Laura Johnson

If you live long enough - you get old! 😊 Plan for it. Don't create TOO MANY garden areas - too hard to keep up. Mulch, perennial plants, raised beds and ground cover are your friend! Advice from a 74 year woman old that is still gardening.

Well, this is my topic! I have had a garden for years. Then, I got old. Age 74, with arthritis in my hands. Can't stand the idea of not having my garden. So - I completely re-designed everything. I planned to do it with my handy shovel and garden cart. I am really pretty fit from gardening all these many years. I wanted to become a "hunter gather" in my own garden. My goal was to have everything done by age 75. Almost finished. I have Huglkultur raised beds. Two concrete blocks high. I can sit on the edge and plant and harvest. No more fieldhand work of digging and bending over. There is also a new Food Forest with fruit trees pruned to stay about 6'. Chickens run around and fertilize and eat bugs and do some weeding. Lots of perennial plants. Beneifical insect plants. Lots of MULCH. And cart wide paths that catch and soak rain. Paths are carpeted with discarded carpet. Great weed barrier! I have done the majority of it by myself over the last year. Got some help with moving the concrete blocks and fence poles.

I tried to chronical the journey to a Permaculture "senior garden" on a fledging blog. Might give you young people some ideas. 😊
www.steps2permaculture.com

I keep digging up small rocks in the garden. Put them to good use on the outside uprights of my recycled greenhouse. Also adds some thermo mass.

Four years ago I ate some yummy, juicy peaches. I saved the pits and grew a couple trees from the seeds. Here are pictures of this year. I did not prune it and it is so tall, I could not thin the fruit. The peaches are wonderful. Just small. I will do some pruning and be sure and thin the peaches next year!
I have Meyer Lemons from seed. Takes four years for them to fruit.
I currently have some little apple trees from seed. I hope they will turn out.

Theresa
It's a fact - if you live long enough - you get OLD.😊 We need to plan our gardens and land accordingly. Perennial plantings, groundcover, mulch and really raised beds are your friend!. Love my Huglekulture beds. I will be so glad when my new design construction phase is finished. Then I will become a "hunter gatherer". Also a planter, and weeder.😀
www.steps2permaculture.com

Things are moving along. Lots of rain stopped the hardscaping this Winter. Then my husband's 2 1/2 months of kidney stone problems and complications stopped the Spring construction. 😁 I was able to run out and plant some things and get some things done. Right now, everything is planted - not all are growing yet. What is growing is lush and happy. Three hens now live happily in the garden, tilling, fertilizing and eating bugs. The food forest is growing, I am beginning to train the fruit trees. Winter squash is wandering around, artichokes and rhubarb are doing well. Lots of beneifical insect plants blooming. I only have one more bed to make and the paths to smooth and carpet. It is coming together somewhat like I hoped. As I went up the hill, it dictated a bit of a different plan.
I have had time to chronicle this project on my fledging blog. Pictures and everything. Visit and see all the warts. www.steps2permaculture.com

i LOVE my Vita Mix

I LOVE my garden cart.
It is at least 40 years old. I have hauled all manner of things - easily on this cart. Full of rocks, dirt, hay, grandchildren, and even furniture! It you can balance it on the cart , you can move it .This one was made by Garden Way. Out of business now. A similar one is made by Carts Vermont. I have replaced the balance bar with a part from Carts Vermont. Only thing wrong with theirs, they do not have hard rubber tires. After 35 years my tires came off in pieces. Finally found some hard rubber tires else where on the web.

Another work house is my HOE. I have had this for about 40 years too. Had to buy it a new handle after my grandsons tried to move a railroad tie with it. The head will last forever. You can chop down a small tree with this. LOVE it.

These two tools have helped me create my new Permaculture garden. Check out the fledging blog about the journey.
www.steps2permaculture.com

As a lifetime gardener- I discovered Permaculture a few years ago. Read a lot of books, went to Permaculture Voices #1. Ended up taking Geoff's online course.
Made a plan to convert my 30 year old garden into Permaculture with a small food forest. I am chronicling it on a fledging blog. www.steps2permCulture.com
Watch it happen! Need some encouragement along the way.

Steve and Ev
It was so nice to meet you two. And to be able to converse with people that know what I am talking about. No "hugle- what"? On one of the Emails,there was a link to this board. And here are more Georgia Permies! We must do tours and meet and swaps! We are not close together tho. Ev, you will have to put a little red flag down here in Fayette county now.
And I love the fact that everyone is a work in progress and under constuction. I have multiple unfinished projects.

Glenn, I have taken measurements inside. If is hard to visualize iI can draw a picture or graft.
But, here is the inside info.
Over all base is 32" x 99.5" For 8'. Then a 1' indention (ledge) and it continues up another 5' sloping 32" to 4'. (The ceiling is vaulted.)
The hearth is 99" x 12".
Firebox 40" wide 25" tall. 23" deep. At the very back it is 33" there is a heavy metal damper.

I need to get on the roof to get the chimney height and hopefully flue size. It is raining. So all this info will be coming t'mor. i hope

The draft is strong. No problems with smoke. Mantel removeable. And yes I would prefer brick.
Later