Matt Saager

John,
What group in the Portland area will bring spawn to farmers markets?
How do I contact them?

Thanks much

I haven't used these folks myself, but I do know they are one of the major suppliers of vineyard supplies in the Oregon Willamette Valley.

Oregon Vineyard Supply

Hope that helps.

Not sure exactly what your weather looks like in Northern Ontario (other than cold), so this might not be an option for you...

I currently have a very healthy Sochi Tea plant growing at my house in western Oregon, we are a very wet zone 7.
So I would assume you would have no problem growing these in a greenhouse, or with some winter protection.

Here's where I got mine: One Green World

Agreed.... a 2yr or 3yr old hen will have GREAT flavor, but the meat will be tough and chewy.
Look for recipes with soup, stew, or long slow braising.

With that in mind, almost any laying bird can be used for meat.
Look for a "dual purpose" bird, i.e. Plymouth rock, Orpington, Rhode Islands, etc.

Bob,
I rather like the idea, not certain if it will work for you or not, but the concept is interesting.

It does provide you with one feature a more traditional berm might not in that area, it matches up with your property line and looks esthetically pleasing. That is far more important for those of us in an urban setting than for those more rural.

I would suspect you will see benefit from the design, although probably not as much as from a traditional swale.

Please continue with some updates so we can see how it works.

Thank you for posting the picts.

I think it depends on how many chickens you have and how big your worm bin is.

I add fresh chicken manure, along with some of the bedding, to my worm bin.
But not ALL of the manure, and not all of the time.
I suspect on a small scale basis, the manure from even a few chickens would drown the worms in high-nitrogen food.

I have seen chickens over top of a large aquaponics tank, directly feeding talapia.
But I have no personal experience with that.

I would guess it depends on where you are and the conditions of the site.

I have seen it work on a small scale (approx 1/2 acre).
On a slope adjacent to the road, here in western Oregon.
It wasn't a permaculture installation, but they used some permaculture methods.

Water Harvesting - A road was installed, roughly on contour across the slope
Chop & Drop - The scotch broom was cut down, some of it was burned, some just left in place
Water Retention - A large quantity of mulch was put down
Layers - Multiple types of trees and shrubs were planted, mostly berries and fruit

It took about 3 or 4 years, and as I recall they would cut or pull the new broom plants up every spring.
Now the broom appears to be mostly all gone from the site.

I suspect it was a combination of the increase in water, improving the soil, and increasing the shade.
Seems to me if you did something like this in a more dedicated fashion, and chopped/dropped early spring before they bloomed...
you should be able to do this even quicker.

Absolutely you can.... the PNW may not be the ideal place, but they grow fine here.

I raise them on a small scale, with a 5-gal bucket setup.
To supplement feed for my chickens.

Here's a youtube video about a place in the northwest.
They raise them on a much larger scale.
Their channel has several videos on BSF's.

Luke,
Thanks for the info... I appreciate it.

Not sure which forum is the best to post this in, so I will cross post it in a couple...

My wife and I are visiting Hawaii at the end of May for our anniversary.
We'll be spending a few days each on Kauai and The Big Island.

Can anyone suggest some permaculture farms we could visit.
We would like the chance to see what things are done, and how they are different from Oregon.
We also would love to buy some local produce to enjoy while we are there.

Any help appreciated. Thanks Much