Blog

Today I am happy to set up a worm farm with the folks at Work in Progress. While preparing for the class, I gathered what resources I have on the topic. 

Resolutions tend to be as mis-guided as they are well-meaning. So, how does one set goals that outlive the initial inspiration or achieve sustainability? (A goal for 2013 is to find a replacement word for sustainable; I feel it has been beat to death.) That is the 9.4 million dollar question that I pondered today as I drove to the Three Square warehouse and volunteer facilities in North Las Vegas. 

In my attempts at explaining the definition of dormancy to an 8-year-old, I thought about how beautiful the concept is.  At a time when it seems like absolutely nothing is happening, plans are being put in for the next season.  The Jujube trees at the Permaculture Learning Garden have all dropped their leaves, the gourds have died back and everything is using significantly less water.  A plant going dormant in the winter is by no means stagnant, it's simply building itself up again where it counts the most.  Leaves are dropped in the fall, and warmth, moisture and fertility are retained in the soil so that plants can lay down healthy roots, equaling healthy shoots when the time is right. 
So, as I beat myself up for eating chocolate and lazing in my pajama pants during the coldest parts of the year, I try to remember that dormancy is a natural state of growth, and there is much glory in (seemingly) doing nothing.  Happy holidays everyone; thoroughly enjoy your chocolate!

It arrived! I ordered the DVD all the way from Australia, the source of most things permaculture, and am happy to report that it was in my mailbox last Friday. The husband and I poured a bottle of wine and proceeded to watch all 100 minutes of it, stopping occasionally for discussions. The chihuahua was mildly amused by the birds in the background, such a cacophony of sound! It reminded me of a sad statistic I found last year while teaching an urban bird class to fourth graders: Over half of the songbird population in the US has diminished since the 1950s. After watching this DVD, I feel confident that permaculture design can help us create environments in our urban neighborhoods that provide nourishment and shelter for those lovely songbirds and, of course, for the humans. 

Introducing today's guest blogger, Santa's newest reindeer, Permablitzen.

Some people in other parts of the country can take a long, well deserved rest. Their work in the fields, gardens and orchards is finished for a year as winter settles in. But here in our valley, where my tomatoes are still producing and there isn't a freeze in the forecast, we have little time to enjoy our successes and learn from our... um... other experiences.

Spring planting seems like next year, because it is. Yet it's only eight weeks away! The race against the summer heat will be on. Seeds for squash, corn, melons, greens and other vegetables can go in the ground as early as February 1. Count out the days for yourself: Seeds planted the first, germination mid-month, and then two weeks until the weather warms up in March. Remember, we broke a 100 degrees in April this year.

There is time now, though, to stand in your garden and breathe. Enjoy those few peaceful moments, because before you know it, there will be much to do: clean up and composting, soil amending, pruning the fruit trees and creating new beds, irrigation and tool maintenance -- and don't forget to order your seeds (www.nativeseeds.org).

Saturday, we will gather at the Permaculture Learning Garden to begin preparing for next year. (Didn't we just pull up the gourds last week?) I hope to see you there.

To the Sylvesters and Alexandras of the world, hear me out:
You live in a city. So hike the city. It's not Yosemite, true, but it is right out your doorstep. I've felt before that a hike isn't complete without looking around to find no people, no cars, no buildings, no trash, and only the sounds of wind, water, and critters. While such places exist, there are plenty in the desert, they are not where we live. Today, on a walk through Duck Creek with the dog, I felt otherwise.



Just embrace it and look for the sweet spots like Duck Creek or trails along the wash and railroad tracks. There are still patterns to identify, plenty to observe, and questions to ask.



...Is the wash so salinated (soil is white, crunchy on top) because it serves as a filter for the flood water and waste water from the Las Vegas Valley?



The guy sitting in the red Honda at the Duck Creek trailhead reading a book gets it. Find the beautiful spaces and if there are none, starting making your space more beautiful. 

Saturday I took the opportunity to replace one of the trees that didn't make it through summer. While we had success with most of the trees we planted bare root the almonds didn't take. These are normally very hardy trees that grow well in our arid environment and alkali soils. Normally I plant trees that come in grow pot with a developed root ball. Bare root is just like it sounds, bare. This means you are putting the roots into the new native soil without the tree having a chance to adjust. Also, it really makes it critical that when the soil is replaced in the hole it is done carefully so to not leave air pockets around the roots. Following normal techniques like the size of the hole, adding organic material to the soil, building a ring of soil around the tree three feet in diameter to begin with to hold extra water you really need to soak the tree thoroughly to get that soil around the roots and drive out any air pockets. My last comment is don't plant your tree before you have put in the irrigation. The new tree needs regular deep watering and leaving it memory is risking a lot of work and your investment.

Irrigation is so important there are books on the subject that I recommend that you find and read. The two basic methods for getting sufficient water to your trees. First is a ring emitters radiating out from the center of the tree. This encourages strong root growth. The other method is how the  Master Gardeners have it done at their orchard.Use one bubbler per tree but make the tree ring big to get the roots to stretch and look for the water. If all your emitters are close to the center your tree will be susceptible to a number of problems as it matures.

This time I purchased two almond treess from Plant World. Almonds need a boy and a girl, so to speak, to set fruit. I chose the Texas Mission, which I am enjoying good success with in my own garden, and a nonpareil almond. Both love our mild winters and long, dry summers. These little trees, which I chose based on vigor, branch structure, root health did come in pots. Taking a page again from the Master Gardeners I put the two trees together in one large hole tilted slightly away from each other. The thinking here is space and water. You get more tree in a tighter area. This will be another learning opportunity for me as I get to observe how the trees do together.

That is our latest addition to the Permaculture Learning Garden. Stop by any Saturday morning for a tour and an opportunity to learn more about permaculture with us.

What an amazing month June was for Great Basin Permaculture! We are happy to announce the debut of our first video, a short promo shot for our Indiegogo campaign by Kelly and Charisma Schwarze (winners of the first permaculture garden raffle we had last December). To see it, follow this link to our new YouTube channel.