark to make baskets. If you have gnarly old maple or walnut trees, you could explore woodturning; Toby Fulwiler learned to use an old lathe after moving to 92 wooded acres in Fairfield, Vt., and now produces wooden bowls as gifts for family and friends and to sell at craft shows.
Woodland Projects
Make use of woodland areas on your property by trying your hand at these simple crafts using materials from your farm?s forest floor.
Is the soil sandy or clay? Soil type influences the plants that can grow. Perhaps your woodlot supports edible or medicinal plants, such as blueberries, black cohosh, bloodroot or goldenseal?find out if they?re considered endangered in your area before harvesting them. Some woodland owners actually create sanctuaries for rare plants. Fallen logs or timber might be useful for cultivating oyster or shiitake mushrooms.
Once you can give names and meanings to parts of your woodland, collect some materials for a craft project. Whether pressing plants for window decorations, including woodland edibles in your family?s meals or crafting wreaths with materials gathered from the forest floor, the woods offer possibilities for all interests and skill levels.
Branching Out
Your property has boundaries, but your woodland projects don?t have to. As you learn about and use interesting plants and features of your forest, consider neighbors, friends or skilled craftspeople in your community who might enjoy working with you and using some of what grows on your land. It may be the start of a productive relationship with unusual benefits.
That?s certainly true for Jim and June Wolfe of Wolfe Spring Farm in Sheffield, Mass. Half of their 52-acre farm remains wooded, providing shelter and food for songbirds, salamanders, bobcats, bear and other wildlife. The property, true to its name, features bubbling springs that underlie parts of the forest. These unusual conditions?a forested wetland supplied by groundwater?allow black ash, long sought after by basketmakers, to grow. Skilled basketmakers pound black ash (also called brown ash) logs until the annual growth rings separate. They peel off the rings, split them into fine ribbons and weave baskets from the strong, flexible material.
June and Jim have enough projects going?they raise pigs, lambs, chickens, goats, cows and Honey bees, as well as a market garden that supplies neighbors through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program?without trying to make baskets. Enter their neighbors: JoAnn Kelly Catsos, a master black-ash basketmaker, and her husband, Steve, who prepares the basket material to JoAnn?s exacting standards. The Wolfes and Catsoses have known each other for years; Steve, a carpenter, helped the Wolfes build their solar-powered house, and the families have shared everything from a wood splitter to harvest meals. When JoAnn and Steve approached Jim and June about harvesting black ash trees from Wolfe Spring Farm, it was a no-brainer.
?We trust them absolutely,? says June. ?It?s clear they know exactly what they are doing.? The Catsoses harvest a few trees per year from the farm?s woodland, and thank June and Jim with?what else??a basket. JoAnn is known across the country for her intricate miniature baskets, but June, though she loves admiring these tiny works of art, says that she and her husband ?tend to like something much more functional.? JoAnn, accordingly, made the couple a market basket that holds their fresh-baked bread. The families? relationship is even closer through this artistic forest connection.
Growing Into the Future
Can your forest offer additional income for your farm? Depending on your land, your region of the country, and the amount of time and money you?re willing to invest, it certainly could.
Jim and Lucy McCullough offer running, mountain bike, snowshoe and cross-country ski trails on their historic farm in Williston, Vt. In October, they team up with local organizers and youth actors to host a ?haunted forest? full of spooky skits; thousands of people visit their farm?and pay admission?each year. Others who prefer solitary work and a quieter forest might cultivate medicinal ginseng, whose roots can fetch up to hundreds of dollars a pound; try their hand at growing mushrooms for sale to local restaurants; or make maple syrup to sell at the farmers? market.
If you?re new to being a forest landowner, you shouldn?t undertake larger projects without an expert?s guidance. It can save you a lot of time and money and ensure your plan is appropriate and sustainable. Your county forester or local cooperative extension expert can visit your land and tell you if your forest can support the project you?re dreaming of, as well as direct you to helpful resources in your area. They can also help you plan to manage your forest in an environmentally thoughtful way.
Michael Snyder, a county forester in Vermont, says, ?It is possible to make terrible mistakes when managing forests. Many landowners have been seriously disappointed by the effects of such mistakes?even with the best of intentions. Careful planning and experienced advice help to avoid such disappointments.? The last thing you want is to have the project you were so excited about degrade the forest for future generations. Through thoughtful planning and realistic expectations and by tapping into the vast knowledge-base in your community, your forest can support creative endeavors and become a valued feature, rather than a footnote, of your farm.
About the Authors: Allaire Diamond researches, writes about and consults on non-timber forest products. She lives in Williston, Vt. Autumn Foush?e is a freelance writer and natural resources professional based in Burlington, Vt.
Source: hobbyFarms.com
Source: http://www.mapledaily.com/farm-to-forest-connections.html
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