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permaculture

Not really a “prepper”

28 Mar 2013

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I do not consider myself a “prepper”.

I do consider myself a “cautious libertarian with kids who has read too many dystopian-future novels”.

That being said, I was surprised to find out that I’m already doing or planning almost everything on this list. The philosophy of “plant everything and see what grows” is very important with our fluctuating weather. This dovetails nicely into my vision of “the garden as living laboratory”. Everything I do is a grand experiment, continually working towards greater diversity. I never thought of permaculture as something that would resonate with preppers, but it makes sense. It was interesting to see where I am on this author’s list:

1. Plant Perennials

Yup. Ten established fruit-bearing trees already here when we moved in. Another dozen fruit trees planted in the past year. Other perennial food-producers planted in the past year: elderberry, flatwoods plum, rabbit-eye blueberry, Mysore raspberry, Kiowa blackberry. There’s also the culinary herb bed with at least a dozen perennials in it already. This year will plant sunchokes, sweet potatoes, and cassava.

fruit trees 112512

2. Plant polycultures.

Beyond the idea that my entire yard is a polyculture, I have worked hard planning specific polyculture “beds” to grow within the food forest above and in the raised beds in the back. The “fedges” are also polycultures mixing perennial food-producers, medicinal herbs, and natives to attract pollinators and predatory insects.

3. Breed your own perennial varieties.

Any time you save your own seed for more than one generation and plant it, you are breeding your own micro-variety. The plant is supposed to adapt to the particular conditions and become stronger. I’m trying this theory with my speckled butter beans, the first crop I’ve saved seed from!

4. Include animals.

This is the only piece missing, the piece that will continually keep my experiment from being self-sufficient. I cannot have farm animals or any pets due to the conditions of our lease. We can’t even have a cat. I currently drive 45 minutes each way for horse manure- not sustainable. Finding a regular and affordable source of animal manure closer to home is a big goal this year.

5. Manage rainwater.

Adding rain barrels and drip irrigation is the project for April, before monsoon season starts.

orange juice

6. Process, preserve, add value, and store on site.

The only crop of significance we have right now is citrus. I juiced pounds and pounds of fruit and candied the peels. I made marmalade, syrups, and liqueurs. We buried the peels instead of throwing them in the garbage. I have several gallons of fresh unpasteurized juice in the deep freeze and many jars of marmalade.

7. Don’t forget annuals.

How could I? Without annuals there is no salsa! I’ve already started tomatillos, eggplants, ground cherries, pumpkins, and beans. The fact that I work at the farmers market keeps me from feeling much urgency to grow a lot of annual vegetables, so I’m only growing the weird, interesting, or expensive varieties that we eat in quantity already.

8. Become a wild plant gatherer!

Oh yeah. Done that. I can now identify a bunch of wild edibles, but most of the wild edibles growing in my immediate area are definitely starvation foods… they are there and edible and at least somewhat nutritious, but they don’t taste very good. I haven’t branched out into mushrooms yet.

9. Become a tracker/hunter.

This is my big reveal. Ready for it? I am 38 years old and I have never shot a gun in my life. Never. However, I also believe strongly that as a meat-eater I should be willing to kill and butcher my own meat, so my birthday present this year will be a rifle. Husband and I have already talked about teaching me and all three kids to shoot pistols and rifles. This fall, I am going hunting.

10. Start now!

Yeah, I got this. There’s this weird sense of urgency lately, despite my innate skepticism of the world-enders. I do not fear climate change… it is only our own hubris which wants nature to never change. I can only control my own behavior and live as lightly upon the earth as I can, pay attention to the land, and try to convince my kids to do the same.

By: Andi Houston Category: Permaculture Projects, Politics and Movement, Recipes! Tags: , ,

Final Trees are Planted!

27 Nov 2012

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Saturday was my first solo market manager shift at the Alachua County Farmer’s Market. Thankfully it was a slow day and everything went smoothly. When I was walking around chatting with the vendors, I realized that the only fruit tree guy there that day just happened to have all three of the trees I needed to complete my tree layer in my front yard mini food forest.

And they were on sale.

Needless to say, I headed home that day sharing the front seat with the canopies of three baby fruit trees: two kinds of Florida plum trees and one Fuyu persimmon.

Sunday afternoon we put them in the ground. This time instead of planting the trees in a pit of mushroom compost I mixed the compost with the soil from the hole. Hopefully this will give the roots a growth boost and keep them from just going round and round in the compost. I’ll be watering every day for the next few weeks at least, it’s so dry here.

I finally started Edible Forest Gardens. What if they said I was doing it all wrong? Well, so far… I’m doing okay. And the most intelligent thing I can do right now is to stop. Stop planting, stop buying plants. Just sit back, observe, read, study, and plan for spring. Winter is for pulling in and pondering.

So here’s what my little food forest looks like now.

I really want to measure each one and mark them on a doorway somewhere.

By: Andi Houston Category: Garden Updates, Permaculture Projects Tags: , ,

Niches and a New Border

25 Sep 2012

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One of the tenets of permaculture is fill every niche. Another is work with, not against, nature.

The far east border in the front yard is shaded by the neighbor’s oaks until midday in the summer, then receives the brunt of the late afternoon sun. When we moved in the border was full of daylilies that barely bloomed. We dug up and gave away most of the daylilies months ago and planted three flatwoods plums to start a new border.

Lower right hand corner in the garden plan

For months I debated choices for this area. What to plant next? The original plan was to plant avocado trees but the longer I observed the area, the more I was sure that there wasn’t enough sun for the avocados to produce, and not enough protection from cold wind. I was so focused on fruit trees that I was only trying to figure out which fruit tree was best for these conditions… when the answer is to not plant fruit trees here at all.

Once I started thinking outside of that “fruit tree” box, the answer was clear- a dense shrub guild using the background of flatwoods plum. The edges of the yard are basically my zone 4 & 5. I want these areas to provide some food for me and some food for wildlife, be beautiful, and also provide nesting areas. A dense shrub border for partial shade is much easier and I think more working with, not against, nature than trying to get fruit trees to produce here. I’ve already added mophead hydrangea, simpson’s stopper, scarlet milkweed, beautyberry, and elderberry.

I want to add pawpaws after reading this, roselle hibiscus, and more elderberries.  I would love more suggestions for this area!

I really do need to start an actual accurately-measured plan for the whole garden on the computer one of these days, but I’m starting with an actual garden journal where I record when each new addition is planted, when plants flower & set fruit, critter sightings, all of the minutiae that will bring a deeper understanding of the land.

By: Andi Houston Category: Garden Updates, Permaculture Projects Tags: , , , ,

Permaculture Baby Steps

24 May 2012

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There is 10 cubic yards of mulch sitting in my front yard. The plan to sheet mulch my new front yard is actually moving forward!

Right now my sad front yard is a big sand pit full of nutsedge and spotted spurge. We’ll be planting fruit trees in the fall, but first I have to get some organic matter into this soil and most importantly, cover the bare sand.

Sheet mulching seems to be the most efficient way to do this. Sheet mulching kills the weeds by smothering them beneath a thick layer of cardboard, manure, and mulch. The weeds and manure compost quickly beneath the cardboard, enriching the soil and adding much-needed humus, and eventually the cardboard itself breaks down and adds even more. As time goes on the sheet mulching breaks down into soil, and you just keep adding compost and mulch on top of it in layers.

Graphic courtesy of stopwaste.org.

Yesterday I called Wood Resource Recovery to schedule a mulch delivery for Friday or maybe even Tuesday. Somehow a miracle happened and the guy was available that afternoon. It all happened so quickly. Their “enviro-mulch”, which is shredded yard and tree-trimming waste, is $10 per cubic yard. I had $150 to spend, so I bought 10 cubic yards of mulch, spent $25 on the delivery fee, and I’ll be spending the remaining $25 on straw. Then a friend offered as much free alpaca and chicken manure as I could haul away, and we figured a way to transport a large amount in my mini-van. This is all just… coming together.

The goal this weekend is to get 1/3 to 1/2 of the front yard sheet mulched, the area closest to the house which has the most bare sand. This is the part of the yard where we’ll be planting fruit trees and large bushes, which will eventually fill in enough to shade the south-facing front of the house and front walkway.

If (and this is a big “if”) we get the sheet mulching down by Sunday evening, then Monday I’ll be building my first herb spiral with the coquina we’re pulling out of the front yard.

I cannot even describe how eager and excited I am to finally be doing what I’ve been reading, dreaming, and planning for so many months. This is the right time. Since this project is so big and I want to be able to document it so others feel completely empowered to rip up their grass to grow food, I’m starting a new category on this blog for the Permaculture Project.

If you’ve sheet-mulched before, give me advice! If you haven’t, wish me luck!

By: Andi Houston Category: Garden Updates, Permaculture Projects Tags: , , ,

The Long Walk Home

7 May 2012

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On Friday I decided to walk to the new house from work. I needed some exercise after an overly-indulgent lunch at Harvest Thyme and needed some mental space and quiet before the madness of Moving Weekend.

You know what? Gainesville is a beautiful city.

A hidden backyard sanctuary and a fence covered in passionflowers, along with Gulf Fritillary caterpillars, of course

There were so many beautiful gardens. I wandered all through the Duckpond area and up through the Northeast side, paying careful attention to thriving fruit trees and what plants were grouped together both in planned gardens and in the wild edges and empty lots. Part of permaculture design is creating guilds- groups of plants that support each other biologically. Learning which plants like to be together can be learned by paying attention to the nature all around us. It just takes time and careful study.

I love this yard. It was like a cool shady oasis, beckoning me in, in a street full of mown grass and boring trimmed hedges.

As I wandered, I snapped pictures of gardens that I was drawn to. I realized that I was caught by the same style of garden over and over. Dense. Lush. Layered, with trees and large flowering bushes and low underplantings. Shaded and cool. No grass.

Brand new garden being installed in stages in the Duckpond. I love the interlocking circles and curves.

Another huge stack of gardening books from the library awaits me. I think I’ll be ready to start sketching out plans soon.

By: Andi Houston Category: Current Fascination, Garden Updates Tags: , , , ,

Beltane Thoughts and Garden Plans

2 May 2012

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Sundown yesterday was the end of Beltane. My Beltane evening included fire, a nice glass of red wine, and writing lists.

Beltane is often described as the beginning of summer, but that is only a part of the explanation. Beltane is the beginning of the light half, the planting half, the growing half of the year that ends on Samhain.  Much of these past months leading up to Beltane have been full of planning and dreaming and preparing. What you sow during the light half of the year, you reap during the dark. I am ready for some sowing!

I am always amused that the Eat Local Challenge starts on Beltane. That’s so fitting. We are putting our money where our mouths are. Literally! We are putting our ethics into action during the Eat Local Challenge. Since my challenge to myself is finding and trying new food plants for my garden, two of the lists were Have & Wish lists- what do I already have that’s coming with me to the new house, and what plants do I need immediately?

What I have: lemongrass, 2 different figs, 4 blueberries, 2 yuca, oregano, rigani, thyme, and a strawberry guava.

We have to start in the front yard. It’s been neglected the longest and is literally a huge area of unsightly weeds (sand spurs must die), two badly-placed tulip poplars, and some disconnected daylilies and roses. Those go on the “have” list, too. Much of the front yard will be native flowering plants and butterfly/bird food, but some plants that produce human food will be mixed in, too.

There are so many things to consider for the wish list: permaculture techniques, the state of the soil, budget. Permaculture design advocates lots of perennial food plants, native plants to attract pollinators, and combining plants to make “guilds”- plants that work well together.

I also have to consider water usage. Rain here is seasonal, almost monsoon-like, and I’m not willing to do more watering than a rain barrel can provide for. Anything planted in the front has to be able to tough out weeks with no rain after it’s established.

On the wish list so far for the front yard: more blueberries, Mediterranean herbs that will survive the heat (rosemary, definitely), sweet potato, sunchokes/jerusalem artichokes, roselles, and possibly globe artichokes.

This spot may become a tropical bed. It’s on the south-west corner, against a fence, and gets serious sun all day, but is protected from north wind. I thinking of trying bananas, edible gingers, turmeric, pandanus, and under-planted with Okinawa spinach and beach sunflower. This might also be a good spot for an African Keyhole bed since bananas are heavy feeders.

Winter is for thinking, dreaming, learning.  Summer is for doing. Summer starts today.

By: Andi Houston Category: Eat Local Challenge, Faith and food, Garden Updates Tags: , , , , , ,

Permaculture Dreams and Beef Rendang

8 Mar 2012

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The closer we get to moving, the more preoccupied I am with planning the New Garden. Now, in truth I don’t even know what the New Garden is going to look like, how big it is, anything. That in no way keeps me from daydreaming about it. A great deal of my dreaming right now revolves around permaculture plans. What is possible here? What perennials can I grow? What about a mini-Food Forest? I’m not sure if any landlord is going to let me cut swales or install greywater systems, but who would say no to a free butterfly garden on their property?

My current (tiny) back flowerbed is my first attempt at permaculture, mixing sage and lemongrass among the flowering salvias, lantanas, and potted orchids and pitcher plants. I mostly forget about the lemongrass since its unobtrusive presence gets a little lost amongst the rambunctious sprawling lantanas. Then I saw this recipe and realized that I had every ingredient… except lemongrass.

Wait. I have lemongrass growing in the backyard. 

This is exactly permaculture. It’s growing food outside of “garden beds” and annuals planted every spring. It’s growing food that comes back year after year, and carefully designing mixes of plants that fulfill both our human needs and each other’s needs as an ecosystem. I’m just enthralled.  And I didn’t just have the lemongrass in my yard, either. I harvested lime leaves and grapefruit leaves off my grafted citrus. Bruise them and a wonderful citrus aroma arises, stronger than any imported frozen “kaffir lime” leaf I’ve ever purchased. We had fresh chili peppers off Jim’s plants, too.

Beef Rendang

Combination of this rendang recipe and this one. This looks like a very complicated dish but it comes together quickly, just be prepared for a long simmer and lots of stirring.

Ingredients:
2 lb beef roast, sliced into chunks
1/4 c sunflower oil, divided

Spice paste:
1 tbl tamarind paste
2 tsp turmeric
5 purple-skinned shallots
1 inch galangal, sliced
5 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 tbs brown sugar or jaggery
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Curry:

1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
3 star anise
3 cardamom pods
1 can coconut milk
6 tbs unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
4 fresh citrus leaves, bruised
2 stalk fresh lemongrass, bruised and knotted
4 fresh green chilies, seeded

First put all of the spice paste ingredients in a food processor and process to a fine paste. If you don’t have a food processor, put everything in a blender. Add 2 tbl of oil, and then add water a tablespoon at a time until it blends to a fine paste. Then gather all of the rest of the ingredients near you (mise en place! mise en place!) because this part goes kind of quickly.

Heat a large skillet or wok with the other 2 tbl of oil over high or medium high heat, depending on your self-confidence. When the oil is very hot, add the spice paste all at once. It will spatter like mad! Stir briskly until it reduces and starts to change color. You should start to see the oil coming out. What you’re seeing is the water evaporating out of the paste and the flavors melding and becoming concentrated. Once the oil starts to show around the edges, add the beef and stir like mad until the paste really starts to caramelize and get darker.

The second you are afraid the paste + meat might be starting to burn, take the pan off the fire and add the coconut milk and stir like crazy. It will bubble and steam, keep stirring. Once it settles down a little, put it back on the fire and turn the burner down to medium or medium-low. Add the cinnamon stick through the chilis.

Now comes the long bit. The curry needs to simmer for at least an hour. Mine took almost two hours. Stir every 5-10 minutes. After an hour you’ll see the sauce thicken and darken as the water evaporates and the sugars caramelize more. The sauce is getting happy. (I was an Emeril Lagasse fan for a little while.) After an hour, how far to reduce the sauce is up to you. Rendang is supposed to be a dry curry, meaning you keep stirring until the sauce dries to a thick coating on the meat and fries in the oil that comes out. You can also stop before this point if you want a little more sauce, and that’s okay, too.

Serve with rice, sliced limes, and chili paste.

By: Andi Houston Category: Garden Updates, Recipes! Tags: , , , ,