Ulla Bisgaard

I am writing a book. The book is about how normal families, living in warm climates, can feed their families using permaculture principles. It will include a timeline about how our own has matured and changed over the 10 years, that has passed since we started it.
Right now some of the topics are:
What are permaculture and poly culture and how are they connected?
How to build a food forest garden
How to decide what to plant and when to plant
Working with nature creating ecosystems
Working with wildlife
Creating climate zones
Plants that are perennials in warm climates, that are annuals in cold climates
How to change dirt to soil
Tips and hacks for less work
Food preservation tips
Logistics and planning
Livestocks to think about.

What am I missing? I would love some feedback from people here, on topics that would be good to add.

The two beds we cleared of Bermuda grass, already have them again. It’s really frustrating. I am trying to see if specific plants will suppress them.

G Freden wrote:Looks good.  Will you be able to add the pockets, maybe at the side seams?  

I am not sure, but I am going to try. The skirt has insets to make it spread out more, and they start in the location where I would normally add a pocket. I am going to try though.

M Ljin wrote:Ulla, I haven’t noticed that about sorghum. I’ve grown one tight-hulled kind and also have some loose-hulled sorts that separate easily. Maybe it would help to try a different variety? Are you growing one that’s specifically noted as grain sorghum?

Yes, I grow the right type, that’s supposed to only have a thin hull. Also, the sorghum you buy in stores, has been steamed before drying. I grow red sorghum/mononite/texacona. I use them for hot cereal and for baking gluten free “rye” bread.
I started researching sorghum, after I saw that the sorghum I bought in the stores, easily became flakes when I used my flaker, while my homegrown didn’t. I found a few videos from India, where they explained this method.

I decided to do the jumper style, since it fits in with other dresses and aprons I own. It also means that I can leave the back lacing as it is. The problem with removing the lacing, is that the company doesn’t color their clothes until after they have finished sowing them. This means that I am dealing with white spots, where I remove the lacing.
I also have many chemises with different types and lengths of the sleeves, I have belts that will fit the dress too, and several blouses I can use underneath it.
This is where I am now. (See pictures)p
On the mannequin it looks too long, but that’s because it’s set to my daughter’s hight. She is 5.4 and I am 5.7.
While the machine and mannequin is mine, my daughter is studying to become a seamstress, so she is the one who uses it the most, until she buys her own.

Burra Maluca wrote:

Jill Dyer wrote:A I can see the neckline filled in with a portion of the cut off bits..

That was my thought too. The detail on that neckline is awesome and I think it would be a shame to alter it, but using some of the sleeve fabric to create a type of modesty panel to close it off a bit, like the one in the photo below only made with the same fabric and maybe shaped a bit more artistically to complement the dress.

A modesty panel won’t work. The neckline is so large, that the sides pop over my shoulders. That said, I love the embroidered detail too.
I have decided to go with the jumper idea, and use the embroidered part for the straps and around the top part.
My daughter is  at school today, so she isn’t using the sewing machine, so I am going to try and get it done today.

Nicola Bludau wrote:I simply started, and hope that these horrible feral deer don't get in! It is autumn so I sowed one bed barley out of the chicken food, another one sunflower (not really a grain) and some fancy ancient wheat they had in the health food section of the supermarket.
I also realised that I can't grow sweet potatoes in the same spot year after year - i have a patch in the front yard that I want to sow with some grains it would certainly look lovely (and the birds probably like it too).
I like my bread and i would like to grow my own chook food.

Why can’t you grow sweet potatoes in the same spot? We are in grow zone 10b, and treat the sweet potatoes as a self seeding crop.
I have grown mine in the same two raised beds for 6 years. I do a 2 year cycle for harvests. Let’s call my beds an and b.
The first year I only harvest from bed A,  but leave the smaller sweet potatoes in the soil. Then I plant beets, parsnips and leeks to grow during the cold season. Once springs come around, the small sweet potatoes I left, starts sprouting and puts out leaves. At this point I harvest the beets, but leave the leeks, as they deters the wildlife from eating the sweet potatoes.
The first year, I don’t harvest bed B. I just leave it alone until fall of the second year. The second year I harvest, but again leave the smallest of the sweet potatoes in the soil. The sweet potatoes have grown huge at this point, with many tubers at 5 pounds each. After the harvest, I grow  beets, diakon radishes and leeks for the cold season, until spring, when the small sweet potatoes set out leaves.
Using this method produces a lot of large sweet potatoes and other crops, without me having to deal with starting sweet potato slips every year. It also gives us access to sweet potato leaves all year round, though I never harvest more than 20%, since anything more will stunt the growth of the sweet potatoes.
I do top off the beds after harvesting, with compost, rabbit pellets, phosphorus and potassium.

M Ljin wrote:I don’t think it is worthwhile for me to grow. They usually get eaten by wildlife, or they don’t flourish. The only one I’ve had moderate success with is sorghum, surprisingly enough, with corn and millet being okay but still being gobbled by birds, going moldy in the cob, or other issues. Not only that but last year I fell ill, and would feel strange and weak and numb other nasty things after eating grains, so I don’t eat them anymore (except in very small quantities). Oddly, I ate the neighbor’s field corn raw, gleaned from the field after harvest, and it didn’t bother me.

There are plenty of other things to eat that trying to grow something that gets chomped and sometimes makes me sick, seems like I needn’t much bother. However, sorghum keeps coming up in conversation and random places, so I might try again this year.

I do grow some grains, but I mostly stick with sorghum. The thing though with sorghum, is that the hull can be tough on your stomach and hard to digest. Like you do with whole oats, they need to soak overnight before use. This allows for the hull to soften up, so they won’t irritate and the nutrients can be absorbed. At least that’s my experience growing and using them. Even if I process them through my flaker, they still are hard. Now I treat them as overnight oats.
I tried millet, but it didn’t like it here, not a single seed germinated. Amaranth did fine, but works best as wildlife food, since it’s a mess getting the seeds out and separating out bugs and dust.
I did corn last year, but rats ate it all. I am going to try growing them again this year, with a thick spray of hot sauce all over the stalks and cobs. Hopefully this works. I want to get us to the point, where we don’t have to buy feed for our chickens.
Right now, they eat extra cabbages and lettuce that has gone bitter, but we have to supplement with a chicken feed.

Carla Burke wrote: These are the kind of jumper I meant:

Thank you for clarifying it.

G Freden wrote:It would be fairly easy to cut off the sleeves at the top the of the lacing and hem them to be short sleeves--either turn under and hem (will be a bit sloppy) or use bias tape to hem.  Then if the neckline is too big, use a large piece of the cut off sleeve to make an inset at the neckline.  I did a very quick photoshop  

Or just make a skirt of it?  If it doesn't have pockets yet, add some too!  

Yes, pockets are a must. The problem with the neckline, is that it keeps falling down over my shoulders, so it would need an extended rework. I could add straps to keep it up, but in general I like dressing modestly. I will think it over.
If I turn it into a skirt, I could use the neckline for the waistband or as a belt, and combine it all with a black blouse or top. If I end up making a top out of some of it. It would probably need some structure support, the fabric are too soft for it to work on its own. All of you are really giving me things to think about.
Thank you for helping