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permaculture - [permaculture] Re: permaculture digest, Vol 1 #372 - 15 msgs

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  • From: Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Re: permaculture digest, Vol 1 #372 - 15 msgs
  • Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 17:08:15 -0700

At 09:53 AM 10/27/02 -0500, you wrote:
Hi Scott,

Sounds like the chinampa is doing well. I saw it in '96(?) right after Doug
Dorrough and you built it. I'd love to see some photo's and discuss with
you what we might be able to do with our two chinampa systems. One is a
meandering swale and pond with two berms / peninsulas and the other is a 120
foot canal with a raised bed next to it.

Also, I've heard from the earthshippers that the interior greenhouses
supplied with the home's gray water inevitably release some odor. This has
deterred Inger from wanting the gray water from our straw house to go into a
wick set five feet away from the south wall of the house where I had hoped
to build a greenhouse attached to the south wall.

We are still waiting to switch the grey and black water into the greenhouse, we first have to be sure we have enough plants to keep it dewatered. We have ordered four bananas which should be a big help, along with fig, bougainvillea, papaya, citrus, and assorted vines. Tom Watson has told me that the smell comes when you don't have enough aerobic bacteria working the system. The whole idea is to have both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria working on the waste. If you get too much water you create the anaerobic environment.

Chinampas have become the stepchild of our whole system, it needs a lot more plants, crawdads, catfish, and some aquatic plants. I hope to muck it out this coming spring and see how that goes (probable an enormous amount of work) in building the adjacent soil.
In spite of living with other people it is mostly Arina and I who do all the outside work, and ten acres is too much.

Good to hear you,
Scott





  • [permaculture] Re: permaculture digest, Vol 1 #372 - 15 msgs, Scott Pittman, 10/27/2002

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