Welcome to the THC+ Forums. To participate you need to be, or at some point have been, a THC+ Member.
If that's you, your THC+ Username is already here, but you need to establish a separate password for the forums, since access doesn't rely on your THC+ account being active. Just click the "Forgot Password" link and follow the prompts. Thanks and enjoy!
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
That Gordon White episode was so good I listened to it twice then dove into permaculture research. I'm planning to buy a house in a few years and this is totally something I want to do. Look up food forests, how fucking cool is this?!
This video made me realize you can get a ton of produce out of a regular suburban yard once you dedicate a few years to fixing the soil and planning how to use the space. I thought I would need a few acres, but even a 1/4 acre can produce a ton of food. Has anyone tried this sort of thing themselves? How did it work out?
That Gordon White episode was so good I listened to it twice then dove into permaculture research. I'm planning to buy a house in a few years and this is totally something I want to do. Look up food forests, how fucking cool is this?!
This video made me realize you can get a ton of produce out of a regular suburban yard once you dedicate a few years to fixing the soil and planning how to use the space. I thought I would need a few acres, but even a 1/4 acre can produce a ton of food. Has anyone tried this sort of thing themselves? How did it work out?
I'm digging this thread up to share some tips I learned recently.
My philosophy is that if you take care of the soil, and the soil will take care of the plants. Hence, it's important to know what makes soil fertile and what goes against it. Regarding the former, two things come to my mind: living organisms and bio-diversity. The more living beings reside in your soil: from bacteria, fungi, micro-organisms, insects, worms, the more it will contribute to a healthy, resilient eco-system. We should not under-estimate this point.
It goes without saying that what makes you function properly and healthily, also applies to plants, insect and animals. Things like Moisture content (water) or pH (level of acidity) are things to keep an eye on. Again, as above so below: you feel thirsty, you drink water. It's too acid (low pH), you add lime, or wood ash (high ph/alkaline). It's sometimes tricky to assess the situation, but a good tip is smell. if it smells bad, something's gone sour (literally, acidic).
I grew up believing that to make soil fertile, you first had to plow through it, rake it and weed out all the non-essential plants. Now, I'm more inclined to think in the opposite way by leaving the soil alone, so as to create as little damage as possible. Which brings me to this next method:
No-Till Cardboard method
The principle behind this method is simple: instead of digging in soil, we build on-top of soil by adding organic materials on top which will slowly decompose with the help of micro-organisms/insects, and progressively heal the soil beneath. The lasagna method as it's called, consists of layering (from bottom to top):
- Cardboard (wet or you can add water later). Dig a hole thru the cardboard to plant your seed (or transplant your potted one)
- manure: leave 5cm gap around plants.
- compost : on top of manure, don't cover the plants. It's good to add 4-6 inches. This will be the foundation for your plants to grow,
- mulch: straw or woodchips: around the plant, this helps absorb and preserve moisture and nutrients.
The great thing about this method, is that you literally don't need to dig into soil, or very little (except for when you make holes to plant). Weeds will wither and die, and Worms, fungi and other MO simply start residing underneath all that goodness (cardboard provides a great home and food source for worms, whose castings are awesome for plants). and voila!
It's also great because there's always cardboard laying around the house, or the neighborhood (think Amazon packages). Just make sure you got all tapes and plastics off first. Some will complain about the color inks, and yes no-ink is better, but I don't think it's that big of an issue personally.
Planning on using this method soon to get a garden started in my building. Last but not least, working with soil and nature in general, requires long-term thinking and patience. Don't expect your soil to become a food-forest right away. It may take a few years before it really makes a difference. But I suspect you'll be saving yourself a lot of time and hassle by building on top of soil, instead of scarifying/traumatizing the soil life by tilling and all that.
Leave any comments or feedback below, I'm not expert but I figure these tips may be helpful now more than ever
PS: Below is a chart about companion planting (many plants work in symbiosis with others, including flowers and trees) so I've been using this to plan my designs
PS2: If you're curious and want to learn more, I recommend this site which features a huge library of books, including on biodynamic, permaculture, rainwater harvesting, and pretty much anything (including more esoteric ones, like Schauberger, Walter Russell): https://b-ok.cc/
Wow! Thank you guys for this thread! I volunteered at a permaculture site in southern Oregon so many years ago and discovered my passion for horticulture and soil. 11 years later, I finally have some acreage, both urban and rural, to realize my dream. The videos posted above have helped to reawaken the latent knowledge I gained from my time at The Homestead.
While my goals are generally to create and nurture a food forrest that provides nourishment for my family and others in my local community and, perhaps, a teaching site; it occurs to me that I'll need to generate an income to keep it going beyond this season. So, my question is do any of you have experience selling produce from your gardens? With the current restrictions on the world's economy many of the farmer's markets in my area have been canceled. I'm thinking that I'll just set up a stand on the corner of the urban lot and hope for the best as well as donate a bunch to the Food Bank.
Any thoughts or pointers to more information on how to sustain my dream of feeding the world good food?
Thanks,
Kat
Wow! Thank you guys for this thread! I volunteered at a permaculture site in southern Oregon so many years ago and discovered my passion for horticulture and soil. 11 years later, I finally have some acreage, both urban and rural, to realize my dream. The videos posted above have helped to reawaken the latent knowledge I gained from my time at The Homestead.
While my goals are generally to create and nurture a food forrest that provides nourishment for my family and others in my local community and, perhaps, a teaching site; it occurs to me that I'll need to generate an income to keep it going beyond this season. So, my question is do any of you have experience selling produce from your gardens? With the current restrictions on the world's economy many of the farmer's markets in my area have been canceled. I'm thinking that I'll just set up a stand on the corner of the urban lot and hope for the best as well as donate a bunch to the Food Bank.
Any thoughts or pointers to more information on how to sustain my dream of feeding the world good food?
Thanks,
Kat
Hey Kat, very nice to hear your story! I would definitely contact local farmers, organic produce sellers in your area to come-up with ideas adapted to your locale.
I'm still in the middle of watching this epic 5-hour livestream hosted by John D Liu, regrouping incredible talents and minds in the regenerative culture from different perspectives (agriculture and economy)
One farmer* (below) was talking about how she was able to shift her business successfully during the covid by partnering with local farmers to delivery boxes of groceries. I think it's very inspiring and perhaps a better way than brick-and-mortar and/or farmer's market (at least at this moment of "social-distancing").
*The part with the farmer, Molly, starts around 2h40mins mark)
Regarding generating an income, I think there are tons of success-stories, the question is, what do you have available around you (resources), and either lower overhead and/or figuring ways to add-value to it. I'm fan of anything waste recycling related.
Since the past year, I worked to setup with various means of composting, including bokashi & vermicomposting. The former is great for appartment dwellings like myself, while the latter requires space but easy-to-maintain also. But you probably already have one of those Let us know if you figure something, I think this movement to growing your own locally is getting more and more attention and opportunities.
You may also find this thread on the blue economy interesting. Gunter Pauli is organizing a lot of events to get the ball going (a "Tour de France" in May, cross-country).
Great things coming soon
Peace ~
What an incredible project! Patience really is key in regenerating. Thank you for posting it
Speaking of deserts, I've always wondered why not harvest water from the condensation using a dome structure to assist.
Something like this fog net installed in Peru, or dew harvesters such as the warka water tower
What an incredible project! Patience really is key in regenerating. Thank you for posting it
Speaking of deserts, I've always wondered why not harvest water from the condensation using a dome structure to assist.
Something like this fog net installed in Peru, or dew harvesters such as the warka water tower
Ya the water harvesting stuff for deserts is really the cutting edge in my mind.
In more temperate climates I have found that you don't even need that much patience. Just a bit of effort toward stewarding your soil and some thoughtful planning and abundance leaps forth out of the earth.
The more time I've spent working on different garden projects the more I've come to accept that the story of scarcity and hardship in our past is a lie and that the "edenic" times were not that long ago. Maybe 10 generations ago many of our ancestors lived in the midst of an abundant web of verdant life energy. Of course there was work involved and certain hardships, but my experience has been that the rewards for that work and for forsaking these modern conveniences has been tremendous. And I can only imagine that it was amplified by engaging it within a functioning social unit and coherent culture
That Gordon White episode was so good I listened to it twice then dove into permaculture research. I'm planning to buy a house in a few years and this is totally something I want to do. Look up food forests, how fucking cool is this?!
This video made me realize you can get a ton of produce out of a regular suburban yard once you dedicate a few years to fixing the soil and planning how to use the space. I thought I would need a few acres, but even a 1/4 acre can produce a ton of food. Has anyone tried this sort of thing themselves? How did it work out?
Hi!! I don’t have a food forest, but I do have a couple large permaculture gardens, a berry house, an old apple orchard and a greenhouse. I love the idea of a food forest, though. Just thought I would share the fact that growing your own food it so rewarding on many levels. It’s fun, it’s delicious, its healthy, its a chance to be with Mother Nature.
Want a few tips?
Not everything goes to plan all the time. Some years certain things are amazing and some years they are not. You’ve just got to read, learn, read and try. Learn from your mistakes. (and other people’s mistakes lol)
The days can be long but the salads are bomb diggity!! Learn about water needs, fertilizer needs (compost, manure, coffee grounds, potash, etc...) and group like with like. Irrigation is the key to abundance. Too many varieties of one food will result in cross-pollination. I grew snow peas and shucking peas too close and ended up with a hybrid—tough pods and small peas Same with cucumbers one year. I think I have thoroughly learned that lesson now. Lol. Find out about companion planting. Canning is great, lasts longer than freezing.
Hope that helps. I love sharing what I’ve learned. Have fun getting dirty!
On the topic of seed saving, this guy is one of my heroes http://garden.lofthouse.com/
He's really inspired me to up my seed saving efforts and not fear a little variety in the gene pool.
On the topic of seed saving, this guy is one of my heroes http://garden.lofthouse.com/
He's really inspired me to up my seed saving efforts and not fear a little variety in the gene pool.
Hey personman✌
Thanks for sharing that link. I liked the bit about Utah’s food freedom act. Where I live, everybody and their grandma has a farmstand at the end of their driveway. We can’t sell prepared foods tho. Just produce and eggs. I’m getting better at saving seeds. Livin and learnin over here.
