The Permaculture Podcast

A non-technical exploration of questions to consider when you decide you want to start a food forest, based on Owen's question: "How do you convert a lawn to a food forest?"

Resources: Philadelphia Orchard Project Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist by Michael Judd

In this episode, I use the question from Owen: "Are there kinds of soil additives I should be using or should stay away from? Conventional wisdom is to look for balanced fertilizer, but I don’t know how much conventional wisdom overlaps with permaculture." to look more broadly at using initial, imported, industrial inputs to create a long-term, sustainable, fertility system around four areas: 1. Collecting Organic Matter 2. Harvesting Household Waste 3. Using Biology 4. Cover Cropping

This is an overview of these ideas. If you'd like me to go deeper on any part of this in an upcoming episode, have thoughts of your own to expand on these ideas, or disagree with me entirely, leave a comment so we can continue the conversation.

This episode comes from Geoff's request to compare Solarpunk and Permaculture. Suggested reading from this episode: Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin's Kim Stanley Robinson's Pacific Edge by Kim Stanley Robinson The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk The anthology: Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World

This episode started with the question:

How do you approach working with clients and understanding their needs and goals?

Suggested reading from this episode: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

This episode is based on a question I received asking:

What is your design process? (site analysis, implementation, and how you approach a design)

Based on this, I walk through the three phases my design process has evolved through over time: 1. Collecting Everything 2. Refining Focus 3. Educating Clients

In this episode, I talk about something that we don’t address enough: the hard work of Permaculture is boring. It’s not heroic. It doesn’t make for a great YouTube short or video to add to your story. The pictures that come out of it are rarely art, or something you’d want to post to Instagram. I hope this episode reminds you why we show up day after day, week after week, for the small, routine tasks of permaculture. If you found this helpful, share it with a friend who might be struggling on their journey right now, so it can be a bit of encouragement to keep going, even when it’s tedious. 

Until the next time, spend each day showing up and putting in the work, as you care for Earth, yourself, and each other.

An update with a bit of big news: we found, made a winning offer on a house in Cleveland, Ohio! When I decided to relaunch the show, I knew it was going to be a rollercoaster-like adventure, with possible delays, ups, downs, and time spent waiting. Thank you for your patience while we move our lives across state lines. Once the dust settles, things are shaping up to bring you new stories, experiments, and voices, from Cleveland, from Ohio, and from around the world. And if you have ideas for what we should tackle first, I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email: show@thepermaculturepodcast.com or visit thepermaculturepodcast.com, click on contact, and send me a message there. Until the next time, spend each day exploring, enjoying, and building your local community, while taking care of Earth, your self, and each other.

Today, I want to talk about another question from Owen: "What are some common mistakes beginners make in permaculture design, and how can they be avoided?"

The thoughts shared in this episode are only one perspecitve, my own. I'd love to hear other ideas on the need to slow down when practicing permaculture, so reach out if you'd like to share how you would do things differently. Text: 717-827-6266 Send me an email: show@thepermaculturepodcast.com Or stop by thepermaculturepodcast.com, click on Contact, and send me a direct message.

My family and I are in the process of finding a house in a new city, which will bring a new future for us and the show. Listen to find out more about where we're going and what this means for The Permaculture Podcast.

Today's question comes from Owen:

What does it look like to put a permaculture garden to bed for the winter? Mulching / tilling / planting cover crops / none of the above / something else?