Joylynn Hardesty

 Instead I got dead nettles ...

Well now, dead nettle can be eaten as well. All above ground parts are safe, but the better portion is the top three inches of a stalk, while flowering. Raw it is best as a small portion in a salad. It tastes a bit musty to some folk. I fix that by putting it in spicy dishes.

Bogdon, thanks for sharing your story with us. Do you know the latin name of your reed?

I don't understand this. How does contour direction influence garden length? By "length", do you mean the direction of the long axis of the hypothetical rectangular garden beds?

My garden beds run north and south. The rows of vegetables run the same direction.

I read the same information when I started gardening. So I set up my garden that way.  The paths were straight down the slope. I lost lots of rainwater that way, and erosion was a thing.

Permaculture taught me about swales and catching to sink the water. Most of my garden is now set up with paths, on contour, that are dug about 5 inches deep. In thunderstorm weather, they catch the rain.Then it seeps underground, watering each bed on its way down hill. In my situation, the beds happen to be precisely east to west. I only have to water my garden in July and August. Most folk in my area water several times each week all summer.

And wouldn't you know it, my garden grows and produces food, while set up “wrong”. Whatever compass direction your contour is, that is how I would chose your garden length. You and I just have to pay more attention to the plant height in adjacent beds.

Regarding the California map, OTTERS is right! We lived 1/4 mile from a beach on Monterey Bay. There were otters in the water 60*/* of the time. We had.a sandy beach, and otters prefer a rocky shoreline.

Welcome to Permies!

I would place the building the furthest from my house. Less interruptions of your tasks during those events when you have your own unrelated chores to get done.

Last frost here is April 15th. But it has been warmer than average, and everything wild is growing bonkers! These are beefy resilient grex, that have been said to do okay 2 weeks before last frost. 4 days before last frost? That'll work! These happen to be pole beans, (or half runners maybe?) so they are planted really close together. Bush beans are planted in rows, about 4 inches apart.



This bed was mulched with leaves over the winter. You can see I am holding back the leaves on one side of the row with an old edging so they don't fall into my work area. I rough out a shallow trench in the bed with my 3 pronged weeder. I place the seeds in the trench. I poke the down with my fingers till they are 1 to 2 inches deep. I tamp down the soil over the buried seeds.

Then I scatter 2 to 3 inches of leaves on top. These happen to be from an oak. River oak? I refer to the small leaf below. Mulching all done. The beans will pop up through the leaves and no weeding needs to be done. None at all. Leaves of this size and shape work great! I do need to get that trellis built next week…



The larger lobbed oak leaves do not work for this purpose. The beans will sprout, but are trapped under the “interlocking” lobed leaves. Maybe chopped (mown over) leaves could work?

That's my trick. Do you have one?

My favorite herbalist is Sharrol Tilgnor. She has spent time with us here on Permies several times.

From her Permies profile:

Who is Sharol Tilgner?: I am an herbalist, licensed naturopathic physician, farmer/gardener, teacher and herbal medicine maker. My mission is to inspire and empower you with the healing wisdom of herbs. Learning about herbs gives us a tool to live a vital and energetic life. I have spent much of my 58 years wildcrafting, growing, preserving and using medicinal herbs. I am a fourth generation Oregonian, an organic/biodynamic farmer, physician, and herbalist. I teach others to grow, and preserve their food and medicine and stay healthy via natural methods. I reap tremendous joy from teaching people to take charge of their health care. Writing is one of the best ways to reach people, and share my knowledge as a physician/herbalist/farmer...

I recommend Herbal ABC's. Here is a whole Permies thread about the book. There are links there to purchase it.

Yeah, that's probably it. I guess I won't be sampling it though. We have enough bitter greens in the spring to help get our liver back in shape. No need to munch on a maybe ID'd mushroom.

#2  I think wood chips have been applied to all affected areas of the garden in the last couple of years. Though several beds have been since cardboarded with pine needles or leaves placed on top. The mushrooms may be frost damaged.









Here they are drying out after a second frosty night.