Dave Green

I'd mulch with loads of compost (made on site or bought in with a wheelbarrow).

I used loads of hay for mulching last year and stuff like lettuce and certain seedlings had no chance against the slugs. I've heard that compost is more effective as a mulch in the UK so am trying that this year along with trying wood chip over compost on some other beds

Goofballs isnt really a word they use in my parts but if I saw that I would think it's a bunch of people mucking about rather than a serious community

Burra Maluca wrote:

Dave Green wrote:From all this, I think there is a big opportunity for experienced PDC teachers out there - offer an exam or a service that enables people to get certified just by submitting a design rather than watching videos as well. This way people could be judged on their designing ability without having to buy a $1000 course of videos. On my course they had no way of knowing if I actually watched the videos, so someone should just offer the certification service.

If anyone did that, it wouldn't be a PDC, which I believe has a set minumum number of hours and a set curriculum to follow. It's a course, not an exam.

It wouldnt be a proper PDC as it's not a course, but someone could provide the certification.

On my course you could pass without watching a single video

I did an online PDC and I'm really not sure! I did it mainly so I have some sort of certification for designing landscapes and to force me learn things that I might not be so interested in on my own. I'm implementing the first design for my portfolio right now.

As it was online I got no hands-on experience from it and I also didn't receive any feedback on my design. Some of the backyard designs that passed seemed really really simple and something that anyone who's read a few thousand words on Permaculture could do. This was my main disappointment - could I have done more work or done anything better? Did I do anything that was feasible yet impractical? Was my implementation plan realistic? I didn't even mention the ethics in my design.

I also echo the comment about how most of the course wasn't relevant to my local climate (UK). There was a 20-30 minute video on temperate climates and a few references back to them in other videos. Most of the focus was on warmer/sub-tropical climates. I don't regret doing it for the certification but I think in retrospect I should have spent my $1000 on a 5 day on-site UK course that enabled me to get my hands dirty and use a few earth moving machines.

From all this, I think there is a big opportunity for experienced PDC teachers out there - offer an exam or a service that enables people to get certified just by submitting a design rather than watching videos as well. This way people could be judged on their designing ability without having to buy a $1000 course of videos. On my course they had no way of knowing if I actually watched the videos, so someone should just offer the certification service.

So, bearing in mind that you can source and talk about Permaculture information elsewhere, you are basically paying for the certificate and the certificate's main uses are (A) to start teaching others Permaculture or (B) get work as a Permaculture designer. If you don't intend to do either, I question the point in doing a PDC.

thank you very much Steve! I want to try that idea with the bags

nice one Henry!

i had considered innoculating some beds of perennials but never annuals. I am trying to move towards a more permy approach with less digging and more perennials but will always use at least half my beds for annuals so any way of stacking functions in an annual bed is appreciated, plus if I dont dig them there is hopefully a chance of the mushrooms surviving. I've used some mycorhhriziiahalalalalalazal powder before but that doesnt give me a crop. Using some winecaps seems a great idea, and thanks for the sprout/broccolli idea; i do normally plant them together with some nasturtiums/marigold and some herbs for a bit of a polyculture but hadnt thought of funghi

cheers!

thanks that is great advice


i'd heard that 3-4 diameter inch was ok, i take it that isnt completely true? It makes sense that thinner logs would dry out quicker


It seems to me that mounds of chips would be easier to create than cords of stacked logs, plus I could use any size wood. Going to consider that in my plan as a possible alternative to logs, because this seemed like something that would take a long time if we are talking stacks and stacks of logs and multiple soakings each year. Plus I could keep the bigger wood for timber/poles in the future


If I was chipping a LOAD of willow, do you reckon the dark room is only place I should store it? Would on top of a tarp/concrete and covered by tarp be ok?

thats great advice, thanks Steve


because they are in a building, will there be less chance of other funghi colonising it?

thats terrific Henry, thank you

I now have a decent list of different mushrooms to try. I am going to trial some of this on my allotment if I can get hold of some willow logs/chips

thanks Steve/Edward, this is all great information

If I was planning on doing short rotation coppice, do you think I am risking it a bit by counting on willow logs for innoculating with funghi, due to their anti fungal properties? I was going to mix the coppice with poplar and hazel but was going to focus on willow as they seemed to have the most potential for sellable produce (basketry supplies, rods for gardeners, floristry/decorative) as well as being easy as hell to propagate.

thanks