From Gully to Terraced Food Forest

Property Owner Strives to Repair Decades of Erosion from the Surrounding and Unrestrained Development.

 

Recommendations for Correction And Remediation

 There are 4 main issues affecting ecological stability of this property.

1.     The expansion of the catchment area around the property by extended hardscape and rooflines has vastly exceeded the capacity of the woodland to absorb or buffer.

2.  The volume of water delivered to the property is unrestricted regardless of duration or intensity of weather events.
3. The catchment landscape source of runoff has no infiltration mechanisms or back slopes to slow, delay, or retain the water, causing a high transfer rate across the property and the resulting catastrophic erosion.
4.  The quality of the water is highly questionable due to the source being parking lots, streets, driveways, and chemically treated turf.

Issues for correction

Public Works

• The volume of water entering the property must be reduced.
• The speed at which the water enters the property must be reduced.
• The quality of the water entering the property must be improved

Ecological Restoration

• The soil profile needs to be repaired to its original state and planted with native species of grasses, perennials, trees, and shrubs to stabilize the landscape.
• The topography of the property, especially with in and around the drainage ravine, needs ecologically clean fill at appropriate slopes suitable to the silt loam soil.  This will include numerous terraces, swales, berms, and infiltration ponds on contour.
•  Swells and berms on contour would be best installed across the entire property.
•  A creek bed must be installed atop the newly repaired drainage area. Numerous check dams and ponds will allow for water cleaning plants and improved ecological services to the woodland environment.
• To ensure proper drainage of extreme weather events, overflow and first flush mechanisms must be used atop a deep underground pipe for transfer of the water off the property. It would seem reasonable that this pipe should run the length of the property, and perhaps extended beyond, to protect the ecology of the woodland and deter a reoccurrence of the present situation.
•  Properties outside the DMGL Woodland must be required to accept and infiltrate a majority of their rainwater into the landscape on site.
• Drainage onto the DMGL property that is not according to a legal easement must immediately cease.
•  Wattle fences and check dams should cross all newly eroded areas and drainage points.

Wisconsin Farm goes Medicinal and Organic

PDF

Along with this design the clients is given a 116 page narrative and supporting materials.


Plants:
Plant list database resources: Natural Capital, PFAF, and USDA.
Source Catalogues: Oikos, Fedco, High Mowing, Bountiful, Gardens, Johnny’s, Southern Exposure,
Richter’s, Priarie Moon. etc.
Greenhouses and High tunnels (USDA) for annual crops will extend production year round. Placed on terraces near barns these growing spaces will have adequate water and access to resources. Present
terraces repaired and established in planting beds for or around greenhouses. Heat pump facility may
be used to modify the growing space environment. Pond fill trench removed or modified for better use and infitration.
The design the house-barn area will be detailed upon further consultation and client preferences.
Water:
The complete water plan includes catchment areas, swales, spillways, and basins. Some water
features may run under access roads. The purpose of the features will be infitration with limited pondingbeyond 24 hours. Established ponds will hold water for use during periods without rain. A solarpump fills a cistern at the high point of the property. This supplies lines to the West and may siphonunused water to the other ponds, swales and holding tanks. All swlaes are on contour and added asacces spoint to the property when dry.
Livestock (Animals):
Reestablish prairie for pasture, add fencing, field capacity calculated by breed with rotational grazing plan, and structures for feed, supplies, and housing with wireless security cameras.
Access:
Vehicle use is limited to appropriate access routes. Trucks and large capacity vehicles are limited to graveled roads.
Intra-landscape access is limited to foot, light ATVs, or tractors in cultivation. The soil on site is highly erodible and compaction from vehicles will damage roots.
OtherNotes:
A paved staging area near barns will be level and curbed for extended operations, parking, material delivery, and construction. Harvest access will be from this point to export.
Firewood storage near external boiler estblished with heavy load traffic gravel access.
Portable saw mill suggested for upper woodland and periodic harvest use.
Dedicated wood, welding, and repair shop in barn area.
Remove all visual noise and excess materials from the landscape for storage and protection.
Fence around perimeter?
Soil test are run for each planting area on the property.
A root cellar is located across from the chill house/nursery office.
The large pond is stocked with large game and harvestable fish. Its perimeter is lined with fibrous
rooted plants and water loving trees. Near are other harvestable trees and shrubs, extending to
access routes.
The Savannah north of the large pond is restored to near native conditions with seed and transplants.
All iron stakes and rebar in growing areas are removed and if needed replaced with wood. Tree tubes removed and stored for later use.
Weekly plant inspections instituted for real time adjustments and plant replacement. Orchard sanitation established

 

Partitioning Resources

Due to the necessity of nature to fill every niche with efficient use of sunlight and soil, plants naturally partition those resources through a succession of species. After a disturbance or as soil has become exposed to the environment through some geological event, plants begin to occupy the new niche. At first the pioneer plants take hold. Dandelions, grasses, and an assortment of plants commonly called weeds begin to cover the soil and put down roots.  Flat and broad leaved plants cover the soil and limit the growth of other plants. Some root structures are fibrous growing laterally while others are deep and vertical. Even at this early stage the plants are partitioning the soil so that each gets its needs met. New plants of similar route structure are out-competed by the plants that are established. Only the plants that can find a niche that is not occupied will have a chance at survival.

Excerpt from APS 5101 Polyculture Design  University of Minnesota,  June - July, 2013

Ollas: Unglazed Clay Pots for Garden Irrigation

Ollas: Unglazed Clay Pots for Garden Irrigation

Watering with Ollas

John Dromgoole|Central Texas Gardener

 

• http://www.howtopedia.org/en/How_to_Use_the_Porous_Clay_Pots_and_Pipes_System%3F
• http://www.oas.org/dsd/publications/Unit/oea59e/ch38.htm
• http://www.continentaldrift.net/2006/03/17/68/
• http://www.pakissan.com/english/newtech/pitcher.irrigation.a.water.shtml
• http://www.seedandlightinternational.org/Photo%20Pages/One/photo_gallery_one5.htm
• http://www.eastcentralministries.org/content.asp?CustComKey=336396&CategoryKey=336426&pn=Page&DomName=eastcentralministries.org
• http://farmnatters.blogspot.com/2009/04/water-saving-garden-technique-using.html
• http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/05/29/ollas-2/
• http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2009/03/05/ollas-o-yeah/
• http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/03/24/using-ollas/
• http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/02/27/ollas/

Surviving Collapse and The Property Purchase Checklist. A Geoff Lawton Initiative

 How to Survive the Coming Crises

 The Beauty of Ecologically Balanced Homestead Design.

Surviving Collapse - The Property Purchase Checklist

This is really Good.  Number Two in his new series.

Mālama Molokaʻi: Heal the land, Harvest water, Grow food security

Russell Means on Natural Law /Permaculture

The Book Shelf

Place the Plants Beginning Polyculture Execise

Try this exercise in site conditions and plant placement.

Control Click to "View Image" larger.

  

Answers are on the blog below in white.

Cut and past and change font color to see.

 A This plant is in ______ Soils and full sun.                          It is a 9 Black Currant
B What plant(s) can be used here? List the I.D, numbers        1 - 7
C What type of plant is this?                                                   Aquatic
D Only one plant can live in this niche. _____                       6 Coon Tail
E Describe this plants niche?                                                  Dry, Partilal Sun
F What dry soil plant can be used here. ____                         25 Wild Geranium
G This deciduous berry shrub is an understory plant.            11 Roundleaf Service Berry
H This perennial understory plant cannot tolerate full sun.   13 ZigZag Goldenrod

Ollas are Here! Cut your garden watering by more than 50%

Drought Proof Your Garden or Orchard.
I bought a pallet of Ollas to share with my friends.
This is the BEST irrigation system ever. No erosion, salting, compaction, or leeching, and the plant roots regulate the water.

This is the first SouthWoods Permaculture Buying Club Special. $28 each if you pick them up here. You won't find a better price anywhere. These are two gallon garden sized ceramic Olla pots. See my previous blog posting. The cheapest you might find these is $34 and they are tiny. Pick up early April. First come first served. Send a check to reserve yours.
Order here on-line otherwise.

17766 Langford Blvd, Prior Lake, MN 55337

Ollas, Gotta have 'em!

The underground watering system that reduces evaporation, salting, water use, frequency, and waters the plants as they need directly to the roots. 
Check out the science
The pots are removed from the soil in freezing climates and at season end.
More Info.

Above from PRI Australia

Haiti Permaculture Makes Roots

 One of our students in last August's Haiti PDC went home and implemented a two acre berm and swale ravine design.
He and his children worked for weeks, using hand tools and baskets to move soil and rock.
Once planted at the end of the rainy season, the beds have not been watered for four months.
The farmer now has a huge harvest of potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, Casava (Tapioca), and later, Acacia.

The lush foliage is visible against the stark brown landscape from far away. The family has food through the dry season and into the next. Soil is being built and enhanced.
Water is stored in the soil for a quarter mile up the ravine in bands of vegetated rock walls alternating with pairs of planted swales. Between each swale is 10 - 12 planting rows on contour. Beautiful work done with a home made "A" frame contour finder.
Although unmulched, soon to be, the soil is moist at the root zone and deep into the soil. The next three to four growing seasons will continue to build the soil and provide a salable crop and healthy diet for the family.

This comes from one student in a two week design class that takes the permaculture principles and practices to heart and makes the effort to change his life.
The principles work, permaculture works, and the catch and store structure of water catchments have proven to be a life saver in a drought landscape. Ecologically based design uses natures systems to create abundant resources. The precipitation extremes are buffered as dry grasses are used for mulch and water is stored in the soil for months.

Thank you -  Mindful Generations.

Redefining Employment

Recently I was asked what kinds of employment opportunities are in sustainability (Permaculture)..
Points from the response:

1. Firstly, starting from a perspective of employment and thus extraction from the system will quickly derail you. Many of us have chosen the freelance life.
2. An attitude of service, outside the consumerist culture, will attract the people who will support you.
3. Permaculture can start from any point you are in, but be excellent at what you know and adapt it to the ecological solutions and principles of permaculture. 
4. There is a lot of room for growth in the field for specialists. 
5. None of us are employed by anybody. We work as virtual teams coalescing as required and dispersing to our homesteads, to gather another time, teaching, designing, and consulting with each other.
6. The quote of my friend Geoff Lawton, "In the future , everyone will need at least five sources of revenue", revenue being a yield that supports your living.  Strategize for five "income" streams; and add to that ecological, social, and natural capital.
7. Reduce your reliance on the status quo.

Comments appreciated on this.

Haiti Travel Map for Spring PDCs

 

Finishing Two, Starting Two

Winter Design Class focuses on Polyculture Design

Alison Feik developed a backyard food forest with curvilinear skill. 
The Winter Homestead Design Series helped property owners and designers to develop[p the skills to cleanly and methodically plan their landscape. We focused on ecological functions and services of the exiting Eco-system and merging the goals of the design with nature's momentum.

Judy and Karen finish the fifth session of class specifying plants from the Natural Capital Plant Database. Each niche is populated with polycultures of mutually beneficial plants. Previous classes focused on site assessment to the structure of the design and appropriate pant types.

Kefir Bread, Two ingredients. 5 Minutes Prep.

 This simple recipe fills my cultural need for bread at every meal.
5 cups flour, 2 cups fresh Kefir, mixed for 5 min., put in a greased pan of your choice. Let it rise 12 hours, baked at 350° for 40 min., a coarse grain bread emerges with a crunchy brown crust.

Next I'm going to try rice flour with honey for a gluten-free version.

Urban Farming Guidebook | Real Estate Foundation

Urban Farming Guidebook 

Natural Capital Plant Database Tours and Tutorials
Permacultureplantdata.com

Tutorial Number 1  Public Access Tutorial and Site Tour

Tutorial Number 2  Member (subscriber) Level Access Tutorial and Site Tour

Tutorial Number 3  Subscriber Design Tools, Search Functions, and Plant List Export

Tutorial Number 4 for Designer Plant List Downloads

Next up, automated plant symbol generation for importable vector graphics.

Thanks, Paula Westmoreland & Daniel Halsey     

Diversity of Growing Zones

When comparing the growing zones in Canada, Europe, and United States, it's pretty amazing when you consider the diversity we have in the USA. Canada does food production is limited to the most southern regions and thin coastal areas. Europe's growing zones are wide encompassing whole countries in a single zone.  The zones seem to mimic the innermost shapes of the continent. Distance from the large ocean masses drives the extreme cold temperatures.

As our growing zones shift in the next 50 to 60 years, I can only wonder how we will adapt. Keep in mind as the warmer climates shift north in the United States, it does not change the sunlight. The northern latitudes will still have short days in winter, not to forget the intensity of the light is diminished as much as 40%. Our annual crops will be less affected by water availability than our perennials and trees which require a cold season.

  Some researchers suspect that the Atlantic conveyor, the Atlantic ocean currents which cycle North from the equator across Europe coastlines could stall and  cause a reduction in  continental temperature.

 in all of this I hope we will increase the diversity of plants and work towards facilitating the ecological adaptation.