A day at the fair...

Today was the first full day of the first ever Denver County Fair. I spent most of the day working at a few booths, one was a craft and gardening group I belong to and the other was the Denver Handmade Alliance. There were a ton of craft, sewing and other hand goods booths. After my shifts I spent a bunch of time walking around, checking out all the fair had to offer, and you know what? There were quite a few gardening and urban homesteading booths but not a single one about permaculture. Not one.

Now I believe very strongly in growing where you live, eating local foods, heirloom seed propagation and community gardening projects, but what is the point if you are not creating a more permanent structure or mature eco-system. By removing the plants at the end of the growing season, either through harvest, complete die back or tilling, you take away the entire life of the garden. Animals and insects no longer have homes. The soil no longer has any protection and is completely at the mercy of the elements. All that fertility is washed away, micro-organism colonies die off and the other soil life has to scramble to find other nutrient rich soils. Is it any wonder that we then think that our soil is terrible?

Nothing is more sad to me than walking by a garden that is simply bare earth. Plants bring life and keep it cycling through the ground and through the air we breathe. Native plant species, which most gardeners have come to regard as weeds, fix minerals and nutrients in order for more permanent perennials, bushy plants and trees to root and thrive. Building a foundation, and keeping it, should be our main goals as gardeners. Would you spend a whole year building a house, foundation, walls, a roof, only to tear it down in the fall and start building all over in the spring? No, and if you ever met someone who was doing that I'm sure the first thing that would come to your mind would be, Man that person must be crazy, why do they tear their house down and rebuild it year after year? That is precisely how I feel about most modern gardening.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are some urban homesteaders who practice permaculture, and probably some other home gardeners who do as well but none of them are talking about it. We need to break down this communication gap in order to move to the next level of sustainability. There is no sustainability with out permanent garden agriculture. Fertilizing with anything other than compost is not sustainable. Trucking in soil is not sustainable. I am even willing to go so far as to say that permanent raised beds are not sustainable, even if they are made from recycled building materials. The only way to achieve sustainability to to enrich the soil itself. By building soil life, you build life above ground.

Permaculture is not a buzz word, it is the world. Mother nature does not create eco-systems only to destroy them every fall. We need to take a cue from the world around us. We are a part of nature, not separate from it, so we should start acting like it.

Permaculture on the move in the mainstream...

Well just a bit it seems. Here's an article the NY Times just did on the movement and ideas surrounding it. Some good information and basic overview, it's a bit long but worth it...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/garden/permaculture-emerges-from-the-underground.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

A few more pictures and some thoughts on Permaculture...

Thinking a lot about the yard today. Since we live in Denver we have a very short growing season, once it's cold, it's cold. I planted many seeds quite late in the season, so I'm sure that we will really only end up with a few crops this year. I seriously doubt that any of the watermelons, pumpkins (except the seedlings that were planted), or leeks are going to bear and be harvestable. I am perfectly alright with this. The plants growing in the soil promote micro-organism growth, insect populations and bring much needed nutrients up to the soil's surface, where they are needed most. In the fall I plan on chopping and dropping all of the annuals then sheet mulching most of the garden. There are a ton of trees around here so there is no shortage of fall leaves for mulch and there is always a place to get used cardboard. Doing this should be enough to suffocate the grass while encouraging even more happy soil organisms. This is all just step one of the journey, allowing the earth to repair takes time and patients, but it really is the only way to ensure the health of ourselves and our planet.

Now on to the pictures....

This is part of the newly rock outlined garden space. You can see a small keyhole walkway going from center left toward top right. In fron of the keyhole are a few watermelon, corn and been seedlings. I actually planted the corn, bean and squash seeds all together and all have been coming up beautifully. This, as in all the other areas around the lawn, was not cleared of grass before planting, only the strong survive, right? Really I just felt it would better serve the fledgling eco-system to just leave it all in place for now.

If you look closely there are two different plants in this picture. The tall stems and small plants with serrated leaves and what looks like a white powder in the center are called Lamb's Quarters. They are a native, edible plant with leaves that taste surprisingly like spinach. It is also fixes much needed minerals into the soil and is great to mulch in place. The small plants with smooth edged leaf pairs are young snow pea plants. Instead of staking or trellising the plants I'm using the lamb's quarters as a natural trellis. Less work for me and better for the plants too.

On the backside of the main garden plot is the alley. We want to use all the space possible for growing so we are also planting and repairing the no man's land that is the alley side patch. Pictured here are a bunch of corn, bean, okra and larkspur plants. This area gets full sun all day and really decent drainage, it really would be a shame to overlook this plot because of it's location.

This will be the last picture for now. This is the North side of our garage, which is a narrow strip between our garage and the neighbor's driveway. There are several trees in this area and tons of leaf litter. Actually I think this is some of the most fertile land we currently have. At the base of this tree you can see a bunch of snow pea sprouts, which will hopefully grow up the tree, and in the foreground there are some other bean, corn and squash plants. The lovely mushrooms are a friend of the tree's. Obviously there's quite a bit going on back there.

Well that's all for now. Oh and I'm sure I've never mentioned this but I am NOT and expert. I just have a deep deep love for our planet and a firm belief that we need to be more self-sufficient and community minded. I want there to be mature, thriving eco-systems that support themselves and us as well. Anyone can do this, and it takes a lot less work than you think.

Pictures Pictures Pictures

Thought I would post some pictures of the yard in it's infancy. 

The first photo is of the north side of the house. The grass back there was patchy, to put it nicely, and there was very little growing back there. I planted a bunch of edamame, which are doing quite well, in order to get more nitrogen in the super heavy clay soil and also to break up the soil a bit and create a little coverage for the bare ground. I ended up transplanting a few other squash/ bean seedling combinations so there should be even more ground cover back there very shortly. Though we are planning on sheet mulching most of the yard in the fall, it's important to get the soil working, if your soil has nothing to offer micro-organisms and other insects it doesn't really matter what you put on top of it.

The second picture is from the half barrel that sits in front of our house. There was a bunch of native ground cover already making itself quite happy there so I planted a watermelon in there as well. As it grows it should be able to cascade down the side of the planter and meander down the lawn out front.

This is a wild strawberry that I saved from a terrible death by mowing (from my neighbors lawn) and transplanted to a low, sandy, bare patch in the backyard. I transplanted a few others as well and if all goes right they will spread and cover the bare patch and we will have yummy berries.

This is the same side of the yard that the strawberries are planted in. If you can make it out, you'll notice a few of the squash transplants filling some patchy areas. This is also the fence that was completely over-run with the powdery mildewed Virginia Creeper. In the background you can see our make-shift compost bin. We had a large pile that was doing well but the squirrels became a bit pesky and we also decided that we wanted to plant some crops right where the pile was sitting. The box actually works pretty well and it was free which is always a plus.

My last picture for now, this is a shot of the wildflowers growing in the grass. I discovered an old metal garden fence when I was digging weeds out of the lawn one day and decided to recreate the garden that it once held. After placing a bunch of rocks to outline the space I just started planting. The grass is actually pretty decent ground cover, for now anyway, and I figured that if "weeds" can seed themselves in a lawn then purposefully placed seeds should be able to as well. All of the flower seedlings pictured here are from a "Save the Bees" mix, which just seemed perfect since we are trying to save the yard. This area is also going to be getting mulched in the fall which should do away with the grass entirely but this is working pretty well for the moment.

I'll post a few more pictures later today so you can see the rest of the yard. Remember, permaculture does not have to be perfect or pretty!

Powdery mildew part 2...

Just thought I'd post an update on the pumpkin plants. This morning I went out and only a few of them have any signs of still active fungus. The baking soda solution really did the trick. What is noticeable though is all of the places the mildew was damaging the plant. There are some crispy crunchy spots on a few of the leaves that were really bad, as long as it doesn't spread, they'll stay, though I am quite confident that the issue is pretty much resolved. I'm going to do another treatment on just a few leaves tomorrow morning and that should be the end of things. Hooray for organic solutions in the garden!

Oh that pesky powdery mildew...

There has been a ton of rain this summer. Almost every day from mid-june up until now there has been rain in the afternoon. Though it's been a bit of a blessing, not having to water the garden has been lovely, it hasn't come without a price, powdery mildew. What is powdery mildew? Well if you have ever seen splotchy grey spots, that look like a power on  your plants you have encountered this not so wonderful fungal friend. Here's a link to the wiki article all about it, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powdery_mildew. 

Now there were two main areas of the yard affected by this lovely organism, a few leaves on the pumpkin vines and virtually all of the neighbor's Virginia Creeper that had grown over the fence and was creeping up on all of the other garden beds. We do not believe in using chemical pesticides, herbicides or fungicides on our plants. If you poison the garden you poison yourself and really everyone else as well. This left a few options for controlling the outbreak. 

First I dealt with the pumpkins. Early this morning I went out with a spray bottle filled with two teaspoons of baking soda and a bunch of water. I then sprayed every leaf, top and bottom, every stem and flower. The ph change caused by the baking soda is unfavorable to the conditions that powdery mildew needs to thrive. I then watered and left the plants to dry in the morning sun. When I went to check on them later this afternoon only a few leaves had any trace of the fungus. I'm going to reapply the mix tomorrow to the still affected leaves but all signs point to a healthy recovery from the outbreak.

Next I dealt with the creeper. Now this was a much, much bigger job. So much of the vine was affected that there was no way for me to effectively treat it. Though there are different strains of powdery mildew, it is in the same family as grapes and in the future we are planning on growing quite a few and I really don't want the fungus overwintering in the soil. For all these reasons I decided to cut out all of the affected plant and dispose of the matter. As hard as it was for me to just toss all of the vines into a trash bag, it is extremely unwise to try and compost plant matter infected with powdery mildew, home compost and mulch piles do not usually get hot enough to kill the fungus, so I had to just let it go. If you have to dispose of plant matter be sure to do a thorough cleaning of the ground, picking up all dried and fallen leaves and branches as well. Everything must go! 

Though I spent most of the day I was able to eradicate this bout of powdery mildew, with no nasty chemicals and just a little bit of work. The weather looks like it may be stabilizing a bit so I hope this is the last I see of this little friend this year. Plus I think I may just plant a few useful climbers to replace all that creeper, hooray!

The seedlings are here...

*please note that this blog was originally posted on my other blog on July 18th, 2011*

So I planted and planted and planted. I did companion planting and placed some in the same hole and even layered and layered the seed. Now everything is coming up. Everything! Some parts of the yard are just overflowing with the potential for life. I had so many squash, bean and corn plants come up that I had to transfer a ton of them to parts of the yard not originally intended for planting. I really don't mind though, the more the merrier!
Why would you plant so many seeds you may ask... well, I planted so many seeds because the dirt needs some love, and frankly we need more plants and insects in our yard. We need to get the soil working. Plus I firmly believe that mono-cultures, even in sections of your own garden, are not healthy for the plants or the eco-system. There is no where in the natural world that has just one plant or animal species living there, to do so would be pure eco-system suicide. If the right predator or disease comes along the entire system is toast. Mono-culture creates pest and disease problems and depletes the soil. Inter-planting is the key, or at least that's what seems the most obvious to me.
I know where most everything I planted is. I have to say most everything because although I drew pretty detailed maps and diagrams of the garden planting areas, there was one day I did a ton of planting and forgot to record it the same day. I remembered that I hadn't written it down a day or so later but by then it was too late, I had forgotten the placement of quite a few of the seeds. This is part of what makes it so exciting that the seedlings are popping up, I finally get to see what I planted and where. I have been quite surprised at who the first to arrive are and I hope to see some of the seeds whom may take quite a bit longer to germinate.
What about water? Isn't all that planting using up a lot of water? Actually not only does it use quite a bit less than it would if I were growing grass in that space but since we are encouraging a perma-culture and allowing natural leaf litter and ground covers to grow we are losing much less water from the soil than if it was just open soil between all the plants. This summer has also been quite stormy with quite a few weeks of very intense afternoon thunder/lightening and rain storms so nature has been watering for us. Every year that goes by the garden will need less and less human watering and be able to rely on the natural water cycles. There is no one watering the plants in nature and they do just fine.
Every day I go outside several times and check on all the growth. I talk to the plants, encourage them and inspect them for damage. I am also studying them. I would like to be able to recognize all of the plants just by their seedlings. I'm starting to know them all, as of now the squash are still pretty hard to tell apart but I'm sure that in another week or two everything will be much more clear.

Adventures in permaculture

* please note, this post was originally from July 17th, 2011 and was posted on my other blog*

So we have decided to start a permaculture garden in our yard. Though we rent, the yard that goes along with the house has not been taken care of in years and needs tons of work if it's really going to be usable. Add to it a bunch of overgrown grass (which I can't stand and is such a HUGE waste of resources) and some mostly dead trees and you've got a lovely bit of mess on your hands.
I do not mind work. Actually I quite enjoy toiling in the garden but only if I know that in the future there will be much less toil. I have created a new border area that will hopefully be filled with lots of yummy greens and fun flowers and planted more seeds than I have ever seen. I have read a few books, a few blogs and have come to one conclusion about permaculture... all you really need to do is let go and let nature do the work for you.
Now for most people I think that is the hardest part, letting go of the garden. Letting go of the complete control we try to have over our plant allies. Letting the ground mature, slowly building more and more life within. Letting the leaves lay where they fall and the weeds grow tall, bringing more and more nutrients to the top soil. We have to accept that there are cycles to the earth, not just seasons, but cycles of life in the land. Most yards are being kept in a permanent state of youth. All those perfect lawns and well fertilized garden beds are actually yearning for large perennials with deep tap roots, groves of saplings to bring much needed shade and soil overflowing with micro-organisms.
Well we have simply decided to get out of the way. We have let the native "weeds" grow tall, turns out they are super beneficial and edible of course. We left the grass in the border area and simply planted on it and in it, knowing the strongest plants will survive and thrive. We have been chopping and dropping too tall plants, letting them mulch in place, creating much needed shade for the soil. We did huge mix plantings with beans, corn, squash, melons, herbs and flowers. We are working on creating an environment that is welcoming to birds, insects, small mammals and humans.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that the yard will not always be like this. There have been aphids, yellow jackets and some nasty squirrels but these are only "pests" because the current eco-system allows them to go unregulated. In a few years the yard will be able to regulate itself and every creature will have it's own unique place in the web. Such wonderful energy, all provided by this wonderful universe and our mother earth. After this growing season is done, we are going to sheet mulch all the garden area to keep all that life in the earth and allow it to thrive. Then next year when it comes time to plant there will be much less to establish, with every succeeding year leaving less to do in order to manage the space.
I know not everyone can just leave the earth to do it's thing. I for one don't understand why you would want to do so much extra work when mother nature wants to do it for you. Start small, create some space and she will end up taking your breath away.

The pumpkins are taking over...

Before we decided to start permaculturing the yard I had made a decision to just get a few plants in order to get the soil working for next year (also to get a feel for how well plants would grow without any soil treatments). I bought a few pumpkin seedlings, as well as a small artichoke plant and a bunch of onions. I then planted them in the only swathe of yard we had mulched with all the leaves from the fall. Surprise, surprise all the plants began to grow, and not just grow a little, grow a ton. This made me super excited, and I just started planting seeds everywhere.

Now, I have never grown pumpkins before so I didn't really know what I was in for. I thought I did but oh I was wrong. My two pumpkin plants have now taken over more than half of the garden area they were planted in and they don't even have any fruit yet. I have had to transplant just about everything that was planted around them, we are training them on some fence and slowly guiding them around the artichoke. Except for a slight case of powdery mildew, that is now fixed, they are growing and thriving, there's just one small problem, I have at least twenty other squash, melon or pumpkin plants growing as well. I planted so many seeds and so many of them came up and neither I nor my partner had the heart to just rip them up, so I transplanted them instead. Now we have vining plants everywhere in the yard, lining the entire back fence, over on the side of the house, and filling parts of the other beds. One thing is for sure, we will have plenty of large fruits and veggies to pass around.