Micro-farming is small scale farming when you live in the suburbs or even on a rural plot of land, but you only have less than three acres available.
Micro-farming is small scale farming when you live in the suburbs or even on a rural plot of land, but you only have less than three acres available.
Photo: Panorama (Courtesy of hardworkinghippy) In the scheme of permaculture food production, harnessing the most out of nature whilst using its own attributes, creating plant guilds ranks pretty high
A chat with the seriously revolutionary co-founder of permaculture.
Beautiful. Traditional. Functional. Therapeutic. What am I talking about you say? Why borage of course! Borage is a wonderful plant to have around the garden. Borage (Borago officinalis), also known a
Microclimate identification and enhancement is a cornerstone to Permaculture Design. These tools and tips covered in this article are paramount.
Recently Nick was lucky enough to hang out with David Holmgren for a couple of days at Melliodora, the superb small-acre permaculture site that David has
Beautiful. Traditional. Functional. Therapeutic. What am I talking about you say? Why borage of course! Borage is a wonderful plant to have around the garden. Borage (Borago officinalis), also known a
Beautiful. Traditional. Functional. Therapeutic. What am I talking about you say? Why borage of course! Borage is a wonderful plant to have around the garden. Borage (Borago officinalis), also known a
Photo: Panorama (Courtesy of hardworkinghippy) In the scheme of permaculture food production, harnessing the most out of nature whilst using its own attributes, creating plant guilds ranks pretty high
The short answer is yes – but let me elaborate…. We built a cold frame in late 2018 to create a warmer micro-climate to grow early season tomatoes and eggplants with ease. You can see below how we built it here. Some of you have asked how it’s gone in its first season. Very good […]
A microforest garden is usually something you would design for small-space forest gardens - for urban situations, or areas where space is at a premium.
There are many benefits to growing comfrey. Learn how to grow this perennial herb and why it's making its way into permaculture gardens everywhere.
Beautiful Bougainvillea Bracts. http://www.paradiseearth.com/Plant%20Articles/bougainvillea.jpg I recently received this email from a reader: Hi John, this isn't actually a temperate climate question, but I'd love to hear your thoughts anyways. I've just moved into a new home in Southern Turkey where the climate is similar to that of southern California. I'm hoping to experiment with some permaculture projects in my living space and want to start with what's already there. There is a large Bougainvillea bush ("paper flower") in the back yard and roses in the front yard. Do you have any insights from your reading about the benefits and uses of these two plants in particular and how they as ornamentals might fit into a permaculture system? First, I have to say that the Mediterranean climate really is technically part of the world's Temperate Climate Zone. While there are roses that can be grown throughout most of the world, Bougainvillea is more tropical and sub-tropical, and many readers of the blog live in just these areas. In the U.S., it can be grown in large swaths through California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Overall, very appropriate! I'll talk about the roses in a separate post where I will devote a full "Permaculture Plants" article on them. Today I will really focus on the basic Permaculture aspects of the Bougainvillea. While not a plant that is often considered when discussing Permaculture, it does have a number of uses from which we can benefit if we already have these plants growing on our land. Bougainvillea grows high and thick. http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/1c/93/d2/bougainvillea-adorning.jpg Common Name: Bougainvillea, Paper Flower Pronounced: boo-gan-VEE-yuh or boo-gan-VEE-jah Scientific Name: Bougainvillea species Family: Nyctaginaceae Description: Bougainvillea are woody vines that can be shaped into a standard upright shrub that can grow fairly tall. It is most well know for its vibrantly colored bracts - modified leaves that surround the true flower inside. USDA Hardiness Zone: 9b-12. If kept dry, can withstand light frost and temperatures to 32 F (0 C). Life Span: - 3-10 years Primary Uses: Ornamental vine Ornamental standard bush or shrub Ornamental hedge Secondary Uses: General insect nectar source - has small flowers which bloom long and often from which smaller, beneficial insects can eat Natural barrier fence due to its thorns and dense growth habit Drought and heat tolerant - excellent for outside of normal watering/irrigation areas Small animal shelter - especially small birds Privacy Hedge - due to its very dense growth Wind Break Potpourri - while lacking scent, the bracts hold their color and shape well when dried Wreathes - made from cuttings Used in traditional medicine for diarrhea, heartburn, cough, sore throat - studies are lacking Recently studied for diabetic and cancer treatments - no current treatment recommendations A Bougainvillea Hedge https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDvbWDsOerv00DalGHpozXnZeErW3yyfUBekmHSAJtV5hmOThGtzJMvpVi-9kPqHu9JnYecypdD4bjvSwkicvHLRmPvL0IQHLHtVqo6AlRxbd2lm6tTrl05g_ZyzHfeo0JyQI7KQZox4/s400/P1013501.JPG Flowering: The closer to the equator, the longer the blooming season. More Temperate Climates can expect long, recurrent summer and early autumn blooms. Special Considerations for Growing: Bougainvillea does not tolerate high levels of prolonged moisture. Avoid overwatering. Too much water causes the plant not to flower and can cause root rot. Propagation: Seeds. Easily propagated through tip cuttings. Just keep the cutting in moist soil in the shade until roots develop. "Propagating bougainvilleas from cuttings is easy. The best way to identify the best quality wood for a cutting is to look for the striped bark, which will be semi-hard wood and take a four-node cutting. Remove all of the leaves except for the top leaf. Injure the bark of the bottom node and dip in rooting hormone and place in a striking mix in small pots. Normally it takes between two and three months for roots to be visible at the bottom of the tube." - From Gardening Australia website Bougainvillea can get quite large if allowed. http://www.home-herb-garden.com/images/BOUGainvillea.jpg Maintenance: Relatively pest free. Minimal once established, but will need pruning to keep in bounds Concerns: Sharp Thorns! Don't walk barefoot near this plant. As a child, we had a large bougainvillea on the side of our home. We often avoided this corner of the property, because we rarely wore shoes as children when playing outside. I had numerous thorns impaled in my calloused feet when I would run too close to this plant. Note that all varieties do not have thorns. Irritating Sap. Can cause poison ivy (poison oak, poison sumac) like reactions. Bougainvillea come in a wide variety of colors, although the shades of purple are most common. http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/images/Bougai1.jpg
http://www.thelivingcentre.com/cms/images/stories/principles_menu.gif Holmgren's Twelve Principles of Permaculture 1. Observe and Interact 2. Catch and Store Energy 3. Obtain a Yield 4. Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback 5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services 6. Produce No Waste 7. Design from Patterns to Details 8. Integrate Rather than Segregate 9. Use Small and Slow Solutions 10. Use and Value Diversity 11. Use the Edges and Value the Margin 12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change http://permacultureprinciples.com/principle_6.php Principle Six: Produce No Waste Holmgren's Proverb for this Principle: A stitch in time saves nine, and Waste not, want not. This may be one of my favorite Principles of Permaculture. Why? Because it is kind of like figuring out a big puzzle. Basically, all this principle is saying is that everything can be a positive resource if we know how to utilize it. Almost every by-product can have a use if we think hard enough about it. That is the fun part! Another aspect of this principle, and one that we need to think about just as hard, is unless we know how to utilize a by-product maybe we shouldn't be producing the primary product in the first place. The classic example of this is a nuclear energy power plant with the by-product of spent nuclear fuel. I am not saying that we should not use nuclear energy, but we do have a very dangerous "waste" product that is not being used as a resource for anything yet. When discussing this principle, someone always says, "Yeah, but what about..." It doesn't matter. There should always be a use for every by-product. Bill Mollison often said, "The problem is the solution." The first few times I read this quote, it was always as a stand alone statement. Once put in context of multiple interconnected systems, I realized how simple and brilliant this statement really is. Another way of saying this is, "The problem, or by-product, of one system, is often the solution, or answer, for another system." The classic "waste" product most people think of is manure. Whether this is animal or human manure, many people see this as disgusting filth that needs to be buried in a deep hole (where it pollutes ground water), diluted with so much water that it is almost non-existant (depleting too much water and still maintaining risk of pathogen spread), or treated with chemicals that kill everything in it (polluting our environment with caustic substances). If we viewed manure as a great resource for organic matter and fertility for the land, we realize that this "waste" is actually a resource. Granted, most farmers already understand this to an extent with some animal manures, but are still terrified of human manure. I'll get into humanure more in a future post, but suffice it to say there are very safe and easy ways to deal with humanure that results in us having a great resource instead of "waste". The key with this principle is to always keep your eyes and mind open. You never know when a great solution will come, but if you are not looking for it, you will never see it. "A stitch in time saves nine" reminds us that we need care for the things we have. This quote comes from the idea that a timely effort to repair an item will often prevent more work later. So a stitch in time saves nine stitches (why nine? because it rhymes with time). It also reminds us to steer clear of the consumer mentality of buy it, use it, dump it. As I have said in previous posts, spend a bit more money and buy a higher quality item. It will last longer, and if it starts to break, it is often much more easily repaired. "Waste not want not" reminds us that when we design a Permaculture System, we need to account for every by-product of each system we are creating. This can get extremely complex, but the time in planning will pay off in less work for us if we design interconnected systems that recycle each system's "wastes" and use them as resources for the other system's sustainment. By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste. - David Holmgren
Beautiful Bougainvillea Bracts. http://www.paradiseearth.com/Plant%20Articles/bougainvillea.jpg I recently received this email from a reader: Hi John, this isn't actually a temperate climate question, but I'd love to hear your thoughts anyways. I've just moved into a new home in Southern Turkey where the climate is similar to that of southern California. I'm hoping to experiment with some permaculture projects in my living space and want to start with what's already there. There is a large Bougainvillea bush ("paper flower") in the back yard and roses in the front yard. Do you have any insights from your reading about the benefits and uses of these two plants in particular and how they as ornamentals might fit into a permaculture system? First, I have to say that the Mediterranean climate really is technically part of the world's Temperate Climate Zone. While there are roses that can be grown throughout most of the world, Bougainvillea is more tropical and sub-tropical, and many readers of the blog live in just these areas. In the U.S., it can be grown in large swaths through California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Overall, very appropriate! I'll talk about the roses in a separate post where I will devote a full "Permaculture Plants" article on them. Today I will really focus on the basic Permaculture aspects of the Bougainvillea. While not a plant that is often considered when discussing Permaculture, it does have a number of uses from which we can benefit if we already have these plants growing on our land. Bougainvillea grows high and thick. http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/1c/93/d2/bougainvillea-adorning.jpg Common Name: Bougainvillea, Paper Flower Pronounced: boo-gan-VEE-yuh or boo-gan-VEE-jah Scientific Name: Bougainvillea species Family: Nyctaginaceae Description: Bougainvillea are woody vines that can be shaped into a standard upright shrub that can grow fairly tall. It is most well know for its vibrantly colored bracts - modified leaves that surround the true flower inside. USDA Hardiness Zone: 9b-12. If kept dry, can withstand light frost and temperatures to 32 F (0 C). Life Span: - 3-10 years Primary Uses: Ornamental vine Ornamental standard bush or shrub Ornamental hedge Secondary Uses: General insect nectar source - has small flowers which bloom long and often from which smaller, beneficial insects can eat Natural barrier fence due to its thorns and dense growth habit Drought and heat tolerant - excellent for outside of normal watering/irrigation areas Small animal shelter - especially small birds Privacy Hedge - due to its very dense growth Wind Break Potpourri - while lacking scent, the bracts hold their color and shape well when dried Wreathes - made from cuttings Used in traditional medicine for diarrhea, heartburn, cough, sore throat - studies are lacking Recently studied for diabetic and cancer treatments - no current treatment recommendations A Bougainvillea Hedge https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDvbWDsOerv00DalGHpozXnZeErW3yyfUBekmHSAJtV5hmOThGtzJMvpVi-9kPqHu9JnYecypdD4bjvSwkicvHLRmPvL0IQHLHtVqo6AlRxbd2lm6tTrl05g_ZyzHfeo0JyQI7KQZox4/s400/P1013501.JPG Flowering: The closer to the equator, the longer the blooming season. More Temperate Climates can expect long, recurrent summer and early autumn blooms. Special Considerations for Growing: Bougainvillea does not tolerate high levels of prolonged moisture. Avoid overwatering. Too much water causes the plant not to flower and can cause root rot. Propagation: Seeds. Easily propagated through tip cuttings. Just keep the cutting in moist soil in the shade until roots develop. "Propagating bougainvilleas from cuttings is easy. The best way to identify the best quality wood for a cutting is to look for the striped bark, which will be semi-hard wood and take a four-node cutting. Remove all of the leaves except for the top leaf. Injure the bark of the bottom node and dip in rooting hormone and place in a striking mix in small pots. Normally it takes between two and three months for roots to be visible at the bottom of the tube." - From Gardening Australia website Bougainvillea can get quite large if allowed. http://www.home-herb-garden.com/images/BOUGainvillea.jpg Maintenance: Relatively pest free. Minimal once established, but will need pruning to keep in bounds Concerns: Sharp Thorns! Don't walk barefoot near this plant. As a child, we had a large bougainvillea on the side of our home. We often avoided this corner of the property, because we rarely wore shoes as children when playing outside. I had numerous thorns impaled in my calloused feet when I would run too close to this plant. Note that all varieties do not have thorns. Irritating Sap. Can cause poison ivy (poison oak, poison sumac) like reactions. Bougainvillea come in a wide variety of colors, although the shades of purple are most common. http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/images/Bougai1.jpg
How do we actually design + implement a secure future for our communities? One that's resilient, regenerative, positive, healthy and inter-connected.
In permaculture, tagasaste (tree lucerne) is used as a nitrogen-fixing tree on large sites and rural properties, but it can grow around 5-7m tall and equally wide, which is way too large for smalle…
Your favorite potted plant is more than a decoration. Aloe vera can be used to relieve heartburn, keep fruits and vegetables fresh, and much more.
A new study in the Journal of Human Reproduction finds that a common chemical used to create flexibility in plastics can affect baby boys’ development in the womb. Lead researcher Dr. Shanna Swan talks with host Steve Curwood about the affect that phthalates have on the developing fetus and the threat they may pose to male reproductive health later in life.
A year ago, the Strawbridge family swapped their comfortable suburban life for self-sufficiency in a dilapidated house in Cornwall. Sanjida O'Connell visits their solar-powered, wool-insulated eco-haven
There is no better way to learn how household economy works than to take part in the sustainable house and garden farm tours at Melliodora.
Permaculture gardening in full flight - Glover St Community garden, Sydney NSW Curiouser and curiouser. Recently I attempted to write a ‘Permaculture in a nutshell’ type affair for SuperLiving Magazine – which I assume is a publication for, um, people who like reading about superannuation. Or their lack thereof, given recent global developments. This was a slightly strange commission, as I felt it unwise to make too many jokes about other, more preferable forms of ‘natural capital’ and ‘nest eggs’ – or allude to the concept of not poo-ing in your drinking water and so forth. I also held back on how I felt that everyone should really get together and plant an orchard and a nut grove right now if they really wanted some long-term investments, rather that fiddling with their stocks. However, I managed to restrain myself and here’s what I wrote:
detailing my move away from Polystyrene box gardening
If you’re about to build yourself a chook house, we highly recommend a self-cleaning version where there’s no build up of poo at all inside the house. As well as saving yourself time, this creates a healthy environment for your chooks. We built our chook house from salvaged pallets over 4 years ago and it’s […]
