justin edmonds

i dont want to recieve emails and have corrected my profile but am still recieving them. if i cant get an answer to this problem ill have to  delete my account, hopefully there is an alternative to this

Thanks Cass, the hugelcultures are something i was definitely going to construct and as you said partly underground. I have the option of a few parcels of land as i havent actually bought yet. I have been over to Portugal twice scouting areas and assessing land, rainfall, climate,soils etc. The biggest thing ive learned is that people go on a permaculture course, think they know what they're talking about and jump into situations without adequate planning or knowledge base. They are not living in productive systems and reaping value from their life or land and still shopping for food at the store,, basically poor and struggling. I encourage anyone reading this post to study permaculture obsessively as most courses are inadequate and if you're not the kind of person who can or will make this effort then team up with someone who is. Ive assessed my situation ( as well as possible) and am devising a solid strategy to achieve my goals, making sure that i have basics immediately and a line of progression from there. All situations will be different and there will be problems to solve ,, so please people study well so you can be a good example for other people. I would highly recommend investing in the dvd box set of Mollison and Lawton teaching a course in Melbourne.. approx sixty hrs of excellent info. watch that ten times whilst studying rabbitholes on line as you go, yep ive watched them at least that amount of times and am a total bleeding permie nerd. Ive been designing parts of smaller projects so far and am now trying to design for myself basically an very seasonally dry climate where i cannot be onsite ,,, quite a challenge. And people, Cassie is obviously right you have to asses your water properly or you can easily end up f...ed. Thanks for the input Cass.
Ill take any suggestions anyone else can come up with.

I was hoping to set up a deep mulch or some kind of island of moisture (ive a few ideas) and then hopefully the perennials would get their roots down before the dry season and have a certain amount of water retentive environment to get them through the dry season as long as possible before the encounter drought. Im sure it could be done . i just wondered if anyone else had tackled the problem before and come up with some ideas/solutions as i have to be away from site to earn money whilst i develop the land. Im talking about trying to install an incredibly simple almost survival system to be in place for when i move to Portugal for good and can develop the site properly.. Any ideas anyone???

I am looking for ideas for planting crops in the fall that will put roots down over winter and thus get a headstart come spring, greens are sufficient as its basically a survival garden till there is a fulltime resident to tend to the site. If you can help me with this one it`ll prove that you're amazing. I am going to be planting on a plot in Portugal which is obviously very dry in the summer. this would not usually be a problem but the land will not be occupied during the summer for a couple of years thus new plants cannot be nurtured. I could build a huge water collector and set up a drip but the timeline and my inability to be on site sufficiently wont permit this. In portugal people tend to plant there fruit trees around september to utilise the rainy winter months. mulch then suffices during the summer.... any green veg that i can do the same with???  its a tricky one. thanks

Steep slopes, ,, Timber and orchards, "net and pan" to capture water to feed the trees.

Hi Guys, Im not up to scatch with how i reply individually here so ill do both you guys in this comment

R Ranson
"Perhaps the kids would like to paint some signs saying 'no spray,' 'organic garden"

Yes we will definitely do this and use it as a teaching tool as to why, thanks for the comment.

Steven Kovacs
"Who is doing the spraying? Can you talk to them about why they do it, and suggest alternatives while (gently) educating them about your concerns / the downsides of spraying?"

We are trying this but communications seem to be an issue, also I cannot guarantee 100% that the sprayer will be informed properly,,, subcontracters etc.
But we are trying. Lets hope I get a bit more advice from all you peeps.

Hi everyone,
I hope this is the correct forum to post in, if not someone please tell me where to post.
I have installed an edible garden on a school premises. On one border they have previously sprayed the fence line so I have used planters to keep food crops off of the soil. To utilise the sun aspect in this region I planted some calendula/marigold to be used as dye plants and some soapwort to be used for soaps, both as teaching aids and childrens projects for the school. Both of these items were planted in soil within a Metre (3ft for you americans) of the sprayed border but myself and the school are still concerned about making soaps or dying clothes due to absorption through the skin of toxins that are still in the soil and taken up by the plants. Does anyone have any advice??? It can always be left as a pretty flower bed and not used for the kids projects as we are not prepared to take any risks. They may also spray this year too if we cannot stop them and I am erecting a barrier to prevent contamination to the food planters from chemicals carried by the wind. The garden has such a difficult aspect that I have no other choice but to use this area as best I can. What are your thoughts peeps.
Thanks
J

Hey man . me again. I recieved the following from a guy at tipperary eco village. It may help.



Interesting notion. I have a few thoughts.

If the field is full of rushes, and waterlogged, here is a possibility of any mulch turning anaerobic - which would lead to smell, and runoff.

I am not sure if rushes can be killed off using a mulch of cardboard/woodchip/vegetables - this would have to be tested.

Sounds like a huge amount of wet and nutrient rich material. Sheet mulching with this type of material, will likely lead to runoff of nutrients, even if it doesn't go anaerobic, given the amount of rain that will fall over that large area.

I would suggest using the chipper to create a long windrow (long pile about 1-1.5m high) of mixed veg/fruit/cardboard/woodchip/manure/etc. that is covered with plastic or waterproof tarp. This windrow should be in a location that is easier to access, and as dry as possible. If the mix is reasonable, with a good amount of carbon, there is no need to turn the pile. This would allow a few months for the initial decomposition to occur, and allow most of the potentially problematic nutrients to become bound up in the organic matter and decomposing carbon. By continually adding to one end, or making new rows, the partially/mostly decomposed material can be removed from the other end after a few months, and spread on the field. Using this method, there is unlikely to be as much runoff, and all the smell should be contained. Spreading this stuff around the field will also be easier

Hi John Saltveit . volunteer guy. The post seemed random but I know the guy and it was to do with his plans for the land. Didn't have his email:-D have a beautiful day. J

Check this out,, http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+x+ebbingei you may have to plant it in a slightly raised bed/lazy bed/swale mound ... (you.ll have to decide whats best), because your soil is so wet buts its f..in hardy and good for coastal regions... no-one else will know why im posting this seemingly irrelevant link, ill come look at the site for you if you like