Prahlad Genung

Two questions for y'all --- What neat pictures do you have of your self-designed greenhouses/raised garden beds or any other such structures? I've been trying to design some different things lately, in prep for the upcoming season, and I would love to see what people have done to maybe instill a new level of creativity in myself and my buddy! (note--- this year I'll only be doing a few smaller things, but the plan is to continue on this path and perhaps someday market myself as a permaculturalist land scaper... the holy grail, to me, is in time designing a chicken greenhouse)

Question two --- as I'm looking through teh possible seed sources in prep for the season, I thought to ask, what are some of the best non-tree taproot species? When I asked myself that, I could only think of comfrey and dandelions, but I'm sure the collective knowledge of permies has much more to answer than that .... (i'm slightly new to permaculture ... less than a year old, intellectually *blush )

Thanks for the ideas! Yes, it is a daunting task, Craig. But I've got to start somewhere. That's a good idea, to get guides specific to this area. That harvesting method sounds good. I'm really in the learning mode right now, i.e. make mistakes and learn from them haha next year I will have a better grasp on succession sowing. I like the idea of differing distance between potatoes (or which ever plant) in a row. I'd just added some clover types and other plants to attract beneficial insects, as well as some lettuce, alfalfa, chard, and others, attempting to prevent so much of the earth from being hit by the sun directly.

I don't know much about chickweed, Garret, I'll have to look it up.

I can't believe they have an app for that, Brenda! I am a bit too frugal and am not willing to pay for internet on my cell. That's amazing, though. The 21st century, geez. Maybe I will ask some peoples for help id'ing plants on here, if they're willing. That's a good idea, too, to research the plant in order to absolutely verify it, to check. Thanks all.

I've idealized farming, read about many methods through college and the few years since, and finally have some land to tinker with (although not my own yet, so limited tinkering). I'm finding that my ability to identify plants is severely lacking... any recommendations for how to jump start my growth there? I'm learning from people here and there as I've the chance, and was thinking to see if the local community college offered any bio classes which might encourage such knowledge.

Also, in my readings I hadn't come across permaculture until a few weeks after I started tinkering here. So I've backpedaled, trying to add beneficials (already'd mixed species somewhat in the tiny plot, maybe 130 square feet of ground space, but started it at the beginning of the season with the sadly traditional clear-the-soil mentality) and other species in order to recover and not let the sun hit as much earth directly. Any recommendations for additional plant types for that purpose?

Hope all's well, and that the sun shines strong on your plants!

Thanks for the advice. I will try to be more observant in nature of warmer areas, and see if I can learn anything.

Yes! I'm beginning my first Hugelkultur beds. These will provide wind breaks & some heat for the first handful of years to the young almond trees. I'm learning as much as I can through the podcasts and my own research, and trying to create more plant diversity on this land (& encourage the critters). Protecting and encouraging these almond trees is a focus for me, hence this thread.

What are some of the more common (or less common) microclimates that one encounters/can create/are desirable? I'm new to the concept of edges but it makes a lot of sense. I want to learn as much as I can about this stuff! How would you set up the landscape & edges if you're trying to create a warmer area for an avocado tree or an almond tree? To grow an avocado tree here seems perhaps idealistic but almond is more practical yet at the edge of its zone range.