Picture Sundays: A Keyhole Bed and Straw Bale Garden in Texas

...sent in some pictures of his garden. John says, This is my first year to use compost tea. I am growing plants in two Keyhole Gardens, self watering 5 gal plastic buckets and two hay bales (coastal Bermuda hay) that have a wooden framework on top containing bulk landscaping compost from a local nursery. My plants are growing super fast and my tomatoes are loaded. This looks to be the best garden I have ever had. Judging from the fencing it looks l...

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Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land

...to max it out, to do as much as we can to capture and recycle water, to improve our soil, to start breeding out tough-as-nails annuals, to develop more effective “guilds” (in Permaculture speak). In regular talk that means we plan manage our landscaping wisely, so the plants support one another. I’d encourage you to think of your own little patch of the world as an oasis too. How can you help make it more resilient to the shocks of strange weathe...

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Village Homes: A Model for Sustainable Suburbs

...ably reduced. Some have even have green roofs. But more interesting is the landscaping, the massive network of bike/walking paths and the creative use of public space. The entire development is essentially a big food forest. All of the rainfall is captured and instead of being directed to the sewer system, it runs to swales between the houses, to nourish fruit trees. The resulting space is a lush park full of edibles, from exotic jujubee trees to...

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Permaculture Design Course at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano

...ess plan integrating permaculture (ie. nursery, preserving food, teaching, landscaping etc.) JUNE 14 / APPLIED PERMACULTURE – Large-scale / global permaculture projects, past Eco-Apprentices project updates JUNE 19 / FINAL GROUP PRESENTATIONS – Group presentations, potluck, evaluations, feedback, favor and information exchange Scholarships and work/study opportunities exist thanks to the generous support of The Boeing Company Global Corporate Citi...

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Favorite Plants- New Zealand Spinach

...or many years and find it a reliable plant. In The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping, Rosalind Creasy writes, “New Zealand spinach makes a marvelous temporary ground cover, is good in hanging baskets, and will cascade over the sides of planter boxes. Grow it on the patio so it will be close at hand to add to your morning scrambled eggs along with dill and cheese.” I have so much in my garden right now that I may do a big harvest and blanch, chop...

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