Christa Walker

Four Nichols wrote:So, I believe it is safe to assume that nearly everyone on these forums is "Goofy About Permaculture," but I wonder how many of you are located in the Merrimack Valley (northern MA/southern NH)?

I don't have anything going on myself, per say, besides a quasi-hugel raised bed in my parking lot, but is there any Permie relate stuff happening in my valley?

More specifically, I am in Lowell, MA and I love to build.

Let's hear it!

Hi -

Husband and I am in a town nearby, and have actually been thinking about a more localized permaculture meetup group. Feel free to PM me.

I do organic raised bed gardening, some fruit/nut trees, herbs, vermiculture, etc.

Good luck with your hugel!

Kim Annon. wrote:I'm out towards milford MA, (not the nh town by the same name) maybe an hour south tyngsborough. Inlaws are out that way, though. beautiful area.

I'm working towards creating a permie education hub in my area. check facebook.com/souloftheforest or the thread here about greater boston food forest educational center. I'd love to have more folks to bounce ideas off of.

Hi Kim ... good luck with the project! Sounds like a great idea. Have you read Eric Toensmeier's Paradise Lot? It has lots of great species that have been tested in Holyoke, MA.

I just found out about this:

http://www.tyngsboroughma.gov/news-updates/northeast-natural-gas-pipeline-expansion-project-tennessee-gas-pipeline-company/
Northeast Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion Project | Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company

I have ordered two paw paws. It seems that they naturally grow to 25 feet tall, even in my area, but can be maintained at 10-15 feet. This is a great thread - I'm looking forward to trying the paw paw in 3-4 years

Hi, I am looking into planting a couple of pawpaws, but find various info on their height. Raintree Nursery's catalog says that the varieties they sell only grow to 10' in the Northwest US, Oikos Nursery in Michigan says the variety they sell grows to 30' in their location. Does anyone in zone 5-6 have any info on the height for each variety of pawpaws they have grown? Thanks.

Hi Harry, thanks for your response. My reasons for wanting to set up a group: to be able to get together with like-minded people and discuss projects (sharing of knowledge/inspiration), what has and hasn’t worked with local conditions (soil, climate, town) to share info about local events and happenings, to share resources (I had waaay too many cucumbers this year, have wild mullein going to seed, would like some skirrit), etc. I also think it would also be helpful to have friends to tour each other’s property and give feedback. Hands-on projects might be a possibility. Observation is key to permaculture, and sometimes we’re too close to our own immediate habitat to see it freshly or realistically imo. Please PM me if interested in local permaculture-interested friends (me and my husband)!

Josh, hi and thanks for your reply. That is a thought, to possibly introduce aspects of permaculture to existing related groups. I have a feeling there are other permaculture-interested folks in my neck of the woods and will keep trying to connect.

A little about me - started with organic lawn care a number of years ago and have read extensively, organic gardened small scale, sheet mulched, planted a few trees and shrubs (hawthornes, blueberries, aronias, pears, hazels, a manchurian apricot [new], siberian pea shrubs [new]) and herbs ...made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of fun in the process. Am reading Eric Toensmeier's Paradise Lot. Plans include continuing to build the soil up, trying a hugelbed, finding companion plants and building guilds for health of existing plantings, perennial vegs....

Hi, I just joined this forum, though have been lurking for a while. Great information here, and really enjoyed the thread with the garden pics.

I'm interested in starting a localized permaculture group (or at least meeting a few people who are interested in permaculture) in the Tyngsboro/Dunstable/Chelmsford/Westford, MA and Nashua, NH area. Meetup.com has a Monadnock, a North Shore MA region, and a few NH groups that are more northerly -- so it seems there may be a niche to be filled in this area. Any interest?