I have been procrastinating about this post. Zone Two is, well, complicated. Of course it is. Zone Two is where the nonnative creatures dwell, the human in particular. Humans complicate everything.
Zone Two includes the house, the barn, and the shed. It is fenced by six-foot trenched chain link to keep the dogs safe and close to home. They are wanderers and escape artists, so I spared no expense on the fence. Zone Two is also home to the well head and the septic tank, one on either side of the house.
My plans for Zone Two include an urban-garden style permaculture-based vegetable garden, but that’s not high on my priority list. Restoring and creating habitat for natives in other zones comes first. One of the reasons I chose Michigan as my new home state is that it boasts the second most diverse crop list in the nation–bested only by my native California. I know if need be I can grow enough food in Zone Two to feed a couple dozen people. Fortunately, right now at least, I don’t need to.
Most of my vegetables and fruit come from a farm called SS Family Produce, a little over a mile down Plank Road. They are hard-working, friendly folks, and I’ve grown fond of them, their farm, and their produce. I’ll take you on a field trip there next summer. Since SS Family Produce meets my needs, I focus on growing what they don’t or what I want more of: heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beets, and my favorites: arugula and basil. Come along with me now for a tour of the Interface.
Meet your tour guides, Hayduke (l) and Bonnie. They puppervise Zone Two, and they take their job seriously.
This is the side door of the house, which opens onto part of the deck. I designed the chain link to be flush with the front of the house. This way I can let the dogs out the side door and they are secure within the Interface.
This is a young herb and flower garden outside the east fence.
Sunflowers seeded from my California seeds, calendula, and lavender are the start of what will be a larger medicinal herb and flower garden along the east and north fence of Zone Two. The Interface is about 1/3 of an acre. The remaining two acres of the farm are reserved for natives, with the possible exception of a few fruit trees in Zone Four (another post will explain).
The drainpipe is diagonal here because the roof water is diverted to the rain garden.
This is the north side of the house, which flooded regularly when I bought the place. The rain garden has solved that problem. This sidewalk was buried in dirt and my handyman Josh only recently discovered it. We were excited! Although this is the north side of the house, it gets decent summer sun in the afternoon. I’ll trellis this and grow peas as well as some perennial herbs. A few daffodils lurk here now.
My sons jerry-rigged the main gate of The Interface because Hayduke breaks out when there’s gunfire in the neighborhood, which is often. Josh will put an industrial gate in next spring.
The view from Zone Two looking out toward Plank Road. I am looking forward to getting the wheeled, heavy duty gate and replacing this eye sore. But I’m grateful for it now, since Hayduke can’t escape and take Bonnie with him.
Bonnie wants you to see the south side.
Here is a good view of the worst thing in Zone Two. The large tree with the brown leaves. It’s a 40 foot Bradford or Callery Pear. These trees are now illegal in neighboring Ohio, but we haven’t caught up with that yet. The Monroe Conservation District is keeping an eye out for grants to fund its removal. Since it’s between the fence and the barn, it’s a pricey project. I had no idea what it was when I bought the place, or I would have taken it out before I fenced. At least it seems to be sterile, because no little pear trees have shown up on my or my neighbors’ land.
In the foreground is my Generac generator. Most of us in the neighborhood have these since power here is unreliable. Here you can also see how much room I have for more raised beds when the time comes. Given the vole activity, raised beds lined with hardware cloth are essential. And because of the bunnies, they’ll need to be topped with wire cages as well.
The south wall gets good sun. I’ll trellis this and plant green beans.
One of my larger maples casts this shadow over this side of the house. This is where the sump pump did its magic, but because of the rain garden it has not been called to duty. So I can plant here now.
The south and west sides of the Interface. You can see where the dogs wear a path with their puppervising. This is where I broke my arm last summer.
A view of the house and deck from the southwest.
This is the only raised bed I have so far, and the only metal one I’ll buy.
I make Hugel beds with my raised beds, so the bottom 1/3 is maple branches and walnut branches that break off throughout the year. This one bed gives me enough heirloom tomatoes and peppers to eat, share, and can.
A typical tomato from my garden. I don’t remember the species. I’m bad at documenting such things.
Here is the last pepper harvest of the year. Anaheim, serrano, and bell.
Here is the dormant rain garden with the barn in the background. To the left you can see part of my compost area.
My compost is a work in progress, but it’s getting there. You can see one of the sections to the left of the barn. It’s three sections of pallets. The middle section should yield some dirt next summer.
The last beet and arugula harvest.
Damaged beet greens and beet stems headed for the compost.
Nothing better than sautéed beet greens.
Except maybe arugula pasta salad with garlic from SS Family Produce.
Or locally sourced chicken salad with my tomatoes and SS Family Produce romaine lettuce.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour. Please come and visit us when you can!
Bonnie chomps on a beef marrow bone in the fall shade of The Interface. She’s a very good girl. Thanks for heading up the tour, Bonnie.
And we do give in-person tours, by appointment. You can also support us on Patreon (link below) and help us buy things like hardware cloth for raised beds or perhaps, one day, an arborist to take down the horrible Callery Pear. Come by next summer and we’ll sit on the deck and enjoy some arugula pasta salad with a glass of iced tea.
