Jay Angler

One of the key things stressed in the Miyawaki method, is why native species, (or possibly analogues if the native simply no longer exist), and thick planting, is a lot like regrowth after a natural disaster.

Apparently, Dr. Miyawaki convinced the Japanese government to try a version of his concept following the 2011 earthquake and Tsunami that devastated the east side of Honshu in the north.

This is a video I came across while investigating:


Considering the tsunami rolled over and destroyed huge concrete seawalls, it will be interesting to see if a mixed forest with a focus on deep rooted, interconnected trees, does any better and at what cost?

Thekla McDaniels wrote:How about a culinary bamboo tolerant
of cold winters?

My P. dulcis bamboo survives below 0C and has coped with our wet snow. It doesn't grow as large in diameter as it might in a warmer climate, but I have eaten it in the spring.

denise ra wrote:I've just spent too much time looking for projects in temperate zones.  Anyone know of any Miyawaki projects in a temperate zone?

Last year I attended a presentation on this concept, using 2 examples recently built in the Vancouver, BC area. Some quick searching failed to come up with "before and after" pictures that are more than months to a year apart. I would like to see some that are a decade or more old, and some of our European permies may be able to get us that evidence.

A major downside that I can see is that it costs a lot of money to prepare the land and buy all the plants. That said, I'd rather people spend their money on this sort of project, than on buying a new car, so it's all a matter of point of view!

As always, I don't think there's ever one right answer. This blog presents a more negative opinion, and suggests that we need more plantings in varied ecosystems, where the Miyawaki density is planted in a block, and different densities are planted next to it.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/miyawaki-forest-work/

It is also accepted that growing more forests on vacant land is good for the environment and for local plant and animal diversity. That is not being disputed. The idea of mini-forests are getting people to plant more forests and that may be the real value of this revolution.

We tend to plant "trees" in cities - completely unsupported, often clones of the same tree in rows along streets. I've seen in the last decade a slight shift towards at least planting some understory plants. Not sure I've ever seen nitrogen fixing shrubs added to the mix. If the Miyawaki Method gets officials rethinking how to plant in local parks, that alone is worthwhile.

The need to seriously rethink our cities and urban areas with a mind to major tree planting in an effort to reduce the heat island effect, is definitely getting more attention in Europe where summer heat waves have become a serious health risk. I have read that France is making an effort to reduce their hardscape and increase their tree coverage in Paris.

We also tend to plant "tree plantations" outside of cities - if it isn't an income generating tree farm, it isn't worth planting attitude that is getting more and more dangerous as more summer fires are demonstrating the need for healthy, diversified forests instead of monocultures.

I will support this method regardless of any flaws it may have, if it gets empty lots and grassed areas, planted in 3 dimensions that support humans and wildlife with shade, nest areas, etc.

Laurie Fen wrote: We have woodburning fireplaces but last winter I swear using them made the house colder--felt like all of the heat just went up the flues and made it colder.

I've seen plenty of info that suggests that's exactly what happens. Insulation is one direction, but what you're also likely short on is thermal mass. If you can find a way to heat up a mass, it will then give off that heat slowly over time. This is one part of why a Rocket Mass Heater is so effective. You can't build that, but upcycle a stack of bricks or rocks in a spot that gets the winter sun, and it may help. Hot water bottles may also help, as water has a lot of mass also.

House plants can be a bonding experience between humans.
My DiL had brought a Spider plant with attached baby to my house for transplanting to a larger pot, but life got busy and the process got delayed until I insisted, today was the day!

They are both still here, as Mother Plant actually wants to land on her work windowsill which will happen at a lunch-time next week, as my house is much closer to her work. The baby is on my kitchen windowsill as it really doesn't have much in the way of roots at this point, and the windowsill will ensure it gets a little extra supervision.

I'm not good about houseplants, so I need fairly indestructible ones, or ones I value for a specific reason. I have a pair of Holy Basil plants blooming in my front window. Early in the week I filled 3 1/2 trays in my food dryer with the leaves - the house smelled pretty good! I used a paintbrush to try and pollinate the flowers as I'm hoping to save seed from it.

The secret to life is to handle every situation like a dog: If you can’t play with it, eat it or bury it, just pee on it and walk away.

A picture's worth a thousand words!



The knots in the rope help to keep the "roller" centered, and I recommend doing so.

There's a discussion here on permies somewhere suggesting the best "substitute rollers" which I recall recommended certain worn heavy duty engine hoses as being ideal. Some garden hoses are less flexible than others, and reinforced with Hockey tape or similar, are quite adequate for loads that aren't too heavy.

Great that you're focusing so much on the soil, particularly organic matter. I hear a lot of complaints from people growing in Florida, that their ecosystem sucks up and digests organic matter in no time. I suspect that tendency it true to some extent in all year-round warm areas.

I believe that David the Good tried biochar - have you considered that?

Keep up the good work!

Just to post the obvious... feed them to your chickens!

Sure, using them for Human food may be a higher calling, but the happy chickens lay happy eggs!

Yes, I have a fix I use all the time. I use a piece of braided rope, 3/8th inch in diameter. If I fold over the end by about an inch and whip it with a needle and fine string, I can usually get it to pop under the gap and up the slot in the "round" version buckets and friction is enough to keep it there.

The "slot" buckets either need a slot cut up with side-cutters, or the rope to be fed through the slot, brought over the plastic, and sewn together.

Yes, having some sort of flat area in the middle is important for you hand. The firmer the better. I upcycle the round piece from the older buckets until they die, but very few new buckets have them as a separate piece instead of the formed type in your photo.

I use an old soldering iron as a hot knife to cut the rope into pieces that are long enough to hang down nicely, but not so long that the bucket keeps hitting the ground as I walk. I cut a bunch of pieces all at once, when I have a length I like.

Definitely worth the time to fix them in my opinion.