What are you doing in your garden this weekend? It is good to have some kind of a plan in place – jobs you’d like to get round to – even if things do not quite turn out as planned. Of course, the garden jobs this week will depend very much on where you live.Continue reading “Garden Plans for the Weekend”
Tag Archives: forest garden
Choosing Ground Cover For Silvo-Pasture Systems
Silvo pasture is a great strategy for sustainable livestock farming. It simply involves integrating trees into pasture landscape design. The trees may be orchard trees which provide additional yields from the land. Or they may be native trees chosen to enrich the soil, boost biodiversity, or simply to provide shade for the livestock below. ManyContinue reading “Choosing Ground Cover For Silvo-Pasture Systems”
The Importance of Pioneer Trees
I’ve spoken a lot before on this site about the vital role that trees play in permaculture design and ecosystem restoration. But some of you may be interested in this recent article I wrote outlining the basics of pioneer trees. The Importance of Pioneer Trees for Forest Gardens and Other Purposes Trees are always onContinue reading “The Importance of Pioneer Trees”
Overcoming Obstacles in a Kitchen Garden – A Few Examples
One of the key roles of permaculture is showing how, by following certain ethics and principles, we can work towards overcoming obstacles – in food production and in other areas of our lives. Today, as many work towards creating their kitchen garden, or making a plan for the coming year, I thought it might beContinue reading “Overcoming Obstacles in a Kitchen Garden – A Few Examples”
Case Study: Market Garden Permaculture Design
This is a design for a 1/2 acre market garden. As you might expect, the primary goal for this design is to grow a range of edible produce for household use and for sale. One challenge is that the site is not grid connected, so water and energy were top priorities. This design is aContinue reading “Case Study: Market Garden Permaculture Design”
Findings From My Forest Garden
I recently wrote an article for Treehugger: Findings From My 5-Year Old Forest Garden. This is just a few simple observations from experience that may help others as they move to create and improve their own forest gardens where they live. While there is nothing earth shattering, the idea of this article was to discussContinue reading “Findings From My Forest Garden”
Snow and Frost in the Forest Garden
The forest garden does not, perhaps, look at its best at this time of the year. Nor is it at its most productive. But there is a beauty to the garden in the winter too. Here are few pictures I took on Friday night, to capture the snowy scene before it all melts, as itContinue reading “Snow and Frost in the Forest Garden”
Case Study: Oregon Permaculture Garden
The primary goals for this permaculture design were to create a plan that would allow the residents of this historic property in coastal Oregon to grow food and other resources for themselves and guests that they will welcome onto the site in a sustainable way. The goal was also to create a garden that couldContinue reading “Case Study: Oregon Permaculture Garden”
Growing Your Own – Is Forest Gardening Right For You?
When most people think about growing their own, they think first about growing annual crops. Most people think of food production, it involves growing a range of common fruits and vegetables in kitchen gardens, in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers. But as those who are familiar with forest gardening will know, theseContinue reading “Growing Your Own – Is Forest Gardening Right For You?”
Don’t Neglect the Shrub Layer in a Forest Garden
The shrub layer in a forest garden is one that is sometimes neglected in design. Those new to forest gardening often focus on the trees, then their attention leaps to the herbaceous layer. If they do think about the shrub layer at all, initially, people’s minds tend to leap to typical fruit bushes like gooseberriesContinue reading “Don’t Neglect the Shrub Layer in a Forest Garden”
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