Last fall I was lucky enough to stumble across a wonderful video about homesteading on reddit. The most interesting thing was that I recognized the house! On Manitoulin Island! That eventually led to meeting the creator of the video and owner of the home, Forrest Stevens.
A couple of weeks ago we finally got to meet Forrest and his partner, Emily. Forrest offered to do a video of our gardens and also of how our off grid set up works. Even though we’ve done tours and I’ve been on video in the past, this felt like we had a ‘real professional’ doing it! This is the first video of a tour of the gardens and the Freshisle Fibers mobile shop. The second one of our off grid system will follow.
It was a full afternoon and even though I’m always taken aback by how much of ‘a teacher’ I am on video, I am so impressed with Forrest’s skills. I know even with my limited video editing experience what a time consuming and painstaking process it is to create a video that flows easily.
Enjoy the tour!
This was wonderful! Thank you! I feel like I learned so much from your video. I wish the Canada/US border was open, I would plan a road trip. Listening to you was like meeting a kindred spirit.
I live on the south shore of Lake Ontario. I was intrigued by your planter boxes. Even with the poured concrete and re-bar, they don’t heave and split in the winter?
I’m so glad you mentioned dying with the purple podded beans. As I was blanching purple podded peas yesterday and pouring off the bright green water, I wondered if I could dye with it. I grow the purple podded beans too. I’ll definitely try it!
I too have false indigo plants. What part of the plant do you dye with? The flower? The black pod? Mine were loaded with blossoms this year, and now the seed pods are developing.
You don’t mention using mulberries for dying. Have you ever tried them? Although I have heard berries are not very colorfast…..
You have so many of the same plants I have. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! The poured concrete beds have rebar in them to stop the splitting in the winter. So far, so good – 5 years in!
The seed pods of the false indigo and the leaves will give a light blue, not like true indigo and not terribly lightfast, but a blue!
I’ve not tried mulberries. Most berries aren’t a true dye, more of a stain, and not colourfast.
I made a note on my calendar to save the false indigo seeds pods. I want to give them a try.
That’s a good way to think of berries – as a stain, not a dye. The little grand daughters certainly have colorful faces and fingers after feasting on them off the tree. Maybe I’ll just toss some in a baggie in the freezer and use to color Easter eggs……