Treasure Lake Homestead Elements

With so many different moving parts at this education center, edible landscaping HQ, and forest and farm, I use this page to show the diversity of operations in this growing site. Treasure Hollow Homestead Elements extend across the 60 acres with its diverse topography, vegetation stages of succession, and soil types.

Orchard Garden Map, 2023

Treasure Lake Zones of Use Map

Doug Crouch

Essentially, eco-forestry, or as I call it Active Forest Enhancement, has been my main mission since I started working the land here even before I got into permaculture (2001 started my degree in Fish and Wildlife Management). However overtime more and more has been added in as the place has finished its legacy businesses and moves more into permaculture development.

Tropical Summer conditions of Treasure Lake

Goat Grazing on the Homestead of Treasure Lake, KY

Hard to hug this one, Shumard Oak

One rock dam stream terraces

Homemade Vermi compost

Bush Cherry

Existing Permaculture Elements include the following:

Extensive Native Food forest actively managed for biodiversity, especially paw paw, spicebush, and sugar maple:

This is the ecoforestry operation that has been running since 2001. Because of my global travels over the years, I have done stints here and there on the land hacking away at invasives, encouraging natives, and thinning what needs it. In 2012 we did a light logging allowing us to keep the property which also augmented the forest canopy quite a bit. But yes indeed paw paw and spicebush were my main aims but general biodiversity is always key along with forest health. Now we have moved onto sugar maple stands being improved. Fish and Wildlife management will always be the primary goal since that is where i started as an ecologist.

paw paw in the field, big wild ones we have

spicebush in full fruiting

the paw paw harvest one morning, 25lbs

The crafting of syrup

Sheep eating coppice black locust

Hedgerows and Orchard Gardens:

In fall of 2017 I began the back hedgerow and moved onto another in 2018 called the triangle garden adjacent to what was Dark Wood Farm (market garden creation of Annie Woods). After Annie left to run her own farm in 2021, the field of 4 quadrants of 50 ft beds were developed into an agroforestry alley cropping style of growing. Fruit tree beds were added, field nursery developed, vegetables grown, chicken tractors rotated, sheep grazing edges, etc. A lot of organic matter and biodiversity has been added. Now this 1.7 acre garden is full of food.

Orchard Garden Map, 2023

Me and Nate happy planters, fall 2017

Luke getting ready to plant the triangle garden after we did the layout

Triangle Garden Hedge Design

Integrated Orchard Garden

Asian Pear ripening

Aronia or chokeberry ripening

Caroline Raspberry

Pocohontas Eldeberry

Taylor with staple harvest

Doug teaching about the orchard garden

Our Permaculture Field Nursery

Alley Cell of plant propagation

Animal Husbandry year-round and seasonal:

Before 2020, the was some seasonal livestock management, but the events of that year spurred us to take next steps with the homestead. Goats joined as well as a flock of egg layers. Building up the infrastructure for them as well as sheep and meat chickens has kept us very busy ever since. The joy of goat kids is real, the harvests of your staples is satisfying, and the animals help bring fertility and succession management.

Taylor, Homestead employee, with sheep

C.J.

Freshly born kids, Frankie Jr.

Herd on the move on north face

mix of meat chickens and pullet egg layers

Pinta gives birth to her daughter pinata

Sheep eating coppice black locust

Chicken coop colors

Ongoing Development of a Permaculture Campground:

For our educational events and festivals, the South facing ridges that compose our campgrounds are managed uniquely. It leverages the extensive native food forest management but also adds in tree crops and savannah development of pastures. Read this blog for more: Tree Planting Recap 2019.

Campsite 2 morning

Sheep at campsite 1, under a sugar maple we tap

using a bobcat for earthworks, terracing for campsites and trees crops

The banks development, Treasure Lake Design

Enjoying sunset after planting peach and aronia terrace

Campground map

Moving mulch for tree planting with Allison and Griffin

Permaculture Action Day for terracing and tree planting

Goats at campsite 4

Mushroom production:

Since we lay so many woodchips in hedgerows and orchard gardens, king stropharia is the perfect mushroom for production.
mushroom spawn in chunks of wine cap being placed in between layers of cardboard and wood chips, 2018

King stropharia wine cap harvest

King stropharia wine cap growing

Composting: Hot and Vermi:

Both hot and cold composting are taking place on the property to feed into the farm and new agricultural projects. Food wastes are cycled from personal households, from the farm, and from wastes garnered in the city like fermentation or coffee wastes. The compost is put out solid or put into liquid form through compost extract.

mary and luke helping with composting

monitoring temperature with compost thermometer

Sifting worm compost

Beet Kvass comnposting in our windrow composting system

Beekeeping

In 2018, a friend of the farm, Gil, donated one of his beehives to us. It was located at the back of the farm in a sheltered area. It eventually died out and a wild hive is right outside my house in a tree hollow. This wild pollinator hive seems to be strong so I let that go.

One of our bees landed one on a cool fall day

Gil, such a generous person, getting ready to transport a beehive from his land to the lake to support both the garden and ecology here

Treasure Lake Honey

Aquaculture

For years I have been slowly adding plants for a diversity of edge plantings to compliment the fishing lake. I began in 2013 with Duck potato. There are now extensive patches. I also add in 2018 Thalia, sweet flag, and yellow flag iris to give some contrast to the existing patches of cattails and phragmites. I am also adding beneficial microbes to the lake to help with nutrient cycling.

Duck Potato, Wapato, planted at Treasure Lake, KY, UAS 2014

beet kvass waste going into the lake, probiotic lactobacillus

Medicinal herb biodiversity plantings:

Plantings of highly medicinal herbs began in 2018. Ginseng, goldenseal, bloodroot, wild ginger, and blue and black cohosh were all planted on the north facing slopes of our forest. Patches of cohosh and bloodroot are already there but most importantly the seed stock is there for them to spread.

Ginseng in summer that we planted in spring, 2018

Wild ginger in flower

Cohosh popping out

black cohosh Treasure Lake

Fish and Wildlife Management techniques for accelerating succession:

From augmenting the canopy for more fruit producing to doing extensive stream repair, this kind of stuff is my true passion. I get to be in the forest and enjoying all that is. The work will take probably more than one generation to complete, but what forest is ever done? I do see it as my life work and relish in the pulsations of work to improve habitat.

large woody debris dams holding back sediment in stream at Treasure Lake, KY

rock dams producing pools in stream at Treasure Lake, KY

Tom and his crafty skills and silly look helping me build artificial fish habitat

Felling trees into the lake for fish habitat

brush piles for fish habitat at Treasure Lake, Kentucky, USA, 2011

Permaculture Nursery:

In 2018, we began utilizing Treasure Lake as an alternative spot for the CPI Growing Value nursery. In 2019 it became a full fledge nursery with my own production of different plants as well including homegrown paw paw. Eventually, they moved their nursery to Pricehill only but the nursery still exists and is connected to both the landscaping HQ and the orchard garden. A field nursery is in the orchard garden, a truly multifunctional space.

Nursery plants at Cincinnati Permaculture Insitute Growing Value Nursery in Northside with new signage, 2018

Educational Center for PDC and other Short Courses

Starting in March of 2018 we hosted our first portion of the PDC at the lake. Over the years, mainly from 2014 on, we have had numerous ways to reach people through different events like Pollination and Treasure Fests and other plant based educational events. Its really great to show off this work of forest stewardship and we definitely want more of this.

Plantwalkers wreath making

On a plant tour with Abby Artemsia, looking at honey locust

The Berea crew up for a festival

During treasure fest the boat tour

diverting tip money from the bar into tree planting

plant walk

Group Photo at Treasure Lake, 2018 March

Doug giving advice to a PDC group

Sculpted Earthen Oven/ Cob social Space:

In 2012, we added a cob oven to start this space and continued over the next few years adding elements under the carport at the house on the land. It is a work in progress still but has hosted many a cookouts and we have cooked pizzas for festivals and events.