Today Howard presented on Climate. Climate is what you expect, and weather is what you get. Climate chaos resulting from unbalanced human systems is expected to continue and perhaps intensify, and our best defense is to diversify; plant some perennials that can tolerate warmer climates, and some that can tolerate cooler climates, and some that can tolerate drier climates, and some that can tolerate wetter climates, that way no matter how the climate changes your system has a chance of surviving and even thriving.
Our landscapes are shaped by climate. Flat country or gently rounded hills were shaped by rain, whereas steep angular sharp country with exposed rocks was shaped by sand, wind, and aridity.
Howard laid out three primary climate types: Temperate, Tropical, and Arid.
Temperate climates usually have wet winters and dry summers. They typically have deep soils, and perhaps 40% of the biomass is held in the soil. A small amount of tilling is generally not too destructive. The freezing winter temperatures result in seasonal dormancy, kills off insects, and provides a sort of a fresh start every spring. Herbs thrive in this climate, and lots of life lives in the soil. Animals are often found living in the ground. The summer is the main time for growth. Design for harvesting sun and warmth. The polar extremities of temperate climates have extremely long summer days and extremely long winter nights.
Tropical climates usually have wet summers and dry winters. The soils are shallow because heavy rains wash the organic matter out and away. Maybe 90% of the biomass is held above the ground in trees and other plants. Biochar is a viable strategy. Woody plants tend to grow quickly. Animals usually live in the trees. The rainy season is when the main flush of growth occurs. Designing for shade, and mulching over swales is key.
Drylands may have only day of rain a year, and so extending water is the primary design focus. Deserts are floods waiting to happen. Positioning elements in relation to water and shade is key. Animals often live under under ground or in shade. What mulches are grown tend to be high quality as the stressful environment concentrates nutrients. Gardens can be planted in ditches or holes to keep them wet. Pumping water from underground to irrigate in arid climates can be highly problematic, as the groundwater is often saline and so using it adds salt to the soil. Rainwater harvesting, gigantic swales, gabions, and plants that cast lots of shade are useful strategies.
Mountain ranges and elevated land masses have substantial impacts on climate, called orographic effects. 100 meters of altitude is roughly analogous to 1 degree of latitude. Maritime areas tend to have less annual temperature change, basically they are cooler in summer and warmer in winter, due to the moderating effects of a large body of water. Continental areas are the opposite, and more extremes can be found towards the interior or centers of continents. The rainshadow effect is the drier warmer air that flows down the leeward side of a mountain.
Along coastlines, wind can be a problem and designs should attempt to create a wind lift. You can add clay, grow wind breaks, mulch heavily to avoid drying out the soil, and utilize salt-tolerant crops.
A lamona is a swale and/or berm around a large hill or rock. Boomerang dams, aka fish-scale swales, are a good water harvesting system.
Microclimates are ranges or features in a landscape that usually involve a large body of water. While naturally occuring, they may also be designed around aspect, slope, thermal mass, evaporation, condensation, humidity, etc.
We touched briefly on Hadley cells and Ferrel cells, subtropical jets and polar jets, and on finding plants for your site by using climate analogs. Places in the world with similar altitude, latitude, and distance to a large body of water will likely have plants that you might be able to grow on your site.
We talked a bit about vermiculture. Red wrigglers are the worms you want, although apparently some folks have had luck with other varieties. Place your worm bin near their source of feed, keep it dark and not too wet, and add manure and kitchen scraps. Worms can consume their own body weight daily.
Finally we talked some about black soldier flies. Under ideal conditions, say 76 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit, their lifecycle can take as little as 35 days. In less ideal conditions, they can remain dormant for up to 6 months just waiting. During the 5 days they spend as adults, they don't eat; their focus is on reproduction. They apparently repel houseflies, and are not nearly as aggressive or annoying. They need light and something like a tree.
These midsummer days have been so long, so hot, and yet so full of busyness, I've been having trouble keeping up with my daily updates and especially the summaries of my notes. I apologize for being a little behind.
For today's hands-on session, we started building a community tool shed for ant village. There was this skiddable little a-frame roundwood timber structure on the lab, and with Paul's approval we decided to skid it over to Jesse's plot, pull the roof off, and add four 7' poles, one in each corner, for height. Jesse is very efficient and accurate with a chainsaw, and he made quick work of the notches. We braced these poles and put the roof back on top.
Down at basecamp there was this big stack of 3/8" milled lumber, and since it was getting a tad mildewy Paul happily donated it to the ant village tool shed project. Since it's an outdoorsy structure and no one will be living in it the mildew shouldn't be a problem anyway. We loaded a big pile of it up and hauled it up to the lab where Jesse and I set about nailing it to the sides of the tool shed shiplap style. When it's done, I think it'll be quite functional, and pretty too.
This evening the hands-on session was earthworks up on the lab. Folks got a chance to drive the tractor and also operate the excavator. As much fun as the excavator is, I figured since it wasn't my first time, I'd let other folks have more time instead.
While folks were playing with the heavy equipment, Devin and I worked on moving stone and actually made a bit of progress on the internal retaining wall of my shelter. We decided that the stone bench in front of the fire pit project was actually a super low priority, and with a limited amount of good stone, we'd put it to better use as part of my shelter instead. My shelter, which I was calling Daboree, you know, like how folks with a good drawl might pronounce debris, is actually going to be a bit nicer than a debris hut, so it'll need a nicer name. I'm thinking Siesta has a nice ring to it. I'd like to think that when I become a grasshopper I'll have time to take a nice midday nap in there occasionally.
Speaking of names, I have all kinds of crazy names for the different areas, structures, and paddocks/micro-nations of which Ava is composed. These various names will be thoroughly expressed in the permaculture site design master plan we're working on. Oh yeah, the PDC participants split up into 5 groups and each group of 3 to 4 people will be creating a permaculture design for a different site. One group is doing a design for basecamp, one for the lab, one for Brandon and Nikki's homestead in Georgia, one for Jesse's ant acre, and one group for my plot, Ava. I'm excited to see what everyone comes up with.
This morning James, John, and I got up early and went into Missoula to pick up six rabbits and some pig grain from Abe. By the way, Abe's awesome, so go look at his website: abecoley.com
Instead of butchering Sir Chops, we decided to let him keep up the great work he's doing making ponds and turning over and fertilizing the land, starting in Hamelot but ultimately working his way up the draw and eventually sealing all kinds of water catchment areas all over Ava. After all, to quote the mighty Sepp Holzer, "if you don't have pigs in your system, then you must do the pigs' work."
But even though Sir Chops' life is spared for now, the PDCclass was still very interested in learning about butchering, hence the rabbits. I've raised rabbits before, and participated in butchering them many times, and from experience I can say that they're much easier than pigs, and easier than chickens and other birds too. Plus since there are six of them, multiple people will get a chance to get their hands dirty, and other people will get to see the whole process more than once.
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ridiculously cute bunnies destined for the stew pot
For hands-on, James led the group in a respectful and informative session of rabbit butchery. He explained four different methods of dispatch, and demonstrated two, the first involving a broomstick and the second a hammer.
Our goal was to use as much of the animal as possible, so Heather also led a class on hide preservation.
Three of the four rabbits went into a delicious stew that Stewart artfully threw together. The fourth was frozen for later.
Literally seconds before Brandon was about to slaughter his first rabbit, a doe, she suddenly gave birth to five baby bunnies. Her life and those of her offspring were spared, along with an adolescent rabbit that's still a little small to butcher. They've all got plenty of nesting material, water, freshly pulled grasses to eat, and even a couple twigs to gnaw on. I think Josh, ant #3, has decided to raise them.
My vegan diet experiment was cut short just a few days shy of two months, and now I'm back to being omnivorous for a little while. I didn't seem to gain any superpowers from being a vegan, but maybe it was because I wasn't able to maintain total purity during the experiment. In any case, I have a great amount of respect for folks who are able to meet a large part of their own food needs without keeping animals. For me anyway, I felt like the experiment was worthwhile, and the main drawbacks were just inconvenience and social awkwardness from being around omnivores. That said, I don't think veganism is for me right now, and I plan to respectfully raise and butcher my own animals.
Death and life. Life and death. Being a farmer is so raw.
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.jpg "Filename: 20150701_155944(0).jpg
Description: True, a baby bird Carol Anne found")
