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Grey Havens Farm

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Walworth, NY
Grey Havens Farm

Welcome! We are a permacultural homestead dedicated to sharing and learning with others.

07/13/2025

Hi friends! We are moving! We have loved our time at Grey Havens Farm but it’s time for the next chapter in our lives.

If you are looking for farm, garden, or homestead supplies, check out Laura’s listings on marketplace or msg Laura Kleiman on fb! Feel free to tag people you think may be interested or share!

Thank you for all the love these past 5 years

04/27/2023

Obligatory head shot. (Get it, they are fiddlehead ferns? Nothing like landing a joke by explaining it afterwards :)
Fiddlehead ferns, formally called ostrich fern, is a spring delicacy. You harvest just a few shoots from even a large patch, they are very slow growers, as not to deplete the population. Then, toss ‘em in a pan and sauté! Be careful, however, undercooked fiddleheads contain a toxin that can give you a belly ache if you don’t cook them enough.
Is anyone harvesting fiddleheads right now too?!

04/06/2023

Meet Miniclover (TM)! Last year I seeded this cute little clover all over the food forest and in bare spots on my lawn. It grows to only three inches and doesn’t need to be mowed! It is the perfect lawn substitute! It produces delicate white flowers in spring, providing food for pollinators when spring hasn’t brought most plants out of dormancy yet.
Lawn substitutes are becoming increasingly popular, they are less chemically, water, and labor intensive and far better for the environment. Plus, it’s adorable!
This clover seed is very expensive because it is currently only sold by two companies and both are trademarked. However, it’s worth the money! Every year I will seed a little bit more so we will have less lawn to mow, can help increase biodiversity, and will have to do a LOT less mulching with an established clover understory. Talk about efficiency and sustainability!

04/05/2023

No filter! These little guys are green cotton seeds! Several weeks ago I seeded 4 different kinds of cotton on my adventure with fibers, germination rate was about 90%. The cottons I chose are green and brown, I chose varieties quickest to mature as cotton has a VERY long growing season.

Yes, you’re correct, the climate in is not conducive for growing cotton. I am raising these fluffy cuties indoors for the time being, a bit of an experiment. We are hoping to have a greenhouse up by the end of the season and see if some season extension might allow me to grow cotton outdoors.

There are more colors and kinds of cotton than one would think, reddish-browns, chocolatey browns, beiges, yellows, greens, and even pink and blue! Unfortunately these heirloom varieties are no longer used and hybrid beige, bred for high yield, has become the industry standard. However, those colors aren’t lost! You can find all kinds and colors of cotton seeds on the inter web for purchase. Try a Google search to see some lovely heirloom cotton!

04/04/2023

Last summer we burned out some large pieces of tree trunks to make planters. I absolutely love moss and began learning about growing it. I harvested moss from my property and transplanted it in this planter. The transplants made it through the winter without s hitch and I’m hoping to turn this guy into a fairy garden! All work and no play… means don’t forget to play!

04/03/2023

The guilds are coming back to life! Soon this nectarine tree will start budding and leafing out, the ground cover will return, and perennial plants will come to life!

04/02/2023

The garlic goes marching. The germination rate was near perfect this winter! I planted a perimeter of garlic and shallots around my entire kitchen garden to help keep out pests.

04/01/2023

Let’s do the time warp again.

As you may have noticed, I developed an interest in natural fibers as part of my adventures in sustainability.

You can use almost anything to make cordage. I read that daffodil stalks and leaves are particularly strong for cordage, looking forward to trying it out this spring!

Swipe right to see the time warp of how my first piece of cordage started it’s life cycle as a pond plant I overwintered indoors.

03/29/2023

Well, it’s snowing outside and about an hour ago I took a picture of my first outdoor seedling of the year.

This winter we built cold frames to extend our growing season. A few weeks ago I seeded lettuce, kale, broccoli raab, chard, spinach, peas, and radish! Today they stretched their little arms and broke soil. ALSO, today seeded I carrots and beets in the same cold frame.

All of these seeds and their -lings enjoy cool weather; with the protection of the poly they will be very cozy until the weather warms up a bit more.

12/22/2022

In permaculture, sheet mulching is an agricultural no-dig gardening technique that attempts to mimic the natural soil-building process in forests through layering. Like tree debris and other organic matter will gradually build up in layers on the forest floor, in your front yard, for example, you have to create that process yourself. It’s best to start with a layer of cardboard to keep weeds out and moisture in, and then layer organic matter of different kinds, including compost, in a lasagna-like fashion on top of the cardboard.

At the Havens we sheet mulched our third and final (for now) growing plot this fall. In the spring the cardboard will have broken down and underneath the mulch will be a beautiful landscape of microbial and wormy activity in deep black soil!

Address

3379 Walworth-Palmyra Road
Walworth, NY
14568

Website

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