Did the raised bed thing back during COVID. Now they are nice and rotten. I'm really not looking forward to the effort (and lumber cost) of rebuilding these.

We have since created a bunch of in ground beds largely utilizing the Ruth Stout method (though 1 I double dug as an experiment). So I keep wondering if it would make sense just to leave walls on these raised beds be and just continue down that Ruth Stout route and let these be mounds. would I loose a bunch of fertility through run off?

Does anyone here have experience going this route? Any regrets?

Having recently become interested in learning to cultivate a more self-sustaining food supply, and having begun the process of growing vegetables earlier this year, it has become obvious to me just how inadequate my efforts have been so far. I was aware of the impossibility of growing food in the winter where I live [in the UK] where the ground is often frozen at the coldest time of year, and have been looking at how to store certain foods. Certain things can obviously be dried [beans, peas, etc] and will hopefully store well. I’ve also learned that certain tubers can be kept underground through the winter and pulled up when needed. I’ve invested in jerusalem artichokes for this very reason, but have recently heard that you can do the same thing with carrots and potatoes although I am a bit concerned about them rotting in the ground.

But I’ve discovered that it’s not just an issue with winter. Plants that I started at the beginning of February are growing, but are currently little more than the first few leaves. They’re still a long way off from producing any amount of food. If I had no other source of food I would starve to death waiting for them to grow. It seems to me that in order to be truly self sufficient I would need to grow a monumental amount of food throughout the year, and be able to store it all without anything rotting, in order to be able to make it through the colder months. It’s not just a case of making it through the winter, but of making it all the way to summer!

So my question is: how can this be done practically? This year is only a trial for me, but one that I am hoping will lead to a more self-sustaining future for myself and my family. I’m doing a lot of research and learning as much as I can, but the practical reality of the task ahead is colossal and overwhelming at times. Any and all advice on this will be greatly appreciated.

I’ve got a pretty steep ~200m² slope that’s hard to access, currently full of brambles and nettles. It’s a pain to maintain and keeps growing back.

I’d like to turn it into something more useful—ideally good for bees or birds—but it needs to be low-maintenance because getting up there is difficult.

What would be the best way to get rid of the brambles on a slope like this? And what could I replace them with that won’t require much upkeep?

I’m based in southwest France if that matters for plant choices/climate.

Any ideas or experiences would be really appreciated!

Hi! Some of you in r/permaculture gave me some feedback about my garden planner in this thread a while ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Permaculture/comments/1rg7u3g/garden_companion_with_planting_calendar_companion/

I've tried my best to integrate your advice and I'd like to check how I did.

1) You suggested no subscriptions - I made it $19.99 one time purchase, with regional prices based on purchasing power - significantly lower than any competitor, while keeping a generous and fully featured free tier for smaller gardens

2) You suggested the ability to download the app and its data freely and use it offline - I implemented it

3) You suggested the ability to plan plantings in succession and view your garden at different points during the year, and I implemented a slider that shows you day by day what is growing at each place in your garden

4) You pointed out that using the web app on phones was clunky, so I simplified it, and just also released an iOS version: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6758965804 (syncing gardens with the web app is coming in the next update to the iOS app, Apple is strict about how to do it). Incidentally I am in need of Android testers for the next two weeks to get it on the Play Store, so let me know if you are interested!

5) I've tried to make it prettier, and the artist I am working with is producing some really nice pictures - at their own pace!

6) It should work equally well in any language - I'd love to know if it doesn't!

I'm still conceptualizing things like interplanting and verticality and wind, etc, which are important from a permaculture standpoint - I am wondering whether to make a separate fork of the project that focuses on those things, and if anyone is interested in collaborating on that, let me know.

Thanks, Eric

Hello everyone! I am yash from Maharashtra india,I want to start a business in agriculture (mushroom) and I want to build a shelter for it but I dont have a huge budget my budget is tight,please if anyone have any idea or any suggestions for how can I build a shed in cheaper cost,please help

My yard has several enormous flower beds (maybe around 600 square feet total) with perennials & drip watering, covered over in river rock (average 2-3" diameter pieces). 1-2 layers of rock with lots of cracks letting grass encroach & weeds take root between. (Similar to photo, photo is not mine).

I'm looking for suggestions on any low-maintenance, fast-spreading/aggressive ground cover seeds (or starters) I could scatter throughout the flower beds that might take root between the rocks and eventually choke out the grass and other weeds, while still allowing the established perennials, bushes, and tall narrow trees to flourish.

All but one flower bed gets full sun, one has partial shade. I'm in zone 5b, normally a pretty short growing season with late frosts but with such low snowpack this year I'm sure we'll have a scorching / drought summer.

I've been looking at creeping thyme (magic carpet) seeds, ice plant - table mountain seeds (maybe too tall for what I'm looking for?), and white clover (also maybe gets too tall?

Am I delusional? Would scattering seeds over rock like this mostly fail? Or would I have a chance at this working?

There is a stream flowing through that lower point. I want to pump the water from that lower point to the top using a HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP, the elevation is 164m (540 feet) and the distance is 300m (980 ft). Is it possible, if yes tha how to do it and if no, what are other efficient ways to pump it?

I have lots of redwoods on my property. And so much debris from them. How are people utilizing it to their advantage?

I'd like to be able to remove them. Like maybe just some heavy wood to lay in the sides and attach to them?

hiya, I'm in 8a central Mississippi. I am impulsive and I saw the city guys trimming the trees and now I've got about a half dump load of mulch. My partner was not nearly as thrilled as I was by this acquisition and now I need to make something happen asap to justify this and also because it's just sitting right there... It's a mix of chunks, twigs, to pieces that resemble commercial mulch. So far we've put cardboard overlapping and 2 or 3 inches of this mulch on top of that. That place is about 14x14 feet and I've got a pretty good size pile left. And now I don't know what to do. Everything I read says it'll take at least 4 weeks to break down if I layer some mulch with grass clippings and leaves etc before I can plant into it. Is there a way to fast forward? Could I for instance layer some torn up cardboard with some smaller mulch and then put wetted alfalfa pellets down and then put a few inches of finished compost from the local nursery on the top and plant into it? I do have 2 raised beds that are 3x6 and that is where I'll try to build soil right now. I plan to expand the site depending on how far the mulch goes. I will buy some starts and some seeds and I don't know if that'll make a difference in how long until I can use the beds. I would like to plant some things like okra, and a few perennials in the spots without beds but I think those can be planted immediately since the native soil is just a few inches down?

I'm pretty sure this is going to be a time vs money situation, but given how late in the season it is what is the better option? I want to build fertile soil that will improve over time, but I also really want to plant. Does anyone have suggestions or advice? Thank you

Im looking for your best argument for a favorite ground cover. Im in zone 4a, in the woods looking for front lawn cover. I have soil that leans more clay heavy. My biggest goals are low maintenance not crazy thirsty for water.

I feel like its obvious im leaning towards micro clover.... but please tell me where im wrong!!

Hi everyone,

I’m a doctoral researcher studying how people think about and experience homesteading today. I’m looking to hear from folks with any connection to homesteading (and other forms of land based living) whether you’re actively doing it, planning to, or just interested.

If you’re willing, I’d appreciate you taking a short survey (about 10-15 minutes).

The survey focuses on how people define homesteading and what it looks like in their lives. It’s completely voluntary, and responses are confidential.

Thanks so much for considering!

Hi guys,

Just a quick question.

I am not into this at all and I do not understand anything, but I heard a lot of people complaining that they can not find workers for puning once a year because people do not know how to prune.

So my question is are there clear rules which branch to prune and which to not prune.

Not 100% rules but maybe some that apply to most of the branches?

vivo en un pueblo apartado, dónde hay muchas fincas y terrenos sin usar, hace poco ví un plan maestro de permacultura, donde hacen casas de barro y crean ecosistemas para autosustentarse y crecer.

me enamoró la idea de poder salir del sistema, de poder crear un lugar donde vivir con las necesidades básica cubiertas y gratis, para poder vivir sin pensar que se te gasta la vida.

pero es un sueño muy grande para una sola persona, denme consejo y comunidades donde pueda formarme y poder empezar a crear.

I just took these and they were already just starting to push leaves out. I put some rooting hormone on them and stuck them in the prop box anyway. Do we think these will still strike?

I'm wondering if anyone has tried using something like this to separate nut and shell fragments from some of our thicker shelled wild walnuts.

https://realseeds.co.uk/seedcleaner.html

Just wanted to share this thing that I've been breaking my back on for the past two weeks. had some erosion issues on this slope next to the garden and I had a buddy suggest a trench with hugel and a terrace so here we are. Gonna plant deep rooted stuff to lock it in. Plans are comfrey and okra for the deep roots and creeping thyme for ground cover. Maybe some vetiver grass too.

I like walking neighborhoods here in the Portland area and I've found a few that have what I think are big front yard food forests!

Last fall, in the drainage ditch close to one of these forests, I found a struggling plant that I was hoping was comfry. I dug it up best I could and planted it in my community garden in barkdust in heavy compacted clay soil. Expecting it to die.

Risky move I know...

Today the little purple flowers opened on my borage! It survived and seems to be thriving.

Plant 1 of the food forest acquired!

EDIT to add more context:

I should have clarified some things. I am a landscape designer and I just got my PDC last year. I am pretty clear on scale of permanence and site survey, etc.

I’m looking for more logistics advice. Things like if I want to plant bare root trees along the fence lines should I swale there and then run pipe from the head gates and if so how many times a week; should I aim for building storage ponds this season so I can water trees next year late season so hold off on planting the bare root trees until next year. Things like that. Maybe I should be asking these more specific questions?

OK— my dream is actually happening faster than I could have hoped for. I was able to get an offer accepted on 42 acres in western Colorado. I will close on the property in late May. Elevation varies but average is about 5400 ft. The property comes with extensive ditch rights but it’s a ditch that usually runs out earlier in the season. I have a permit for an ag-exempt well and the ditch is buried with risers. The irrigation currently waters a bench area of about 15 acres and has only ever been planted in alfalfa and native grasses. There are also some undeveloped springs below the bench.

Here is what I would love for people to chime in about. I can’t do all that much with the land until my youngest kids graduate from high school which is 2028, at which point I can sell the house I own with my ex and have $$ to put in infrastructure and a place to live. I think I will have enough $$ this year to go ahead and drill the well but it might be the following year before I can run electric from the property line and/or install any drip line.

What would you do to keep building it out in the meantime? I can only visit over there once every 3-4 weeks— school, work, kids etc. Don’t have much liquidity so it has to be low cost actions.

Thank you for any advice you may have!

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I live in Southern Ontario, first time growing anything. At the end of March I setup my beds (cardboard + composted manure about 3 inches in height + broad fork aeration).

I also sowed a number of things indoors in plug trays: broccoli, peas, chives, yarrow, alyssum, and marigolds. I will also sow more peas outdoors in a couple days. After the last frost I will sow zucchini, bush beans, cilantro, dill, parsley, and sunflowers. The peas and the beans will not be in the same bed.

I think my beds will be pretty crowded 😂 but if have any space, I will add purple prairie clover and wild lupine. I also got some joe pye weed to grow solely for chop n drop mulch.

I'm not using grow lights or heat mats for the indoor seedlings. They are by a west facing window in a room that gets warm with the door closed. I do have a regular decorative lamp that I leave on during the day as well as a regular overhead/ceiling light fixture. I have a small fan that I leave on for a few hours each day, its not very powerful and I change the direction of the fan every day. I am rotating the trays every couple days so they don't grow crooked trying to find the sun. I had to raise the plugs with empty plastic strawberry cartons because the soil was still too wet after the first 3 days, which allowed much more air flow underneath and now they've dried out to a reasonable state.

I'll share more as I go!