The Complete Ravenous Farmer Season 3 Is Now LIVE
"Dig in the Dirt Until It Hurts©" - Written, performed, and recorded by Mattie J. Bamman
It's been three years since my wife and I left the city for the back-to-the-land lifestyle in Midcoast Maine, and I think it's safe to say Ravenous Farmer is no longer an experiment. My wife and I have really settled into the back-to-the-land community, which is thriving here today.
Nothing showed me this more than a mushroom inoculation workshop led by my now friend and bandmate Teddy Mattson of Dirtgoat Permaculture. As I was drilling holes into hardwood logs and stuffing them with mushroom spores, I happened to mention my affinity for death metal. Well, it turned out Teddy has also played in metal bands [Beast Machine] and is obsessed with healing the land through hugelkultur/lasagna gardening.
Even behind pandemic masks, connections were made, and they continue through a communal work party group called The Permablasters that we’ve started here in the Belfast area. The work parties are a lot like the communal barn-raisings and potlucks I grew up with in Down East Maine, and it warms my cockles to know that this type of compassionate, community-minded lifestyle still exists in America. Note that both “work” and “party” are essential to this equation.
Beyond being grateful for my new friends and neighbors, I’m grateful that a lot of the gardening lifestyle has become second nature. It was a steep learning curve those first two years, but year three went pretty smoothly overall. It was a matter of putting ideals into practice, but, even more importantly, it was about falling into the rhythm of the seasons and developing an understanding of the healthy ecosystem on our property.
Even behind pandemic masks, connections were made, and they continue through a communal work party group called The Permablasters that we’ve started here in the Belfast area. The work parties are a lot like the communal barn-raisings and potlucks I grew up with in Down East Maine, and it warms my cockles to know that this type of compassionate, community-minded lifestyle still exists in America. Note that both “work” and “party” are essential to this equation.
Beyond being grateful for my new friends and neighbors, I’m grateful that a lot of the gardening lifestyle has become second nature. It was a steep learning curve those first two years, but year three went pretty smoothly overall. It was a matter of putting ideals into practice, but, even more importantly, it was about falling into the rhythm of the seasons and developing an understanding of the healthy ecosystem on our property.
So without further ado, check out Season 3 in the video above. See some of the surprise benefits of going back to the land and learn about our most successful gardening techniques using the lasagna-gardening method, aka hugelkultur. I really love the string trellis method for tomatoes, in particular. Additionally, find the preservation and canning techniques that allow us to grow 99% of our own produce for the entire year.
In Season 4, Ravenous Farmer will appear in REAL-TIME on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram, so go over and like and follow those links if you haven't already. We’ll begin our seeds indoors in a couple weeks. I hope the real-time format will allow me to focus more on the nitty-gritty practical techniques of gardening and homesteading. Lasagna Gardening 101 has racked up more than 4,000 views over the last two years, and I’ll work to publish more useful content along those lines. Additionally, I hope you will reach out with requests for content and questions related to hugelkultur and going back to the land.
As my wife and I have learned, if you want to be a soil-maker, land steward, permablaster, organic food provider, all-around gourmet environmentalist—the path is open. The land and people await. Go for it.
Comments