Month: June 2011

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Brush Walls at Windhorse Farm

Yesterday I went on a tour of Windhorse Farm, a sustainable farming and forestry operation located up the LaHave River from Bridgewater.

Brush wall at Windhorse Farm
Brush wall and fence at Windhorse Farm

I was most curious to see their brush walls. When I first heard about Windhorse’s brush walls last winter, a light went on in my head. Here was the answer to several of my problems, including the strong north wind chilling the garden, and large amounts of brush available.

Windhorse’s brush walls are piles held in place by stakes 6 feet apart, making a thick wall. As the brush gradually breaks down, more is piled on top. Vines such as squashes and grapes are encouraged to climb over the brush, and in summer, the brush walls can be completely hidden by vegetation.

My picture also shows a higher brush fence that has been woven around taller stakes. In fact, it’s about 7-8  feet high, high enough to keep out deer.

The brush walls contribute greatly to the success of Windhorse’s garden. They enclose and shelter it, holding in heat. The decomposing brush adds to the fertility of the soil. And very importantly, the brush walls provide habitat for all sorts of wildlife, including the friendly critters that help control garden pests.

Click here for a description and a rather old low-res video about Windhorse’s brush walls.

I started building a brush wall last spring and will continue to develop it.

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Growing Kiwis in Nova Scotia

Kiwi flowers
Flowers on female Actinidia kolomikta

It’s the hardy kiwi, Actinidia kolomikta. The fruits are the size of a large grape, less fuzzy than their New Zealand cousins, and delicious, apparently. I’ve never eaten one or even seen one.

But I hope to soon! I’ve got a boy plant and a girl plant in the backyard, and they seem to like each other….

This kiwi is hardy to Zone 4 (we are in Zone 5b or 6a, warmer than Zone 4) and has a reputation for vigour. In fact, frequent pruning is required to train the vines properly and to help the plant concentrate its energy into growing fruit.

The vines need a sturdy structure to grow on, and it shouldn’t be too tall to reach for pruning, or you’ll lose the battle for fruit development. A strong timberframe trellis would be the ideal thing.

I’m training mine on the 10-ft high trunks of a cherry tree that I cut down last summer. (It was non-productive and besieged by cherry slugs, or sawfly larvae.)

I have a couple of friends in the area who are also excitedly growing hardy kiwi for the first time. One of these years, we’ll have our first taste of the fruit, if we can keep the squirrels and birds away from it.

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The Rope Loft in Chester: a favourite restaurant

Father’s choice on Father’s Day, so of course we went to the Rope Loft on Chester’s Front Harbour.

Entering the Rope Loft
The Rope Loft in Chester

We didn’t dock and dine this time, but you can do that, and berth your boat for the night too, if you’re lucky.

If the walls could talk, they would have many nautical yarns to tell. The old oak timberframe building dates back to the privateer ship Teazer, as it was built with remnants of the famous ship after she burned and sank in Mahone Bay in 1813.

But there’s no salt pork and hardtack on the menu. The Rope Loft Burger is the best around. One of our fathers was very pleased with his sirloin tip roast with baby potatoes and Yorkshire pudding which, he declared, was almost as good as his own. That’s high praise!  The mothers enjoyed Baked Salmon and Seafood Marinara respectively.

A walk around the Village completed our lovely Father’s Day outing.

When the weather is warm enough, you can sit on the deck and watch the activity on the Front Harbour.

The restaurant is a busy place during Race Week. Last year, the Tanzer 22 class was headquartered at the Rope Loft.

Check out the Rope Loft website for a bit of history and some pictures – and of course the menu!

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Public washrooms in Chester!

Chester's new public washrooms

We were delighted to try out Chester’s new public washrooms on our Father’s Day excursion. Our tester approved the facilities, which are next to the Lido Pool on Parade Square, between the public wharf and Chester Yacht Club. They look like they are accessible for wheelchair users too.

Congratulations to the Village of Chester for making life a lot easier for visitors and locals alike.