Tanya White

As far as "annuals/biennials",  I save everything except carrots, ginger (not a seed), and corn. I don't save every seed every year. For instance, I save watermelon seeds once only and use them for several years combining with purchased seeds. I don't have enough plants to save from and not ready to landrace watermelon between the clay and the bears.

For corn, I cannot grow enough plants to prevent inbreeding depression. When I did attempt cabbages (which never grew...), I was not planning to save seeds. In my garden, these things sort of worked themselves out. If they are too hard to get to maturity to save seeds, unless I am willing to repurchase yearly, I am not going to keep trying.

This also limits the number of varieties for me. Landracing helps a ton. To clarify, I only grow one variety for species of squash, brassicas.

State of NC does it for free except peak season. Just pay for shipping. Unfortunately, it is not organically minded in terms of recommendations. But it's nice since it's free and appears to be accurate. Steve Solomon recommends Logan Labs and there is what appears to be a more permie oriented site to help interpret the results (or you can send directly to them) which is https://growabundant.com .  

This is so exciting! We are waiting on our young tree to fruit one day. While I haven't made any recipes yet, I took note for 2 recipes from the Japanese Farm Food cookbook by Nancy Hachisu. One was for yuzu kosho made from yuzu zest, salt, and chilies. Other one was for citrus vinaigrette made of yuzu juice, salt, and good quality rapeseed oil (1:1 ratio of citrus to oil).

Tonight I made a stewing hen in a slowcooker (older bird). I took the skin off to make cracklings later. Added garlic and potatoes towards the end. The hen had tons of flavor.

Can't help but post again - I feel like I am so much better at cold weather recipes vs hot weather. I just can't seem to master cold/cooling dishes (like a good potato salad).

Last 3 nights:
1. delicata squash stuffed with millet plus ground beef. I had precooked millet in freezer.

2. chicken based soup with mushrooms and barley (also precooked that I had in freezer, takes forever to cook).Dried mushrooms were rehydrated and fried in butter with a little flour to thicken the soup. Garnished with dill. Chicken was from a neighbor down the street, really made a great broth.

3. Mustard greens with andoille sausages.

Loving the cooler weather!

Open the windows and regular cleaning/dusting for sure. I am a fan of clean smelling essential oils (eucalyptus, rosemary, mint, and citrus), but my partner doesn't like any scents. A simmer pot in cooler seasons sure is awesome. I do add small amounts of essential oils when cleaning. For instance, when using a vinegar spray.

I often hang laundry outside and put various items outside to air out, like the trash can, slippers, and hampers. Sunlight and fresh air really help.

Biggest problem is cooking smells. One time we left the house for a week and closed the windows. Came back to house smelling like the last meal we ate!

I killed about 30 last year and this year only found 2. Lots of other caterpillars and tons of butterflies this year in my area.

This is from personal experience

-Firewood from felling the right trees. Which will let in a little more light.
-Ramps.
-Mushrooms.
-Vines that don't mind part shade and won't strangle a tree (maypops on the edge of wood).
-Neighbor has a pig. This is a pet pig. He LOVES those acorns. I see him almost every time I drive by. As many people mentioned, animals may be of use.
-Many things just didn't grow well for us in more woodsy area. Or grew but didn't fruit.

Tons of black bears here, at least 4 that frequent our property, a new tiny baby cub this year. They go for other food (like apples, not a single one left for us, and they love the birdfeeder) and never touch the compost. Electric fencing helps if you keep up with trimming the grass.

Not very permie, but we do have an electric composter which we use for chicken and fish bones primarily and then add the product to the compost pile. Or sometimes in winter when too cold to take stuff out there. We bury larger bones very deep in the garden (beef or pork). That way, no smelly trash and no particularly smelly compost. I always top fresh additions to compost with some soil and less attractive matter (i.e. watermelon rinds get buried a little deeper into the pile).

Edit: I should add, don't let the bears get habituated. They should be scared of humans. City bears are certainly different and may not be easily deterred at all. If your friend lives in a more suburban setting, bears may be more bold and less predictable.

I grow red Chinese noodle beans and save the seeds even in bad years (except moldy ones), at least from best looking plants. Then I mix the seeds up. And give some away. At least that way you can sow more thickly and replant if crop gets destroyed early on (looking at you, bunnies).