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  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Permaculture
  • Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:18:49 -0700



All this talk of preparing for senior years leads me to think of permaculture. Design your homestead in a purposeful manner, that each utility, structure, plant and animal fits into a circle of life. Employ minimal human inventions and maximal natural conditions. Let Nature do as much work as possible. Use gravity to move water and nutrients to where they are optimally used. Plant fruit trees where poultry feed on and clean up spoiled fruit, thereby diminishing disease.

A specific example I have written about before: At Heartwood, the Taj Mahen is located uphill from the main garden area. It is at the southwest corner of a good-sized run built of dog-pen wire and extends down to the northwest corner of the garden. Kitchen scraps, rotten garden goodies, and weeds are tossed into the run at the high corner. Hens eat and scratch. And peck and scratch. And scratch and scratch. By gravity, each scratch moves poop and dirt downhill toward the garden where is a gate. I open the gate and shovel out very rich soil which is then moved into a compost pile very close by or directly onto garden beds. If I really had my act together, said poopy dirt would fall by gravity into a compost heap. Hm.




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