Living Wind // Field Notes

Yes indeed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wgHQtxgJw

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-455-soil-block-makers.aspx

Soil strategies in transitional periods in the garden or on the farm. “Let me walk you through our kitchen garden. I'll show you how you can grow your own mulch and fertiliser, with minimal effort and maximum benefit. Using cover crop domination you can win the race against fast growing weeds.” - Geoff Lawton

"...Of course, scientists have since learned something about Earth’s epidermis. They have classified thousands of soil types by their mineral compositions and now know that soils are full of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, nematodes, insects, and the random mole, gopher tortoise, or burrowing owl.But less well understood is how soils are processed and remodeled by an often-overlooked subterranean chemical engineer: the earthworm. Researchers are still trying to fully understand the outsized role earthworms play in the global cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter, and metals. In some cases, it’s for the better, but in others, it’s for the worse. And either way, that role is growing as earthworms slowly repopulate the northern regions of the planet from which they were long absent.”

Greenhouse garden bed design. 24″ outer, two 30″ inner. Rock dust and food compost.

“Geoff summarises beautifully, permaculture isn’t just good for the earth but good for the soul of humanity. It can provide the food and other physical resources we need, as well as the psychological and philosophical health resources too. It is a grass roots tool that empowers individuals and entire communities to help overcome a long list of problems that we collectively face.”

Sheet mulching fun, Sonoma California 

Shot some photos of one of my spaces for a city newspaper. I’ll post the feature once off-the-press :) Sunset, South Carolina.

5-5 update Planted and Mulched German Butterball Potatoes, Tuxana F5 Corn from Oregon (5th-Generation Open-Pollinated sweet corn), heirloom white cucumbers and a variety of bush & pole beans

4-4-15

German Softneck Garlic 1st-Gen SC

When it's really just too cold out, here are few things we can continue to "plug" away at: Build a bat house. Sketch plan for spring log beehive and consider a suitable tree. Build a wrens house. They're great bug eaters by early spring.

Early season prep, SC

Same plant species, just different cultivars.

Over an eight month period we grew a polyculture on 66.5m2 of land (approx 715.8 square feet) which was cultivated 100% biologically. From it we harvested 94.68kg (208.7lb) of tomatoes, 6.81kg (15lb) of basil, 36.77kg (395.7lb) of beans 10.61kg (114.2lb) of courgette and 12.33kg (132.7) of winter squash. How much time do you think it took to grow this quantity?

Following the release of the film The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic in June 2014, we've received many comments and questions. A year after shooting the film, we come back with a short video update to address some of those. To discover the full-length film, visit http://www.permacultureorchard.com/