Indoor Vegetable Garden with Topsy Turvy Planters and Window Boxes
Food Plants - Annual, Food Shortages, Nurseries & Propogation, Plant Systems, Urban Projects — by Matthew Trotter March 9, 2010
One cool product that I’ve had the pleasure of using is the Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter. (Note: I’ve since stumbled up on DIY version of this product made with 5-gallon buckets. How cool is that?) It’s kind of an experimental product as is, and I was using it in an even more experimental way. I got the Topsy Turvy so that I could utilize the vertical space in my indoor container garden. Not being able to grow a garden would have been the bane of my college dorm room existence…. but I wasn’t about to let someone tell me that I couldn’t do it.
Comments (0)My Experience of Permaculture in Guatemala
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centers, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Land, Plant Systems, Project Positions, Rehabilitation, Trees, Water Harvesting — by Kevin Mascarenhas February 7, 2010
The Ijatz cooperative is possibly the best demonstration of the transformative power of permaculture in Guatemala. The site, in San Lucas Toliman near Lake Atitlan, was purchased at low cost since the parish council considered the land to be of low value. Previously, it was a swampy bog inundated with refuse and flood water from the surrounding hills.
In classic permaculture style, within the problem lay the seeds of the solution. The deforestation due to conventional agriculture in these surrounding hills has caused soil erosion and during the rainy season much of this rich volcanic black top soil is washed downstream. This annual bounty has been redirected through the Ijatz site using a sequence of channels and sink holes, which in turn slows the water flow enabling the nutrient rich humus to be captured and stored on site. The earth has been moulded to create slopes, edges and contours essential for increased growing opportunity.
Comments (0)From Annuals to Perennials
Conservation, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Seeds, Structure — by Craig Mackintosh December 19, 2009
Permaculture is all about mimicking natural systems – patterning our agriculture and other critical human needs on the symbiotic processes we observe all around us. If you compare nature’s methods we see that stable natural plant systems are polycultures, and perennial, whereas our modern industrial agriculture is the exact opposite – largely being monocultures and annuals.
But, imagine if the annual crops we rely on the most, grains and pulses, could be made to grow perennially instead. No end/beginning of year ploughing, no annual replanting, etc. It would save enormous amounts of time and energy on cultivation and planting, and allow soils to remain undisturbed for longer, with immense benefits to soil life, structure, organic matter and carbon content.
The video below highlights this out-of-the-box permaculture thinking. The Land Institute in Kansas has been working solidly on engineering annuals into perennials (by way of natural plant breeding – not by gene gun). They take ancient wild, perennial varieties of grains, and cross them with their modern annual counterparts, and repeat, and repeat, until they end up with a harvestable product from a plant that doesn’t have to be resown every year. Or at least that’s the aim. This is still a work in progress, but their purpose is "to develop an agricultural system with the ecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops".
Comments (0)What will the Neighbours Think?
Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Trees — by Carolyn Payne November 12, 2009
That comment use to cross my mind, but luckily I got over it.
I completed my PDC in January ‘09 with Geoff at Zaytuna farm, along with a lovely range of fellow students from the far reaches of the globe. I sincerely hope they also post stories to share – come on guys, it’s time to be brave!
I returned to my home in south western Victoria (Australia) a changed woman, and I sometimes wonder what it was I use to believe in before I was transformed.
Comments (0)The Full Belly Project
Aid Projects, Food Plants - Annual, Food Shortages, Rehabilitation, Soil Erosion & Contamination — by Craig Mackintosh November 2, 2009
George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was a man worthy of respect. Born into slavery (his mother was purchased), he lived and died as a black man in an age of racial segregation. He was lucky enough, however, that his owners were a decent couple, who helped him to read and write, and ultimately ended up raising George as their own son (George, his sister and mother were all stolen and resold at one point — the original owner was only ever able to retrieve George).
George was encouraged to study and learn, and that he did — until he became one of the greatest agricultural researchers of his age.
Comments (0)Magic in Melbourne
Courses/Workshops, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Trees, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh October 2, 2009
There’s alchemy and magic afoot in Melbourne, where we take a look at Bill and Geoff’s PDC and the garden of a certain urban magician called Angelo.
 Bill Mollison at Trinity College, Melbourne All photographs © Craig Mackintosh |
I had never been to Melbourne before this week, but from my very short exposure to it over the last few days, I can already sense that it is a very strange place….
Take yesterday for example. I was in town, and noticed someone had dropped their purse on the sidewalk. There was a lot of foot traffic, and so, standing at a distance, I watched to see what people would do – you know, once they noticed it. Would they pocket it and hurry off? Would they look around for its owner, or maybe a policeman to hand it to?
Comments (0)Permaculture Main Crops of Special Importance – Salad Mallow
Food Plants - Annual, Recipes — by Geoff Lawton May 5, 2009
Salad Mallow (Corchorus olitorius)
(Mulaheyah, Egyptian Spinach, Jews Mallow)
Salad Mallow was the first name I knew for this amazing plant and it arrived into our extremely diverse selection of kitchen garden zone one crops in a seed packet from Shipards Herb Farm, Nambour, Queensland, Australia. Isabell Shipard has been a good friend, fellow permaculturist, and an incredible wealth of knowledge on herbs and useful plants for over 25 years – therefore, this little packet of seeds came from a very trusted source and, as usual, came with an information sheet that made it sound like it could possibly be a valuable addition if it was going to be reasonably easy to grow.
Each Step is the Way – Part I
Biological Cleaning, Compost, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Education Centers, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Land, Rehabilitation, Swales, Trees, Waste Water, Water Harvesting — by David Perkins April 30, 2009
Editor’s Note: David Perkins recently sat his PDC with Geoff Lawton and Darren Doherty, and has been very busy since….
Recent developments at Kailash-Akhara, Adi Yoga Retreat Center, Phu Rua, Loei, Thailand.
By David Perkins (Dharmadeva) – Farm Manager and resident permaculture designer and educator at Kailash-Akhara.
This report provides an overview of many aspects of creating a retreat center and living sustainably using the principles of permaculture. Short monthly updates will be given to keep our wider community informed.
Training Hall & Papaya
Chia: Crop Potential and Uses
Food Plants - Annual, Health & Disease, Medicinal Plants, Seeds — by Isabell Shipard April 5, 2009
Editor’s Note: Today we get some practical tips from Isabell Shipard, a lady whose work I featured recently. You’ll hear from Isabell from time to time – helping us get to know a little more about the herbs and other plants whose attributes, uses and benefits are often unknown or ignored. For a lot more info like this, consider purchasing one of Isabell’s really excellent books – you can find them in our book section.
Chia (Salvia rhyacophila) is a hardy annual herb 1-1.5m high, that belongs to the Salvia family, with its name coming from the Latin ‘salare’ which means to save, referring to its curative properties. Blue flowers spike to 10cm long, set on terminal stems, and fill out to a seed head (that is similar in appearance to a wheat seed head) with pin-head sized, brown, shiny seeds. Plants adapt to a wide range of soils, climates and minimal rainfall.
In the plant’s native habitat of South-west America, it has been highly valued as a staple food for hundreds of years. In Mexico, it was used as money and to pay taxes. A small handful of seeds and plenty of water supplied energy and sustenance, for a man traveling for 24 hours, and it is said that an Indian can exist on it for many days if necessary. Several USA universities have researched the endurance properties of chia and found that a tablespoon of seed could sustain a person for 24 hours, with hard labour. Richard Lucas, in his book, ‘Common and uncommon uses of herbs for healthy living’, encourages anyone to try it, and discover its unique ability to provide the go power to get through a busy day with a hop, skip and a jump. The seeds have valuable medicinal properties and nutritional content, with essential vitamins, minerals, fibre and 30% protein. In USA it is grown as a commercial crop and seed is available in Health Food Shops.
Comments (0)Making the Most of the ‘Ultimate Health Food Shop’ – Your Garden
DVDs/Books, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Health & Disease, Medicinal Plants — by Craig Mackintosh March 17, 2009
 Isabell Shipard – herbalist/educator |
One of the best aspects of Permaculture is being able to begin to take control back over our own lives. Rather than being just a captive cog in the huge destructive machine that is our present globalised industrial society (a machine running full speed towards a great yawning precipice), transitioning to Permaculture systems enables us to stand as individuals, making our own choices and, as far as possible, creating our own destiny.
One of the most important aspects of this is taking control back over our own health and personal well-being. In a world where industry profits from illness, and where institutions like the FDA (in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies and governments) seek to maximise their profiteering by outlawing more natural alternatives (see the disconcerting ‘Codex Alimentarius’ video at bottom, narrated by Judi Dench, and even has an appearance from Mel Gibson), the good news is that nature is always there for us – we just need to tap into the wealth of knowledge that is out there to help us to sustainably take advantage of it.
Comments (0)The One Duck Revolution
Animal Forage, Animal Housing, Bird Life, Breeds, Food Plants - Annual, Plant Systems, Working Animals — by Bill Mollison March 6, 2009
PIJ #58, Mar – May 1996
 Aigamo ducks in rice paddy |
Mr. Takao Furuno’s modest business card reveals that he is a farmer in a world where “one duck creates boundless treasure”.
He farms rice very successfully in Japan and is a private aid volunteer, working in Vietnam when I met him. He had a message for all rice farmers, perhaps all wet paddy farmers, and gave me his book (all in Japanese) on the duck-rice paddy design he has perfected. Luckily I also have a condensed translation.
Comments (0)Phases of Abundance
Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Plant Systems, Trees — by Bill Mollison February 9, 2009
PIJ #40, June – Aug 1991
Year One: Abundance of Species
When we set out to make a garden on at least 2-5 acres, in the Permaculture mode, we also set out to trial dozens of species, and to select those that thrive in our soil, under the conditions we impose, and in association with each other. Thus, in the beginning, even with generous help from our friends, we have relatively few plants of any species growing, but the basic garden assembly would have at least 300 plants representing some 240 species and 70 or so varieties. It takes a year and about $800 to put together such an assembly, and when we do so we feel the first sense of abundance, which we could call the rich abundance of species and forms. The yield is modest, more of a contribution to diet than a full diet, but many tree species will later come into production by years 3-6.
‘Project Thoreau’ Updates
Demonstration Sites, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Seeds, Urban Projects — by Ezanee Cooper December 14, 2008
Ezanee Cooper gives us some excellent updates on progress with ‘Project Thoreau‘. Use the comments form below to share your knowledge and help develop Ezanee’s plot, or to ask questions that might help you develop your own.
Project Thoreau –September / October 2008 Update
The garden has undergone a bit of a revamp. The bean patch was tidied up to reduce the number of hiding places for slugs and snails, beer traps were established, and the area more heavily mulched. The compost bin was relocated, and a potato patch has been established in its place. This was set up by digging in 10 retaining wall bricks into a square, and filling it with the compost from my bin together with dirt obtained from my sister’s place. Some old potatoes were then planted in, and the vines have already begun to shoot.
Comments (0)Weeds or Wild Nature?
Biodiversity, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Trees — by PIJ December 10, 2008
Reprinted with permission from the "Permaculture International Journal" (PIJ) (No. 61,
Dec-Feb 1997).
The world’s striving for racial tolerance doesn’t always extend to plants.
A key criticism of permaculture’s approach to building sustainable organic systems has been its perceived willingness to favour the introduction of exotic species.
Is it better to build systems that include exotics or should reforestation aim only to replace what has been taken away?
Is a rampant exotic a weed, or nature’s most effective first aid treatment?
It is a philosophical divide which has sparked heated debate within the permaculture community and strained relationships between groups that have otherwise much in common.
Comments (0)Water Chestnuts
Aquaculture, Food Plants - Annual, Medicinal Plants — by Alanna Moore November 29, 2008
The Water Chestnut, Eleocharis dulcis, is a tropical/sub-tropical sedge that grows in water margins and bogs in many parts of India, South-East Asia, New Guinea, Northern Australia and Polynesia. It is an annual that has erect, narrow, tubular leaves (clums) half a metre to a metre tall. The plant spreads by a creeping rhizome which, through the summer months, produces additional sucker plants. The sweet corms are highly valued as a nutritious food. They are also used medicinally for a number of ailments, used either fresh, boiled or steeped in rice wine. The corms contain an antibiotic principle called ‘puchin’, which acts like penicillin, helping in immune functioning. The stems may be used for mulch, fodder, fruit and vegetable packaging, and crafts.
