Mike Hoag

And I don’t often recommend this author, due to the political bias of his work, but it’s another source on the current understanding that soil humus does not exist. https://www.gardenmyths.com/humus-does-not-exist-says-new-study/

Some scientists still defend the term by saying “scientists talked about humus for 100 years so admitting that it doesn’t exist will hurt the credibility of soil science.” They say “we should just call whatever DOES exist in the real soil carbon cycle “humus” so we can keep talking about humus.”

But either way, the stuff in the box won’t do much for garden performance, and it’s best not to think about humus if you want to build great soil. The modern soil model is much more useful and practical for gardeners.

It’s literally just low-nutrient compost with all the good stuff leached out.

It’s outdated science. A hundred years ago a prestigious scientist came up with a theory that soil organic matter all simplified to a stable state called “humus,” after finding humic acid in soil by using an extraction process. At the time, a lot of knowledgeable people thought this was bunk and it was controversial, but it eventually caught on. University horticulture grads could set up businesses making and selling “humic acid” as a garden amendment.

Problem was, there were 100 years of field tests and this miracle garden amendment never actually caused any measurable improvements in garden or soil performance!

Then a couple years ago, some scientists went looking for humic acid in soil using modern means, and… drumroll, there was no humus or humic acid in terrestrial soil!

Turns out, the original researchers MADE the humus with the test the were using to measure it! Soil humus never existed, and humic acid is just low quality compost that won’t do much for garden performance.

Still, people are still selling it, and some gardening authors are still teaching people to use it.

(The original study showing that soil humus, does not in fact, exist. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16069 This is now generally considered settled science and current soil science has moved on from the humus hypothesis.)

In lil’ 3 minute video I talk about how I used to waste time and work creating PERFECT slug habitat. When I stopped wasting my time making slug paradise, slugs stopped being a problem. Go figure!

Mo work, mo problems!

Slug vidleoo on TikTok

I love all the discussions here around debt and mortgages! Permaculture Founder Bill Mollison had a thought tool for this topic that I haven’t seen in any of the discussions yet: Permaculture Asset Class Analysis.

Both he and Rosemary Morrow have called the asset classes the most important topic in all of Permaculture! I agree, and hardly a day goes by that I don’t think about this tool. And yet, a lot of permies have never heard of this “most important topic in Permaculture.”

For the sake of a short introduction, there are 4 or 5 asset classes, depending on which edge of the Permie community you’re talking in. In Growing FREE, we use: Degenerative Assets, Durable Assets, Generative Assets, Procreative Assets, and Transformative Assets.

This gives us a way of thinking about how we’re investing and spending our money, and whether or not our spending is going to lead to more freedom or less.

At the bottom of the scale, “Degenerative Assets” or degenerating assets, are things that break down and lose value over time. Whenever we buy a degenerating asset, we’re giving ourselves another financial burden to carry.

So whenever we can trade out a purchase of a degenerative asset for one of the other asset classes, we’re giving our future selves a gift.

Durable assets last a lifetime and hold value well.

Generative assets can be used to generate cash flow, like an apple tree that produces apples or a cider press that can produce cider.

Procreative assets are things like apple trees, which not only produce apples, they also can produce new apple trees!

As a former farm loan operation lackey, I saw a lot of farmers use debt to buy degenerating assets like non-durable hoophouses, or equipment with high upkeep and low economic value. It almost always ended poorly for the farmers.

But there’s one asset class that is particularly great to invest in, and using debt to buy it is almost always a good idea.

Like anarchist philosopher James C. Scott, and Toby Hemenway, Bill Mollison pointed out in some of his PDCs that some of history’s best models of communities that grew land-based wealth used debt to buy these kind of assets. In fact, Scott points out in some of his books that whole communities lifted themselves out of poverty to become well-to-do, using this strategy.

And these are Transformative Assets, assets that both cash flow (enough to pay the mortgage even in year 1) AND that appreciate well over time enough to be legitimately good investments. Ideally that means they appreciate exponentially (at least to a point.)

And in my 40 years of experience, EVERYONE who I’ve seen become successful in creating a resilient Permaculture lifestyle has invested in some form of Transformative Assets.

To give an example of what this means, blueberry bushes can be used to sell blueberries. So they’re a generative asset.

They can also be used to propagate more blueberry bushes, so they’re a procreative asset.

But they only become a transformative asset if the plant capital is valuable enough that the plants will be highly valuable and maintain value as the stock increases for some time into the future.

A mortgage can be a degenerative asset! Using debt to buy a degenerating asset is a bad idea. But with the right planning, it can be a transformative asset that can lead to a lot of economic resilience and financial freedom.

Riona Abhainn wrote:So when crab grass shows up in my plants, should I leave it there?  Isn't it taking away nutrients from my spinich/forgetmenots/whatever its growing in?  If I can leave it there then I probably should do so.

Depends on whether it’s one of your type 1 or type 2 gardens. IF it’s a type 2 garden, it should be rare for it to show up, and it shouldn’t be a problem to the plants you’re growing in a type 2 garden. If it’s a type 1 garden, where you’d grow spinach, then I design those so that crab grass doesn’t show up there, except on maybe the rarest occasion. I do that by using deep mulch with a woody top layer that prevents germination of grass seeds, and by very dense plantings and no row space. I always integrate in some percentage of “allelopathic” plants that are demonstrated to prevent weed germination and establishment, like carrots, onions, garlic, and mustard. So in those type 1 beds, it’s rare that I get any weeds, and easy enough to do a quick hand pull on that rare occasion one shows up.

In Growing FREE, we present the THISTLE plan for financial freedom, and the I in THISTLE is for INVESTING.

The truth is, in 40 years around this lifestyle, I’ve never seen anybody truly create a stable Permaculture lifestyle by making work (income streams) for themselves. Everyone, and I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE who I’ve seen be successful at it has gotten there through smart long-term investments. And a good Permaculture investment can beat the S&P 500 easily!

Bill Mollison wold often say “You can read 1000 books on gardening, PERMACULTURE is about how you spend your money, and where you bank it.”

And the most powerful kinds of investments we can make are in “transformative assets,” those that are regenerative, can cash flow for us, AND appreciate well over time.

A good Permaculture site is the ultimate example. It can create some cash flow to help us stay afloat in the early years selling plants and produce. But the real value happens as all our investments appreciate. If we’ve chosen rare, locally valuable plants and livestock, these will procreate and grow in value well exponentially. If we’ve chosen the collection well, our intellectual capital will become very valuable. The land and structures can appreciate with our sweat equity. Our businesses can become quite valuable for resale as well. And other productive assets, if we’ve chosen them well, can appreciate over time as we collect them.

Growing FREE is filled with examples of such “transformative assets” we’ve seen lead to real economic FREEdom. These include Permaculture Community Kitchens, clothing businesses, plant investments, old machinery, rare animal breeds, entertainment venues, and many other things.

Good Permaculture investments are as numerous as the people doing Permaculture, and their individual interests!

But what I tell people is what Bill Mollison used to say: that until you know what you’re investing in, you haven’t started your Permaculture design yet.

So what are you investing in?

In Growing FREE we talk about the THISTLE strategy which we believe most people who’ve been successful at creating Permaculture livelihoods follow.

The first T stands for Transition, meaning having a transition plan from the old economy to the new economy. Sounds like you’ve got a great plan!

I think most people who end up successful do some version of what you’re doing. Glad you found your way!

I love this idea! Thanks for sharing!

Charles Moeller wrote:I don't own land but I have been speaking to my friends and neighbors about the Transformative Adventures permaculture philosophy and a couple of them want me to plan a keyhole garden in their yard. This happened organically not as part of a sales effort. Given the wealth of knowledge in the book I could be like a Johnny Appleseed of permaculture in my neighborhood.

Hey thanks for saying so! That basic idea of creating something great for ourselves that really works and is beautiful really is the key to spreading Permaculture. When we can show people that a better world also builds us better lives, then we won’t have to twist people’s arms to create change.

Totally agree! In fact, to me this is what separates a Permaculture plan from a conventional farm or garden. These days, a master gardener type garden is considered to be a hobby for rich people. If you do everything right, you end up like the journalist who found each tomato he grew cost $30!

That’s not practical for real people who want to garden for economic benefits.

A Permaculture plan starts with the idea that it will really be economically viable and helpful to the family. If we get that right, Permaculture will be available to more than just rich people.