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Hi yall!

I’m planning to turn my backyard (my whole house really) into a micro-scale permaculture farm for my family, and the part I’m most fixated on is the sheep, I’d like some help figuring an idea out!

The plan is Two small dairy/wool sheep, more similar to pets than livestock. I just saw an article about microgreens for livestock and the ease of cultivation, health benefits, supply permanence, blah blah blah…but it did get my interest, the only thing I really found online for a starting point to research from is the giant storage box company or the little DIY Walmart kits.

So how would I possibly go about setting up a microgreens farm for my sheep? I’m a huge fan of small and powerful setups, so how small could I keep a farm to fit the fairy tale picture in my head: year round cultivation, maybe desktop/large shelf size? I read that the greens are cultivated-harvested in 7-10 days, how fast is it really? After the greens are harvested, how should they be stored for the best shelf life/ quality? What would the best greens for sheep be? It would be split between other animals (rabbits/dogs/chickens) for nutrition; primarily for the sheep though, because I’m most concerned about the amount of grass they have to graze with (drier area, lots of clay and sand in the soil)

I’m more of a DIY guy, so anything cheap/efficient is right up my alley, and I’ve got a bit of a green thumb, so I feel like this could be very beneficial/fun if the results are worth it. Any expert tips/advice pointing me in the right direction is greatly appreciated! Happy farming 🫶

Edit:: any normal plants I can grow for them would be greatly appreciated too!!

I know I’m a highly sensitive person, so I think of and feel things more deeply by default.

But every time I’m weeding an area, and I expose a bunch of soil that will be dry and look barren in a few hours of sunlight with evaporation, I just get sad. 🙁

I mean, I’m all for removing garlic mustard patches and such (tastes great as a pesto too!), but I wish chop & drop was a more known & accepted thing in the landscaping world. But I know people prefer their “flawless” gardens (I think they look boring and unnatural).

It’s not always my place to speak up, but when I have they cared more about aesthetics then what it was doing to their soil. I just wish people didn’t care so much about what their garden looked like and more about the long term affects of what they ask me to do!

I have a greenhouse that was destroyed in a windstorm and am left with a 15′ x 10′ area of my yard that has some decent soil. It gets at least 8-10 hours of sun a day in zone 6B.

I have other garden areas that are fully developed, but I have this space available and I’d love to do something with it.

A small two-tree fruit tree guild?

Several larger bushes like hazelnuts/berries?

Again, the soil is good so most should take.

Ideas?

Hi everyone,

I’m working on constructing an artificial wetland and am now at the stage of selecting plants. I came across this plant (photo attached) and I’m trying to figure out if it’s Phragmites australis.

Could anyone help me confirm if this is Phragmites australis? Also, if you have tips on distinguishing native vs. invasive subspecies, that would be great since I want to make sure I’m planting the right type for my wetland.