The Permaculture Project LLC » Gardens

Thieves Raid Gardens

wayne — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:28:18 +0000

An interesting article about vegetable theft from community and private gardens. It is obvious that folks are getting desperate. Money is in short supply. The belly is empty. Food prices continue to rise. Is it really theft or simply the empty belly that longs for nourishment? We have come so far turning our lawns and abandoned lots into bountiful gardens. How do we include those that cannot afford the supermarket shelf? How can we educate those that are in need to grow their own?

The Front Lawn Goes Away

wayne — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:33:05 +0000

Say goodbye to the front lawn. Why do they keep on giving summonses to lawn destroyers like us? What a waste of the dandelion’s time.

“You have to allow a certain amount of mess to create a habitat,” she said. But “it also pushes a boundary that’s very uncomfortable: the sloppiness and the ugliness, the awkward moments when things are cut” before “it starts to get its own shape.” Read the rest…

Drought, Tornadoes, Thunder and Lightning

wayne — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:15:21 +0000

After sitting through yet another major storm and blackout two nights ago I have to wonder at the state of the climate and whether or not this is an unusual era or whether or not this has been happening all along throughout all history. Is it that the population plants houses and businesses in the path of the “weather”, on the banks of floodplains, on ocean fronts where hurricanes wander, under massive trees that can crush a life in an instant? Or is it simply that weather happens and will go on happening no matter where we might choose to settle? How do we prepare for these instantaneous events without succumbing to doomsday scenarios and end of the world trash talk? There has been so much written and reported in the press these fine days about climate change and the twisted non-ecological unconsciousness of the herd. Is this simply another ploy by the press to find readers and listeners, to sell more “news”, to focus blame and fear on someone else, or is it Madison Avenue searching for the next best thing, the next best gadget, so to speak, to occupy the lives of the six billion plus? Where do we stand as Permaculture practitioners in all we do? How many of us are actually eating out of the gardens and forests within reach of the back door? Are we prepared? Ready? For the best and worst? Or are we simply living the good life: functional relationship between stones, plants, animals and humans?

Why We Have to Plant Food Gardens

wayne — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:24:34 +0000

Here is an interesting article about the state of the world according to food, prices, and availability. It makes sense for us to plant and plant and plant for our and everyone else’s good.
http://intotheashes.imva.info/breaking-news/hunger-starvation-to-visit-humanity

Home Again in the Gardens: Sweet Potatoes, Cayenne, Gingko and More!

wayne — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:53:02 +0000

The family has been gone for two weeks. The gardens did not skip a beat. Harvesting sweet potatoes, tomatoes, passion fruit, cayenne peppers, comfrey, gingko nuts, and St. John’s wort. The yucca is producing fibers, and the flowers continue to bloom into October. The bounty around here is miraculous. With little maintenance the natural world keeps on delivering yields beyond our wildest expectations.

The Madison PDC Continues: Sue Ellen’s Farm and Troy Gardens

wayne — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:12:57 +0000

Maybe we don’t want to work on Maggie’s farm no more, but Sue Ellen’s name, first of all, has too many syllables, and, hey, who wouldn’t want to work in this paradise? And Troy Gardens? Acres and acres of allotments, prairie restoration, a four acre CSA, and co-housing units. Volunteers everywhere. And plenty of kids!

Dave and Katy’s Home In Ann Arbor, and a Rainbow

wayne — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:01:49 +0000

Bill and I stopped at the home of former students, Dave and Katy. As we proceeded afterwards along the highway this double rainbow appeared. Maybe there is “gold” at the end of the rainbow. Maybe what Dave and Katy and so many others are doing in front and back yards is the gold at the end, and the beginning, of the rainbow.

Permaculture, the Stelle Three Epochs Course, Home Again

wayne — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:18:32 +0000

The Three Epochs Permaculture Course is complete at Stelle. I am now on home turf and wondering how it is, with little care, over the last two weeks, that there is so much food around the house and the neighborhood that we can’t eat it all. Maybe we are finally approaching that Permaculture ideal in a temperate climate. Little work, great abundance. Is this possible? Check out our mascots, Phil and Macy in the picture below.

Transition and Permaculture

wayne — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:18:58 +0000

Interesting take on the whole thing. I too agree that Permaculture and Transition are at the head of the pack. Are we up to it? What else do we have to do? Can we come up with an alternative when it comes to the miasm we have created for ourselves? I understand that to be on a spiritual path is key, but inside Permaculture and Transition “is” a path. The underpinnings of this comprehensive take on the world are spiritual to the core. Care of Earth, Care of People, benevolence, relationship, communication, it is all here. Can we imagine a world where all of these ethics are operable, where we live and breathe this in the present, not some fantasy of the past or future? Can we create a new and fresh garden, a place to revel in the Creator’s absolute glory in the act of creation? And yes, a place that is healthy to be, where our needs of sustenance are met with balance and care and love and presence? I imagine myself opening the back door as the scent of herb and blossom waft my way, as the green and colorful landscape plays into all my senses and where people revel in the bounty of this earth alive. And I imagine the home inside with the family cooking and singing and enjoying each others’ company and I do not have to imagine this because if we live into this wholeness it is so.

http://transitionculture.org/2009/07/03/responding-to-sharon-astyk-on-permaculture-and-transition/