John Suavecito

There are tradespeople who know how to build exactly one way.  There are owners of building companies who only want to see things built that they can make money on. There are government regulators who are only familiar with a narrow range of building styles.  There are many journalists who have very limited life experience, so they just repeat what some lobbyist is saying.  We have influencers and lobbyists who have very particular motivations to encourage their companies profits.  We have a lot of old, cranky HOA regulators who don't like anything they've never seen in their neighborhood before.  NIMBY!   You put them all together, and you get a lot of arguing, denials and ultimatums.  What you need is people carefully opening each others' perspectives on how things work and how they might work for the benefit of all.

John S
PDX OR

I agree with the posts above. Also consider that sometimes, when a graft isn't perfectly done, it can make a bulge like that, when the tree was deciding if the graft was an invading pathogen or the new tree itself.  I've seen all of the above happen. I wouldn't be too worried.

John S
PDX OR

Still the champ.
John S
PDX OR

Both good points.  There are so many different kinds of media, including permies.com, that I think we need to share across different media.  Many people are stuck in an amazingly narrow niche, and think of everyone else as crazy.  If we can get a broader perspective of people to understand natural building techniques, we can explain that this is a solution to a few different problems:  the housing crisis, climate change, affordability, and pollution, among others.  Just as we need to cultivate the process of having intelligent and respectful dialogues among ourselves, so too do the government agencies and journalists who are trying to cover them.  Perhaps those in the media are not really understanding the depth of the situation.  Just because they have a respectable job in the government or media doesn't mean they have the life experience or connections to a broad range of the populace to understand these issues.

John S
PDX OR

This is an article from the New York Times on an experimental village they made of straw about 120 miles North of NYC:

John S
PDX OR

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/nyregion/straw-house-hudson-ny.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hlA.g5iw.aU9pCEYKTGUM&smid=url-share

The Indigenous here,  when they held dominion over these lands, had a lot of trading processes.  I would argue that people are part of nature, but that currently, most human societies are not in good harmony with the natural role of humans in the ecosystem.  People from the Cascades would trade obsidian with people who live near the Columbia river, who would trade salmon, who would trade shellfish with those on the Coast. People in the Willamette Valley would trade wapato and camas, two abundant vegetables.  I believe that the Indigenous had much better sustainability practices and understood their role in the ecology much better.  Because we are currently so out of balance with the optimal state of nature, we need to try to get it back to a situation in which we help nature and are helped by nature.  I believe that these biochar practices can build on the natural biochar that is created by fires, to make our ecosystems productive again for people and wildlife.  My use of biochar is in line with this ultimate goal, but I have much to learn in this journey, and I thank everyone on this list for helping me to understand how this might work.

John S
PDX OR

Don't forget to add seaweed.  I also add whole wheat flour, compost, worm castings, rotten fruit, rotten wood, and urine.  But add what you can get cheaply.  People with cows and chickens can add the manure, of course.

Yes I'm on a standard suburban lot, so the area may be similar, but the plot of land is different.
John S
PDX OR

I am also in the PNW with acidic soils and lots of drizzle.  I made my biochar with oyster shells for a few years.  Then I discovered that ag lime is REALLY cheap.  The oyster shells are good, but they may take decades to incorporate into your soil.  Ag lime is powderized, so adding it to a liquid biochar drench will make it bioavailable quickly. I have been doing this for years. The soil is great when I look back into it and check into it.  The plants do better and the fruit tastes much better.

John S
PDX OR

Here are two different theories on this topic: the American and the Japanese theories.  The American says move to an old folks home or at least a small house, all on the ground level.  Spend most of your time watching TV and maybe golf.  Eat lots of steaks and processed foods. You've earned it.

The Japanese theory says don't even buy furniture.  Make it so you get all the way up and down from sitting on the floor every day.  Do exercises to stay limber, eat vegetables. Walking up and down stairs is good exercise, and it ensures that you will be able to do exercise.  Connect with your community.

I am American, but I like the Japanese theory better. and that's more what I'm aiming to do.

John S
PDX OR

Interesting idea about wood being less than optimal for small scale producers.  I consider myself to be a small scale producer.  I have a mature food forest in a suburb.   I need to prune the trees and bushes, many times, each year.  I put the prunings in a pile, wait a year, then burn them. Plus, trees grow so well here that someone is always giving away wood.  Wood is high in mass, so you get a lot of biochar for the volume.  Wood seems like an optimal material for a small scale producer like myself. I think of farmers as large scale and gardeners and perhaps smaller orchardists as small scale.  

John S
PDX OR