Monday, March 28, 2011

Goodbye Joe

In Memoriam: Joe Bageant

Goodbye Joe, thank you for blessing us with your presence.

And thank you to Fred for his words.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Permaculture Guild Identified: Pinus sp. and Amanita sp.

My parents have several Pinus strobus and Pinus resinosa growing around the edge of the their property. About two years ago, some mushrooms fruited. They were recently identified as Amanita muscaria var. guessowii Veselý. Funny thing is that in the just over 20 years they've lived there, this was the first, and so far, only fruiting. Since I plan on planting several Pinus koraiensis, I think I'll get some soil from under my parents trees to inoculate my trees.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My Standing Desk Does More Than Keep Me Awake In The Afternoon...

...since it's more dangerous to fall over asleep while standing!

From ABC (Australia),  Sit less to lower heart disease risk:
[S]tudies show sitting for long periods can be dangerous to health, even when people exercise regularly, increasing the risk of heart disease and other conditions by 80 per cent.
Interestingly,
Professor Hamilton says the negative effects of sitting can be seen even after an hour. 
 So, if you don't like standing all day (or have back problems) at least get up and move around every hour.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Asberry Acres Forest Garden - Permaculture Plan Update: Improved Polyculture Guilds

My previous plan didn't properly take into account that my nitrogen fixers (Caragana arborescens, Elaeagnus umbellata) tolerate some shade in the Low Tree layer. The Apios Institute Polyculture wiki has an entry for a fruit tree-gooseberry-pea shrub polyculture. I'm also going to try polycultures centered on each of my nitrogen fixers with Castenea pumilla and some Corylus spp. hybrids. These polycultures also allow me to pack the trees in more densely and encouraged me to use a more interesting layout than simple staggered rows and columns. I've also added a Weeping Willow and a Rose of Sharon hedge around the north and east sides because they're pretty ;-)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Asberry Acres Forest Garden - Permaculture Zone 1 Veggie Garden

I've done a significant amount of planning for Zones 2 (Home Orchard) and 3 (The Farm) and left Zone 1 (Home Garden) for later. Here's the Zone 1 preliminary design:

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Asberry Acres Forest Garden - Permaculture Mini Guilds

Note: apologies for the late posting, been working another project that I'll talk about on a later date.

Definitions:
Edible Forest Gardening:
(according to Ethan Roland of appleseedpermaculture.com) - [An edible forest garden is] a consciously designed ecosystem [following permaculture principles] that mimics the structure and function of temperate forests. [It is] a perennial polyculture of multipurpose[, usually perennial] plants [where] each species fulfills at least 3 functions.

Permaculture Guild:
(had some difficulty finding a solid definition for this term, so here's my take) - A grouping of organisms (plants, animals, fungi, etc.) that are known to grow well together in a particular habitat and successional phase.

Since there isn't much research on more than a few well-known guilds, I'm taking a very experimental approach to find out what works or doesn't work. My guilds are also going to start out simply with plants and fungi growing in my wood chip mulch. Animals such as bees, ducks, and goats are planned for later.

Layers:
(according to Robert Hart)
1) A ‘canopy’ layer consisting of the original mature fruit trees.
2) A ‘low-tree’ layer of smaller nut and fruit trees on dwarfing root stocks.
3) A ‘shrub layer’ of fruit bushes such as currants and berries.
4) A ‘herbaceous layer’ of perennial vegetables and herbs.
5) A ‘ground cover’ layer of edible plants that spread horizontally.
6) A ‘rhizosphere’ or ‘underground’ dimension of plants grown for their roots and tubers.
7) A vertical ‘layer’ of vines and climbers.

Layers 1, 2, and 3 have already been planned.

Plants and seeds to be used:
Latin Name Common Name Layer(s) Function(s) Use(s) Notes
Claytonia perfoliata Miner's LettuceGround Cover Ground Cover, Shade Edible Annual
Sium sisarum Skirret Root
Edible
Polymnia edulis Yacon
Root

Edible Not hardy Z5
Symphytum officinale Comfrey
Herb, Root
Bees, Nutrient Accumulator
Medicinal, Food, Biomass
Allantoin
Urtica dioica Stinging Nettles
Herb
Insectary
Edible Nutritious
Camassia quamash Quamash
Root
Bees
Edible
Crambe maritima Sea Kale
Ground Cover
Bees
Edible
Chenopodium capitatum Strawberry Spinach, Strawberry Blite
Herb

Edible Annual
Chenopodium bonus-henricus Good King Henry
Herb

Edible
Asparagus officinalis Asparagus
Herb
Bees, Insectary, Nematocide
Edible
Cynara scolymus Artichoke
Herb
Bees, Butterflies
Edible Not hardy Z5
Levisticum officinale Lovage
Herb

Edible, Essential Oil, Medicinal

Artiplex hortensis Orach, Mountain Spinach
Herb

Edible
Annual
Astragalus membranaceus Huang Qi
Herb
Legume, Bees, Butterflies
Medicinal
Not hardy Z5
Armoracia rusticana Horseradish
Root
Bees, Flies, Beetles, Nutrient Accumulator
Edible, Fungicide, Repellent

Tropaeolum majus Nasturtium
Vine
Aphids Edible, Insecticide
Annual
Dioscorea batatas Chinese yam
Vine

Edible, Biomass

Ribes uva-crispa Gooseberry
Shrub
Thorns, Birds
Edible

Lonicera caerulea Honeyberry
Shrub

Edible

Vaccinium corymbosum Blueberry
Shrub
Bees
Edible
Needs acidic soils
Apios americana
Ground Nut
Vine, Root
Legume
Edible

Helianthus tuberosus
Jerusalem Artichoke
Herb, Root
Bees
Edible
Inulin root
Fragaria x ananassa
Strawberry
Ground Cover

Edible

Passiflora incarnata
Maypops
Vine
Bees Edible, Medicinal
Actinidia arguta
Hardy kiwi
Vine
Bees
Edible

Humulus lupulus Hops
Vine

Edible, Medicinal, Fiber, Paper

Portulaca oleracea Purslane
Ground cover
Edible

Borago officinalis Borage Herb
Bees, Insect Repellent
Edible
Not hardy Z5
Rheum x cultorum Rhubarb Herb
Insecticide
Edible

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Standing Desk Update

Not much to say beyond that I'm still doing it and I bought a small plush rug to stand on since my feet are still getting sore by the end of the day.

Significantly Increased Vitamin D Intake Needed for Good Health

HIGHER VITAMIN D INTAKE NEEDED TO REDUCE CANCER RISK

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha have reported that markedly higher intake of vitamin D is needed to reach blood levels that can prevent or markedly cut the incidence of breast cancer and several other major diseases than had been originally thought.  The findings are published February 21 in the journal Anticancer Research.

While these levels are higher than traditional intakes, they are largely in a range deemed safe for daily use in a December 2010 report from the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine.

“We found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4000-8000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce by about half the risk of several diseases - breast cancer, colon cancer, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes,” said Cedric Garland, DrPH, professor of family and preventive medicine at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.  “I was surprised to find that the intakes required to maintain vitamin D status for disease prevention were so high – much higher than the minimal intake of vitamin D of 400 IU/day that was needed to defeat rickets in the 20th century.” 

Read the rest at UC San Diego

About 6 months ago, I started a regimen of 3600 mg of fish oil (1080 mg of omega 3 fatty acids), 2000 I.U. of Vitamin D and 1000 mg of calcium. I did so in the hopes that my psoriasis symptoms would decrease. Unfortunately, that experiment has failed to produce the desired results. The upside, however, is that I've been completely cold/flu symptom free during this whole time - even during the height of the cold/flu season. To the best of my recollection, I've never been cold/flu free for any 6 month period in my life. I strongly recommend others start this experiment and include any safety protocols that might apply to you individually.