About this land
Swallowtail Farmstead is a small farmstead located on 7 acres of beautiful land bordered by the winding Seine River, in eastern Manitoba. The land is a mix of small meadow, gardens, forest (spruce, tamarack, oak and maple), and riverbank. There are several very large stately oaks that frame the property, estimated to be over 150 years old. The soil is a rich clay. We are working on loosening it with mulches and compost.
We are only 30 minutes from south Winnipeg, just at the edge of where the prairie grasslands meet the boreal forest in eastern Manitoba. This brings a diversity of plants, birds, butterflies and other wildlife to our land. We have observed many song birds migrating in the spring; woodland birds at our feeder all winter long; ravens, herons and bald eagles in summer. We share the land with deer, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, groundhogs, snakes, toads, frogs, and sometimes black bears (or so we've been told). The wild hedgerows include hawthorns, saskatoon berries, wild plums, chokecherries, and roses.
Since arriving here in fall 2022, we have planted 100 white spruce trees to help with wind/snow shelter, and spread wildflower seeds in our meadow to attract pollinators. We have started two food forest orchard areas with more than a hundred berry bushes, and dozens of fruit & nut trees. Here we are growing polycultures of raspberries, black currants, elderberries, plums, pears, apples, hardy apricot, grapes, hardy kiwi, seabuckthorn berries, aronia, haskaps, saskatoons, hazelnut trees, nanking cherries, and chokecherries. These fruiting plants are interspersed with herbs like lavender and comfrey, flowers like yarrow, and annual vegetables, to create diversity and maximize our growing spaces.
We are learning every day through observation! The land has much to share with us and we are grateful.
We are only 30 minutes from south Winnipeg, just at the edge of where the prairie grasslands meet the boreal forest in eastern Manitoba. This brings a diversity of plants, birds, butterflies and other wildlife to our land. We have observed many song birds migrating in the spring; woodland birds at our feeder all winter long; ravens, herons and bald eagles in summer. We share the land with deer, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, groundhogs, snakes, toads, frogs, and sometimes black bears (or so we've been told). The wild hedgerows include hawthorns, saskatoon berries, wild plums, chokecherries, and roses.
Since arriving here in fall 2022, we have planted 100 white spruce trees to help with wind/snow shelter, and spread wildflower seeds in our meadow to attract pollinators. We have started two food forest orchard areas with more than a hundred berry bushes, and dozens of fruit & nut trees. Here we are growing polycultures of raspberries, black currants, elderberries, plums, pears, apples, hardy apricot, grapes, hardy kiwi, seabuckthorn berries, aronia, haskaps, saskatoons, hazelnut trees, nanking cherries, and chokecherries. These fruiting plants are interspersed with herbs like lavender and comfrey, flowers like yarrow, and annual vegetables, to create diversity and maximize our growing spaces.
We are learning every day through observation! The land has much to share with us and we are grateful.
