Hey everyone! I am an instructional designer creating a mini-course on permaculture. I wanted to focus mainly on how anyone can implement the principles of permaculture into their lives specifically those with limited resources and space.

I am struggling with identifying a specific demographic for a target audience since permaculture is a practice that can be utilized by anyone.

Here are my top choices: 1. Urban dwellers interested in sustainability 2. Young professionals/ millennials/ gen z 3. Families and parents with young kids 4. Renters or people with limited property ownership 5. Beginners 6. Retirees or Empty Nesters

The overall goal of the mini-course is to address a knowledge gap and as a third generation gardener this is a topic I’m very passionate about.

If you could vote below in the comments on which number or combination of numbers you would want to see a mini-course created for, it would be very helpful.

Thank you in advance!

I'm after any suggestions/advice as I'm in the planning stage for retrofitting a timber framed shed (currently tin and timber clad) as a glasshouse. Wanting advice especially re suggestions for materials and where to get them, as well as pointers for installation

I want to make around 100 pounds for odor/air filteration. Which material (eg. Coconut shell, oak, bamboo) is cheapest and where do I buy it? Googling it didn't help as the results are unrelated or extremely expensive.

Surprised this guy is still kicking! It seems like there is a living and dead section, should I prune it somewhere or let it be? Going into spring

Not sure what to expect, also not sure how to find a plumber who can do it right, should I just diy?

I know the question might be too basic or too vague somehow, but I am curious what is a good way to start your own path into permaculture?

First of all, I am developing a plan to create a sustainable yoga retreat - something to mix the idea of wellness with permaculture. But I want to start slow and with low investment or progressive investments.

I am currently watching videos on YouTube and reading some books, and although the information is great, I still need to go and practice it. I was thinking to join a Permaculture Design Course live and then to go as a volunteer to a community or something that revolves around permaculture. Are other ways of learning without having a land?

Just out of curiosity but is anyone aware of a vine that looks like a muscadine vine but does not have any flowers or grapes?

I have a weird space that I would like to plant either edibles or California natives with the goal of providing shade (mainly in the summer but year round is fine). The space is 20 ft long and only about 3 ft wide. The area is in full sun and has a concrete retaining wall on one side. I thought about apples since I have quite a few different types elsewhere that have done well (coastal San Diego but pink lady and sundowner perform great for me). Any thoughts on what might work? I currently have a row of blueberries in this spot and they’ve done fine for about 2.5 years now.

We just bought a new construction on an acre. We want to eventually build the back yard up into a food forest and want to stay laying the foundation for the soil as soon as possible. There's a lot of sand from construction in the yard and underneath is a lot of grass and compacted hard ground (it was a prior field).

We have access to a lot of wood chips and different composts locally so there's no issue there. Should we start with cardboard and then top with compost and wood chips? I guess what would be the most efficient way to start amending the soil on a larger scale?

I got my soil tested by my state university and it showed low pH (5.6), low potassium, low magnesium, and some other nutrients not in the optimum range. I was planning on starting no dig this year using cardboard and several inches of compost on top. Should I dig the soil and add lime, k-mag, etc to get the soil in a good place and then not dig anymore? Or just leave as is and lay the cardboard?

Hi guys, my first post,😊. Short sloped pathway away from the house, wanting to lay landscape fabric and then well rotted black mulch on top. My goal is to create a weed barrier, as it’s really making it harder to keep my garden beds clean.

As I prepped this area, I decided to cut some wells in the slope to put some of my extra small gravel for better footholds. Other than that, the plan was: landscape fabric, gravel in the dugout well, mulch everywhere else (not too worried about the mulch and the gravel mixing. It’s a rural area not looking for perfection here).

Just got this feeling Somethings going to go terribly wrong, lol, I hate doing things more than once. Looking for some advice what do you think would work?

I have an excess amount of small gravel, I have a ton of landscape fabric, two types… The thin plastic, both sides, and then the thicker one that more cloth like on one side. I also have an excess amount of firewood, rocks, etc.

Could it handle 50 mph gusts?

Hi Everyone,

Hope this is OK to post. I am currently finishing my final year of my psychology degree, and I’ve been focusing on gathering insights into the positive impacts of various social and therapeutic horticulture projects (specifically in the UK 🇬🇧)

I am currently looking for people to interview about their experiences working in these kinds of projects as a volunteer, and what positive or transformative effects they have observed in their own life. This would be a short call over Zoom/Skype, audio only, and would only take around 30 minutes, and would be completely anonymous when published.

Most land based community volunteer projects can be included including permaculture, horticulture, ecotherapy, CSAs, etc.

If anyone is able to help, it would not only help a fellow permaculturist out, but also would be contributing to some really interesting research into how important these projects can be to everyone living happier, healthier lives!

Please feel free to DM me if you might be interested in helping and thank you in advance!

I've never been able to find a good book or other source of information on designing and building ponds.

It seems like there would be some very important calculations required to build ponds safely, plus a lot of other information on pond design.

Should it be deep? How deep? How quickly to transition from deep to shallow? Icing in the winter and fish hibernating? To use a continuous pump and filter, or not? Feed the fish?

Capturing runoff. Is it enough to keep it filled without a well source? Proper way to tap a natural spring?

Liners or not? Liner materials?

Is there a good book on pond details and design, especially for permaculture or agricultural ponds rather than small koi and garden ponds?

Hello! I recently acquired a piece of land in south wales, UK and want to do something special on it (lucky me, i know!) It has not been cared for in years and I am completely new to gardening so it's going to be a huge challenge/opportunity!! I hope i'm in the right place for all ideas under the sun :) We have already started laying a hedge using hazel already in place on the perimeter.

Main facts

• 100meters wide (across slope) by 10-15m deep
• Access pathway (ours, not public) along top, small public country lane along bottom
• South east facing
• acidic soil
• sloping both in a east and south direction (basically, it's the side of a hill, running up a hill)

It is kind of divided into 4 areas:

1. 15x20m - mostly hazel, nettles, bit of bracken, fireweed, lots of old logs from previous work. pretty flat
2. 15x20m - open area, mostly bracken, some nettles, fireweed. couple of ferns quite a big slope. hoping to turn this into a fruit guild / veg growing space with a bit of seating as this has best view. I have already started a couple of no dig terraced beds but not planted anything yet except 6 potatoes
3. 10x40m - pretty sure this is completely carpeted in three cornered leeks (but i'm still optimistic they might be bluebells, ha! if not, I presume I will need to remove these and eat them with every meal for the foreseeable future?). Quite a few foxgloves at the top of the slope. mostly sycamore, a few hazel and 2-3 silver birch. a couple of spots are more open and have bracken. a few nice spots with decaying old logs.
4. 10x20m - darker area towards the bottom - neighbours tree shading this area. has some holly, ferns.
   

Main aims are to grow some veggies (preferably those that need more space), plant some fruit trees, prefer native and heritage varieties but everything needs to be pretty beginner friendly, wildlife friendly, also want space to chill. Happy to test out different growing techniques and especially permaculture. would like to make compost. overall aim is to keep it fun and simple for beginners. I presume i should aim to tackle 1 area per year?? I only really have weekends and evenings available so also looking for quick wins :D All ideas welcome!!!!

Title. Lots of interesting discussions here, but everyone mentions their USDA zones, which in my opinion is barely useful because it only tells me how cold it gets in winter.

The Koppen Climate system gets pretty close in describing the climate, especially for those who are not familiar with all the regions in USA.

More important than how cold it gets:

1. Your climate
2. What kind of annual rainfall you have, and if its wet summer or dry summers
3. elevation
4. soil type

What won’t send sticks flying into my house at 50 mph?

Ignoring the fact this breaks building codes, I would like to know potential failure points of this system that you guys can see.

Shower/laundry -> grease trap —> reed-bed/plant filtration system (potentially multistage) -> gravity fed sand filter —> holding tank with solar powered UV filter and airstone for keeping aeoribic environment ->water pump back to house.

Curious about input for specie selection for plant root filtration aswell. Also, I am aware there will be water loss throughout this process, thinking it can be refilled with rain tank.

Thinking water quality should be good enough for laundry, handwashing sink, toilet, and shower

Thanks all

Hey permies,

Was curious for some feedback. I am currently redesigning my yard which is 35ft x 75ft in zone 4 (Canada) but climate change has it closer to zone 5 temps.

I have 11 fruit trees I am figuring out the layout for and wanted to put some in raised beds.

Would dwarf fruit trees that are hardy to my zone, and blueberry bushes, be ok in raised beds? My concern is that during the winter the beds pretty much freeze solid. Whereas I know the grown only freezes down to a certain level.

The trees would be in 12" high raised beds (8ft long x 4ft wide x 1ft high) and the blueberries would be in 22" high raised beds (5.5ft long x 2ft wide x 22" high).

I can also swap things around so the trees are in raised beds that are only 6" high (8ft long x 4ft wide x 6" high)

Thanks

Hi, I’m in 10a and dealing with a couple species of invasive grasses. Whenever I pull a bunch or rhizome I’ve been throwing it away, but recently started wondering if I can create weed tea out of it instead? For context I’m talking about cogan and torpedo grass. Is there a risk of those grasses / seeds surviving a weed tea bucket? If so, how long does it need to sit before it fully decomposes? The last thing I’d want to do is spread those invasives around my garden. Thanks!

Hello all! I just moved into a house that has English Ivy all over the front yard. It's climbing on the fence and strangling the two rose bushes and small maple tree.

As of now, I am thinking I will want to completely remove the English Ivy and have a few questions that I am seeking advice on:

1) Any advice for English Ivy removal? Sounds like determination and the right digging/picking tools are the way to go...

2) I am looking to find a less aggressive vine to grow on the fence. I live in New York and the fence is chain-linked. Ideally it would be nice to find something that is evergreen for neighbor privacy. I love Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) and have also been exploring growing Clematis (Clematis virginiana)or Limber Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica). My priority is something low maintenance and a vine that tends to stay on the fence rather than crawl onto other plants and the ground.

3) I am doing some Rose rehab! I am beginning by pruning the rose and cutting it back so it can get light, etc. Looking for additional Rose care specific resources.

Thanks for your time and grateful for any feedback or advice!

We're just about to get some chickens, and I'm keen to give them rainwater rather than tap, but I'm a little concerned that something is up with my rainwater.

I have a pump that moves any rainwater on my roof to a 6000L holding barrel. This barrel is big and black. While it does sit in sunlight, I was told this was not a concern. I also have an air stone running 24/7 to ensure it doesn't go stagnant.

Whenever I use the water, the first bit smells - not awful, but not super either - although the smell then dies down. The water itself tends to be a bit murky; however, when I emptied the tank this winter, there was a bit of mud and muck in the bottom, but really, very little.

The water doesn't seem to be hugely contaminated, but it still has a distinct smell and colour. Can anyone suggest what else I might need to do in my system to ensure this water is OK for the chickens to drink?

This is a native wildflower in my area. It started growing on its own in an area where grass isn’t put down yet and I’m planning on keeping it that way. How should I encourage this growth? I do plan on finding another couple of native wildflowers and scattering them around.

I live on an urban lot of about 1/2 acre in zone 7a and have been designing a food forest. I’ve seen people in similar situations include small ponds but I don’t really understand the why. Space is limited…is using it for a pond worthwhile? It wouldn’t be big enough for eatin’ fish. I may be skeptical because of my dearest partner’s expensive, failed stock tank pool project. 😅