Bruce Katlin

Brillant!!!

Not much because we has a lot of wildfires here this year.

Howdy,

The “regular bed” has mostly crap dirt with one a layer of home grown compost and one bag of nutrient based soil. Big difference, right?  

Happy growing!

Two years in to my hugel experience and you can clearly see the difference between it and the regular beds. There are two zucchs plants with 7' vines and they have produced a lot of fruit! Under their broad leaves, kale, spinach and other salad items are growing. I'm convienced!

Excited to see what crops up from this year's (2nd) Hugelkultur bed! Due to the massive wildfires & limited rain fall here in northern New Mexico , I have scaled back to two beds this year. Last year's Hugel bed out performed my regular flatbeds 2:1! What have you planted in your this season?

Happy to report that with all your help that my first Hugel bed out performed my 'regular garden beds two to one!!

Thanks all!

Thank you for posting these great resources. I have also made brushed from pine needles and yuccas. Very easy. I make my own pigments from found rocks.

Mike Haasl wrote:This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Animal Care.

In this Badge Bit you will make a hotel for beneficial insects.  If you use pallets, do not use the blue ones.  They are covered in toxic ick.




To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
  - it must facilitate at least three different critters
  - it must be designed to do a halfway decent job of protecting them from rain
  - natural materials and steel/wood fasteners (no glue, plywood, stain, paint)

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must:
  - post a pic under construction
  - post a pic of your finished insect hotel in its final location
  - describe what critters you facilitate and how

Just completed my Pollinator's Palace! Walk, crawl or walk in! All materials used are what was lying around the property. No screws, nail or glue. Looking forward to welcoming my first guests.

Pearl:

Thank you for this amazing offer!

I created my first Hugelkultur bed this year and am looking forward to seeing how it does. I live in New Mexico where water is a precious commodity and am hoping that Hugelkultur and Permaculture will be the way forward for myself and my fellow New Mexicans.

Pearl Sutton wrote:Winter Squash seeds want to go places!
(Can only ship to the US, sorry, international shipping is a problem.)

Landrace seeds are seeds that came from plants that had several parents, it's never certain what exactly you will get. Permies tend to landrace things by letting them breed, so we end up with a type that works well in our area, under our conditions.

TJ Jefferson has landrace winter squash going, a mix of Cucurbita moschata varieties that have been interbreeding in a Virginia garden.
From Wikipedia:
Cucurbita moschata is a species originating in either Central America or northern South America. It includes cultivars known as squash or pumpkin. C. moschata cultivars are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than cultivars of C. maxima or C. pepo. They also generally display a greater resistance to disease and insects, especially to the squash vine borer.

Varieties of C Moschata you may have heard of include: Butternut, Calabaza, Crookneck, Dickinson pumpkin, Golden Cushaw, Long Island cheese pumpkin, Moscata di Provenza, Seminole pumpkin,  and Tromboncino.

These have been known to climb trees! Check this post in What squash climb the best? for pictures and what TJ said about them.

I have on my desk a BUNCH of seeds from TJ!! What will grow from them? Who knows? Want to find out?

So, what I am looking for if you'd like some free seeds compliments of TJ and permies, is post in this thread, and either show pictures of where you'd plant them, or tell us! If you get a PM that says "address please!" reply to the PM with your mailing address, it means you will be getting seeds in the mail! (Sorry, US only, shipping seeds internationally is problematic.) Best posts are most likely to get seeds, make them good and interesting! If you want to play but don't want seeds, put "No seeds" at the bottom of the post.

This free seed offer is brought to you by Permies dot com, TJ Jefferson (who grew the plants!) Greg Martin (who is an evil plant pusher who wants you to grow things SO BAD he'll pay shipping for you to get seeds!) Carla Burke (who has dogs, goats and chickens helping lick stamps!) and me, Pearl Sutton (who has a big bag of seeds on her desk!)  

What will come up? We don't know!
Where will you put them? Tell us, and you just may get some free seeds! 25 seeds per pack, enough to share!

I use a whetstone with much success.