Wonder Weeds
Animal Forage, Compost, Food Forests, Food Plants - Perennial, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology — by PIJ April 13, 2009
PIJ #63, June-Aug 1997
by Linda Woodrow
How to harvest weeds for their best nutrients
Sometimes gardening seems to me like alchemy. Organic material that is of no value to us is converted into organic material of high value, and, like alchemy, the process seems almost magic.
Soil micro-organisms and plants do the converting, but they can’t do it without something to convert. The role of humans is to set up the system, supply the raw materials, and harvest the product.
The first law of gardening is the law of conservation of matter
There are very many sources of organic matter, but the kinds I look for are rich in a wide range of nutrient elements, concentrated, easily collected, and easily converted. One source that beautifully satisfies all these requirements is weeds.
Comments (10)Greening the Desert Project Outcomes Profiled
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Land, News, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor January 29, 2009
Most readers will be familiar with the awesome, seemingly miraculous work Geoff and Nadia Lawton accomplished with the ‘Greening the Desert‘ project in Jordan (not to be confused with the new Jordan Valley Permaculture Project, where completely new miracles are under way).
Well, this work has now been well profiled in the ProAct Network’s recent release:
The Role of Environmental Management in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, Annex I, Case Studies (4.69mb PDF). Jump to page #59 in Acrobat Reader, or #98 if you’re scrolling by page numbers.
If you’re looking for more practical details on what happened, and is happening, there on the ground – this document should hit the spot, as it were.
Thanks to Andrew Jones for bringing this to my attention.
Comments (3)Nitrogen Fixing Trees – The Multipurpose Pioneers
Animal Forage, Food Forests, Food Plants - Perennial, Fungi, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Trees — by Craig Elevitch September 29, 2008
The myths about the wonders of nitrogen fixing trees are many. Craig Elevitch (see bio at bottom) and Kim Wilkinson explain how to use them effectively.
Nitrogen Fixing Trees for Permaculture
 Flowers of the leguminous tree, Kowhai, the national flower of New Zealand |
Nitrogen fixation is a pattern of nutrient cycling which has successfully been used in perennial agriculture for millennia. This article focuses on legumes, which are nitrogen fixers of particular importance in agriculture. Specifically, three legumes (nitrogen fixing trees, hereafter called NFTs) are especially valuable in subtropical and tropical permaculture. They can be integrated in a permaculture system to restore nutrient cycling and fertility self-reliance.
Comments (1)Humanure Handbook – Free Download
Compost, Conservation, DVDs/Books, Fungi, Potable Water, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Waste Water, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 18, 2008
With chapters like ‘Crap Happens’, ‘Deep Shit’ and ‘A Day in the Life of a Turd’, this is sure to be an interesting book, albeit possibly not one to read over lunch?
With this wonderful substance piling up in all the wrong places (after all, we’re running out of clean water, and yet we’re crapping in it…), this taboo topic deserves a lot more attention than it gets. The book is now into its 3rd Edition.
- Download E-book ($10)
- Buy a hard copy ($25)
- Download Chapter by Chapter (free)
- Read Online (free)
Geoff Lawton to Launch Food Forest DVD
DVDs/Books, Food Forests, Insects, Soil Biology, Trees — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor August 8, 2008
In the last half of August Geoff Lawton will be teaching a Permaculture Design Certificate course at Quail Springs in California. In addition to experiencing an excellent course, the lucky students will also view the world premiere of the latest instructional DVD to come out of the Permaculture Research Institute. Titled “Establishing a Food Forest”, this amazing multimedia experience walks you through the process of creating food systems that are not only sustainable, but self-sustaining. Stay tuned to this blog for actual release dates for when the DVD will be available for purchase (expected to be September).
In the meantime, the clip below is another sneak peek at what the DVD has to offer. You can view other promos here and here. “Establishing a Food Forest” will be an excellent companion DVD for the very popular Water Harvesting DVD.
Comments (1)
Soil – Our Financial Institution
Biological Cleaning, Conservation, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Soil Composition, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Structure — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor August 7, 2008
Soil – the substance you walk on, build on, and live from – provides your food, clothing, and even the air you breathe. It gives warmth, shelter, and the goods you possess. Soil is, I believe, a substance that is under-acknowledged, and also under attack, and its misuse is contributing greatly to the excessive release of CO2 into our atmosphere – making it a large contributor to global warming. Therefore, I felt it high time we came to its defense. Here goes.
Greening the Desert
Food Forests, Fungi, Land, Rehabilitation, Salination, Soil Biology, Swales, Trees — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 1, 2007
This is just one example of how permaculture can transform the environment, and, in so doing, dramatically change lives. By evidencing the dramatic transformation possible in the world’s worst agricultural scenarios, we hope to make people stand up and listen.
Greening the Desert – the original. Duration: 5 minutes
Also watch Greening the Desert II: Greening the Middle East
Big Agribusiness would convince us that continuing with fossil fuel dependent monocrop systems and genetically modified crops is the way of the future, but with fuel, transport and fertiliser costs skyrocketing, and growing evidence that genetic tinkering is causing far more harm than good, we, instead, advocate tried and tested methods of working with nature for the benefit of man.
Below is a behind the scenes look at Greening the Desert.
Update: Watch Greening the Desert II: Greening the Middle East, where you’ll learn about the current state of the original Greening the Desert site, and learn more about the work in Jordan and the new PRI project site there.
Comments (27)Compost miracles
Compost, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Waste Systems & Recycling — by Joe Jenkins April 22, 2006
Excerpted from the Humanure Handbook by Joe Jenkins.
Compost microorganisms not only convert organic material into humus, but they also degrade toxic chemicals into simpler, benign, organic molecules. These chemicals include gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, oil, grease, wood preservatives, PCBs, coal gasification wastes, refinery wastes, insecticides, herbicides, TNT, and other explosives. (59)
In one experiment in which compost piles were laced with insecticides and herbicides, the insecticide (carbofuran) was completely degraded, and the herbicide (triazine) was 98.6% degraded after 50 days of composting. Soil contaminated with diesel fuel and gasoline was composted, and after 70 days in the compost pile, the total petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced approximately 93%.60 Soil contaminated with Dicamba herbicide at a level of 3,000 parts per million showed no detectable levels of the toxic contaminant after only 50 days of composting. In the absence of composting, this biodegradation process normally takes years.
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