Stefan Schwarzer

Hi there,

I am using Bokashi, in these 19 litres Bokashi bins, since a bit in my kitchen. Now, we (a community with organic agriculture on 2.5 hectares of horticulture) think about upscaling this in order to improve our soils - and thus plant health and yields. We're working with "advanced" composting methods now, and started working with worm compost tea too.

Now, I wonder if the additional effort for the Bokashi management is worth it. In the moment, I just took a 150 litres garbage bin (as the next level of upscaling), to see how much effort this is and what the result of the Bokashi tea and "compost" will be.

But what I fail (a bit) to see is what advantage the actual Bokashi compost has vs. a permanent compost preparation. The tea will be probably very useful - although application will be a bit difficult (as one has to use the tea rapidly once it's being produced). But in contrast to the "stable" compost, the Bokashi compost will be digested rapidly by the microorganisms. Which is a good thing, but finally acts then like a fertilizer. But it's not so easily deployable.

Thanks for any hints, if you made experiences on large-scale use of Bokashi.

Stef

Hi there,

just wanted to share with you the announcement of a permaculture course early May (2. - 5. Mai 2013) with Josef Holzer, at Schloss Tempelhof in Baden-Wuerttenberg/Bayern. It'll be in german.

Here some infos:

"Permakultur Grundlagen-Seminar mit Josef Holzer

Permakultur heisst oekologisch, oekonomisch und sozial nachhaltiges Wirtschaften mit allen Ressourcen.

In diesem Permakultur-Seminar werden neben den Grundlagen der Holzer'schen Permakultur diverse Themen wie Waldgarten, Teichbau, Aquakultur, Pilzzucht und integrierte Kleintierhaltung behandelt. Eine abwechslungsreiche Mischung aus Theorie und Praxis wird Ihnen helfen das gelernte Wissen auch direkt vor Ort praktisch umzusetzen und dazu Fragen stellen zu koennen. Je nach Witterungs- und Gelaendebedingungen werden Sie lernen wie z.B. ein Teich ohne Folie von Hand gebaut werden kann, wie ein drainierter Wasserlauf wieder zum Vorschein kommt und durch den Garten fliesst, wie Sie auch zu Hause Edel-Pilze zum Verzehr zuechten koennen und wie Sie einen Waldgarten selbst verwirklichen koennen.

2. - 5. Mai 2013 Permakultur Grundlagen-Seminar, Theorie & Praxis

Programm

Permakultur - Was ist das eigentlich?
Elemente- und Funktionsvielfalt in Garten und Landwirtschaft
Entwicklung und Nutzung von Waldgarten
Pilzzucht
Integrierte Kleintier-Haltung
Produktive Aquakultur
Quellfassung, Bachlauf, Brunnen
Grundlagen der naturbelassenen Teichanlage"

Happy course!

Dear all and dear Diana,

these communities you mention are really the lighthouse projects in Germany. Great places for community living experience and partly permaculture (as in "agriculture") indeed.

There is a relatively new community in Southern Germany, somewhere between Stuttgart, Nürnberg and Munich, called Schloss Tempelhof. (Unfortunately there is currently no english version available. It's in the process, I think.) And yes, I am living in that place myself, moved here with my family just a couple of weeks back. It started with some 20 people, and now, there are around 80 adults and almost 30 children. Great place, very innovative, really driven to change something - here, in Germany, in Europe, in society and economy. Lot's of seminars around social permaculture, community processes, alternative schools, permaculture, personal development etc.

Next time you're around in Germany Diana, don't hesitate to step by. Would be great to share our experiences with you. We would surely be interested in organising a seminar with you...

Best wishes,

Stefan

Where did you find the supplier? Looks really cool that stuff! Using the vertical space makes so much sense! Ok, lots of plastic there too, but hey, that could lead to really much higher yields!

Thanks for the suggestions and ideas. Yes, indeed, not easy to deal with water. At least - or perhaps even more so - if it comes only once every couple of years. Drainage is surely an issue as well - it would help us to obtain a less soaked soil, while at the same time "pushing" the water into the creek, which in turn can get flooded much faster... Hmmm... Lots of observation and thoughts still to go into the project.

Hi there,

it's perhaps not as bad as it sounds: but we're tinkering with the idea to convert a hectare or two (or three) into a landscape of alternative housing models (cob house, straw bale house, earth ship) and to create "edible landscapes". However, the ground is close of a creek, and is almost flat, with very low differences in height. I'd say that in botanical terms this would have been a potential flood area; more of a zone of willows and other trees which accept to get wet feet. The soil is heavy clay, and seems to be not very deep - 30 centimeters, al least on the small slopes further up. So, not sure about the depth.

The idea is to actually profit of these conditions and create a small lake and large natural swimming pool. This could be surrounded then by a few huts standing on poles. And then, a bit further away, other forms of houses as mentioned above. The former would be integrated into some form of "wetland vegetation", while the latter than should more be of something "normal" - hugelbeet etc.

I wonder however if with these soil and habitat conditions, we can successfully construct those alternative buildings and plant vegetables (this shouldn't be a problem as the roots are not deep), bushes and trees.

What do you think? Sure enough, these are not enough descriptors to reasonably judge the zone. But still, it would be great if someone with experience can share their view on this.

Thanks a lot for any hints!

Hi there,

just wanted to point you to my blog on permaculture. Every two days something new, mostly on interesting thematic resources found on the net, as well as some more personal project stuff. There is an english version under http://living-permaculture.com/blog, and there is a german version too, under http://lebensraum-permakultur.de/blog. Hope you like it!

Hi Katharina,

just came back a couple of hours ago from a Diploma-Initiation-Weekend in Berlin, with the German Academy of Permaculture. They were celebrating along our workshop their 10th anniversary, too. Quite a bunch of people there, really motivated and convinved! I think they have a quite a database on PC guys in the country, as well as a forum and a mailing list. I guess that being member in the association and coming to one of the regular meetings would be a great opportunity to meet permies in Germany.

All the best,

Stefan