Sage Chara

Came here to ask pretty much the same thing! We have a sink and dishwasher hooked up to empty into a future banana plant area. I’ve seen recipes for creating one’s own Castile soap detergents, as well as recipes for using Castile soap sprays on plants without harm, so I’m assuming it would be safe for the garden area? If anyone has any input, that would be much appreciated, thanks!

Loving all these ideas! Has anyone seen/have ideas for a sturdy looking stand that could easily be brought in with a tractor/mower on the off season?

I'm not sure if it's the same in the rest of the world, but here in my little corner of Australia I've come across something alarming...for anyone who wants to buy heritage breeds the going rate (Australian dollar) per dozen eggs is $60-80, and going rate per pullet is ~$65. That's not show quality either, which are going for $150/dozen eggs. Is that reasonable? When all the costs are put together is that the actual value of it all? Are all the folks who want a couple chickens in their backyard just getting duped? Or should I just close my mouth, find some good quality heritage breeds, and jump on the bandwagon?

A lot of my reaction I suppose comes from purchasing chicks in Vancouver 10 years ago when I was getting 3 day old purebred heritage breeds for $5 each from local farms (CAD and AUS were on par then as a reference, but of course that was all pre covid and all that too). I mean...in our area now, you can purchase a calf for the same price as purchasing a pullet :/ Is this just the new world we live in? Interested to know other folks thoughts from a Permaculture perspective!

Congratulations winners!

I felt a bit like a little kid checking each day to see if I had won...and a bit bummed I didn't! Told my hubby, then continued to go about my day, only to find out that he instantly went and ordered the book for me :D Very much looking forward to reading it once it arrives!!

Jenny Wright wrote:A quick search turned up "Raising Wildlings" a podcast from Australia that addresses along other topics "tips for... a mother wanting to learn more about why play is so important and how to get children outdoors safely, then this is the podcast for you." wildlingsforestschool.com

Natureplay.org.au looks like it could bea good resource to ask your questions. There was specifically an app on their website for ages 0-3 about playing outdoors in nature.

I'm sure there are lots of other good resources out there once you know what to look for! 😊

Thank you so much!!!

This thread was linked in the similar threads section which may be of help:

https://permies.com/t/37700/growing-nitrogen-fixing-cover-crop

From a quick read-through it looks to be a good thing to do as long as the plants going into it have a head start. So may work better with plants being transplanted in vs directly sown? Or when ready to plant in it, just really aggressively chop n' drop the clover?

Don't have the answer, but just here to say I'm very curious to find out as well! I have a big bag of clover, and a brand new veggie bed that has time to sit over Autumn and Winter. Unless there's a definite no answer from someone, I may just give it a go in this bed and see what happens...for science!

I was recently told by someone that cats have no place in a Permaculture design (particularly in Australia with the native wildlife), and I'm interested to know what others think!

My response was that we have a massive Maine Coon cat, who makes us happy. His access to the outside world is via a sprawling cat run that makes use of an over shady part of our yard, and has a dog kennel built into it as well. His litter area is outside in the cat run, and uses coconut coir as the material, which can be removed and all composted down in an area far away from our growing. We had issues with mice in the shed, but hubby extended the cat run so Townsen could get in there, and overnight no mouse problem.

Their response was that a "proper" Permaculture homestead should have no pest problem...and thus no reason for cats.

What say you?

I've had similar thoughts around here -- before I took a Permaculture course I'd just stick anything anywhere and hope for the best. Now I know about stacking the different functions etc, and I end up in a bit of paralysis because I feel there's probably a better solution or place for each thing. There comes a point where I just have to jump in and start, otherwise I'll be planning for the rest of time

There are many things I'd redo on our property if I could start from scratch again, but I'm not sure I'd know of the better ways to do things if I didn't make the mistakes in the first place. I agree with George re:prototyping -- I doubt there are many folks who have completed a PDC and have gone out and made a perfect design on their property from the start. Needs grow and change over time.

Through all that, my suggestion is to just get started. Don't concrete anything into the ground, but you've spent time observing your property, so go off that. Yeah, you'll probably want to change layout or positioning etc, but you won't know that until you put it in the "wrong" place to begin with!

Anne Miller wrote:I like Tereza's suggestions about using herbs.

Here is a pictures from a thread that might help:

Tips Tricks Gardening with Wee Ones

That thread is fantastic, thank you so much for linking it! A lot of great ideas and I absolutely love this quote:

justplainmarie wrote:No matter what you’re raising on your homestead, and no matter where it’s located, remember that your number one crop, your most important harvest, will be your children.

It also brings back the importance of why I'm doing all this and why it's so important not to just take the easy route and leave her inside...want her to be just as comfortable spending her days outside as in, no matter what her age.

I'll see what I can find re:spiders and different herbs etc as well, great idea Tereza!