Life, Abundantly

The Rooster Crows

2011-10-31T07:42:00.003-04:00

Been a while since I've posted anything. Haven't been in a writing mood.

But, I did want to pass on a chuckle: our rooster started crowing this morning. And it was pitiful... "oh oh ohhohhhhhh". Poor boy sounded like he was in pain! He'll probably have it down good in a few weeks, but it woke me up laughing this morning :-D

Tomato hornworms

2011-09-09T13:41:00.001-04:00

Over the last few weeks, I've been finding tomato plants stripped bare of leaves and half eaten green tomatoes. The other day I discovered the culprit!

(Insert picture here, oh wait camera only taking blank pictures.)

The culprits were pretty easy to identify... and pick off of the plants. Of course, they are a delicacy to the chickens who fight greedily over these juicy treats. The destruction they've been doing to the tomatoes will now pay off nicely as a protein source in our chicken eggs!

(Insert another picture, this one a glass mixing bowl full of tomato hornworms)

Other good news is that almost half of the hornworms were carrying predatory wasp eggs!

That picture is as gross as it seems, but, those wasps will take care of all manner of pesky pests!

What else is going on? Picked two quarts of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and tomatilloes. Most of the bounty were tomatoes that I blanched and put in a freezer bag for making future goodies. And finally, I've started my next batch of black garlic. It should be ready October 17th.

First Egg!

2011-08-29T19:48:00.002-04:00

Smallish, but, here it is!

Think it's Snowball's since she's older and was broodier with it.

How to Make Black Garlic - Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm

2011-08-19T10:37:00.003-04:00

The Process
The process is very simple, but does require diligence in keeping the temperature in the proper range (and patience waiting to get at those tasty treats!)

Find a cooker that can cook at the (low) temperatures of between 130°-150° F. Make sure that it doesn't have an automatic shut-off timer. This was actually the most difficult step in the process... most cookers, even on the 'low' setting are at 180°-200° F. I found a small fryer that had a low temp of 180° F but had a bit of dial play between 'on' and 180°.
Buy enough garlic that will just fit the container you put in the cooker. Make sure there is a bit of room between the container and the cooker.
Do not remove the 'skin'.
Put the garlic and an oven thermometer in the container and wrap the container in aluminum foil. Make sure the thermometer head is visible. My cooker had a glass lid which made it very easy read the temperature without letting any heat out since I didn't have to take the lid off.
Put the container in the cooker and turn the cooker on! Estimate where 130° F is on the cooker.
Wait 40 days.

Lessons Learned
Since the temperature changes slowly (Newton's Law of Heating), keep a close eye on the temperature the first day or two. Be careful not to let it get too hot. If it gets too hot or cold, adjust the cooker in very small increments and remember that it takes several hours for the adjustment to be reflected in the temperature. When it got too hot for me, I took the container out of the cooker to let it cool for a couple minutes which helped the temperature adjust much more quickly - about an hour or so.

I would also recommend that the fermenting be done outside of the house. I put the cooker in the mud/laundry room. The garlic smell the first week or two can be intense. Needless to say, the vampires stayed at least a mile away from our house!

Improvements
The cooker had absolutely no insulation. The next batch I think I'll put the cooker(s) in a box which I'll heavily insulate.

I'll also run electricity out to the shed and build a shelf for the new setup. Makes room and eliminates the smell from the house.

P.S. Here's how my first batch turned out!

Today's Workout - Interesting

2011-08-19T09:43:00.000-04:00

On my non-weights workout days I will typically do 30-45 minutes on the elliptical machine. Today I had time for a 30 minute workout so I climbed on and got started. I normally take 5 to 10 minutes to warm-up before I increase the intensity to a heart rate between 132-140 bpm but today, it actually felt good and I kicked it all the way up to 132 bpm. About 15 minutes in, the muscle soreness wore off and I continued to increase my heart rate to 145 bpm. With 5 minutes left, I was feeling awesome so I took my heart rate all the way up to 166 bpm -- the point just below where I could feel it over-stressing my heart. Normally after a workout like that it takes a good nights sleep to recover. At this point (2 hours later), I feel excellent!

What I'm wondering is... did I get this burst of energy by eating 1/3 of a bulb of black garlic last night??

The Black Garlic is Done and...

2011-08-18T19:53:00.001-04:00

Here's a picture of my first bulb out of the pot:

And, oh my, is it delicious! It has a fig-like texture, is molasses-sweet, and has an Asian food smell with just a tiny hint of garlic.

Definitely making more of this!!!

2011-07-29 Harvest - Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm

2011-07-29T22:44:00.002-04:00

Several tomatoes, purple potatoes, and a small chocolate sweet pepper.

You and I are Silly Monkey People with Delusions of Grandeur Being Played Like Pawns in a Game of Chess

2011-07-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

In a discussion at my friend CNu's blog, Subrealism, a regular commenter, nanakwame, posted a quote in a comment:

Human nature is not rational; there is intelligence only in what encompasses him.
- Heraclitus

Of course, I constantly laugh at the name we have given our species - Homo sapiens, or Wise Man. Especially given that supposed 'wisdom' of ours is full of egregious, gaping holes. In fact, these holes are so huge I would say that we are anything but wise or rational and that we are also likely barely 'conscious' too.

Here are a couple of my favorite Men in Black quotes:

Edgar/Bug: Y'know, I've noticed an infestation here. Everywhere I look, in fact. Nothing but undeveloped, unevolved, barely conscious pond scum, totally convinced of their own superiority as they scurry about their short, pointless lives.
Zap-Em Man: Well, yeah. Uh... don't you want to get rid of 'em?
Edgar/Bug: Ah... in the worst way.

Edwards:Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
Kay:A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

Anyway, CNu responded with:

lol, not only is human nature not rational, sophisticated governance ruthlessly exploits vulnerabilities in the configuration of human psychology and culture to maximize control exerted through and by what must now be considered (in the modern context) cognitive defects; Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose

Now, how exactly would an SMP aspiring to be rational start looking to find which governance systems might be in place controlling their lives? These control systems --

encourage emotionality over rationality
value beliefs and feelings over facts
'feed'/encourage cognitive biases
stimulate the brain's dopaminergic systems
interfere with the brain's sertoninergic systems
organize hierarchically
isolate individuals
encourage SMPs to proselytize the system

Eliminate or reduce your exposure to these systems and constantly question what you think you 'know' to break free and learn to think for yourself.

Video Update at Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm

2011-07-22T10:23:00.002-04:00

My brother-in-law requested a picture of the chicken tractor, so while I was out moving it, I decided to take some videos of the farm with my phone.

The chickent tractor:

The burn pile with some very vigorous Chenopodium album:

A look out over the Zone 2 Area:

The Zone 1, Kitchen Garden:

Snowball (who was pure white when we bought her), the alpha hen, out exploring:

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - How-To: Organic Shiitake Mushrooms

2011-07-20T10:45:00.001-04:00

Milkwood Permaculture Farming and Living has a great little how-to on making your own shiitake mushroom log.

About two years ago I tried my hand at mushrooms after reading (and getting totally stoked over) Paul Stamets' Mycelium Running. I then got a copy of his heftier tome, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms and attempted to spawn some oyster mushrooms. I procured some spores and substrate (spent coffee grounds) and followed the instructions. Within days, I could see the mushrooms building mycelia. Unfortunately, the moment they started to sprout fruiting bodies, some sort of mildew decimated the growing medium. I have to admit that it discouraged me a bit and haven't put much effort toward mushroom cultivation since.

But... with all my recent successes in the garden and with the chickens, I might be ready to give mycofarming (of the edible variety, those of you thinking of being snarky ;-) another try. Until the trees start to grow and fill in shaded areas, I'm going to need to create a shelter in the Zone 1 area so that I can keep an eye on the logs and have easy access for watering them. I think getting some spores to inoculate my hardwood mulch (since the soil out here is almost totally dead) is an excellent idea and is a great example of stacking functions by using mushrooms both for eating and as a keystone for building healthy soil.

How-To: Newspaper Origami - Seed Starter Pots

2011-07-19T12:00:00.001-04:00

Found this useful and simple how-to video:

People at work recycle their newspapers, so I've been grabbing a few out of the bin to use both as a weed barrier for my lasagna mulching and now for seed starter pots!

Unfortunately, their claim for 'organic' is specious unless they use organically sourced paper and inks in the newspaper.

Permaculture Video: Martin Gardner's A Forest Garden Year

2011-07-12T11:48:00.001-04:00

Excellent video of Martin Gardner going through all four seasons in an permaculture forest garden. The focus is on permaculture gardening techniques and less on permaculture design principles. This makes the video a prime example of what to do and less so of why to do it.

Definitely a video I plan on revisiting!

Experiment Continuing: Black Garlic

2011-07-12T10:50:00.001-04:00

The first couple of days had some intense garlic odors wafting through the house and around the yard. The smell is definitely getting milder now. The temperature has been tough to regulate with the cooker I chose with it getting a little too hot during the heat of the afternoon and a little too cool in the early morning. Hopefully the temps aren't going outside the prescribed range too long.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Experiment: Black Garlic

2011-07-07T20:42:00.002-04:00

While my wife was browsing the web, she found something that sounded interesting:

Black garlic is a type of fermented garlic used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine. It is made by fermenting whole bulbs of garlic at high temperature, a process that results in black cloves. The taste is sweet and syrupy with hints of balsamic vinegar or even tamarind.

Since I love garlic, we're going to be growing a lot of garlic here. Although the garlic here is hardly ready for harvesting, I still wanted to experiment to see if I could make it. So, we made a quick trip to the closest Big-Box store where I found a cooker that heated at low enough temps to encourage fermenting without actually cooking the garlic. I also got about 3 pounds of garlic.

I excitedly prepared the cooker and the garlic as my recipe indicated and started on my 40 day journey! When I left for work, everything looked fine at 140°. Later in the day my wife texted me that the kitchen had an intense garlic smell so she moved it out to the mud/utility room. After work, I went out to check on it and was greeted with the most intense garlic smell I've ever known. Wunderbar!

With 39 days left, it's a little warm at 150°

My Most Recent Metabolic Screening Results

2011-07-07T10:01:00.000-04:00

Over the last 6 months - a year, I've been changing my habits.

The changes:

To the 3 days of weight lifting, I've added 2 days of cardio
I consume 1 tablespoon of Omega 3 fatty acids daily.
I consume 4000 I.U. of Vitamin D during the winter and slowly adjust with my exposure to the sun
I consume 1200 mg of Calcium
I have a standing desk at work
I've significantly reduced my gluten intake
I've replaced my consumption of diet cola for tea sweetened with stevia

The qualitative results:

I've gotten sick only once, wherein I recovered fully in 3 days, and happened after a two week lapse in taking my Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, and Calcium supplements.
I've been snoring less, and not at all the last week.
I feel really good, aware, and much better rested.

The quantitative results:

Test	2010 Results	2011 Results	2010 Category	2011 Category
Total Cholesterol	175	149	Desirable	Desirable
HDL	23	70	High Risk	Desirable
Total/HDL ratio	7.5	2.1	Undesirable	Desirable
Systolic blood pressure	132	123	Pre-hypertensive, almost Stage 1 Hypertension	Pre-hypertensive, just above Normal
Diastolic blood pressure	72	61	Normal	Normal
BMI	34	32	Obese, had a strong pear-shaped figure	Obese, however, I'm very muscular and only appear Overweight
Waist Circumference	42	40	High Risk	Moderate Risk

I've clearly had significant improvements both with cholesterol and blood pressure. My continued cardio program along with my standing desk should continue lowering my blood pressure.

As for my weight/BMI... the progress has been very slow. Some recent studies have linked potato, processed foods, and alcohol as the biggest culprits in American diets to cause weight gain. The processed foods are being eliminated as my wife and I have taken to cooking dinner from scratch. The potato I'm just now starting to eliminate as best I can. Not sure about wanting to eliminate alcohol - I do really enjoy a beer (or maybe two) a few evenings after work a week. On the positive side, eating an extra serving of fresh fruit lead to weight loss. In addition to making dinner together, my wife and I have also been buying and eating more fresh fruit. Hope it helps!

"it’s quite bizarre we’ve based almost our whole agriculture on annual plants"

2011-06-28T15:01:00.002-04:00

Transition Culture | Cereals, agroforestry and droughts: an interview with Martin Crawford

Last week I cycled round to Martin Crawford’s house to interview him. Martin runs the Agroforestry Research Trust, is one of the world’s authorities on the subject, and recently published ‘Creating a Forest Garden‘. I had wanted to ask him about the drought in the southeast and the implications for the future of farming. On the day I visited Martin though it was pouring with rain, but as you’ll see, that made little difference to his thoughts on the matter. I have included a couple of films about his work as well, mixed in with the interview.

So Martin, the thing that inspired me to think I wanted to come around and talk to you was the drought situation in East Anglia and the southeast, which has been very much in the news in the last few weeks – although it does seem to be slightly superseded by events, as we sit here with the rain pouring down outside! But I wondered firstly what your thoughts are on that and also what that tells us about farming as it’s currently practiced in that part of the country.

Yeah, it’s very easy to look outside and see it’s pouring with rain and think, “Oh, it’s actually fine now”. And it’s even pouring with rain in the east of the country sometimes too now. But it’s not all fine – the damage has been done. Yields from arable crops in the East of the country, (which is where the main arable crops like wheat are grown in this country), are going to be down by at least 25% and maybe more, because the damage has been done. It can’t be recovered – it’s too late for that now. It’s not all fine now and it really shows that a spring like this, which seems to be becoming the norm…..for the last four years we’ve had pretty dry springs – not as dry as this one but it seems to be becoming a pattern. Whether that continues or not, it’s impossible to say.

In such a dry spring, the value and resilience of perennial plants is very obvious, so in my forest garden for example where everything is perennial it has been looking lush this spring and not drought affected at all. I haven’t watered anything in there and it’s been absolutely fine. So I haven’t been one of the people complaining about lack of rain all the time – it’s people who are wanting to grow lots of annual vegetables or farmers growing annual plants that have been screaming about the weather because if you’re sowing annual plants in spring, you’ve got to have water – they’re not going to grow without it, and put their roots down and so on.

In terms of looking at the future – if we’re going to grow more of our own food as a country and as a region, this is going to have a significant impact. And on a larger, world-wide scale, it’s actually quite bizarre in some ways. If you look at it in an ecological way, it’s quite bizarre we’ve based almost our whole agriculture on annual plants because if you look in nature, annual plants are rare. You only get them if there’s been a soil disturbance, and then for a short time because they’ve been taken over by perennials. So in a sense our whole agriculture is quite unnatural, based on annual plants, and very prone to any kind of climate extremes – whether it’s drought or water-logging from extreme events or whatever.

Unfortunately, because of climate change, those extreme events are going to get more and more frequent – all extreme events, not just droughts. Annual crops are going to get more and more susceptible to crop failures as time goes on, certainly in the next few decades. And that could have quite serious effects. In terms of grain stores in the world – grain stores are lower than they’ve ever been because there are increasing failures of harvest in some of the big grain producing countries.

...

Read the whole article.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Unexpected Finds In The Garden

2011-06-21T09:54:00.002-04:00

Quick update this morning with some tasty treats growing in the garden.

First, I found this 2' patch of Chenopodium album growing out in the polyculture area of the garden:

Big patch of Goosefoot/Lamb's Quarters - sauteed in garlic and butter, yum!

I think the fern-like plants growing with them are a member of the Daucus family since they have a very carrot-y smell when I pull them up.The roots aren't very extensive though. When they flower, if they're umbels, that should better verify my guess.

On the way back through the raised beds, I found these:

Baby green peppers

The tomatillos also look like they're close to fruiting. And finally, my first planted purple potatoes are starting to die back. Blue mashed potatoes may be on my dinner plate soon!

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Chicken Tractor Is Done!

2011-06-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

Admittedly, it took a while building it part time and still having to deal with rain. The work was easy but it was time consuming and tedious, especially tying down the wire chicken netting to the cattle panels. But the chickens are definitely happy in their much more spacious new home -- they're running and even flying around a bit!

In their new home. You'd think they'd want some space!

Oops, forgot the tarp earlier

Chenopodium album volunteer in my garden bed

And a quick note: while weeding my beds I found some Chenopodium album growing. Lamb's Quarters is a very nutritious "weed". Letting it grow out and may make something tasty with it!

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Chicken Tractor In Progress

2011-06-11T21:41:00.000-04:00

Had a busy Saturday putting together our new chicken tractor. The chicks are just a few weeks from being full grown and the dog kennel is getting a bit cramped. They've been pecking each other more than I'd like, so the chicken tractor should give them much more room. Here are the pics:

Raised beds and the house

Dog kennel in the background

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Baby Bunny Pics!

2011-06-03T09:43:00.000-04:00

Here they are as promised:

The bunnies are doing just fine eating the formula and a couple of them have even pooped and peed.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Fostering Some Orphans

2011-06-02T10:22:00.001-04:00

My father-in-law maintains the baseball diamonds for a park near his home. Yesterday while he was mowing he ran over a rabbit's nest in the middle of the diamond. He and my wife took them to the vet who said it was common for mother rabbits to abandon their nests. The vet gave all six bunnies a clean bill of health and my wife brought them home for us to nurse until they're big enough to hop away from danger. Of course, I thought we should keep them long enough for them to be food, but the dirty looks discouraged further talk about that. I mean, they're still so cute!

I'll post a picture later... was too busy ~~fattening them up~~ feeding them to get one earlier.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Planting Slowing Down

2011-05-31T10:16:00.000-04:00

The reasons are two-fold: most of the plants have been planted, woohoo! and, at the moment, we're still trying to resolve the drain right-of-way issue with the County Drainage Board. Although the right-of-way issue won't affect much of the property, it does interfere with some of my plan. In particular, it interferes with the placement of our Korean Pine windbreak. Still, I've marked out where the trees outside the 75' zone will go.

The five chicks are still doing fairly well. The two Brahmans have a few feathers missing as does one of the Rhode Island Reds. While goofing around with the girls, I made a crow sound ("caw") and one of the Brahmans tried to respond -- and not a single sound came out! We all had a chuckle as it would do this every time we made the noise. Which got me to thinking, Ostrich (his name) is probably a rooster. He started out being one of the smallest chicks and is already bigger than all the rest. The chicks are definitely starting to mature - they have most of their adult feathers now although Ostrich still has tufts of fluff. And, every so often we'll hear one cluck instead of the cute little chirp.

I'm figuring the pecking and missing feathers is due to space stress so I'm planning on making two chicken tractors instead of just one. We haven't taken the birds (in dog kennels) outside just yet since the dog is still a threat. In fact, the escape artist was found out of her harness and was begging for treats this morning.

The long weekend ended on a good note:

Is it even possible? Can it be? Yes! Clear skies!

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2011-05-26T09:15:00.000-04:00

Last night we got another 8 inches of rain:

Luckily, where I planned a pond

Yes, 8 inches in one day. That's on top of the 4 inches we got Tuesday and the 2 inches we got Sunday. Of course, this all comes with severe weather and the spotting of two tornadoes Sunday and Wednesday in small towns just west of our home. One thing not obvious is that the grass is about three inches tall and the entire property is covered in water, just below the top of the grass.

And This is News?: Fungi Reduce Need for Fertilizer in Agriculture

2011-05-25T15:08:00.001-04:00

ScienceDaily (May 23, 2011) — The next agricultural revolution may be sparked by fungi, helping to greatly increase food-production for the growing needs of the planet without the need for massive amounts of fertilizers according to research presented May 23 at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans.

It's great that the word is getting out, but Paul Stamets has been saying this for years. Mycelium Running is an excellent overview of all the wonderful things that fungi do for us. Get a copy.

Dmitry Orlov Sums My Thoughts Up on Capitalism

2011-05-24T15:43:00.000-04:00

From The Twilight of the Antipodes and the Cultural Flip

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Officially a Farm!

2011-05-20T20:38:00.000-04:00

Bought 6 chicks tonight. Three Brahmans, two Rhode Island Reds, and one white (not sure breed). Not completely sure of the sex, but the seller was fairly sure the Rhode Island Reds and the white one are hens. He was guessing about the Brahmans but we took the three with the smallest combs.

Making New Friends - Feeding from My Hand

For now, we're keeping them in a portable dog kennel. I'm planning on building a chicken tractor where I can move them every day. They'll eat the grass and bugs while fertilizing the soil!

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Biggest Planting Yet

2011-05-15T21:14:00.000-04:00

First, a couple pictures...

Would've had more pictures, but this crazy unending flooding rain...

Saturday middle daughter and stepdaughter helped me plant eighty-nine (!) Hybiscus syriacus. They were a huge help, I dug the holes and they put the plants in the ground all only in 7 hours! That freed up enough time for me to plant an ounce of Chenopodium bonus-henricus seeds and put in soil, mulch, and Red Thumb Fingerling seed potatoes into one of the beds just before the torrential downpour started.

Previous attempts to grow Actinidia arguta failed as the leaves would turn black and the plant would die. I think I've identified the reason: ammonia fertilizer. The plants I put in a couple weeks ago had a couple leaves turn black and the field next to the fence was recently tilled and fertilized. Going to keep an eye on the plants over the next few days but not sure what else I can do for them.

Sunday was a day of rest as the steady, drizzly rain continued. Have 30 Pinus koriaensis and 30 Corylus x. hybrids to map out and plant this week.

Downshifting and Intensive Gardening: Reduce the Learning Curve Now from a Cliff to Simply Steep Later

2011-05-12T11:49:00.000-04:00

Another golden nugget from the Archdruid:

More generally, it amazes me how many people seem to think they can downshift in a blink from a modern American lifestyle, with all its comforts and privileges, to the close-to-subsistence lifestyle most of us will be leading in the middle future. It’s reminiscent of those old-fashioned survivalists whose idea of being ready to feed themselves once the rubble stops bouncing is a nitrogen-packed tin of garden seeds, a random assortment of tools, and a manual on how to garden, which they read halfway through on a slow afternoon ten years ago. Those who adopted that approach have been very lucky that their doomsteads have never had to function as anything more serious than deer camps, because if they’d tried to feed themselves that way, death by starvation would have been the inevitable result. Growing food in an intensive organic garden is a skilled craft requiring several years of hard and careful work to master, and if you hope to rely on it for even a small part of your food, you need to get through the steep part of the learning curve as soon as possible.

Get started. Now. Any small progress will get you ahead of the curve and reduce those pangs of hunger right when you need it.

Green Wizardry - LESS

2011-05-12T11:18:00.000-04:00

Archdruid John Michael Greer hits the nail on the head again with Hair Shirts, Hypocrisy, and Wilkins Micawber:

What comes to mind at this point, rather, is an acronym – LESS – that stands for "Less Energy, Stuff, and Stimulation."

The last point, "stimulation", being the most critical for pointing out why we are where we are: dopamine hegemony. I want to make clear that the problem isn't simply stimulation, rather, stimulation for stimulation's sake only. I use many of the technologies that the Archdruid refers to for the purpose of stimulation... however, I use it to awaken my understanding of my (mostly hidden) desires and of the world. I use it as I say in "About Me" to transform myself from asleep and incidental to awake and intentional. This is a far cry from how and why most people experience stimulation:

A mind that’s constantly flooded with noise from television, video games, or what have you, is a mind that never has the time or space to think its own thoughts, and in a nation that’s trying not to notice that it’s sold its own grandchildren down the river, that’s probably the point of the exercise. Be that as it may, recovering the ability to think one’s own thoughts, to clear one’s mind of media-driven chatter, manufactured imagery, and all the other thoughtstopping clutter we use to numb ourselves to the increasingly unwelcome realities of life in a failing civilization, is an indispensable tool for surviving the challenges ahead, and one that I’ll be talking about at more length in a future post.

Once dopamine hegemony is recognized as the primary driver in our society, the next step is recognizing our overwhelming, predictable irrationality and managing the impact of our human cognitive errors.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Lots of Progress, Even More to Do!

2011-05-09T15:48:00.000-04:00

Had another very productive weekend. Mostly because we received two large shipments: one with 25 Arctostaphylus uva-ursi and another with 10 Rheum rhabarbarum, 5 Actinidia arguta, and 96 Hibiscus syriacus. Yes. 96.

My dog is a mouser! Go Layla!

I started Saturday digging 25 holes for the A. uva-ursi. It is a low-growing woody ground cover and has a prominent importance in my plan as I build around this and other trees and shrubs into several mini-guilds. Around noon or so, the rain changed over from a pleasant (but mud making) drizzle into thunderstorms.

Looking south as the storms come in from the southwest - our prevailing weather pattern.

I didn't mind the rain but the thunder and lightning told me to get out of the weather. So, I took the opportunity to run into town for supplies! (And a nice break :-)

Fresh and steaming hardwood mulch. I love that smell...

Wood for more raised beds

By the time I got back home, we still had a light rain coming down, but the thunder and lightning had moved on. I quickly got incredibly muddy as I dug out all 25 holes for the A. uva-ursi. It was getting late by the time I finished digging so I took a few pictures of the plants since they were all coming out in full spring glory!

Lonicera caerulea edulis - in pots for later planting, just not sure where...

Helianthus tuberosus - they survived the wind!

Elaegnus umbellata - all 30 planted two weeks ago are in leaf!

Fragaria x ananassa - transplanted from Granny's last week and doing great!

Allium sativum "Giant" - saying "Hello World!"

Solanum tuberosum "Purple Majesty" - looking forward to purple mashed taters!

Solanum lycopersicum and Capsicum anuum - not sure those stakes will be stable enough for the maters. Hmm.

Hibiscus syriacus - all 96. Really.

Sunday started off a bit foggy, but turned into a nicely-cool partly-cloudy day -- perfect for planting. In each hole, I planted one bearberry, two strawberries, two onion seeds (not sets), and three asparagus seeds which I covered with a layer of musky-smelling mulch. (Looking forward to seeing how the bearberry and strawberries work out being the dominant ground cover.) I put rhubarb roots in ten of the holes. As the day progressed, I noticed the roots starting to dry out even with frequent rewaterings so I tried speeding things up a bit. Of course, my body resoundingly said, "no." Still, I got all the holes planted. Phew.

This week is going to be daunting as I plant all of those Rose of Sharon for our north and west hedgerow.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Weekend Update

2011-05-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's been a week since the last update. Mostly because I haven't done anything... it took me all week to recover!

On Saturday, we finally had a break from the rain and I was able to mow. It's not that I mind mowing, it's that I dislike that it's a requirement and wasteful of time and fuel. However, until I accumulate the soil amendments and am able to start my mini guilds, it's a necessary evil. The best answer is to nurture the land so that it can heal itself over time. I also don't like relying on external inputs. Any oil disruptions and the mowing is no longer a doable task and the weeds will choke out all the plants I've put in so far.

Also on Saturday, I got about a dozen small strawberry plants that have overrun my original practice beds out at Granny's farm. Strawberries make for an excellent groundcover. In the process of digging one of them up, I discovered a tiny (about the size of a dime) Calvatia gigantea preparing to burst above the surface. I didn't have my phone nearby, so, sorry, no picture. I did use this as an opportunity to "seed" my current mulch pile with the mycelia though!

While digging up the strawberries, I noticed a couple of other plants with markers. One was extremely faded but I could barely make out "Chrysanthemum cinquefolium". Not quite sure why I used that name. I did a quick web lookup when I remembered it was Pyrethrum which is classified as either Tanacetum (or Chrysanthemum) cinerariifolium. The other marker was completely faded, but I brought it home anyway. In another keyhole bed at Granny's, I noticed where I had dug up all my Helianthus tuberosus that I clearly didn't get all of them! Six healthy plants were sprouting.

3 Yacon in the back and fig in the front

I finished Saturday up transplanting some Polymnia edulis and a Ficus carica "Chicago Hardy" into some containers since they don't like our cold winters.

New hoop houses holding up just fine in the strong winds!

Saturday night through Sunday afternoon visited us with rain. Again. After it cleared up, I followed the advice of my friend Tony and built two 4' x 4' hoop houses, not with PVC like my first attempt, but with 8' (x 4' 6") lengths of cattle panels. The panels were $1/ft so the price was about the same as using the PVC but the heavy gauge wire made it much sturdier. Another improvement I made was to wrap the bottom of the plastic around 4' long pieces of wood trim and put it on the inside of the bed. Of course, this was all done in 25 mph winds so my two youngest helped me keep the plastic from flying away like a giant kite. One small problem with using the cattle panels is that the metal poked through the plastic in a couple places pretty easily. The holes were small so I think this type works much better. After finishing the hoops, I planted 6 tomato plants and 3 peppers in each raised bed. I still have 36 'maters left to plant. Hmm.

Six tomatoes and one of the three peppers - all happy out of the wind.

All this digging and rolling around on the ground makes for a dirty boy!

Not sure why it's not visible, but my hands, arms, head, and face were just as dirty as my pants.

I don't know how my oldest daughter took this picture, but I really do have normal length legs.

Plan for this week: mark and plant the potted fruit trees. I also haven't received shipping confirmation for my 85 other trees, so they'll be a priority if they come in.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Busy Weekend!

2011-04-25T10:46:00.001-04:00

Sunday started out with rain but cleared up by 10 AM. I planted the remaining 13 Elaeagnus umbellata. I then measured out and marked the 10 locations for the Caragana arborescens. Then, I moved the Actinidia arguta from the 12" spacing to 12' spacing. Next, with the help of my eldest and my wife's only, we planted the 10 Caragana arborescens. Dirty from head to toe, tired and achy, crisped by the sun (even after multiple SPF50 applications), and after 10 hours of "I've got to get this finished today!", I cleansed myself in a nice, long, hot shower. Ahhhhh....

Some of this weekend's casualties... not counting worms

I still have 5 regular fruit trees to plant, but they're happy in pots at the moment. I also got 6 trees in small pots last week, but with 4 of them, the stems were snapped in shipping. I also got notice last week that my 25 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi shipped, so those should be arriving soon.

The Plan as currently planted

If each of these trees in the plan were shrunk to 1/8" and scaled down, it would be easy to see just how empty the field still looks. I can sorta make out each tree from the colored ribbons on the bamboo pole markers as well as the mulch around their base.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Garden - Playing in the Dirt!

2011-04-24T09:31:00.003-04:00

Had a busy day yesterday...

Measured out 10' markers on all four sides of the planting area. That took about 4 hours. Next, using the markers, I measured and marked the 20 spots to plant the Elaeagnus umbellata. Getting tired, I took a short trip into town and picked up some topsoil, 1 cu. ft. of mulch, and several colors of ribbon (to better see and identify my trees). Finished up by unpacking the 20 trees, amending the soil with inoculant and finally planting 7 of them! Worked 11 hours total for the day and am very sore this morning.

Actinidia arguta

Planted hardy kiwi - misread 15" but should be 15'. Oops. Put two female plants on each side of the male. I like that arrangement :-)

Bamboo stakes marking 10' intervals western perimeter

In the foreground, potted Lonicera caerulea, Vaccinium corymbosum and Ribes uva-crispa. Just beyond is the compost pile and beyond that is the new mulch pile.

Mulch

I'll post pictures of the planted trees later.

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Weeds Mowed

2011-04-22T08:38:00.000-04:00

Standing at the compost pile looking to the southwest

I took advantage of the few hours of no rain to mow down the 5' to 7' tall weeds. Mowing is not a permaculture practice, but it is still an available option for getting things done fast. And that is where I am. Gradual work to rebuild the soil by starting on areas near the house and moving outward as the land allows is the best way to go. With the mowing approach, I expect to run into many difficulties such as continued mowing to suppress the weeds, extra work to build the soil, and, as I've learned with my practice beds, grass competition. However, this high effort work is a tradeoff I'm willing to make in order to get the forest garden started. With rising gas prices, possible food supply disruptions and double digit food price inflation, keeping my family fed is my top priority.

Next up: mark where the trees goes. The continuous rain over the next few days should make that fun!

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Planting To Seriously Get Underway

2011-04-19T09:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got my first big shipment in: 20 Elaeagnus umbellata. Need to hurry up and finish mowing down the tall weeds in the planting area and then need to measure out where they go based on the plan. Of course, typical spring Indiana weather (cold and wet) is making that difficult. Have several other orders shipping this week, so gotta get busy!

The Plan (click to see full-size)

More Evidence That Sitting Is Killing Us

2011-04-18T09:31:00.000-04:00

From the New York Times Magazine: Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?

Hamilton’s most recent work has examined how rapidly inactivity can cause harm. In studies of rats who were forced to be inactive, for example, he discovered that the leg muscles responsible for standing almost immediately lost more than 75 percent of their ability to remove harmful lipo-proteins from the blood. To show that the ill effects of sitting could have a rapid onset in humans too, Hamilton recruited 14 young, fit and thin volunteers and recorded a 40 percent reduction in insulin’s ability to uptake glucose in the subjects — after 24 hours of being sedentary.

Over a lifetime, the unhealthful effects of sitting add up. Alpa Patel, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, tracked the health of 123,000 Americans between 1992 and 2006. The men in the study who spent six hours or more per day of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was about 20 percent higher than the men who sat for three hours or less. The death rate for women who sat for more than six hours a day was about 40 percent higher. Patel estimates that on average, people who sit too much shave a few years off of their lives.

Another study, published last year in the journal Circulation, looked at nearly 9,000 Australians and found that for each additional hour of television a person sat and watched per day, the risk of dying rose by 11 percent. The study author David Dunstan wanted to analyze whether the people who sat watching television had other unhealthful habits that caused them to die sooner. But after crunching the numbers, he reported that “age, sex, education, smoking, hypertension, waist circumference, body-mass index, glucose tolerance status and leisure-time exercise did not significantly modify the associations between television viewing and all-cause . . . mortality.”

Sitting, it would seem, is an independent pathology. Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym. It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin. “Excessive sitting,” Dr. Levine says, “is a lethal activity.”

So, get up and move it, move it!

Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm - Lesson Learned Today: Wind Protection

2011-04-15T15:31:00.000-04:00

Wind Protection an Absolute Must

Today we've had brutal sustained winds between 25 and 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. Not only that, but the wind has been from the east-north east -- the prevailing wind is usually from the west-south west. I have plans for Pinus koraiensis to block the winds out of the west but nothing for the east. Ugh.

So far we've lost the covering on the hoop house. I'm going to take a look around at the plants later to see what's made it and what's not.

Extended sitting, regardless of fitness, diet, leads to 54% increase in heart disease

2011-04-12T08:58:00.001-04:00

Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer

Abstract

PURPOSE: Although moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is related to premature mortality, the relationship between sedentary behaviors and mortality has not been fully explored and may represent a different paradigm than that associated with lack of exercise. We prospectively examined sitting time and mortality in a representative sample of 17,013 Canadians 18-90 yr of age.
METHODS: Evaluation of daily sitting time (almost none of the time, one fourth of the time, half of the time, three fourths of the time, almost all of the time), leisure time physical activity, smoking status, and alcohol consumption was conducted at baseline. Participants were followed prospectively for an average of 12.0 yr for the ascertainment of mortality status.
RESULTS: There were 1832 deaths (759 of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 547 of cancer) during 204,732 person-yr of follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, there was a progressively higher risk of mortality across higher levels of sitting time from all causes (hazard ratios (HR): 1.00, 1.00, 1.11, 1.36, 1.54; P for trend <0.0001) and CVD (HR:1.00, 1.01, 1.22, 1.47, 1.54; P for trend <0.0001) but not cancer. Similar results were obtained when stratified by sex, age, smoking status, and body mass index. Age-adjusted all-cause mortality rates per 10,000 person-yr of follow-up were 87, 86, 105, 130, and 161 (P for trend <0.0001) in physically inactive participants and 75, 69, 76, 98, 105 (P for trend = 0.008) in active participants across sitting time categories.
CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate a dose-response association between sitting time and mortality from all causes and CVD, independent of leisure time physical activity. In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods.

My Permaculture Skill Levels

2011-04-11T11:02:00.000-04:00

I'm a novice. Sometimes I come across as if I know what I'm doing, but I don't really. I think it's all a part of my hands-on learning style (that suits me well with my engineering day job), my desire to solve interesting puzzles, my strong ego that's relaxed enough to willingly make mistakes, and my deep need to leave a legacy for my children.

New Hoop House at Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm

2011-04-10T17:17:00.000-04:00

Built the raised bed and planted with blue potatoes too!

Spring Planting (so far) at Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Farm

2011-04-09T23:12:00.001-04:00

Black gold! Mostly finished compost in the front, not quite finished behind. New compost is in two big trash cans just to the right, outside the picture.

A few of the Narcissus spp. planted last Sunday already peeking out!

Our 2009 xmas tree. Was sitting in compost for the last year at our last place waiting for a permanent home.

That stand of trees in the distance is over a half mile away. That's the closest thing we have to woods.

Dinosaur Tree - Metasequoia glyptostroboides. It's tiny now...

Portulaca grandiflora for ground cover and pretty flowers. Hopefully will fill in nicely around the daffodils.

Hemerocallis fulva -- naturalizing daylilies. These can be found everywhere along country roads in Indiana. A very pretty edible.

Forgot I had some Helianthus tuberosus dug up from last year that I was going to send to some friends. The tubers decided it was their time to sprout! Sorry guys, I'll get some to you when I dig them up in the Fall. Also had a bunch more (different varieties) ordered for planting this Spring.

Feels really good to see my plan coming to life!

New Blog Template

2011-04-06T13:20:00.000-04:00

Was having javascript problems with my previous layout plus it wasn't very configurable. If you have any recommendations for the new layout, leave me a comment.

Spring has Sprung at the Asberry Acres Permaculture Forest Garden!

2011-04-04T12:26:00.001-04:00

Back in December I was in a Menards to get some remodeling supplies. As I walked past the clearance shelves, I saw boxes of various Narcissus - L. varieties for less than a $1 each. Considering they are deer and rodent resistant/deterrent and that they're one of my favorite flowers¹, I bought them all (except for the double flower varieties)! Only about 5 of the 100 or so bulbs didn't sprout, so I'm very happy with their survival rate. Yesterday my youngest daughter and I spent most of the almost 70° afternoon planting those bulbs in the typical places like next to the house, around the mailbox, and around various other man-made eyesores. I'm hoping they'll be fruitful and multiply so I can then plant them around my young trees in the permaculture forest garden to protect the roots from our pesky field mice neighbors until the trees can mature.

All-in-all it was a beautiful day and a wonderful time with my Sweet-E. Well, except for my slightly sunburned bald pate and unbelievably sore knees and thighs!

1. Useful Functions: Pretty flowers, strongly deer and rodent resistant/deterrent, Spring flowering

Goodbye Joe

2011-03-28T11:33:00.001-04:00

In Memoriam: Joe Bageant

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

And thank you to Fred for his words.

Permaculture Guild Identified: Pinus sp. and Amanita sp.

2011-03-23T08:25:00.000-04:00

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.

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

2011-03-22T09:27:00.001-04:00

...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.

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

2011-03-16T10:18:00.000-04:00

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 ;-)

Wise teachers...

2011-03-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

chang[e] something from unconscious and incidental to conscious and intentional.

Asberry Acres Forest Garden - Permaculture Zone 1 Veggie Garden

2011-03-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

I've done a significant amount of planning for Zones 2 (Home Orchard) and 3 (The Farm) and left Zone 1 (Home Garden) for my wife to design. Since it's up closer to the house, she wants it to be "prettier" ;-) With that being the case, she went to the Mother Earth Garden Planner and came up with our preliminary design. I fussed at her a little bit over using the solar south to the right but this is how she visualizes it:

Asberry Acres Forest Garden - Permaculture Mini Guilds

2011-03-08T10:52:00.006-05:00

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 Lettuce	Ground 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

Standing Desk Update

2011-03-03T12:47:00.000-05:00

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

2011-03-03T12:23:00.005-05:00

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.

Asberry Acres Forest Garden Update

2011-02-22T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been busily gathering information about plants/seeds that I have on-hand and on order. The post on the mini-guilds should be finished on Wednesday or Thursday.

In the meantime, I'd be happy to field any questions anyone has!

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2011-02-20T13:54:00.002-05:00

Question everything - especially cherished beliefs

Asberry Acres Forest Garden - The Permaculture Plan

2011-02-18T10:19:00.002-05:00

Here's the homestead...

The Grand Plan

Trees and bushes in the plan:

This diagram shows the overstory at full growth and other large features:

Small pond - water 'battery' for the soil, different habitat, water for bugs, birds, etc.
Beehives (dark blue squares) - want to try Warre hives to encourage hive health over honey production.
Trees are in semi-regular pattern to maximize sunlight to the understory and fruit/nut production but not so regular as to look like a typical orchard, plus, I don't have a feel for more 'natural' placement yet.
Pears, plums, and apples - seriously considering using dwarf varieties. Would also like peaches, but need more room!

Currently, the land is overgrown with weeds, has an unburnt burn pile (wood), and another two old burn piles with metal and glass pieces in them.This means my first priority will be to clean them up. My second priority will be to either burn or mow the weeds. Burning will do a better job killing the ungerminated weed seeds, but I'm not sure if there's enough dead growth to burn the whole area, however, if there is, I don't want an out of control fire either.

All of the trees and shrubs have been ordered and it'll be my luck for them to all come in at once. I'll create mini-guilds in a 2' radius around each tree. Considering the bad shape that the soil is in, I'll need to bring in a large amount of carbon for amendment. I've had a lot of success with lasagna mulching so I'm going to need to find good sources of cardboard/paper/newspaper, wood chips, and manure. I'm thinking about plowing the entire area and seeding it with clover and alfalfa. Those cover crop plants will start repairing the soil so that I won't need to rely on external inputs as much as the mini-guilds start to expand outward. The bulk clover and alfalfa seeds will be my next big purchase. After that, but before the trees arrive, I need to get mycelial and bacterial inoculant.

With needing to dig the small pond, I'm also considering putting in some tiling as a way to increase the pond's water storage and distribution. Since it's such a big job, I'm going to seek out expert opinion to find out what possible consequences this may have.

The house and shed (not shown) need to have gutters added which I'll then collect into an IBC tote. That water will be for the intensive, raised bed gardens on the south side of the house. So that I don't have too many projects this year, I'll probably run pipes to the beds for a drip irrigation system next year.

My wife wants an outdoor kitchen. We recently saw plans in Mother Earth News for building an oven that we both liked. We both agree that there is no reason to coop up all that heat indoors during the summer.

Next year, or maybe even this fall, would be a good time to put hoops over the raised beds. Longer term I want to build a passive solar greenhouse. Stacking functions, I'm wanting to put a wood-gas generator in there as a Combined-Heat-and-Power (CHP) system. Since wood gas burns cleanly, the exhaust can then be taken in by the plants (with appropriate cautions for humans entering.)

My biggest project is going to be putting in a Gobar gas system. A humanure system might be simpler, but the Gobar gas system creates two useful outputs: methane gas and high quality manure. I've read that the solids output might still contain disease since it's an anaerobic process, however, any issues with that would be quickly solved by composting them.

One glaring issue with this plan is that there is no mention of animals. We know that we definitely want goats and ducks, but since I've spent the last two years focusing on learning about forest gardening I simply haven't had the time to learn what I need to learn. I'm also thinking this is an area for the kids to become expert in.

Well, this is the plan. Now to see how well I execute it!

The Asberry Acres Homestead

2011-02-17T12:05:00.003-05:00

What We Have to Work with
Last summer, my wife and I purchased a property with an acre and a half of land with a house built in the late 1800s. The house was the original homestead for the family that owns the several hundred acres surrounding us and was moved from the original location to a corner plot that had been industrially farmed. A big bonus of the house being moved is that it sits on a brand new, well constructed foundation with a big crawl space! Unfortunately, with the house being so old and the previous owner (not from the family that built the home) having treated it so poorly, we've had to spend significant amounts of money for repairs and remodeling.
The Land

Predictably, the soil is compacted, has no structure, contains few microorganisms and is likely devoid of key nutrients and minerals. About an acre of the land is overgrown with weeds and has undegradable remnants in 2 or maybe 3 burn piles. The half acre immediately surrounding the house, shed and driveway has a couple ornamental bushes and trees and one undetermined species of oak. The land is extremely flat and has tiling running through it so that water won't pool. The nearest stand of trees is at least a half mile away and there are very few stands in a 5 mile radius. The good news about that is I've not seen the first deer and won't likely have problems with them until after the forest garden is solidly established. The downside is that the wind can be brutal.
Water
With the house having been moved, a new well was dug and placed safely away from the septic system. The water was tested and doesn't have any large particles or serious contamination but is, as expected, hard. It tastes quite good. Neither the house nor the shed has adequate water runoff drains. The nearest waterway is about a half mile away and was recently redirected to support the industrial farms it runs through. The nearest rivers are the Salamonie and the Wabash and both are approximately 5 miles away. The Salamonie Reservoir is about 10 miles away.
"Waste"
The septic system is very high quality, made of pre-cast concrete and placed well away from the house according to modern building code.
Utilities
The house has electrical service, is directly across the road from a local telephone company's CO, and has a large propane tank for heating and cooking. Verizon is the only wireless service provider with 3G coverage and we get a nice signal thanks to the nearby tower next to the interstate.
Community
We're within walking distance (well bike riding distance) of a really cute, old town that has no strip malls. It has a great little bike shop, too! The downside is that the nearest grocery store is about 15 miles away.
Climate
90% of the wind and storms come in from due west. We're still within tornado alley, but near the northernmost extent of it. The winter temperatures can easily (and have) reach subzero Fahrenheit while the summer temps easily get hotter than 90° F. Summer humidity easily exceeds 70% and frequently reaches 90%. Over the last week, we've experienced a 70° temperature differential. So, although we're solidly in zone 5, cold and frost sensitive plants are at risk of weather damage.
Conclusion
We love it! The house is solidly built and will be around for at least another 100 years. The land also presents a great opportunity for remediation. And finally, the community is just the right size and just the right distance from large urban centers. Hopefully, I'll even have an opportunity to introduce new genetic material to the area and get local families interested in permaculture!

Tomorrow I'll post and discuss the site plan.

My Number 1 Go-To Permaculture Forest Gardening Resource: Plants for a Future

2011-02-16T21:27:00.000-05:00

Plants For A Future : 7000 Edible, Medicinal & Useful Plants

What is it?

"Plants for a Future (PFAF) is a charitable company, originally set up to support the work of Ken and Addy Fern on their experimental site in Cornwall, where they carried out research and provided information on edible and otherwise useful plants suitable for growing outdoors in a temperate climate." The charity's web site contains a database of 7000+ rarely utilized plants categorized by edible, medicinal and other uses, 200+ articles, and community discussion forum.

Leave It Better Than You Found It
The Plants for a Future site and database was compiled/grown/given freely by Ken Fern so that others may spend their time enjoying, rather than working in, their own gardens. "It is our belief that plants can provide people with the majority of their needs, in a way that cares for the planet's health."

Why is PFAF the first site I visit?
Because it helps me answer my initial questions...
How tasty is it? What part(s) are edible? Is it a good medicinal, and why? What part(s) are medicinal? What zones will it grow in? What is it's growth habit? How much shade will it tolerate? What pollination needs does it have? Does it have any close relatives that might be a better fit for what I'm looking for? What are the basic cultivation needs? What does it look like?

I've also noticed that most plants have conflicting information from various sources, but Ken's observations tend to be much more accurate.

Helianthus tuberosa

2010-09-26T08:44:00.000-04:00

Planted one bulb last year: 6 gorgeous, vigorous plants this year!

I Don't Think So

2010-08-17T08:29:00.000-04:00

The Guardian published the article Artificial meat? Food for thought by 2050 yesterday and I'm gonna have to say "I don't think so." The problem is the way we do - and have done - agriculture since it's beginning. Annual plantings of grain have desertified hundreds of millions of acres since it was discovered. The Green Revolution made plantings of these types of crops more productive than possible through manual labor so statements like "little more land is available for food production" and "extra carbon dioxide in the air from global warming, along with better fertilisers and chemicals to protect arable crops, could hugely increase yields and reduce water consumption" is only true from that incredibly short-sighted perspective. Annual crops and our reliance upon them is what has been destroying our planet and will continue to destroy it long after The Carbon Age.

To grow food as if the Earth matters, as if people matter - as if life matters - requires Us to change our relationship with our food. It has to become an integrated part of Our existence. Life must be respected, if not revered, and we absolutely must use the best that science has uncovered regardless of how many people need to change their perspectives, of how much learning must occur to change our place as destructive killer apes into caretakers.

Bending life to fit our needs must be replaced by stewarding life and partaking of what it would give us freely.

Nitrogen fixers and nitrate accumulators

2010-04-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

A natural guild seems to be forming here in this field of soybeans and amaranth! Unfortunately for the GMO soybean farmer, amaranth is (and was the first known species to be) glyphosate resistant.

Aside: Maybe I'm taking a leap here, but it seems the smart thing is to grow and harvest them both! I'm aware of the difficulties farmers have with 'weeds' interfering and damaging harvesting equipment, but I'm betting that some one, some where could find a solution?!

Anyway, back to the title of the post. My intuition is bringing out some interesting features of this situation, like... how did the amaranth become so quickly resistant? is it the soil biota? did the roots from the soybeans transfer genetic or epigenetic material to the amaranth? It seems a strong possibility that these two species 'want' to coexist - mutually dependent, mutually beneficial. Is there a higher function at work - nitrogen fixers guilding with nitrate accumulators, for instance? I've been googling for research about this possibility but haven't found anything yet. Hmm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranthus_palmeri

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/super-weeds-bees-diabetes-7-food-safety-predictions.php

These guys want to play outside!

2010-03-27T12:26:00.003-04:00

Of course, we're no where near our last frost.

Front two rows - Luffa aegyptica (they like warm temps, not just no more frost) - useful cucurbits.

Second two rows - Artichoke, Cynara cardunculus - healthy food, nutrient accumulator, spike root.

Third two rows - Stinging Nettles, Urtica dioica - healthy food (cooked), nutraceutical, nutrient accumulator, insectary. If you get up close, you can see the formidable nettle spikes!

"The sky is falling!" or Silly Overreaction to the Healthcare Law

2010-03-23T11:46:00.006-04:00

A Facebook friend of mine posted:

American's (sic) just lost more freedom. Why don't the legislators that voted for this healthcare bill move to a socialist nation? Our leaders are not upholding the Constitution like they swore they would do. Universal Healthcare doesn't work! When are people going to see that government can't care for you and shouldn't.... ...Our rights don't come from government, they come from God. I can't wait for November.

I responded:

Actually, universal healthcare DOES work. It works *much* better than the system we currently have. However, the bill that was just introduced is NOT universal healthcare. It simply overcomes some of the health insurance hurdles that many (poor) Americans couldn't overcome such as eliminating pre-existing conditions. The downside to the bill is it does nothing to keep insurance companies in check. Those are the real b******s in this little drama. That's where you should be looking if you want to get upset...

Another friend:

Dale, where do you get the statistic that the U.S. ranks dead last in quality of care? I would much rather be cared for in a U.S. hospital than in any other country.

I responded:

Here you go (Another friend)... Wikipedia for the generalist perspective. LOTS more out there on this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hGPrKA627R1svhAL7yih15Ap-bFg http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/opinion/18tue3.html

[Editor's note: the person I responded to in the thread has removed himself from the thread or made himself invisible to me, either way, here are his comments as I received them in my email notifications]

Michael D.:

Elizabeth, you've certainly some interesting folks chiming in here. Questionable in accuracy, but interesting. Frankly, I tend to question anyone who would attempt to quote Wikipedia as a 'legitimate source', but as to that survey, I'd be interested in seeing the survey's questions.

Simple truth about "Universal' or 'Socialized' health care is that it comes with extremely high taxes and rationed access. Need a radiological exam for a cancer? We'll get to you in 6-8 months...

Standby as the Supreme Court strikes this POC bill down.

Me:

Michael, of course you're right about citing wikipedia as a source... I put that in there for the wealth of links that the article provided so that people could follow them and draw their own conclusions about the accuracy of the ORIGINAL links. Personally, I figured everyone was able to realize this and I wouldn't have to make this disclaimer.

As for your interest in the "survey's questions"... Do you realize how ignorant that makes you appear? The survey I linked was actually a peer-reviewed scientific study that follows very specific, rigorous rules for aggregating published data from reliable multiple sources. Since the scientists didn't actually produce the original data, they had to *survey* other sources.

What I'd like from you, Michael, are facts. Produce the scientific studies, originals or surveys, that compare socialized medicine costs with the costs an American pays. Produce the scientific studies that show the waiting times that nations with socialized medicine have compared to the U.S. Produce the studies that show how coverage is denied in socialized nations versus denied coverage in America. Without facts, we're just spewing hot air and saliva all over everyone....

Finally, the Supreme Court will not likely strike the law down. The Supreme Court is firmly in the pockets of corporate interests. Also, remember Obama's Healthcare Summit? All the competing *healthcare* interests (doctor's organizations, hospitals, insurance companies, etc.) forged a negotiation so that everyone got a piece of the pie. This law will never go before the SCOTUS.

Michael D.:

Sorry Asberry. I refuse to converse with Socialists. Beneath my minimum level of interest, it rates somewhere along the lines of picking up after the dogs.

Shine the light on the cockroaches and they go scurrying.

Here are more thoughts I posted:

I actually think anger toward the government is misguided. It's actually *corporate* health care: doctors, hospitals, and insurance that we should be in a furor with. It's those greedy b******s that deserve our anger as they pillage our bank accounts. Sure, we need some frustration to focus at the government because we elected them to PROTECT us. But let us not forget, it's the doctors, hospitals and insurance companies that are committing the actual crimes against each and every one of us.

My position in this is far more subtle than "socialist"... I believe that some things, like roads (if you use roads are you a socialist??), are "in the public good." The health and well-being of my neighbors is always on my mind. I have an excellent, very well-paying job and am willing to commit some of my income to the betterment of all Americans. We need to be on the lookout for one another because no one else is. Doesn't the bible exhort us to do that? Does that make Jesus a socialist? If people were following their Christian directives for charity, would we even be having this discussion? How greedy and uncaring does someone have to be to think this law is a bad thing? Misguided maybe, but certainly not bad and definitely not evil as many portray it. As [name withheld] indicated above, Canada and the UK provide top notch health care that is not focused on the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Those two countries can hardly be considered socialist.

My point in this thread is to question opinion, discover facts, and come to rational conclusions. I've been studying this topic for nearly five years now and, scarily, the evidence says American exceptionalism isn't evident in our health care system. In fact, most research points out uncomfortable facts that some aspects of health care in third world countries such as Cuba may actually be better than what we have. Talk about scary!

Spring Fever also Leads to Aches and Pains!

2010-03-22T08:37:00.002-04:00

The fabulous warm temperatures this weekend encouraged me to start preparing the raised beds for growing season. Since we didn't harvest everything at the end of the season last year, I think we're going to have some volunteers in some of the beds. Onions and carrots are already coming up in two of the beds! Need to work them into the guilds I'm designing -- along with some garlic. Mmmm!

The compost has finally decomposed fairly uniformly so I doubled up on one of the frames, one on top of another, and filled it with finished compost. My youngest loves to garden with me, so she helped me put in the seed 'taters. Going to move several of the frames more to the west. I think the maple is shading them out too much in the mornings. Also need to put together more frames. I think we're ready to expand the garden a bit. Of course, this means putting down more weed (grass) block and getting a bunch more wood chip mulch. I can't keep up with our little wood chipper. Actually, it's not the wood chipper... it's cutting down all those little trees and bushes. Lots of work and not enough time.

Talking of compost, finally took the can in the kitchen full of decayed veggies out. Last time I did that was probably November. Definitely ripe! We've also been collecting used coffee grounds so I emptied and cleaned about a half dozen buckets into the pile. And, I put all the remaining dead garden vegetation into the compost to add woody material that will hopefully absorb some of that smell from the kitchen scraps.

Finally, my seed starts are sprouting! Globe Artichoke, Stinging Nettles, Luffa, Good King Henry are so far the only ones poking out. Still waiting on Comfrey, sweet peppers, and Seabuckthorn. Have a bunch more later season seeds that I've not started yet.

Spring Fever encouraging me to start posting again!

2010-03-12T10:37:00.005-05:00

Posted the following at MetaFilter this morning:

Temperate Permaculture Forest Garden Wiki

One of the most important permaculture practices is building successful polycultures. The internet is full of great gardening resources (such as the Plants for a Future database) but severely lack information when it comes to integrating plants for maximum benefit as in a polyculture. I recently discovered one possible remedy at the Apios Institute's Edible Forest Garden Wiki.

The site appears to be divided into two areas: free access and paid membership. I've not investigated the membership area yet, but the free access content is high quality. It appears that the site is just starting up and one of the content authors is Eric Toensmeier, coauthor of the two volume, encyclopedic, Edible Forest Gardens books. In fact, the free content appears to be additional details from one of the case studies presented in the books.

Bike commuting again!

2010-03-11T08:51:00.002-05:00

The temps have been breaking up out of the freezing range into the 50's and 60's this week so I've been taking advantage. Monday I did a quick once over on my bike - tightening, inflating, cleaning - and got into work early Tuesday morning. I've been sick (and a bit lazy) for the last month so I wasn't in the best shape and had to skip the bike ride in on Wednesday. Rode in again this morning and I feel really loose and relaxed. Looking forward to Spring!

Calvatia gigantaea!

2009-10-06T06:50:00.003-04:00

Found six of them in my little outdoor mushroom nook where I'm trying to cultivate shiitake and maitake. The smallest was about fist sized and the largest was about a foot in diameter and about 5 pounds!

Fried them in olive oil last night for supper... added a touch of salt and some freshly ground pepper, yum! After they started to cool off, the smell and taste of the olive oil got a bit obnoxious so I didn't finish them all off. They have the consistency of fried tofu and a mild mushroom-y taste. I think if/when some more pop up, going to fry them in (much less) butter, put them on a bed of rice with a little soy sauce and maybe some fresh veggies (snap peas, broccoli, baby corn, carrots, hmm...) on the side too.

Religiosity and teenage pregnancy rates... why?

2009-09-22T10:30:00.005-04:00

Religiosity and teen birth rate in the United States

I commented on this at Subrealism and wanted to edit and share more widely...

I would call it child abuse. They would do as genetically programmed beings and explore the world, and, as teenagers, live riskily. Rather than learn the loveliness of their' or anothers' body, they learn shame. Instead of discovering and satiating their passion and desire, they starve for love. Then, these half-born humans mold the newly emergent beings into the same deformed, crippled creatures that they are.

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-09-03T09:12:00.001-04:00

Tap into what moves you

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-25T07:28:00.000-04:00

Do it now

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-20T20:16:00.002-04:00

What do you do?

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-17T16:08:00.000-04:00

Barter what you do to get what you need, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-14T11:40:00.001-04:00

Live free, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-13T16:10:00.001-04:00

Gift someone in need, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-12T08:19:00.001-04:00

Express your creativity, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-11T13:56:00.000-04:00

Save money, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-10T10:17:00.004-04:00

Learn a new skill, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-10T10:17:00.003-04:00

Learn a new skill, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-09T12:47:00.002-04:00

Take back your personal power, do-it-yourself

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-08-06T09:28:00.001-04:00

Eat less, especially meat

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-28T10:32:00.001-04:00

Seedballs improve germination http://bit.ly/cejLV

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-26T07:51:00.001-04:00

Biochar pulls CO2 from air and makes dead soil fertile

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-24T09:14:00.001-04:00

Work for balance, not elimination

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-21T12:01:00.002-04:00

Manage pests, make a home for their predators

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-17T13:29:00.001-04:00

Garden with your neighbors

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-16T12:20:00.001-04:00

Plant native wildflowers in empty lots

Re: Umbrella View of Resource Depletion & Human Behavior

2009-07-11T11:16:00.003-04:00

Wow.

http://vimeo.com/5538537

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-08T13:45:00.002-04:00

Give ten hugs a day

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-07T12:17:00.001-04:00

Guerrilla Garden with Seedballs

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-06T09:06:00.002-04:00

Is it good for us, is it good for the Earth?

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-07-02T10:27:00.001-04:00

Ride your bike to work

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-30T08:34:00.001-04:00

Exercise, til you're out of breath, every day

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-26T10:08:00.001-04:00

We belong to the land

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-25T08:44:00.002-04:00

Spawn mushrooms, restore our soils

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-24T10:27:00.002-04:00

Reduce, reuse, recycle. In that order.

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-20T12:14:00.002-04:00

Increase diversity, improve resilience

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-19T11:46:00.002-04:00

Compost compulsively!

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-16T10:22:00.002-04:00

Prefer resilience over efficiency

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-15T10:46:00.002-04:00

A little, now, can snowball into a lot, later

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-13T09:36:00.002-04:00

Improve neighborhood resilience, meet your neighbors

Leave It Better Than You Found It

2009-06-12T09:07:00.001-04:00

Tread gently, reverently on the Earth