Jerry Anderson

Hi,

Anyone know where we can buy Kent (not Keitt) mango trees in or near Orange County CA? We have tried Green Thumb, Plant Depot, Armstrong, Home Depot, Lowes?

Thanks
Jerry

We already have multiple branches on the vine. I would like to encourage more in a more deterministic manner.

The diagram is not exact. But we have multiple lines and the purpose is to shade a brick wall that picks up a ridiculous amount of heat in the summer. The total trellis is almost 6' tall.

Oops. Didn't finish my post.

Consider that the grape is planted at the base of post (P). I currently have a main branch going up the post. I want to get branches on each side of the post at lines A, B, C. Is there anything I can do to encourage branching or am I subject to nature and the plant?

Hi,

I am training a grape vine onto a trellis. Is there a way that I can "encourage" the grape to create side branches?

My perspective. I am gaining a lot of knowledge by reading the forums, listening to the podcasts, etc. But, Permaculture is a "hobby" for me. That may sound bad but the reality is I live in an area where I cannot build a Wofati, raise chickens, create a berm, install a rocket mass heater, etc. I have roughly 1500 sq ft of outdoor space and I can only do so much "Permaculture". I am applying what I have learned as much as I can about being a sustainable, responsible member of the planet but that is all done in the context of my "space" and "options". I also have a career and a family. Spending the time and money on something "I" will likely never get any direct benefit from when I have so many other priorities in my life to choose from becomes a very easy decision. I live within an hour of the Permaculture Voices conference and I have money. However, I cannot justify thousands of dollars for any activity surrounding Permaculture or gardening period, (as much as I want to participate), when my entire goal for all of this is to be less impactful to the earth as well as to my bank account. I raise my own peppers because I want organic but also because I don't want to pay $3 for each one.

I greatly appreciate everything you have to offer in the way of information and opportunities and I do wish you the best but I feel that an "empire" is not built in a day. Pardon the pun but the growth of the empire should be "organic". When you consider people like Mark Shepard, Ben Falk, Geoff Lawton, Sepp Holzter, et. al. their "success" is measured in years and even decades.

I can envision an eco-tourism spin on your empire that involves more "instruction/information" and less manual labor. More B&B and less "roughing" it. More "here is a success and here is a failure" than "we have no idea how this is going to turn out but we are going to try anyway". Get your foundation in place. Establish your systems. Learn, develop and grow and I can see a lot of interest in traveling there. Get a stable setup and offer horseback riding along with tours of the property and projects and I would be very interested - the country is beautiful there. Build a new Hugelkulture bed every year and show the progression over the years. Get a garden established and offer organic meals. It may sound a bit like selling out - but there are sometimes compromises that need to be made.

Here is an example of a place near where I live. http://theecologycenter.org/

Please take all of this as constructive criticism. I think you are on your way - it is just going to take time.

Thanks.

What types of crops have you tried?

Sorry - I should have been more clear. I am talking about home garden/backyard size space - raised beds, etc. Everything is done by hand.

Hi,

I have been doing a little research on cover crops to build soil fertility and I am wondering what experience people have had in areas where winter kill is not possible. I live in Orange County, CA and frost simply does not happen. I am also looking to doing no till so my preference is for something that is non-invasive and non-persistent (assuming that I chop it down before it creates mature seeds). Ideally I would like something that grows quickly with significant mass and then chop it at the root base and have it die off as part of the chopping process leaving the root material in the ground and then using the chopped vegetation as a mulch.

I have found that if I don't chop low enough to the root of some plants they have a tendency to grow back so I am concerned about that. Also, I would prefer to not use something like Daikon Radish since they are edible and I am more inclined to eat them than leave them in the ground to rot.

Thanks
Jerry

That looks familiar.

I too have heard that they "prefer" decaying matter over living. However, while I do not have any pictures as of yet I will get some for you when I see it happening. What I can say is that mine is not suspicion. I have personally, firsthand, witnessed them eating my new transplants and have also personally removed and squished them while they were doing so. In fact even this morning I observed a few of them on the onions where we had neglected to lay down coffee grounds. I disturbed the plants and flicked them off and then I realized I should take a picture but by that point they had all taken flight and were no longer in sight. I have found them on my peas, runner beans and cucumbers. In the case of the transplants they simply ate it. In the case of the larger plants they chew on the base.

I do have a theory about why a "garbage" eater is going after my "living" plants and that is moisture. I live in So Cal and it has been excessively hot and dry on and off the past few months. I think they are going after the plants for water. I neglected to mention this in my original post. I agree that they have a "preference" but in times of need any organism will eat something other than what it prefers to survive.