Mohsin Javed

Hello waheed, congrats on finishing a pdc. I haven't looked at this forum in some time and i am ashamed to say my position currently remains the same. Other than having a couple of acres of grapevines put in I haven't achieved much. But would like to hear more of your side of the story

Hi all. I have a small wheat field which I am about to harvest and I am thinking of putting a leguminous ground cover and covering the field with wheat straw as mulch. WhAt should I do about the stubble? Will it cause problems? Should I set it on fire as is conventional here? Should I till it in? Will the stubble cause any problems? We're at the beginning of the dry season here and it will be very hot and dry till the monsoon two months later.

Hi everyone, is there perennial substitute for annual grains in terms of flour making and carbohydrates. Are acorns and chestnuts only temperate climate crops?

Thanks Janet. I am entirely new to permaculture or even farming. My background is in engineering but itis of little use to me. As for plans Iam making it up as I go along. Iam learning and making mistakes. my father owns and runs the farm and he's not totally into new ideas. I have put a multi species orchard in recently, but it is not integrated like a model permaculture homestead with zones and stuff. I hope to learn how to run chickens and ducks, build ponds, do a Fukuoka style grain farming and eliminate pesticides and synthetic fertilisers. Tall order. I am all alone here. I am surrounded by conventional farmers who shoot down my ideas and I can't reply since I have no farming experience and they do.I also Currently can't afford to take a pdc.

Hi Janet are you a pdc teacher? Doesn't matter too much. Welcome to pakistan

Rebecca Norman wrote:How are you watering? Isn't it quite dry in Punjab at this time of year? Most seeds want to stay damp until germination. If you're flood irrigating like we do up here (north of you and a lot higher), the seeds would all float to one corner of the bed. And whenever we plant peas, even if we cover them with soil, the chakor partridges run right over and eat every single seed.

Actually it's been raining quite a lot this past week in Lahore. I've pressed my seeds into the ground and put a little compost on top. Let's see how it goes

Thank you. I have some kind of grass growing on the edges of my garden bed, but it's hard to tell by just looking if the productive plants are being affected either positively or negatively. I guess it's having no effect one way or another

What are the problems and benefits of weeds? Do weeds take away soil nutrient from young plants? In my country it is common wisdom to keep the ground around your plant clean of weeds because otherwise they will steal the water and nutrient away from your plant. I have read 'weeds:guardians of the soil' and the message in it seems nuanced. For my part I believe weeds to be harmless unless their vigorous growth shades out your productive plants. So are some weeds in your garden bed okay?

Thank you all for your for your insights. i hope broadcasting and covering with a light mulch will do the trick. As for seedballs, could I make them from soil and compost since I don't have access to clay?