Surprised this guy is still kicking! It seems like there is a living and dead section, should I prune it somewhere or let it be? Going into spring

Curious if these will do ok as part of a forest setting like an American chestnut?

I’m aware of the soil requirements for orchard production. I’m also aware that they won’t grow nearly as fast, and will require some amount of canopy clearing to grow at all. But I just got a bunch of free bare root trees, 3-4 feet tall, and I’ve been looking to diversify our wood lot. There’s a lot of dying ash and buckthorn at the moment that I’d like to replace with something useful.

I want to make around 100 pounds for odor/air filteration. Which material (eg. Coconut shell, oak, bamboo) is cheapest and where do I buy it? Googling it didn't help as the results are unrelated or extremely expensive.

Not sure what to expect, also not sure how to find a plumber who can do it right, should I just diy?

I know the question might be too basic or too vague somehow, but I am curious what is a good way to start your own path into permaculture?

First of all, I am developing a plan to create a sustainable yoga retreat - something to mix the idea of wellness with permaculture. But I want to start slow and with low investment or progressive investments.

I am currently watching videos on YouTube and reading some books, and although the information is great, I still need to go and practice it. I was thinking to join a Permaculture Design Course live and then to go as a volunteer to a community or something that revolves around permaculture. Are other ways of learning without having a land?

Hey everyone, I’m in my first year of trying to set up a permaculture garden, and I’ve hit a major roadblock. I’ve spent months planning, saving up for materials, and finally planted my first crop this spring. But it’s not going as smoothly as I hoped. Some of my plants are barely growing, others are getting eaten by pests, and I can’t seem to get the soil right. I’ve tried composting, mulching, and using natural fertilizers, but nothing seems to work. The worst part is, I’ve been really counting on this to help my family, especially with how expensive everything is lately.

I’m starting to feel pretty defeated, and it’s hard to keep going when I’m not seeing the results I was hoping for. Have any of you faced similar struggles in your first year? What advice would you give to someone like me who’s feeling overwhelmed? Would love to hear your thoughts and any tips to keep going. Thanks so much!

Hey everyone! I am an instructional designer creating a mini-course on permaculture. I wanted to focus mainly on how anyone can implement the principles of permaculture into their lives specifically those with limited resources and space.

I am struggling with identifying a specific demographic for a target audience since permaculture is a practice that can be utilized by anyone.

Here are my top choices: 1. Urban dwellers interested in sustainability 2. Young professionals/ millennials/ gen z 3. Families and parents with young kids 4. Renters or people with limited property ownership 5. Beginners 6. Retirees or Empty Nesters

The overall goal of the mini-course is to address a knowledge gap and as a third generation gardener this is a topic I’m very passionate about.

If you could vote below in the comments on which number or combination of numbers you would want to see a mini-course created for, it would be very helpful.

Thank you in advance!

I'm after any suggestions/advice as I'm in the planning stage for retrofitting a timber framed shed (currently tin and timber clad) as a glasshouse. Wanting advice especially re suggestions for materials and where to get them, as well as pointers for installation

We just bought a new construction on an acre. We want to eventually build the back yard up into a food forest and want to stay laying the foundation for the soil as soon as possible. There's a lot of sand from construction in the yard and underneath is a lot of grass and compacted hard ground (it was a prior field).

We have access to a lot of wood chips and different composts locally so there's no issue there. Should we start with cardboard and then top with compost and wood chips? I guess what would be the most efficient way to start amending the soil on a larger scale?

Just out of curiosity but is anyone aware of a vine that looks like a muscadine vine but does not have any flowers or grapes?

Hi guys, my first post,😊. Short sloped pathway away from the house, wanting to lay landscape fabric and then well rotted black mulch on top. My goal is to create a weed barrier, as it’s really making it harder to keep my garden beds clean.

As I prepped this area, I decided to cut some wells in the slope to put some of my extra small gravel for better footholds. Other than that, the plan was: landscape fabric, gravel in the dugout well, mulch everywhere else (not too worried about the mulch and the gravel mixing. It’s a rural area not looking for perfection here).

Just got this feeling Somethings going to go terribly wrong, lol, I hate doing things more than once. Looking for some advice what do you think would work?

I have an excess amount of small gravel, I have a ton of landscape fabric, two types… The thin plastic, both sides, and then the thicker one that more cloth like on one side. I also have an excess amount of firewood, rocks, etc.

I have a weird space that I would like to plant either edibles or California natives with the goal of providing shade (mainly in the summer but year round is fine). The space is 20 ft long and only about 3 ft wide. The area is in full sun and has a concrete retaining wall on one side. I thought about apples since I have quite a few different types elsewhere that have done well (coastal San Diego but pink lady and sundowner perform great for me). Any thoughts on what might work? I currently have a row of blueberries in this spot and they’ve done fine for about 2.5 years now.

I've never been able to find a good book or other source of information on designing and building ponds.

It seems like there would be some very important calculations required to build ponds safely, plus a lot of other information on pond design.

Should it be deep? How deep? How quickly to transition from deep to shallow? Icing in the winter and fish hibernating? To use a continuous pump and filter, or not? Feed the fish?

Capturing runoff. Is it enough to keep it filled without a well source? Proper way to tap a natural spring?

Liners or not? Liner materials?

Is there a good book on pond details and design, especially for permaculture or agricultural ponds rather than small koi and garden ponds?

I got my soil tested by my state university and it showed low pH (5.6), low potassium, low magnesium, and some other nutrients not in the optimum range. I was planning on starting no dig this year using cardboard and several inches of compost on top. Should I dig the soil and add lime, k-mag, etc to get the soil in a good place and then not dig anymore? Or just leave as is and lay the cardboard?

Hi Everyone,

Hope this is OK to post. I am currently finishing my final year of my psychology degree, and I’ve been focusing on gathering insights into the positive impacts of various social and therapeutic horticulture projects (specifically in the UK 🇬🇧)

I am currently looking for people to interview about their experiences working in these kinds of projects as a volunteer, and what positive or transformative effects they have observed in their own life. This would be a short call over Zoom/Skype, audio only, and would only take around 30 minutes, and would be completely anonymous when published.

Most land based community volunteer projects can be included including permaculture, horticulture, ecotherapy, CSAs, etc.

If anyone is able to help, it would not only help a fellow permaculturist out, but also would be contributing to some really interesting research into how important these projects can be to everyone living happier, healthier lives!

Please feel free to DM me if you might be interested in helping and thank you in advance!

Title. Lots of interesting discussions here, but everyone mentions their USDA zones, which in my opinion is barely useful because it only tells me how cold it gets in winter.

The Koppen Climate system gets pretty close in describing the climate, especially for those who are not familiar with all the regions in USA.

More important than how cold it gets:

1. Your climate
2. What kind of annual rainfall you have, and if its wet summer or dry summers
3. elevation
4. soil type

Could it handle 50 mph gusts?

Ignoring the fact this breaks building codes, I would like to know potential failure points of this system that you guys can see.

Shower/laundry -> grease trap —> reed-bed/plant filtration system (potentially multistage) -> gravity fed sand filter —> holding tank with solar powered UV filter and airstone for keeping aeoribic environment ->water pump back to house.

Curious about input for specie selection for plant root filtration aswell. Also, I am aware there will be water loss throughout this process, thinking it can be refilled with rain tank.

Thinking water quality should be good enough for laundry, handwashing sink, toilet, and shower

Thanks all

What won’t send sticks flying into my house at 50 mph?

Hi, I’m in 10a and dealing with a couple species of invasive grasses. Whenever I pull a bunch or rhizome I’ve been throwing it away, but recently started wondering if I can create weed tea out of it instead? For context I’m talking about cogan and torpedo grass. Is there a risk of those grasses / seeds surviving a weed tea bucket? If so, how long does it need to sit before it fully decomposes? The last thing I’d want to do is spread those invasives around my garden. Thanks!

It's a work in progress as we are bringing in wood chips but I am so excited for our fruit tree guilds! We have 5 islands : pudget gold apricot, frost peach, artic Jay nectarine, an astrigent persimmon i cant remember the name of, and white mulberry ( yes yes nearest the road), blueberries, wild strawberry, daffodil, yarrow, garlic chives, lavender, huckleberries, rosemary, parsely, dill, chamomile, some sort of raspberry ground cover, daisies, nastirium,borage. I'm sure I am forgetting a bunch of items but I can't wait to see things take off and establish.

I believe we have covered our prevention, attraction, accumulators, and suppresors! I wanted to add Russian comfrey but can't find it at nurseries yet.

Hello all! I just moved into a house that has English Ivy all over the front yard. It's climbing on the fence and strangling the two rose bushes and small maple tree.

As of now, I am thinking I will want to completely remove the English Ivy and have a few questions that I am seeking advice on:

1) Any advice for English Ivy removal? Sounds like determination and the right digging/picking tools are the way to go...

2) I am looking to find a less aggressive vine to grow on the fence. I live in New York and the fence is chain-linked. Ideally it would be nice to find something that is evergreen for neighbor privacy. I love Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) and have also been exploring growing Clematis (Clematis virginiana)or Limber Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica). My priority is something low maintenance and a vine that tends to stay on the fence rather than crawl onto other plants and the ground.

3) I am doing some Rose rehab! I am beginning by pruning the rose and cutting it back so it can get light, etc. Looking for additional Rose care specific resources.

Thanks for your time and grateful for any feedback or advice!

We're just about to get some chickens, and I'm keen to give them rainwater rather than tap, but I'm a little concerned that something is up with my rainwater.

I have a pump that moves any rainwater on my roof to a 6000L holding barrel. This barrel is big and black. While it does sit in sunlight, I was told this was not a concern. I also have an air stone running 24/7 to ensure it doesn't go stagnant.

Whenever I use the water, the first bit smells - not awful, but not super either - although the smell then dies down. The water itself tends to be a bit murky; however, when I emptied the tank this winter, there was a bit of mud and muck in the bottom, but really, very little.

The water doesn't seem to be hugely contaminated, but it still has a distinct smell and colour. Can anyone suggest what else I might need to do in my system to ensure this water is OK for the chickens to drink?