George Yacus

Since it has an ASTM standard listed, one can look it up here:

https://store.astm.org/d5526-12.html

Of note, they use an anaerobic testing, and the percentage on the box simply shows how much carbon escaped/degraded into gas by the end of the test.

1.3 This test method is designed to produce partially degraded mixtures of municipal solid waste and plastics that can be used to assess the ecotoxicological risks associated with the anaerobic degradation of plastics after various stages of anaerobic biodegradation in a landfill.

1.2 This test method is designed to yield a percentage of conversion of carbon in the sample to carbon in the gaseous form under conditions that resemble landfill conditions.

Edit to add: So your proposed definition "Restoring carbon compounds to molecular components utilizable by living organisms in their life processes" probably works in this case if the material degrades to CO2. At least 82% of the glove.

One of the teachers from my local permaculture institute (SPI) just shared this fun resource from ATTRA.  It is the "periodic table of cover crops" developed by Cody Brown.  Enjoy!

Source: https://attra.ncat.org/publication/the-periodic-table-of-cover-crops/

Full size: https://attra.ncat.org/publication/periodic-table-of-cover-crops-full-size/

Image: https://attra.ncat.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/periodic-table-of-cover-crops_table_12192025-scaled.jpg

I know magpies are different from pigeons, but had to share this fun video of a magpie recycling for food.

I just re-read this 37 page e-book, in which Paul builds his case for why the Pastured Poultry Paddocks method of raising birds offers perhaps the best quality of life for both chickens and permies alike.

Here are few more free codes for Paul Wheaton's - 6 Ways to Keep Chickens. Enjoy!

https://permies.com/g/2wu7nv9w95

https://permies.com/g/guxhnvff43

https://permies.com/g/nyr26ktpyo

https://permies.com/g/76r2outjq7

Serena Hartwell wrote:So, my question is, if you were in my situation, how would you proceed?

If I were in your situation, I would sit down with my daughter and take a couple pens and paper, and make a mind map together. I'd write down aspects and elements of the kind of life we want to live. We'd put it on the refrigerator and revisit it and make it grow. Maybe add some colorful doodles, too.

Then I would go to the following website to explore intentional communities:

https://www.ic.org/

I'd do a search geographically, and also do a general search of keywords that jive with the mind map. We'd check out their websites and social media.

We'd pick a handful of these intentional communities to contact and visit. Eventually we might find one we really like that is looking for someone with the awesome skills we have.

I received these codes via various Kickstarters over the years, and I've decided to stop hoarding them and let them run wild and free!

Check out the item from the left column, and if you want the freebie, then come back and use a one-time use gift code from the right column! First come first serve, so no guarantee they'll stick around.

Item	One-time code
Chapters 1-4 of Dairy Farming: The Beautiful Way by Adam Klaus	https://permies.com/g/n1raik22jb
100th issue of permaculture magazine	https://permies.com/g/lgc4oc2w33
pdc evening presentation: jacqueline freeman on animal relationships	https://permies.com/g/c9ilfxba5w
^	https://permies.com/g/hx6g5rzscz
^	https://permies.com/g/ius31mogo2
19 skiddable structures documentary - 36 minutes	https://permies.com/g/z5rgcpsqqh
^	https://permies.com/g/h2ogzdn3f5
^	https://permies.com/g/0qusre81lx
^	https://permies.com/g/2flpjotpog
wofati microdoc	https://permies.com/g/a4dw3ykucw
^	https://permies.com/g/r4xexugugd
^	https://permies.com/g/occgqnrh10
^	https://permies.com/g/gln2fz8h58
Care and Feeding of Rocket Mass Heaters - HD streaming (30 minutes)	https://permies.com/g/txlkbje60y
^	https://permies.com/g/dxru0xwef3
^	https://permies.com/g/cje42slupr
^	https://permies.com/g/xnbgc79dws
Chapters 1-10 of Green Prosperity, by Thomas Elpel	https://permies.com/g/fah7yf7vq5
^	https://permies.com/g/gt9s4qq88e
^	https://permies.com/g/23vsjkep7h
pdc evening presentation: ram pumps with tim barker	https://permies.com/g/hb5voqiumv
^	https://permies.com/g/5hbkcndf2g
^	https://permies.com/g/967atj28x0
Justin Rhodes 45 minute video tour of wheaton labs basecamp	https://permies.com/g/zlggnmaaby
^	https://permies.com/g/1njdimwu9t
^	https://permies.com/g/52ow5n069c
Everyday Artisans - Common Sense Approach to Bread Making	https://permies.com/g/qrn7hg837m
Cook with What you Have - Cookbook by Nicole Sauce & Mama Sauce - PDF	https://permies.com/g/vstvplrwi3
Unofficial Companion Guide to the Rocket Oven DVD	https://permies.com/g/245wxcpgtf
Permaculture Farms Video Presentation by Javan Bernakevitch	https://permies.com/g/qr5m1vi8z2
permaculture thorns, A Book About Trying to Build Permaculture Community - draft eBook	https://permies.com/g/0btttfgc13
^	https://permies.com/g/akal9l9061
^	https://permies.com/g/o1jxz8gdje
Rocket Ovens movie as HD Streaming	https://permies.com/g/ul60osgrtq
Building a Better World in Your Backyard - audiobook m4b format	https://permies.com/g/5l0ebvml6x
Thomas Elpel - one hour presentation "Botany in a Day"	https://permies.com/g/uqrk7g5hah
^	https://permies.com/g/80i0e2g7j7
^	https://permies.com/g/r5k5inls0b
Round Wood Timber Framing: the Berm Shed Movie - HD Streaming	https://permies.com/g/lfowjsixy5
^	https://permies.com/g/8ubf8sd7hd
^	https://permies.com/g/jpg6wjowas
^	https://permies.com/g/c7zn9u0as8
pdc evening presentations: animals in the landscape part 1 and 2	https://permies.com/g/41ijbmm29d
^	https://permies.com/g/5ihnt1nrd7
^	https://permies.com/g/v9h1fcfw8z
^	https://permies.com/g/044tkmapy3

Note: I have not read or watched all of these gems to review them, so my linking to them via my affiliate code is not necessarily an endorsement of their content! But I'll try to get some good reviews of other digital content at a later date.

Hi Judy,

There's a tiny ten page e-book for sale by Kate Downham on the digital market that has good, simple advice.  I think I got it for free as part of a Kickstarter a while ago:

10 things you can do now toward future homesteading, wherever you are.

---

I took a PDC two years ago, and one of the teaching assistants in my design team had this neat advice:

"Your waiting room is your classroom."

In other words, there is a lot of learning that can be done, wherever you find yourself before reaching that next step.  It's easy to get in that rut of "if only I had...[x]" mindset, but the further you go along the more you learn that permaculture can be picked up basically anywhere, at any scale.

Mollison would say that only limits are the designer's imagination and information.  There's plenty of both to spare around here!

P.s If you are looking for ideas on what kind of skills to develop, be sure to check out the SKIP/PEP program!

I noticed there is a new version of Principles & Pathways available.  

I confess that I have not read the first version, but I am familiar with the 12 principles such that I can rattle them off at least.

Has anyone read both versions, and is the updated one worth it compared to the original? Is this a book worth buying  - or better borrowing?  How about the original?  Thanks for the insight!

A quick search shows bat guano (available for purchase) has an NPK ratio of 7-3-1.

Valuable stuff!  

There's so much value wildlife provides that we don't even think about.  For instance, I just learned a new word:

Chiropterophily.

It means pollination of plants by bats -- we're looking at you, bananas, mangoes, agave, guava and cacao!  So in addition to hunting mosquitoes and fertilizing plants with poop, we get... chocolate!?

Likewise, think about the nutrient cycling function of seabirds' guano or salmon swimming upstream, transferring all these trace elements and bits and bobs that washed into the ocean back up to the mountains.  Amazing.

So then, the question we begin to ask as permaculture designers is how best to provide for these animals' needs so as to best capture all these energy and nutrient flows?  That's a fun question to entertain.