Barakah Heritage Farm USA

Tag: system

  • Why This Woman Is Teaching Ex-Prisoners About Permaculture

    Why This Woman Is Teaching Ex-Prisoners About Permaculture

    (Whether you’re starting your first garden or switching to organic, Rodale’s Basic Organic Gardening has all the answers and advice you need—get your copy today.)

    Then Thomas, long dreads framing a smile, told a story of her own. She showed a portrait of Harriet Tubman. “She was born onto a homesteading farm, and it was only her relationship with the forest that enabled her to design the path that she needed to help get African-Americans who were enslaved to freedom,” Thomas explained.

    For her mostly white audience, the example was a reminder of the “green” roots of black culture. It also illustrated how a deep relationship with nature can be a tool of radical social change. That notion is core to the work of Thomas, who at 45, is one of the most important voices in the world of permaculture. She takes a discipline conceived for farming and brings its concepts into her community-building work in largely urban settings.

    Devised in the 1970s by Australian biologists Bill Mollinson and David Holmgren, permaculture is agricultural and social design that mimics nature. Permaculturists create closed-loop systems modeled after ecosystems. Using a set of progressive ideals—small, slow solutions; recycled resources; valuing diversity; staying open to changes and responding creatively—they seek to minimize their impact on the earth while maximizing their yields. The discipline has its origins in farming: Biodynamics (which treats the farm holistically, as a ecosystem), and aquaponics (which uses fish to fertilize plants and vice versa) are examples of permacultural practices.

     

    “People of all kinds want connection to the earth, and they want meaning and they want community,” says Pandora Thomas, who uses the principles of permaculture to change people’s lives.

    But it’s not just useful for cultivating plants. Thomas, who calls herself a “social permaculturist,” is on the vanguard of a growing movement that uses permacultural principles to promote social justice. “Permaculture has focused so much on land, but people are a part of that system,” Thomas said over a lunch of bone broth and raw beet salad at the organic restaurant Mission Heirloom in Berkeley, California, near her home. “We need to heal people and relationships just like we heal the soil.”

    Key to that healing is “meeting people where they’re at,” she says, “so they don’t have to become some new person to live this organic life.”

    Educated at Tufts University in green building and city planning, and schooled in permaculture on the job as a farmer and at various non-profits, Thomas is an innovator of programs that reach urban communities of color: Grind for the Green, a concert series that used hip-hop to promote sustainability practices; the Black Permaculture Network, which supports organic African-American farmers; the Toyota Green Initiative that brought black celebrities to college campuses to promote environmentalism. These projects have targeted a population that green activists have long seen as lacking in eco-friendliness—a stereotype that Thomas rejects. People of all kinds “want connection to the earth, and they want meaning and they want community,” she says.

    “Traditional environmental work doesn’t take a lot of people’s experiences into consideration. Part of my work is how to be a bridge.”

    It’s work that was inspired early on by her mother, Francis Thomas, a South Carolina sharecropper who moved north to Farrell, a town surrounded by Amish farmland in western Pennsylvania, during the Great Migration. “She still had that connection to the earth,” says Thomas. “She was an avid gardener.” The family’s living room “looked like a jungle.”

    Life, though, in Farrell was tough. The steel mill where Thomas’ father worked shuttered in her youth, leaving a polluted local river and high rates of unemployment in its wake. The fallout made a deep impression on Thomas. She watched family members and neighbors fall victim to cycles of poverty and incarceration. “I was very aware of unfairness and injustice. There weren’t many jobs. There wasn’t access. There was just trauma.”

    Thomas herself had a chance to escape that trauma during high school when she went to live in Germany for a year with her older sister, who was in the Army. “My mother never traveled out of the country. We didn’t have a lot of money,” she says, “but she got me on that plane. It was a powerful gift for me to see the rest of the world.”

    She returned to Farrell intent on wanting to “understand my place on the planet,” she says. She enrolled in the local college where she also got involved in the environmental activism that made her an outlier. “My environmental friends in college had this perception that black people didn’t care about the environment.

    “And students in the African-American union called me a hippie, saying I only cared about polar bears and recycling.”

    But, for Thomas, what had happened to the natural and social worlds of her town couldn’t be separated.

    “I saw a connection between the environmental impact we were discussing in groups at school and the African-American organization boycotting a prison across the street from my university.” A sophomore year abroad in Nepal only reinforced those connections: “The Tibetan people had been misplaced and were trying to keep traditions, many rooted in the earth, alive.”

    At Tufts, where Thomas transferred to finish college, she sought to combine environmental and community activism, becoming enamored of green building and writing a young-adult manual on the subject called Shades of Green, for the non-profit organization YouthBuild. But the world of LEED certifications and sustainable architecture proved too corporate for Thomas.

    So she turned instead to permaculture, spending a stint in Venezuela farming before she landed a job at Global Exchange in San Francisco, bringing permaculture education into inner-city high schools. At Global Exchange, Thomas worked alongside artist Zakiya Harris, and in 2010, the co-workers started their own firm, Earthseed Consulting, to help companies and organizations reach black communities with their pro-planet messages. Together, they developed the Toyota Green Initiative, a first of its kind campaign targeting African Americans and educating them on the benefits of adopting a sustainable lifestyle. For six years, they helped to lead the automobile company’s marketing on environmentalism among African-American college students. They helped to launch a roadshow that included workshops in making DIY organic cleaning and beauty products, culturally relevant performances, talks, and eco-goods giveaways, all designed by Earthseed Consulting.

     

    “Permaculture has focused so much on land, but people are a part of that system,” says Pandora Thomas.

    “You meet people where they’re at,” Thomas says. “We’d do a 20-minute demo with some famous person. We made an air freshener, a house cleaner, and a facial scrub. We put together a list of eight ‘have to have’s’ in our tool kit.” Lemon, white vinegar, baking soda—“these are things that all our families have had in their cupboards for years, so we were reintroducing the concept that sustainability is something in our own homes.” Earthseed’s programs made going green relevant to their audience.

    When the Toyota contract ended, Thomas returned to one of the issues that had first galvanized her: the widespread incarceration of the black community. She had been volunteer-teaching environmental literacy at San Quentin Prison. “These men were passionate about sustainability,” she says. “Just because someone’s incarcerated doesn’t mean they aren’t avid about the issues.”

    Her students told her that they needed help getting back on their feet once when they were on the outside. So Thomas co-founded Pathways 2 Resilience, an 18-month permaculture and social entrepreneurship training program for former prisoners Services-rich, it embodied the permacultural principle of stacked functions. “It had to be a case management program. It had to be healing and provide a stipend. We had to feed them. We had to wrap all these into the same experience.”

    It began with something that Thomas calls “the Mandela Welcome,” after anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years as a political prisoner before returning to become the first president of a democratic South Africa. “Permaculture has this principle that says the problem is the solution,” explains Thomas.

    “All these men and women coming home from prison, we see them as a resource.”

    Though the grant for the program eventually ran out, Pathways 2 Resilience had impressive results. All 13 participants graduated, and all but one have remained free of new convictions. The project Thomas is currently working on, pushes the problem-as-solution concept further. Called Women Designing Resilience, she’s co-designing it with one of Pathways to Resilience’s graduates, Linda Candelaria. Permaculture design, therapeutic circles, social entrepreneur training, small business start-up grants—they will plan all of it with an eye toward empowering these ex-inmates to become leaders in their own right.

    That’s not unlike the organic farmer who works with, rather than tries to control, the natural cycles of her land. The way Thomas sees it, her work might not involve seed saving or composting, but nonetheless, it’s permaculture. As she puts it, “I think my farm is wherever there’s people. I think I’m growing people.”

    Keep up with Pandora Thomas and her work at PandoraThomas.com

    https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/why-this-woman-is-teaching-ex-prisoners-about-permaculture

    On – 11 Jul, 2017 By Betsy Andrews

  • Using Weeds to Read the Soil: Some Basic Concepts to Get Started

    Using Weeds to Read the Soil: Some Basic Concepts to Get Started

    Using Weeds to Read the Soil: Some Basic Concepts to Get Started

    April 14, 2017by

    Weeds are becoming a more and more appreciated component of gardening. We have been reintroduced to eating the weeds, with things like dandelion leaves becoming a niche crop. Also, we are encouraging plants that, up until recently, were viewed as weeds (dynamic accumulators like comfrey and pioneering legumes) to revitalize our soils. And, many gardeners are once again celebrating weeds as a means of reading the soil.

    Geoff Lawton says weeds are not the problem but rather symptoms of glitches within the soil. In other words, weeds have arrived because the soil has some sort of deficiency or condition that both allows them to thrive and prompts nature to repair systemic damage. Nature will move towards a permanent, stable system, and weeds are part of that process, especially in troubled landscapes.

    With each problem, there are particular weeds that characteristically appear, and if we learn to read these weeds, we can assess unfamiliar landscapes and recognize the sources of troubles within our own systems. Then, we can begin to speed the soil’s recovery into something more stable, and in the meantime, we can cultivate appropriate plants to aid this process and provide production, as well as utilize weeds that are already present.

    While each landscape, soil type, and climate has its own particular set of pioneering plants, there are some basic ideas that can help us begin to understand more how to use the weeds to read the soil. From there, we can research and make more practical and informed decisions as to how we might move our projects in positive directions.

    The Root Systems

    The root systems of weeds can tell us a great deal about soil conditions. For example, weeds that have deep taproots, such as dandelions and burdock, generally indicate soils that are compacted, preventing plants with lesser roots from taking hold. These taproots break up the soils and eventually, as they decompose, create pathways for water, nutrients, and weaker roots systems. On the other hand, weeds that have spreading, hairnet root systems or clumping grasses are likely there because soils are loose and erosive.

    So, when there is an abundance of weeds, we can start by noticing their root systems as these might indicate soil conditions that we can either address with rehabilitative gardening techniques or by choosing appropriate plants to grow in the conditions. This can also lead us into identifying the weeds that are present and learning what other things they might be telling us.

    The pH Balance

    Just like crops, some weeds thrive in different levels of acidity and alkalinity. We wouldn’t plant blueberries in a soil that we know is alkaline because we recognize that blueberries are particular to acidic soils. Well, certain weeds—plantain, hawkweeds, sheep sorrel—could help to indicate more acidic areas, whereas others—goosefoot, true chamomile—signal the likelihood of alkaline soils.

    A shrewd gardener would use these signals to help with choosing what crops he or she might try to cultivate in an area. If the soil is acidic, berries might be a great choice, but if the soil is alkaline, different cruciferous vegetables are likely a better option. Similarly, noting these bits of information can be guidance for what not to plant in an area, something that might prevent wasting time and resources.

    The Soil Types/Conditions

    The ability to recognize the weeds we are looking at can also give us an assessment of the type of soil it is growing in and the conditions of that soil. If it’s sandy, we might see sandbur, cornflower, or dog fennel, but a heavy clay soil is more likely to yield wild garlic, plantain, and creeping buttercup. Wet soils—cattails, sedge, marsh mallow—will have different weeds than dry soils—potato vine, Virginia pepperweed.

    Again, this can aid cultivators greatly by knowing whether to plant crops that thrive in sandy soils over clays or wet soils over dry. Recognizing these needs before investing the time and money needed for a garden can mean the difference between low-maintenance success and hard-working struggle. Taking a moment to familiarize with the weeds common to a place is just a good idea.

    The Nutrient Profile

    When we stop looking at weeds as only pests and recognize they are plants, we realize that, like all plants, they have certain nutritional needs and outputs. The existence of certain weeds can provide clues to what the soil nutrients is like. Chicory, purslane, and lamb’s quarter (all edible) indicate rich soils, but sheep’s sorrel and broom sedge might mean the opposite. Thistle could mean deficiencies in iron and copper, or the growth of ferns and blade grasses will show up in places that have been burned, indicating a lack of available phosphorus.

    Learning certain sure indicators of nutrient abundance or absence can lead growers as to which soil amendments they might need to make, as well as which crops—one’s that like similar nutrient profiles—they might want to plant. This could help in moving the soil slowly and deliberately back into a more balanced system with more biodiversity.

    The Weed Community

    In the end, it’s important to remember that no one weed necessarily provides all the information we need to assess soil, but using the community of weeds growing in an area will provide a more complete view of what the soil type and conditions are, as well as what sort of issues need to be addressed or considered in developing the land. Identifying the prominent plants in a space and where the meaning behind each weed overlaps could provide reasonably accurate results.

    The unfortunate thing is that different climates and locations have different weeds and often different names for the same weeds, so this might mean buckling down for some research before being able to read the weeds well. Luckily, there are plenty of books to reference, as well as local experts and online sources. The point is that learning what weeds we are looking at and what they are saying is an effort most certainly worthwhile.

    5 Books to Help Getting Started with Reading the Weeds:

    •Weeds and Why They Grow by Jay L. McCaman

    •Weeds and What They Tell Us by Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer

    •Weeds: Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer

    •Weeds: An Earth-Friendly Guide to Their Identification, Use and Control by John Walker

    •Insect, Disease & Weed I.D. Guide: Find-It-Fast Organic Solution for Your Garden by Deborah L. Martin

    Feature Header Image: Dandelions (Chris Alban Hansen)

    https://permaculturenews.org/2017/04/14/using-weeds-read-soil-basic-concepts-get-started/

    On – 14 Apr, 2017 By Jonathon Engels

  • Open Source Tools for Permaculturists

    Open Source Tools for Permaculturists

    Open Source Tools for Permaculturists

    January 10, 2017by & filed under General

    In permaculture world we are bound by the 12 principles. Every decision we make need to fit into principles so that we know the validity of our decisions. Using a computer is one of those decisions and choosing what operating system, as well as the software, can be done sustainably. If you are charging your device with a solar panel, it is even better.

    First of all, list the things you do or want to do with your computer. My list is below:

    · Updating my blogs
    · Writing books
    · Editing video and pictures
    · Giving presentations
    · Mind mapping
    · Keeping up with social media
    · Designing my projects in 3D
    · Keeping my important files safe
    · Emails (this was on the list before but since I am using online email, there is no need for an application now)

    My operating system of choice is Linux particularly Ubuntu these days though I bought a cheap tablet and it came with MS Windows which I am not inclined to tear it and install Ubuntu on it as I don’t want to spend the time. I will just use whatever it came with it to save a bit of a time.

    Linux is born as an answer to proprietary licensed operating systems. You can read the history of Linux here. There is copyright and there is copyleft. The idea behind the Linux is to provide an open source, free operating system so that people can have an alternative to paid operating systems. Open Source means its source code is available to browse, contribute etc. so nothing is hidden.

    On Linux, upgrades happen without paying whether a new version or a fix. Apps repositories are full of useful productivity tools for free. Open Source applications are so mature that many corporations are actually using them these days. A number of viruses are also significantly lower in Linux world, most not causing a headache.

    Linux is the only truly sustainable operating system which is developed by the funs of this ecosystem. It is free, you don’t have to pay for it. This ecosystem run by volunteers and some expenses paid by the donations from the users. The installation is evolved so much that you don’t have to fiddle with settings which you don’t understand. Some Linux versions don’t even require installation, they work from a USB stick image.

    I think the most unsustainable operating system is Apple’s cats. It runs on specific hardware, you have to pay for new versions and credit card is required to use simple things.

    MS Windows is still requiring you to pay for the license. New versions come with a license fee or worse monthly subscription fees (like Office 360). The viruses and other malware are always a headache. Every new update slows down the machine.

    As my new tablet came with MS Windows, I kept it and installed all free, open source software for my needs. Most of these software has either a Linux version available or an equivalent that does the same job. Let’s have a look at these free software options now.

    Updating my blogs: I use free blogging sites like WordPress and Blogspot; both of these also provide you with a browser interface to update your blogs. I use Notepad++ or Open Office Writer to keep my rumblings in their infancy stage and once they are ready to publish they go on Blogspot or WordPress. I am also using www.hemingwayapp.com; an online application to grade my writings so that it can be read and understood by my target audience. It tells you sentences that are hard to read, adverb usage, and provides simpler alternatives to your sophisticated words. It’s a sanity check especially for people whose second language is English like me.

    Writing books: I am using Sigil, a powerful ePub writer software. Also using Open Office Writer for PDF creations. Sigil supports ePub3 format too. I take text notes with Notepad++ as well.

    Organising my ebooks: Calibre is my choice of organiser for all types of eBooks (supports kindle, Mobi, epub, pdf etc.). It can even download the book info and the cover from Amazon or Google and upload your books to various devices.

    Editing video: ShotCut is the easiest to use for simple operations.

    Editing pictures: GIMP on Linux or Paint.NET for Windows. GIMP is actually very powerful, racing with Photoshop. Paint.NET is slightly better than Paint in Windows.

    Giving presentations: Open Office Impress. It is the equivalent of Power Point. I’ve converted my pptx files to Open Office format and fixed some text here and there. There are online applications as well but I am not always online and don’t want to pay a monthly fee for the online apps.

    Mind Mapping: I am using FreeMind. This little application written in Java creates beautiful diagrams of mind maps. I’ve also used online browser applications like www.draw.io or www.bubbl.us but I didn’t like the idea of having my creations sitting up on the web.

    Crop Rotation: I keep some records of crops in Open Office Calc. This is just like Excel but free.

    Keeping up with social media: No need a software other than a browser. I am with FireFox but also use Google Chrome too. Both free and powerful browsers as you might already know. I also sync my bookmarks across my devices with a free Firefox account.

    Designing my projects in 3D: SketchUp. There are even libraries for SketchUp for certain plants and trees. I’ve never had an experience with any sort of 3D drawing applications before and after couple of hours on SketchUp, I’ve created a Topbar Beehive model. Also when I was building my aquaponics system, I’ve used many free SketchUp models as an example.

    Keeping my important files safe: My files are on Google Drive and also copied to 3 other locations using RSync a free syncing software that runs on command line. It is hard to setup but very easy to use after that, you basically don’t have to do anything, when there is a change on files, it copies the change over to your backup location. Using Google Drive is also like a backup. I edit my Google Drive files offline on my tablet and once I am connected to the internet, my files copied to online Google Drive.

    The other aspect of Open Source mentality is the tools to manage your farm that is created for us to use for free. One of these tools is FarmOS. It is an online web application where you can map your entire farm on it (to be installed into a web server) with your assets and manage the events as you like it. I don’t have much experience with it but soon I will install it into my virtual servers to have a deeper look.

    If you are a DIY person, a thinker and doer, check out the FarmHACK. You will find the plans of many tools to build yourself.

    3D printing is also a good technology if you have access to one of those printers. There are farming tools printed and used here. And who wouldn’t want this 3D sun dial that shows the time in digital format. The 3D models for printing usually available for free on the net with an open source license, you can download and print them.

    There is also an electronic circuit developed as an open source circuit board called Arduino. With the attached sensors and a bit of programming, you can control the irrigation, glass house windows, egg incubator, chicken feeder, aquaponics’ oxygen level or control any device according to some other events; the possibilities are endless. Here is a link to an explanatory blog and another one about 5 specific projects related to growing produce with Arduino. All the coding that is required for these projects are available online.

    As you see dear reader, technology usage can be sustainable and on top of that, if you are contributing to Wikipedia, you are even creating more abundance right there. Every blog entry you write is an abundance of information too, every share of that blog entry you make gets that information to masses. It’s just never ending.

    Please share your favourite free software or the blogs you read about permaculture or farming and/or growing below the comments for everyone to benefit.

    https://permaculturenews.org/2017/01/10/open-source-tools-permaculturists/

    On – 10 Jan, 2017 By Gurkan Yeniceri

  • The 3 Best Batteries For An Off-Grid Energy System

    The 3 Best Batteries For An Off-Grid Energy System

    It’s the concern that any individual making use of alternative energy certainly asks at some time …

    Just what are the most effective batteries for an off-grid power system?

    As a result of the dropping costs of renewable resource systems, an increasing number of individuals are wanting to make use of alternate power sources as a method to:

    Conserve loan
    End up being much more power independent
    And damage their dependence on the large energy firms
    Solar cell Bank With Refurbished BatteriesHowever, setting up a renewable energy system, most of the times, needs you making a significant initial investment that you won’t get back for numerous years.

    Among the biggest costs associated with alternative energy systems is the batteries in the battery financial institution.

    So choosing the appropriate batteries for your off-grid system is crucial (and also maintaining the batteries alive as long as feasible is likewise critically crucial)!

    You Don’t Need to Get New Overpriced Batteries
    Prior to we tell you exactly what 3 batteries we recommend for your different energy system’s battery bank …

    It is essential to first note that you do not have to acquire the 3 batteries we advise brand-new.

    Instead, you could make use of the EZ Battery Refurbishing program to:

    Get old or used batteries absolutely free (or economical).
    Refurbish them back to “like-new” condition.
    After that utilize those replaced (like-new) batteries in your alternate power system’s battery bank INSTEAD of purchasing new costly batteries.
    Doing this will save you a significant quantity of loan when constructing a battery bank and also it aids make alternative power obtainable to those with a tighter budget!

    But that still leaves the inquiries …

    What are the very best batteries to make use of in your solar power, wind power, or other different power system?
    In this post we’ll attempt to respond to that concern in a really basic and also straightforward manner.

    Here’s exactly what we’ll discuss:.

    Lead Acid-Batteries VS. Other Battery Technologies in a battery financial institution.
    Deep Cycle vs. Shallow Cycle Batteries in a battery bank.
    Flooded Lead-Acid Batteries (FLA) VS Secured Lead-Acid Batteries (SHANTY TOWN) in a battery bank.
    And also finally, which 3 Batteries we recommend for your residential off-grid power system (based on the criteria we go over in this article).

    Lead Acid-Batteries vs. Various other Battery Technologies.
    A number of the batteries that are made use of in renewable energy systems were originally developed for other purposes. The most popular instance of this is the lead acid battery which has dominated the industry for a very long time.

    Deep cycle lead-acid batteries have actually verified to be one of the very best (as well as most economical) battery types for alternate power system battery banks for these reasons:.

    They have the ability to endure frequent discharging,.
    They’re less costly compared to other kinds of batteries,.
    They have much more tough resilience,.
    They supply a lot more regular performance compared to various other batteries.
    The fact that they are widely generated additionally means that they are fairly very easy to replace if a battery in your battery financial institution needs changing.

    It ought to be noted however, that since late, lithium ion batteries for household alternate power systems, like Tesla’s Powerwall, have actually been gaining ground– yet the first financial investment right into lithium ion batteries is still much more than the initial financial investment into lead-acid batteries.

    The Powerwall may ultimately transform this however right now deep cycle lead-acid batteries are the least expensive as well as most sensible option for a home battery financial institution.

    Deep Cycle vs. Shallow Cycle (Cars and truck) Batteries.
    Back when the renewable energy sector was still getting vapor, people that wished to go totally off the grid would frequently need to improvisate and also use car batteries. However, auto batteries were never ever developed for this function as well as shouldn’t be continually drained pipes and also reenergized (which is exactly what they should carry out in a photovoltaic panel or wind generator system).

    Cars and truck batteries are intended to be utilized only for beginning as well as ignition. If you have a look inside one, you will see that they have a lot of thin plates.

    These plates have a large overall surface that could promote a large number of chemical reactions. When you start your auto, these responses generate the abrupt ruptured of power that is required for ignition.

    Deep cycle batteries on the various other hand, have thick lead plates that do not provide much area for chain reactions. Though they produce less current, they are made to do so for a lot longer time period.

    Basically, automobile batteries are “shallow cycle” batteries that will promptly burn out when utilized as storage space for eco-friendly power.

    Flooded Lead-Acid Batteries (FLA) VS Sealed Lead-Acid Batteries (SHANTY TOWN).
    Prior to informing you what three batteries are best for different power system’s battery banks, it must be explained why flooded lead-acid batteries (FLA’s) are better for renewable energy compared to secured lead-acid batteries (SLA’s).

     

    One of the reasons that some individuals favour SLA’s is since they call for little upkeep. Unlike FLA’s that should be checked frequently for water level, SLA’s that are utilized correctly could be laid off.

    Nonetheless, secured lead-acid batteries have 2 huge imperfections: they are delicate as well as break rapidly. So if you’re intending on using your solar panel or wind power system each day, this will ultimately position an issue.

    So, right here are the groups of swamped lead-acid batteries that are best for an off-the-grid power system:.

    The 3 Best Batteries.
    So since we know we desire a lead acid battery, that’s flooded (FLA), and has deep cycle buildings … below are our 3 favorite batteries for an off-grid system’s battery bank:.

    1) Golf Cart Batteries.
    Golf Cart BatteriesGolf cart batteries are one of the most widely produced batteries on this listing.

    They additionally function fantastic in an alternate power system application. So it’s not a surprise that they are among the most frequently made use of batteries in battery financial institutions for renewable resource systems.

    Although the 5 to six year life span of golf cart batteries could seem reasonably brief, golf cart batteries greater than offset their shortage in this field by being very sturdy and also low-cost (you could also use these 7 ideas to extend the life of golf cart batteries).

    Additionally, golf cart batteries can also be located virtually anywhere, making them a great option for battery financial institutions.

    If you actually wish to build a premium quality yet economical battery bank among the best choices is to:.

    Get old or “dead” batteries from golf courses or golf cart look for cost-free … or economical (just call them and also ask if you can have their old batteries probably lying around as well as littering their shop).
    Then refurbish those batteries to like-new condition with the EZ Battery Reconditioning program.
    Make use of those replaced batteries in your battery financial institution.

    2) Industrial or Forklift Batteries.
    Forklift BatteriesA battery financial institution that uses one or more commercial batteries follows the other philosophy of a golf cart battery bank. As opposed to depending on numerous strings of smaller batteries, you make use of a few or even one battery to keep all of your power.

    Due to the fact that these batteries aren’t generally produced to typical dimensions, you will certainly need to have one made that is perfect for your requirements.

    Or you could try to find an old industrial or forklift battery that’s the correct size for your system as well as use that.

    Like golf cart batteries, there are often ways to get cost-free or cheap forklift batteries.

    One means is to phone or go to industrial firms as well as see if they have old or “dead” forklift batteries. Deal to dispose of it for them or pay them a bit. If they concur, you can then replace the battery as well as utilize it rather purchasing a new expensive commercial battery.

    However if you prefer to get a brand-new custom made battery instead, you ought to expect to pay quite a bit. However fortunately is these types of batteries are typically constructed to last 15 to Twenty Years.

    Other thing to consider are:.

    These bigger batteries will certainly be heavier and also more difficult to move.
    There may be innovations in battery innovation that might make the battery obsolete in years to come.
    However if you don’t mind making a significant financial investment upfront (anywhere from $2,000 to $10,00) as well as are alright with spending time maintaining your batteries in leading problem, then industrial batteries might be best for you.

    3) L16 Batteries.
    L16 batteries for SolarIf you want batteries that have a little extra capability compared to golf cart batteries however do not wish to invest in industrial batteries, L16 batteries are a great middle ground.

    These swamped lead-acid batteries were originally made for supermarket flooring scrubbers.

    The good thing with these batteries is that they last a bit longer than golf cart batteries– concerning six to eight years. However, they are frequently two times as heavy and also the 6-volt models can be twice as costly.

    Final thought.
    Different houses will certainly have various power need as well as will require battery banks that are sized accordingly.

    If you construct a battery financial institution utilizing any one of the 3 batteries mentioned above, you should have the ability to create a battery bank that is just right for your requirements.

    There are some amazing new advancements in the battery globe for alternate power. These new items should be getting in the marketplace over the next pair years, like the lithium ion Tesla Powerwall. But currently, our three preferred batteries for domestic off-grid, alternative energy systems are golf cart batteries, L16 batteries, and industrial batteries.

    And also if you’re interested in saving loan on your battery bank, you can use the EZ Battery Reconditioning program to find out how to:.

    Aging or “dead” golf cart batteries, L16 batteries, or industrial batteries for free or economical.
    Recondition them back to 100% of their working problem.
    Use those “like-new” batteries instead of purchasing new pricey batteries to conserve a great deal of money!
    Good luck with your battery bank! And Pleased Battery Reconditioning!

    https://siragsoft.com/the-3-best-batteries-for-an-off-grid-energy-system/

    On – 05 Mar, 2017 By Mhmsirag

  • Implementing Your Dreams on the Permaculture Homestead

    Implementing Your Dreams on the Permaculture Homestead

    Implementing Your Dreams on the Permaculture Homestead

    When developing a permaculture homestead, you’ve got a lot of dreams and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Are you wondering where to start? Here’s how to look at all you want to accomplish and create a plan that breaks it down into manageable tasks. This is called implementation planning.

    Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps keep costs down so that I can continue providing high quality content to you for free. I appreciate your purchase through the links! (full disclosure)

    In my article 6 Maps to Draw for the Permaculture Designed Homestead, I walked you through creating a Master Plan for your productive homestead paradise. In this article, we will work from the Master Plan to produce Phases of Implementation. (You can’t do it all at once!)

    Here is my Master Plan:

    Implementation Planning

    With our Master Plan in hand, we have a grand vision for our homestead. In my own Master Plan above, MY DREAM is to create:

    • a food forest
    • a meadow
    • walking trails in the woods with edible foraging strips throughout
    • a vegetable garden
    • a collection of outbuildings including a garden shed, wood shed, small livestock compound, composting center, and greenhouse

    Now, each of these dreams will take significant time, effort, and cost to complete. The worst thing I could do is try my hand at all of them at the same time, willy-nilly! I want to give each one the proper attention so it is done well and functions efficiently within the whole system.

    What we need now is a realistic schedule that not only breaks down the whole list into manageable steps, but that also considers emergent and limiting factors to put the steps into the most efficient and logical ORDER.

    Let’s dive in and see if we can make sense of this.

    #1: The BIG LIST Exercise

    In this step, list out all of the MAJOR considerations within each of your dreams. Here’s an example of the difference between a major and minor consideration:

    Major Consideration: Having a water source for your garden
    Minor Consideration: What you want to plant (that part comes later!)

    Example:

    For my Vegetable Garden Dream, I must consider the following major tasks/challenges:

    • Water: Downspouts from the house need buried and directed to garden, there is no spigot near the garden
    • Storage: There is no storage for supplies or materials near the garden
    • Garden Design: Plan layout of permanent beds within footprint of garden boundaries
    • Bed Development: Import some organic matter, and may need materials to build raised beds
    • Fencing: Deer, raccoons, and many more critters from the woods will likely be vying for my delicious crops

    I’ve put the above tasks and challenges into the most logical order I can think of in this moment. I definitely don’t want to plant a garden before I have a water source or before I have a place to store equipment and materials.

    I also don’t want to plant anything before I’ve put up proper fencing. I know the deer will be a problem, so rather than plant a garden and then curse the deer for eating it, I will accept the reality of the situation and take the proper action before growing any crops. (Always avoid time and money wasters whenever possible).

    Back to my Dream List: the food forest, meadow, walking trails, and outbuildings are next on the docket for this exercise. For each, I will list all of the major considerations and challenges that I can think of, and the order in which to do them that seems to make the most sense with the information I have available to me today.

    Now, I could willy-nilly start growing vegetables in random places around my property, but if I want to have a cohesive and efficient design, I’m going to have to put all of my focus on proper development. At this stage, willy-nilly vegetable growing would distract me from completing my development goals. High-intensity vegetable gardening can happen later when I’m not putting all of my eggs into the development basket.

    Implementing Your Dreams on the Permaculture Homestead

    A Word About Realistic Expectations:

    It’s important to have realistic expectations of the amount of time you have to devote to your homestead development efforts. Development phases don’t ALSO have to be super-productive phases. The original Tenth Acre Farm was developed over 8 years with very little productivity in those first couple of years, but the end result was an amazingly beautiful, efficient, and productive micro-farm.

    Both productivity and development CAN be done at once, but only if you’re a full-time homesteader (having more time to do it all), or if you’re NOT concerned with designing and developing an efficient homestead (in which case, this article is not for you).

    Would you like to learn more about using permaculture design to improve the biodiversity of your garden, reduce maintenance, and increase yield?

    You’ll find loads of information just like this in my book, The Suburban Micro-Farm.

     

    #2: The EMERGENT AND LIMITING FACTORS Exercise

    In this step, you will go deeper into what factors may affect the ORDER in which you complete your steps.

    Emergent Factors are emergency-type tasks that need to be completed right away for some reason or another.

    Example 1: Our basement floods when it rains because the downspouts are improperly channeled and the formal landscaping is improperly graded.

    I’ve moved ‘properly channel downspouts toward future growing areas‘ to the top of our task list because it solves an emergent issue. I’ve also added ‘regrade and redesign formal landscape‘ to the top of the task list for the same reason.

    Example 2: Previous owners allowed giant trees to grow right next to the house, in direct line of the wind. *Holding breath when bad storms come through.

    I’ve moved ‘work with arborist to remove trees that could be a safety threat during a storm‘ higher on the list. Benefit: Space for a food forest is created where previously there was none! Smaller fruit trees and shrubs will not threaten safety or damage to the house.

    Example 3: You have livestock, pets, or children and need fencing ASAP.

    In example three above, think about what would need to be completed before fencing can be installed. Does an access road/path need put in first? How about animal shelter—will it be easy to bring in materials for building animal shelters after the fence is up? Have you planned for properly sized gates? Are there any pipes or electrical wires that need buried first?

    One emergent factor can create a cascade of other tasks that move higher on the list.

    Limiting Factors are challenges that might prevent certain tasks from being completed in a certain order.

    Some examples are:

    • Seasonal: Tasks that can only be completed in a certain time of year or season
    • Financial: Tasks that have to wait until money is saved
    • Labor: Tasks that must be completed by skilled professionals or that have to wait until helpers are available
    • Resource: Tasks that must wait until resources/tools/materials are purchased/collected/delivered

    Example: My Vegetable Garden Dream requires that we build a garden shed for tool/material storage, which must also include a spigot for watering (running a water line as well as electric). This will be time-consuming (and perhaps expensive) to build. When I factor in the additional costs of garden bed development and fencing, the vegetable garden project as a whole moves lower down on the list while we save money for it.

    Implementing Your Dreams on the Permaculture Homestead

    #3: The SMALL CHANGES WITH AN IMMEDIATE BENEFIT Exercise

    Are there any steps that are easy to complete, would create significant momentum, and can be done before other tasks? In permaculture, this is called ‘the least change for the greatest effect’. We want small and easy wins to motivate and encourage us to keep going (low hanging fruit).

    It can be beneficial to work outward from your zone 1 (see 6 Maps for your Permaculture Homestead for an explanation of zones) or other already managed areas.

    Example: Regrading and redesigning my formal landscape (zone 1):

    • allows us to bury downspouts and properly direct them toward growing areas (passive irrigation)
    • eliminates basement flooding
    • improves biodiversity with more flowering and native plants (good for future gardens)
    • improves curb appeal and general enjoyment of outdoor sitting areas
    • reduces formal landscape by 685 square feet, making it more manageable so there is more time for food-growing projects

    Now obviously the formal landscape is not useful in the sense that it produces a lot of food. But it does help us knock out several challenges at once, giving us momentum, and takes away the nagging in the back of my mind about the jungle that was growing by the front door.

    This exercise ultimately helps to relieve our mind of the worry of all there is to do and starts momentum in the right direction. When we have a clear plan of action, we can simply focus on the next thing on the list, and put all our energy into it.

    #4: The TIMELINE Exercise

    For this exercise, it can be helpful to physically put your major tasks in the most efficient/logical order. I like to use sticky notes on a whiteboard, other people like to use index cards, and still others like to use a spreadsheet on the computer. Choose what works for you.

    Here’s what my timeline looks like when I put all of the major tasks into order, when I consider my dreams, emergent/limiting factors, and easy wins:

    #5: The PHASES OF IMPLEMENTATION Exercise

    You probably feel pretty good about getting all of your dreams—and the tasks that help you achieve them—into a physical list to work from. This is amazing, and no small feat of accomplishment. Pat yourself on the back!

    But we can go a step farther and divide this list of tasks into PHASES. Phases can be thought of in terms of YEARS. Alternatively, each phase could have an indefinite ending, where due to time or budget constraints you commit to working on each phase until it is completed, with no guilt or sense of urgency.

    When I take the 25 tasks on my timeline above and divide them into phases, here is what I get:

    Here’s why you want to create phases of implementation: Checking things off a list feels really good! But more important than that, it’s important to have a stopping point. We could to-do-list ourselves right to our grave, and life is definitely more than a to-do list.

    Stop to enjoy and appreciate what you’ve created, while you have the wherewithal to do so. Celebrate your hard work and commitment to work done well. Here at Tenth Acre Farm, we always have a little celebration when something gets checked off the list.

    The cool thing about doing this with sticky notes on a whiteboard is that if something doesn’t get done during the prescribed phase, it can be easily moved to the next phase with just an adjustment of sticky notes.

    What I didn’t include in my phases of implementation on the whiteboard presentation above (for lack of space) is Year Zero:

    This was our first year at our new home, and the year we took to observe the natural happenings of our land, discover what animals and insects call this home, see how things change throughout the seasons, and vision for the future. Some ideas for our homestead were fleeting, while others remained firm in our minds as the year went on. These were the ones worth adding to our master plan and spending time and money on.

    During Year Zero, we saved money for Phase One, developed the plan I’ve shared with you here, and prepared to jump into Year One with both feet. In the landscaping profession, the prep time before a job starts is called “staging”. This is where you collect all of the necessary materials, equipment, and plants for a particular job.

    I liken “year zero” to “staging”. We are designing, planning, budgeting, and collecting the materials necessary to jump in to “year one” with both feet, which will help to avoid the problems and time-wasters associated with jumping in without a plan.

    Our Phase One here at Tenth Acre Farm at Twisted Creek:

    As you can see in my Phases of Implementation photo above, we’ve already checked a few items off our Year One list and have gained momentum.

    We brought in a professional tree service to take down the tall trees that were too close to the house. They chipped up the small stuff, which is a great beginning for the food forest. They left the big stuff, and we’ll slowly turn it into firewood and lumber. Once the heavy machinery was gone, we buried the downspouts, directing them to the garden areas, and regraded the formal landscaping.

    I’ve redesigned the landscape, and I’m excited to have 685 square feet LESS of landscaping areas to manage. The remaining landscaped areas will be more beautiful, more biodiverse, and easier to maintain. I can’t stop smiling as we head toward food forest development right on time!

    Summary

    Developing a homestead is an exciting and rewarding venture, but it can be overwhelming to figure out how to accomplish all there is to do. Implementation planning can be super helpful for breaking down all you want to accomplish into manageable tasks and putting them into a logical and efficient order.

    References

    Need more homestead inspiration?

    The following articles will help you on your journey toward a fulfilling and productive homestead life.

    Homesteading:

    Growing Food:

    Need more ideas for growing a permaculture garden?

    The following articles will help you on your journey toward a vibrant and productive garden.

    Learn more about permaculture in my article What is Permaculture?

    Permaculture Homestead Design Tools:

    Permaculture Deep Thoughts:

    Permaculture Gardening Techniques:

    Growing Perennials Permaculture-Style:

    Improving Soil:

    Water Management:

    The Power of Permaculture Herbs:

    Would you like to learn more about improving the biodiversity of your garden, reducing maintenance, and increasing yield?

    You’ll find loads of information just like this in my book, The Suburban Micro-Farm.

     

     

    How have you used implementation planning to pace your way through completing a dream?

    Implementing Your Dreams on the Permaculture Homestead

    https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/2017/06/implementing-your-dreams-on-the-permaculture-homestead/

    On – 04 Jun, 2017 By Amy

  • Alternative Energy, Create A 1Kw Solar Energy System With Less Than $800

    Alternative Energy, Create A 1Kw Solar Energy System With Less Than $800

    Alternative Energy, Create A 1Kw Solar Energy System With Less Than $800
    I Have Created A New Product On How To Build Solar Panels And How To Install A 1kw System On A Roof. 4 Solar Panels, Charge Controller, Deep Cycle Battery And Inverter To Get 220 V.great Conversion Rate.

    http://ecommerce.matrix-e.com/eshops/57-alternative-energy/4902-alternative-energy-create-a-1kw-solar-energy-system-with-less-than-800.html

    On – By

  • Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

    Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

    We got involved with Shiitake Mushrooms through our Agricultural Cooperative Extension Agency. (This is a great resource for any farmer. Make it a point at least to visit your local office and see the different programs they have going on for the farmer.) Back in 2003, our local office started helping traditional tobacco farmers transition into some other type of crop. They proposed growing both edible and medicinal Mushrooms.

     

    By growing both, a farmer has two ways to sell mushrooms. You can grow edible mushrooms and sell to farmers markets, restaurants and health food stores. With medicinal mushrooms, you can pursue the herbal stores and sometimes you can reach out to acupuncturists’ offices. A diversified farm would do both!

    Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen of North Carolina A&T State University led the program. They proposed this deal: the school would provide the enough organic mushroom spore to inoculate 25 logs (3-4 ft. long x 4-8 in. diameter) in exchange for data collected by the farmer on how well the mushrooms produced. The farmer had to agree to keep approximately 200-250 logs for research.

    The farmer would be given bags of spore with batch numbers only. When giving their data information, the farmer would refer to the batch number. This was, and is ongoing, research to see which strains of shiitake do best in which areas of North Carolina.

    Alan and I signed up right away. That is how The Mushroom Hut @ Fox Farms was born! This was our first experience of Non-Traditional Forest Products (NTFP).

    We always stress, when starting out on a new venture, to start out small and don’t invest a lot into the project until you see it will work for you. Everything sounds good on paper!

    After signing up for the program, we were shown how to inoculate our log and how to care for it while waiting for the harvest—and that would be a very long wait. It can take from 6-12 months for the first fruiting after inoculation (most often 12 months).

    Now we’ll show you how to get started.

    Equipment And Supplies

    • Drill
    • Drill bit
    • Food-Grade Wax
    • Brush/Dauber (to apply the melted wax)
    • Spawn
    • Logs
    • Containers for soaking

    You can order most of these supplies from major mushroom spawn and equipment suppliers (examples: Field and Forest, Fungi Perfecti).

    Assuming you already have a drill, total cost for all these supplies will be around $100.

    Then, you have to scare up a log. If you have trees on your property, you can cut your own as a last resort. You may contact local loggers regarding logs that are too small for lumber—sometimes they’re sold for firewood. Or you can go into the woods and find a candidate that’s already on the ground.

    Location For Your Log Yard

    Find an area suitable for the production of the Shiitake. An area that is naturally shaded by trees is an ideal area for your log yard. If you are going to force fruiting, you will need access to water so this will be a consideration when deciding where to put your logs.

     

    Best Trees For Mushroom Cultivation

    Red and White Oaks and Sweetgums are the best trees for mushroom cultivation. These trees will produce longer than other trees due to their high wood density and strong bark.

    Here at the farm we have also used Maple, Beech, Ash, Cherry and Birch. Ash takes longer to produce fruit. The others are good producers, but the bark doesn’t hold up long. Experiment to see what works for you and keep records (a regular calendar is great to write your notes on.) Make sure your tree’s bark is in good condition before you decide to use it.

    When To Cut Down Trees For Mushroom Cultivation

    The trees should be cut in late fall to late winter (Early Spring only if sap is not up). Be careful not to scuff up the bark. Ragged bark can allow other fungi to invade the bark.

    Also, this will allow moisture loss and could slow down fruiting or keep it from fruiting at all.

    The Proper Size Of Logs For Mushroom Cultivation

    Use logs 3-4 ft. long and 3-8 in. in diameter. Keep in mind you will be moving the logs around. After cutting the logs, if you are not going to use them for a few weeks, make sure they don’t dry out.

    Keep them out of direct sunlight, watered if it is unusually dry, or loosely covered if it is too rainy. Make sure there is air circulation.

    When To Inoculate

     

    Here in Western North Carolina, we start in March and complete by late April. Contact your local agricultural extension office for suggestions about timing in your area.

    Ideally, you’ll use the trees as soon as possible after cutting. Production will be much better if moisture content is high. If you order your spawn before you are ready to use it, you can store it in the bottom of your refrigerator.

    The Inoculation Process

     

    Set up a work station for each task:

    1. Find a location that will be suitable for an electric drill (if you’re in a remote area make sure you have extra batteries).
    2. Space the holes 6-8 in. apart in rows along the length with 2-4 in. between rows. The holes should be placed in a staggered diamond pattern. (Closer spacings increase the rate of colonization and more rapid production but the spawn won’t go as far). Use your own judgement.
    3. Using your thumb inoculator, punch it down into the bag of spawn until the inoculator is full then, put it over the hole in the log and using your thumb press a couple of times to release the spawn into the hole. Make sure the drilled hole is completely full of the spawn.
    4. Now comes the waxing. You can have the wax slowly melting (on low) while you are doing steps one and two—a slow cooker on low will work. Make sure the wax never gets too hot. Use a natural bristle brush or wax dauber to apply the wax completely covering the spawn/hole. air bubbles. Go over it a couple of times if you need to.

    Stacking Your Logs

    After you have finished inoculating your logs it is time to stack your logs and wait for fruiting. Fruiting time can be anywhere from 6-12 months from time of inoculation. There are three methods of stacking:

    • Low stack: this method is simple. All it involves is leaving your logs on the ground. However, it’s best to lay the logs on top of a pallet or cinderblocks to keep ground fungi from invading the logs.
    • Crib style: stacking logs on top of each other, with horizontal layers of logs laid perpendicular to each other.
    • Lean-to: lean logs up against a fencing, rail or wire.

    During this time, make sure the bark/logs do not dry out. If it is unusually dry, you can use an overhead sprinkling system, watering hose, or soak the logs in a container. If soaking in a container, soak between 24-78 hours. This can also  be done to force fruiting.

    Know your water source! Do not use water from a creek, branch or river that has horses upstream of your mushrooms. E-coli has been found in water from this type of source. Test or filter your water to make sure it is reasonably clean.

    Harvesting Your Mushroom Logs

    Logs can fruit anywhere from 6-12 months from inoculation, due to reasons like the moisture content in logs, strain of mushroom, air temp, humidity, rainfall and light.

    When you see the logs begin to fruit, you can help the fruiting by watering or soaking. It can take about three days for the mushroom to be large enough for harvest. Look under the cap of the mushroom for bugs/snails and brush off with a brush, baster, or plain paper towel.

    Collect the mushrooms in box, basket, or stainless steel container. Store them in refrigerator or cool area immediately to preserve their freshness.

    Treating The Logs After Harvest

    Put the logs in a designated area where you will know these logs have fruited. Keep notes on a calendar as to when you have a fruiting so you can keep up with forcing of these logs.

    Only force logs every 6-10 weeks. If these logs have not started to fruit again, you can put them in containers to soak and force another fruiting. After soaking, you can shock the log with a rubber mallet. To do this, just strike the ends of the logs several times. This helps to stimulate the mycelium.

    Preventing Pests And Insects

    Try to keep leaves raked away from your log stacks. This is a good hiding place for snails and other bugs that love to eat on the mushroom.

    You can put out snail baits (saucers of beer) for the snails to drown in. Otherwise you have to pick most of the other bugs off the mushrooms as being picked. There are beetles that like to eat into the wax/spawn. Squirrels may be a problem in some places.

    Whatever your reason for growing shiitakes—food, fun or profit—here’s hoping your fungi fantasies are fulfilled!

    Susan Tipton-Fox, along with husband Alan Fox, continues the farming and preserving practices passed down to her by her family. She runs on-farm workshops and overnights in Yancey County, North Carolina. Follow her on Facebook: The Mushroom Hut @ Fox Farms.

    https://www.niftyhomestead.com/blog/growing-shiitake-mushrooms/

    On – 13 Jun, 2017 By Nifty Homestead Community Submission

  • Passive Water Storage Tank Heating System

    Passive Water Storage Tank Heating System

    Interesting ideas on using a water storage tank heating system. For many people finding alternative sources of energy and ways of using renewable power is the best way to reverse the damaging effects to environment by the use of fossil fuels. Solar power is starting to gain popularity as a source of renewable energy as the cost of the equipment needed to harness it continues to get cheaper to purchase. The purpose of this article is to introduce the reader to a solar power water storage tank heating system.

    Passive Water Storage Tank Heating System

    This article is from How to Go Solar. The author sincerely believes in using solar energy as an alternative source of power and this concept is another example of to harness the power of nature to improve and enrich the lives of people. All of the information is presented in a way that makes it very easy to read and understand.

    Benefits of reading the Passive Water Storage Tank Heating System

    Discover that by placing several storage tanks inside a room that is exposed to direct sun it will help maintain the warmth in the room.
    It explains in great detail how the system works and how easy it is to install anywhere.
    All of the information is explained in a way that is very easy to read and understand.
    It also has a number of full color pictures that help to depict several of the parts of the system.

    https://thehomesteadsurvival.com/passive-water-storage-tank-heating-system/

    On – 01 Feb, 2017 By

  • Transitioning the Vegetable Garden from Spring to Summer

    Transitioning the Vegetable Garden from Spring to Summer

    vegetable garden

    This is the time of year when I transition the vegetable garden from its spring crops into summertime. It’s the time of year when we never seem to have enough room in the raised beds nor enough time to do all of the work we set out to do in a given day.

    In the vegetable garden, the broccoli rabe is at its peak, and the lettuce is, too. The beets will be ready for harvesting, pickling, and canning in about three weeks or so. Strawberries for jam are just starting to arrive and are protected thanks to the bird netting that keeps my nemesis, the local crow murder, from eating the harvest before I get to them. Peas twin on the Vine Spine Linking Trellis and start just starting to flower. Onions and garlic are maturing and the radishes are almost finished.

    Newly planted carrot and parsnip seeds peek tentatively above the earth. Tomato plants expelled from hothouse splendor now wave from behind the safety of their cages. And waiting on the porch for truly hot weather are the flats of sweet potato plants who need heat and plenty of it to be happy.

    Among the herb garden plants, the catnip is ready for harvesting, and I’ve already cut and dried another pint of oregano. I have cinnamon and Genovese basil plants ready to set outside and parsley and dill have been moved from the safety of their flats to the garden beds. I mix parsley and dill into the herb garden, the butterfly garden as food for hungry caterpillars, and in the vegetable garden so there is always plenty for us all.

    We’ve been busy weeding all of the flower beds in the perennial garden. It is hot, dirty work. Last year, I got behind in the weeding and the weeds took advantage of my laziness to creep into every nook and cranny among the plants. Hubby and I have worked out a system whereby I week from 7 to 8:30 each morning and then he mulches the area afterward. When we finish the entire garden in about two weeks I will start again, tidying up the areas we’ve already done.

    Our goal this year is to keep the garden in top shape as long as we can. The heat is always a problem and keeps me from gardening longer, but I have learned the hard way that a little sustained daily effort accumulates into success.

    May is a busy month, but I have found time to update the monthly gardening tip sheets available free here at Home Garden Joy. I have also started a new short gardening book that I think you will enjoy! Stay tuned, be sure to join our email list for the latest information, and keep gardening and growing!

     

     

    http://homegardenjoy.com/site/2017/05/transitioning-vegetable-garden-spring-summer.html

    On – 18 May, 2017 By Jeanne

  • Planting a food forest: Proposal for Springside Park would help connect people to the land and to food

    Planting a food forest: Proposal for Springside Park would help connect people to the land and to food

    PITTSFIELD — An edible landscape, dappled with fruit, vegetables and nuts. That’s part of a vision for a food forest in Springside Park.

    A local permaculture design company has applied for a $25,000 grant to support the idea. Now through April 19, people can vote daily for that idea, one of hundreds of proposed projects, on the Seeds of Change website.

    “Food isn’t just something we eat,” reads the grant application. “It’s our history, culture, family and memories. It is our medicine and fuel.”

    A food forest is a gardening technique that imitates a woodland ecosystem by bringing a number of crops that can help support each other into one area. The vision for a 1-acre plot of Springside Park includes edible trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.

    Matt Lamb and Jay Allard, owners of Berkshire Earth Regenerators, applied for the grant. They have studied the park for six months and developed a food forest plan on land near the Springside House.

    “My goal is to get as much diversity into the plan as possible,” Lamb said. “There’s so many different things we are trying to correct with this project.”

    He said the additional plantings in the proposed food forest would improve stormwater runoff and help cut down on carbon emissions. He said the plan could be expanded to as much as 40 acres of the park.

    Allard said their concept for the park could yield thousands of pounds of food, which would be distributed to area residents and community organizations.

    “A lot of people in the community are having a hard time getting food at all,” he said. “This is a very local situation it keeps food from traveling far distances.”

    In addition to being a source of fresh food for the community, the forest would be used as a living classroom, where people learn to garden, and it would provide some job opportunities.

    “As people take interest in these plantings, they become more invested in their community,” Allard said. “We want to be able to reconnect people with that.”

    Springside has become a place for education in addition to recreation.

    Regular garden workshops and interpretive walks are offered from the spring through fall. There’s also a weekly membership-based learning program at the park’s greenhouse.

    Joe Durwin, a longtime resident of the Morningside neighborhood, and a parks commissioner, said the proposed plan is overdue.

    “A food forest at Springside Park is an extraordinary way to honor a robust heritage of agriculture at this very historic park site, while updating it for the needs and expectations of neighborhood residents and other park users in the 21st century,” he said in a written statement.

    Last year, the city received a grant from the Kresge Foundation to study how growing food could help revitalize the Morningside neighborhood.

    Named Morningside Up by the city and community partners, the project envisions a “community-led food system.” That means residents would be involved with food production, processing, distribution, and consumption as well as waste management, said Jessica Vecchia, director of Alchemy Initiative, which is managing the Kresge grant and working in partnership with Morningside Up.

    Allard and Lamb said they are excited by the impact the food forest could have.

    “This will help educate people on how we can use public space to do greater things for ourselves, our families and our community,” Lamb said.

    The food forest concept is among nearly 600 ideas submitted by groups from across the country to Seeds of Change. A total of $310,000 will be awarded to groups by the California-based organic seed company.

    The top 50 vote winners advance to the finals in April. And grant winners will be announced May 8, according to the website.

    The Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market, another of Alchemy’s programs, was awarded a $10,000 grant from Seeds of Change last year.

    Reach staff writer Carrie Saldo at 413-496-6221 or @carriesaldo.

    http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/planting-a-food-forest,503487

    On – 05 Apr, 2017 By Carrie Saldo

  • What to consider when building an off-grid cottage or cabin

    What to consider when building an off-grid cottage or cabin

    If you’re thinking of purchasing a second home, whether it be a cottage, cabin, lake house, camp or other, you may be considering going totally off-grid. It’s an exciting idea for homeowners who want to actively reduce their carbon footprint, and get closer to nature.

    When considering buying an off-grid property, there are many things to ponder. Often an off-grid piece of land will be sold at a much lower price than a property which is already connected to the local power authority. Connecting a property to the local power authority will most likely run you around $20K to $30K or more, depending on the location of the property, so take this into consideration when understanding the economics of your investment. It’s highly possible that the capital costs of a full solar panel installation will cost you less than purchasing a home which is already serviced by an electrical utility.

    Alternative solar

    Alternative, clean energy options for the home are booming. Homeowners are increasingly presented affordable and alternative energy options to choose from. Traditional solar panels are a great option if you have a piece of land or roof that gets sufficient sun, however if budget permitting, why not explore new technologies such as the Tesla Solar Roof. Elon Musks’ revolutionary Solar Roof is purported to last twice as long as a traditional roof (and maybe much longer) and it will both reduce if not totally eliminate electricity costs and, paired with a Tesla Powerpack battery, provide you with backup energy in the case of blackouts.

    Not only is Musk’s roof revolutionary from a technology standpoint, it’s also beautiful. Sources say the Tesla roof will apparently last at least as long as your mortgage, thus alleviating the need to invest in a new roof over the lifetime of your dwelling. In fact, the solar roof is touted to appreciate in value, unlike traditional roofs. Definitely worth investigating the long-term ROI on this product.

    Wind and hydro power

    Wind and hydro power are also clean, alternative sources of energy that can be explored if you choose to live off-grid. Hydro power will obviously require access to water, and the right technological solutions to support your power needs. If you are considering a wind powered solution, make sure you research the average wind speed ranges on your property. These can often vary significantly from regional averages depending on local topography. You can then estimate how much electricity a given system will produce by knowing your average wind speeds.

    Of course, there are pluses and minuses to going with wind energy, the most obvious of which is the need for breeze: if the wind doesn’t blow, the turbine stays still and the electricity isn’t generated. Wind turbines also have moving parts, which means regular maintenance, and the possibility of failure.

    Many traditional off-grid dwellers use gas-powered generators, either as a backup to an alternative system, or as the main system. Generators are noisy, smelly, not eco-friendly and require re-fueling, so keep this in mind when deciding which system to go with. If you rent out your cottage, you may want to consider going with a system that does not require the user to interact with a gas-powered system.

    Best of luck with your project!

    http://blog.homestars.com/archives/off-grid-cottage-or-cabin/

    On – 15 May, 2017 By Leslie Andrachuk

  • Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden to Reduce Feeding Costs

    Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden to Reduce Feeding Costs

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    Our number one goal, other than adding a large garden to our new homestead, was to have rotational chicken runs around the garden to reduce feeding costs.

    Rotational chicken runs can greatly help to reduce feeding costs because you can let an area rest and grow to have more weeds and bugs. Then when you open up that area to your chickens they have lots of fresh food and you have happier free-ranging chickens! Oh and you get stronger better eggs too ?

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    When planning rotational chicken runs it’s easier to design the coop close to the garden.

    Unless you have a chicken tractor, it’s better to have all your runs close to the chicken coop and have different access ways to reach each run. It also helps to have the runs close to the garden if you want to include that area like we did. You can let them into the garden for any early spring or fall/winter clean up when it’s needed. This is a huge benefit if you accidentally let the weeds in your garden go out of control!

    Benefits to permaculture rotational chicken runs around your garden

    Permaculture is all about creating working systems that benefit multiple dynamics of your land. Chickens and gardens are a perfect match for permaculture design because chickens can do work for you in exchange for eggs and your garden benefits the fertilizer.

    • Reduces feeding costs because they eat lots of bugs & weeds
    • Weed control because they scratch up the weeds for you and prevent them from going to seed
    • Happier chickens = healthier eggs
    • Chicken poop!
    • You can get the chickens to compost for you too

    How we designed our permaculture rotational chicken runs around the garden

    The design below is what we came up with after carefully pondering over where to put our garden and chicken coop. It took us a couple of months to decide! Having moved to this new homestead we still had to observe the sun patterns and winter. We used to live on a mountainside and moving to the open mountain valley has made it WAY hotter with an increased need for shade because there are so few trees. There were a few cherry trees at the back with an old outbuilding to create shade so we decided that would make the perfect main chicken run. The fruit trees also meant they can clean up the fallen fruit & bugs that feed on the old fruit too.

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    • Chicken run #1 is attached to the chicken coop itself, not only did we want to create shade with a roof, we also wanted the chickens to be able to go outside during our long winters that get lots of snow. This means they’ll have an outdoor area even in the colder months. The pic below is the chicken coop unfinished- we still have cedar shingles to put on plus the other roof on the covered run, I’ll update it when it’s complete.

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your GardenPermaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    • Chicken run #2 has a few fruit trees (cherry) that offers a lot of shade and is closest to the coop

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    • Chicken run #3 is around the side of our garden, sort of like a chicken ‘moat’.

    Permaculture Rotational Chicken Runs around your Garden

    • Chicken run #4 is inside the garden, where they won’t be until we can protect crops or use covered tunnels over the beds in the fall months and they can scratch up the leftover weeds and bugs. Learn more about free-ranging your chickens safely in the garden.
    • The goal is to eventually have a permaculture fruit tree guild on the other side of the chicken coop for a potential chicken run #5 too.

    Conclusion

    Rotational chicken runs around your garden can definitely help to reduce feeding costs and creates a great permaculture chicken garden set up. It’s truly a delight to see our chickens roaming close to the garden.

    https://www.familyfoodgarden.com/permaculture-rotational-chicken-runs-around-your-garden/

    On – 06 Jul, 2017 By

  • Building off the grid 3 ways

    Building off the grid 3 ways

    What would your home look like if you unplugged for good? Tour these one-of-a-kind versions of living that dream as seen in three DIY Network specials of Building Off the Grid: Mountain Man Cave, Tiny House on a Lake and Coastal Maine.

    Rugged outdoorsman Joe Donovan decided to build himself a permanent base camp on 10 acres of mountain wilderness. That camp takes the form of a 24-by-28-foot straw-bale cabin, a very old—and, in modern America, very rare—type of dwelling.
    The insulating straw bales beneath thick layers of stucco at this southern Montana cabin are held together by chicken wire hand-sewn with rope. The load-bearing frame itself is made of massive logs.
    Composting toilets aren’t for everyone, but this one more than compensates for its rustic ways with a spectacular view of the Montana wilderness. (Bonus: No need to abandon said view to fetch water for the cistern, or to scamper to an outhouse in the middle of the night.)
    The versatile space behind a Montana cabin’s bathroom features a television and turntable powered by solar panels, as well as a painterly reminder of why its owner chose to build in the wilderness.
    Thick straw walls are designed to help this space stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter—but given how quickly the weather in the northern Rockies can change, concentrated heat from a wood-burning stove is a must.
    Scenery is the star of Joe Donovan’s off-the-grid plan, as he designed his home around the Missouri River view he envisioned having from his front deck. Bonus: It’ll face the warmth of the sun in the wintertime.
    At the northern end of Montana, yurt-dwellers Sean and Mollie Busby take their independent-living plan to the next level by building their dream home overlooking Whitefish Lake. This 12-by-20-foot, two-story home comprises about 480 square feet of interior space.
    This diminutive dwelling at the edge of Glacier National Park affords its owners plenty of room. The spacious deck nearly doubles its footprint.
    The live-edge siding on this tiny house can last for up to 30 years. It shares space with reclaimed wood, which rings in at a fifth of what local stores charge for new lumber.
    The wood from this portion of a tiny home on the shore of Whitefish Lake comes from a timber swap (where the owners exchanged fresh-cut pieces from their property for drier logs that were already seasoned for building).
    While this northern Montana cabin’s owners plan to live off the grid, their nameplate reflects their interest in maintaining close connections to their community.
    This outdoorsy family of six built their 16-by-20-foot off-the-grid retreat on Maine’s remote Pemaquid Peninsula in less two weeks (with a bit of help from their friends).
    This 6-foot-tall black bear welcomes guests to a self-sustaining cabin in Bristol, Maine. In keeping with the homeowners’ lickety-split building plan, their friend carved the sculpture in less than eight hours.
    A gutter-and-downspout system collects rainfall in a catchment for drinking, cooking and bathing—a very good thing, since the nearest alternative source of water is a half-mile away.
    While the kitchen in this remote cabin has no light switches or running water, a granite slab countertop and vintage canister set deliver ample (and appropriately rustic) style.

    http://www.diynetwork.com/shows/building-off-the-grid/building-off-the-grid-3-ways-mountain-tiny-house-coastal-maine-pictures

    On – 22 Feb, 2017 By Lauren Oster

  • 6 Ways to Increase Food Production in Your Organic Vegetable Garden

    6 Ways to Increase Food Production in Your Organic Vegetable Garden

    Please note that affiliate links are present in this post, which means if you click on a link a buy something, I’ll get like 4 cents for it at no extra cost to you. All recommendations are humbly my own.

    • 1. Prepare Your Soil Using a No-Till Method

    • How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
      No-Till gardening requires nothing more than reliable tools and good old-fashioned hard labor. Good for you and your garden.
    • It’s a harsh fact that machines are destroying our soil! When we mechanically till our gardens, our soil’s complex structure gets broken up into tiny particles. Air pockets created by earthworms and arthropods diminish. Colonies of beneficial bacteria and strands of fungal hyphae break apart. When these tiny pieces all settle, they become extremely compacted, leading to poor drainage – the totally opposite effect we hoped tilling would have!
    • There’s a common misconception that we must till our soil every spring to aerate, so “roots can breathe” and “water can drain more efficiently,” but the fact is: Tilling does NOT accomplish this. There many other ways we can prepare our gardens that are not only healthier for our soil, but also require much less money and equipment – my preferred method is Double Digging.

    Related Enough: Epic Spring Planting Series: My Best Tips for Planting with Seeds

    I first learned about double digging from John Jeavons, founder of Ecology Action and the Grow Biointensive farming method, and author of How to Grow More Vegetables, when he presented at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in 2015. The Double Dig Method entails digging two layers of soil with a shovel using nothing but old-fashioned manual labor. Using the least amount of effort possible, the digger is to “twist” the soil in patches while amending it using organic fertilizers and compost. Watch this instructional YouTube video on double digging (note that there is a second part you’ll need to watch).

    Side note, I have a 2-part Soil Building Series: Increasing the Biodiversity of Your Soil Food Web, Part 1 and Part 2. To really get to know your soils on a deeper level, and to learn how to care for them compassionately, I invite you to read those posts!

    The benefits of double digging are endless. There’s no intense breaking up of the soil structure. There’s no mass killing of valuable microorganisms, so plants are naturally healthier. All of your earthworms, spiders, centipedes and other beneficial bugs will be left in tact. Your plants’ root systems will grow deeper and stronger. And what’s fascinating is, once you build your soil fertility with organic matter your soil will hold more water, reducing the need to water as often. All of this means MORE FOOD!

     

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Worms are so incredibly important for our gardens and when we are gentle with our soils, we preserve them and their delicate work.

    Totally Related: 7 Best Organic Soil Amendments for Your Garden

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    1. 2. Improve Your Soil Biodiversity with Homemade Compost

    2. If you know anything about compost, let it be this: Not all compost is created equal! The nutrient content of the compost you are using depends on what it is made out of. Did you acquire it from your municipality, in which case it could be mostly decomposed grass and tree trimmings, potentially laden with herbicides? Or did you make it yourself, in which case it is probably a richer concoction of grass and leaves from your yard, kitchen scraps of fruits, herbs, veggies and egg shells, and all kinds of organic matter from your own garden?

    You see where I’m going with this. Compost is a great way to feed your garden and introduce more biodiversity into the soil, ideally at the end of the season or during soil preparation.

     

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Homemade compost is the BEST compost – and it doesn’t have to be hard!

    The best compost to use is your own because you control what goes in it. All of the different types of organic matter we throw into our compost support different types of microbes, and this vastly increases the biodiversity and the nutrient content of our end product. A more biodiverse compost pile means a more biodiverse garden.

    Some of us don’t have room to make compost. If you’re one of these people, getting compost from your municipality is fine – usually it’s free, and everyone loves free!

    1. 3. Stop Stepping on Your Soil

    2. This might sound obvious, but I’m adding it in here and for good reason: I’ve worked with a ton of people who stepped all over their garden beds until they worked with me. Soil compaction is one reason, while the breakage of tender plant roots is another, but the main reason why you should never, ever step on your soil is because your weight crushes and suffocates your microbes. Healthy soil food web = More nutrients in your veggies!

    By now you’re going, Really? For the third time? Microorganisms, microbes or whatever the heck those things are she’s talking about?

    The books below changed my life as a gardener and will also help you understand microbes, and your garden, like you never have before:

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    I use “microorganisms,” “microbes,” “soil biodiversity,” “microbial life,” and “Soil Food Web” interchangeably throughout my posts, but I mean generally the same thing when I talk about how important they are – “they” being a collection of bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, algae and fungi, billions of which can be found in one tablespoon of your soil. Caring for these living creatures is the most important aspect of growing food.

    So, a solution to stop stepping on your soil. You need clearly marked, delineated pathways throughout your garden. And once you’ve developed this pathway system, it needs to always stay that way. My favorite and easiest to use path materials are straw, wood chips and stepping stones.

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Pathways are the best way to keep yourself, and everyone else, from stepping on your soil.

     

    4. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

    It is so, absolutely important for you to mulch your vegetable garden. Not only does mulch keep weeds down and prevent moisture from evaporating quicker, mulch materials also break down over time and add valuable organic matter to your soil, and provide food sources for your soil food web. Most importantly though, mulch provides a thick, protective layer for your microbes against the harsh outdoor elements.

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Spring bulbs loving life in a bed of nitrogen-rich leaf mulch.

    Though a full-sun space is a blessing and ever-desirable in organic gardening, it can have a detrimental effect on the top few inches of soil by completely drying it out. The top four inches of soil is where most of our microbial life is contained, and the hot sun will crisp and evaporate the little guys right up without a protective layer! Rain can also have undesirable effects – microbes are so tiny that raindrops falling on them has a similar effect not unlike our stepping all over them. The way we can protect our microbes from the natural elements is by using mulch.

    Related Enough: Gardening Myths We’re Officially Breaking, or Why You DON’T Need Raised Beds and Fertilizers

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    The sun is incredibly powerful and will dry your garden right up if you don’t cover it with mulch.

     

    There are lots of different options for mulch, but here, I will highlight the simplest mulching solutions…

    1. – Straw is an economical option because not only is it initially cheap to buy, but you can also use it for your pathways. It is good to use around baby seedlings because it will help prevent birds from nibbling at them, and it will partially break down over winter so it may be incorporated into your soil during preparation in spring. Be sure to get “straw” and not “hay,” where seed heads are present.
    4. – Decomposed leaves, or leaf mulch, is an attractive mulching option and adds a good amount of nitrogen to the soil as it breaks down and becomes incorporated into the garden bed. Earthworms love it. If you have a lot of trees on your property, you could create a compost pile of leaves and make your own leaf mulch, otherwise it comes bagged at most landscape suppliers. Be aware that if you do not buy certified organic leaf mulch, the mulch you do buy could have residual pesticides – not great for us or our microbial friends.
    7. – Living mulch is a way of mulching by growing groundcover plants with shallow root systems in between vegetable plants, not unlike cover cropping. Growing living mulches takes a little more maintenance and technique (you must know what plants are acceptable to grow for living mulch and when to plant them), but anyone can do it! Living mulch is so great because it’s very cheap and easy to do (all you need are seeds), it adds lots of color and texture to your garden, and the added root system provides tons of extra food for microbes. Great options for living mulch are sweet alyssum, creeping thyme, creeping jenny, and arugula.

    Totally Related: How to Cover Crop Your Vegetable Garden in 4 Steps

    5. Get Your Fencing Right

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Ok so this is kind of a joke… but not really. I’ve worked with people who put so much time and money into their fence but it wasn’t done properly so they might as well just had an adorable blue gate instead!

    My adoration for bunnies, squirrels, deer, and especially groundhogs, has waned since I became a vegetable gardener. When you grow food, animal families seem to multiply out of nowhere, and they all have this perfectly-timed instinct that tells them exactly when to nosh your harvest just hours before you can get to it. PESTS!

    Totally Related: Battling Garden Pests: The Organic Pest Control of Mindfulness and Compassion

    The only way for us to keep pests out of our garden is by building a strong fencing system. I will always say that with fencing materials and construction techniques, the higher quality your materials are, the better results you will have in creating an animal barrier. There will also be less upkeep with damage from storms and weight on it from heavy snow and ice.

    There are some basic dimensional fencing details to know, based on what type of animal you need to keep out…

    1. – Bunnies – The openings in your fencing material should be no larger than 1”x2”, and I think this is a good rule for all garden fencing no matter the pest. Baby bunnies have the ability to get through 2”x2”, and they are everywhere. If you have a gate within your garden fence, be aware of the threshold gap at the bottom of it – the gap should be no more than ½” – a commonly overlooked detail! If you don’t have deer, a 3-foot tall fence is good enough to keep bunnies out. Keep in mind though that you can’t grow tall crops on such a short fence, so sometimes its nice to go vertical anyway.
    4. – Deer – Your deer fencing should be at least 6 feet tall, preferably 8 feet. It sounds hulking and fortress-like, but it’s actually nice to have fencing this tall because then you can grow pole beans, peas, cucumbers, squash and vining flowers on it. Deer have a tendency to eat plants through the mesh fencing, so you may need to attach a screen or a similar very fine mesh to keep their snouts out. Trick is to avoid attaching this screen too high, otherwise it will block sunlight.
    7. – Groundhogs/Gophers – These are burrowing animals, living up to 18” underground in large nests connected by a network of underground pathways. They’re incredibly smart. You’ll need to dig a deep trench (ideally 18”) and extend your METAL mesh fencing down that far to keep them out. Groundhogs are not typical in suburban backyards or city yards, but if you’re out in the country, or live near open fields of any kind, you absolutely need to protect your garden from groundhogs or all will be lost. I’ve learned this the hard way.
    8. – Chipmunks & Squirrels – Just forget it! No matter of fencing, unless you completely cover the top of your garden, will keep them out. If squirrels are taking bites out of your tomatoes, chances are they are sucking the juice out because they’re thirsty. Try leaving shallow dishes of water out for them to drink. I swear it works!
    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Ever see a squirrel drink? Now you have. They get thirsty, too!

     

    6. Assess Your Tree Canopy

    Trees grow fast. Sometimes just a few years after setting up your garden your trees can grow so much that new branches block primetime sunlight.

    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com
    Trees cast much more shade than you would think, causing leggy, unproductive growth in your garden.

    If you notice your plants are stunted but you think you’re doing everything else right, I encourage you to spend some time in your yard one day and assess the sunlight in your garden. The Solar Pathfinder is an amazing tool I’ve used in countless gardens to determine sun exposure – it might be worth the price if your garden is large enough, creates revenue, or if you could split the cost of it with other gardeners.

    Look up and see if any trees might be blocking the sun pattern. If they are your own trees, and are small enough, go ahead and trim them back with tall tree loppers. If the branches are larger and too high, consider calling a local landscaper or arborist for their tree trimming rates – it is probably worth the cost. You’d be surprised at just how one really tall branch can make hours of a difference in your garden! Visit this post for a blurb on how to determine the hours of sun exposure in your garden.
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    How to Increase Food Production in Your Vegetable Garden - Use these easy permaculture practices to increase your harvest and make your garden more beautiful than ever before! Mulching, no-till gardening and fencig are just three ways. | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com

    6 Ways to Improve Your Existing Organic Food Garden: Tips from an Expert | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com

    6 Ways to Improve Your Existing Organic Food Garden: Tips from an Expert | Heirloom Soul | heirloomsoul.com

    http://heirloomsoul.com/6-ways-to-improve-your-existing-garden-tips-from-an-edibles-expert/

    On – 09 Apr, 2017 By Fran

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