Forest Farming vs. Forest Gardening: What’s the Difference? | Farming the Woods Steve Gabriel In our pursuit of discovering forest farmers for the writing of our book, we’ve received a lot of responses from folks around developing forest gardens. This post describes the difference between the two practices. We are absolutely supportive and encouraging of forest gardens and see the two practices as companions. The topic of forest gardening has been well articulated in Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier’s 2005 book, Edible Forest Gardens Vol 1 & 2. (EFG) Definitions With many agricultural and horticultural practices out in the world, there are many lines that one can draw in the sand; some useful and some less so. Forest Gardening: mimicking the structure and function of forests in the way we garden, or using the forest as a model for the way we garden. Dave Jacke and others advocate that in Forest Gardening we want to mimic mid-succession forests and woodlands with a 40 – 50% canopy cover. As Dave Jacke says, this is This is gardening/farming IN the forest. Like this:
Permaculture Articles This section of the online library contains an expanding offering of permaculture articles on concepts, techniques, practices and related skills. The word “permaculture” was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and describes a system of design that integrates all aspects of sustainable living, including polycultural systems of perennial and self-perpetuating plant and animal species useful to humankind. Permaculture is understood as an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecological systems. The principles of permaculture provide a framework that enables people to provide for food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs. The permaculture articles often include references to excellent books, resources, and classes on permaculture. Medicinal Herb Gardening Medicinal herb gardening is a wonderful way to begin incorporating permaculture into your life.
Keyhole Gardens Keyhole Gardens First made popular in Africa, keyhole gardens are catching on in Texas and other hot, dry places. Keyhole gardens hold moisture and nutrients due to an active compost pile placed in the center of a round bed. Although most helpful in hot and dry locations a keyhole garden will improve growing conditions in just about any climate. From a bird's eye view the garden is shaped as a keyhole. Keyhole Garden in Central Texas, Deb Tolman uses keyhole gardens as the main source of her own food supply, and is working on ways to keep them producing throughout multiple seasons and conditions. Keyhole garden in Lesotho by Send a Cow, who first popularized keyhole gardens in Africa. Keyhole garden. Keyhole garden by Send a Cow. A keyhole garden in Ethiopia. Keyhole garden in Uganda by Send a Cow. Keyhole garden scheme. When it rains or when you water your compost, the nutrients will seep into the surrounding bed. Step by step photos of a keyhole garden build. libertygarden.us How to:
Cultivate's Permaculture Blog | Cultivating sustainable lifestyles and resilient communities Permaculture Magazine - Inspiration for Sustainable Living | Permaculture Magazine Bullock's Permaculture Homestead Start a Permaculture Nursery A How-To for Starting a Permaculture Nursery and Why You Should by Douglas Bullock My brothers and I grew up in a small California town with abundant open space, some large lots and horse pastures. Down the road from our place lived a man we called Crazy John who had a modest house on a big lot packed with unusual trees he had collected from around the world - almost a jungle. John also had a small nursery where our parents would occasionally take us to buy trees for the yard. Sometimes John would give us kids a big sack of seeds to plant. Most people thought John was a bit "touched" because he often carried on about international conspiracy theories and the like. If you want to make a positive impact on the world as John did, I encourage you to start a home nursery. Save money and get the right plants In addition, you may not be able to get the best plants for your site through local or mail-order nurseries. How do I start? Where to put it? Grafting 1.
Silvics Manual: Guide To N. American Tree Species Russell M. Burns and Barbara H. Honkala Technical Coordinators Timber Management Research Agriculture Handbook 654 (Supersedes Agriculture Handbook 271, Silvics of Forest Trees of the United States, 1965) Forest Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, DC December 1990 Burns, Russell M., and Barbara H. The silvical characteristics of about 200 forest tree species and varieties are described. Oxford: 174, 181 (082, 7). Cover art: Natural stands of southern pine and cypress bordering a lake in Noxubee County, MS. Foreword "Silvics of Forest Trees of the United States," Agriculture Handbook 271, was the first comprehensive document of its kind in the United States. Our store of silvical and related knowledge has markedly increased since that silvics manual was published 25 years ago. "Silvics of North America" describes the silvical characteristics of about 200 conifers and hardwood trees in the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Jerry A.
What Permaculture Isn’t—And Is Permaculture is notoriously hard to define. A recent survey shows that people simultaneously believe it is a design approach, a philosophy, a movement, and a set of practices. This broad and contradiction-laden brush doesn’t just make permaculture hard to describe. Humans are a problem-solving species. Thomas Kuhn, in his masterwork, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, uses the word “paradigm” to mean the viewpoint that defines the problems to be solved in a particular field. “Paradigm” has been trivialized through overuse and I’m sure that Kuhn is spinning in his grave. Permaculture and other ecological approaches are attempts to articulate this new paradigm, by framing the problem and offering tools and strategies to pursue its solution. So, why, then, is permaculture so confusing to define? In the 18th Century, combustion was explained by something called phlogiston. In the 1770s, cracks began to appear in phlogiston theory. The Permaculture Flower, modified from Holmgren.
Conserving Water In Your Garden: 12 Tips Picture Courtesy Serghei Starus - Dreamstime.com Water conservation is important as water is a limited resource. With a growing population and the indifference at large for keeping our water systems clean and healthy, water will soon become a scarce commodity. Therefore, as gardeners we should try to conserve water as much as we can, in order to do our bit for the planet. Saving water is also good practice if you live in an area that is often plagued by drought or a low-rainfall. USE MULCH - Mulching is probably your most important way of saving water in your garden. There are various mulches that can be used from bark, sugar cane leaves, lucerne, leaves, pea straw, compost etc. Whatever you choose to use in the end it should retain moisture, retard weed growth, be free of weed seed, create an attractive neutral surface, improve the soil as it decays, and be inexpensive to acquire and maintain. PREPARE THE GROUND - Ground preparation is essential for conserving water.
Beginners Permaculture Garden - Appropedia: The Sustainability Wiki See the talk page for this article: "nice start, but doesn't look like Permaculture yet." A better permaculture introduction is needed for this topic. This How To has more questions than answers. Please help to fill in the missing information. Here is the basic scenario. One or two people do not know much about permaculture. Can we provide some easy to follow guidelines on how to proceed? [edit] Location and Design Observe the desired location least once in the morning, noon and evening. For example: The front of the house faces south with a tree in the front yard, the backyard has a small patio at the back door and a shed is located NE corner of the yard. [edit] Raised Bed The plot will be a raised bed. [edit] Plot Design A 4' x 8' plot is a good starting size. Although we describe the plot as a rectangle, consideration should be given to other shapes: Build a Keyhole Garden [edit] Bed Frame Our basic design is for a 12" frame. Here are several variations for the raised-bed plot: [edit] Soil