pendragon orchard and vine

Learn how to tap a bigleaf maple and make your own Pacific Northwest syrup. A field guide from Pendragon Orchard & Vine—part adventure, part craft, and all patience—turning rain, pressure, and fire into sweetness.

In permaculture, all things should have multi-functions. Topping my list this year is a lesser known sunflower that is perennial, edible, pollinator-friendly, drought tolerant, and just beautiful. It's Helianthus maximiliani, Maximilian Sunflower. I use this species on every project, as does our charity All Hands on Earth . Seeding is easy: sprinkle on the soil and press down lightly; water regularly until the shoots, which are edible, reach about 6-8" in height. Then let it

Permaculture Landscaping: Schisandra Berry ( Schisandra chinensis) We installed Schisandra at two permaculture sites this week, trellising the specimens on a fence. Personally, I love climbers, and if I find a suitable fence or wall, I’ll grow vertically on it to extend its function. Schisandra, native to East Asia, is a hardy deciduous climber that can tolerate shade and grows in a variety of soils. Fitting the profile of a quintessential permaculture species, meaning multi-

Today we installed Yamaimo (Japanese Mountain Yam) as part of a permaculture food forest and gardening project on Orcas Island. Yamaimo often makes the species list for our projects by providing a high calorie, delicious, and reliable food source. Here below we are growing Yamaimo in pots filled mostly with sand and a little dirt taken from nearby plantings. Growing in pots makes harvesting the tubers easier: you dump the pot over when you are ready to harvest and they spill

Conversion of an established Square pattern orchard to a food forest on Orcas Island. Principal goals for the project: Improve Species (Food) Diversity; Convert Annuals to Perennials; Use Guilds and Super Guilds; Lower Long Term Maintenance Cost; Four Season Food Production; Restore/Add Privacy Screens; Create Social/Gathering Area; Improve Soil Structure; Add Color in the Winter; Native Habitat Restoration. Species List

On a recent Orcas Island project, we found an opportunity to grow food and restore PNW natives without deer fencing. For those of you with property that has a history of logging, you may find old, rotted conifer stumps shoulder height or greater. These are natural "planters" for Red Huckleberry, among other species, like salal, in the forests of the PNW that deer can't reach. Rotting stumps act as a sponge, storing rainwater that is critical for huckleberry survival in summer

So, you got excited and bought more bare root trees than you know what to do with. Been there. The story continues... You grab your shovel and look for a place to plant them all. Suddenly, you come to your senses; then you panic looking at all those trees awaiting your decision. What usually happens next is the "panic planting" with the whisper: "I'll move them later." Well, that needn't happen. You can buy plenty of time to make good decisions by "heeling-in" your trees. The

Just a few critical points when selecting apple trees for your yard or micro-orchard. First, most apples don't self pollinate; so, you need a pollinating partner; or, let's call it a "pollinating scheme". In your pollinating scheme, and, to keep this example simple, let's say you have two trees in your scheme. Those two trees cannot be the same variety, like two Shogun Fujis; they need to be different varieties. Now, your pollinators need to have flowers in bloom for each two