permaculture

[Rick Valley <bamboogrove@cmug.com>]

> From: Sharon Gordon <gordonse@one.net>

Sharon; this is a magnum opus! Thankyou!
a couple comments-
> But it seems to me that one very
> functional place to start would be with a nut tree or bush with lots of
> leaves that can be composted (so not walnuts).
I've read that walnut exercises it's allelopathic power thru root exudates.
Since then I've used the leaves without harm in compost and as mulch.

> As he has designed the
> system, it uses plastic for the greenhouse covering.  I'd like to know how
> it might compare from an overall sustainability viewpoint if glass were used
> as the covering.
Or use of the best-choice plastic with recycling? Glass has phased out for
more reasons than just initial cost.

> And using hot compost beds in the winter would help both of these systems.

which is much easier using movable plastic that travels to the compost
rather than vice-versa. As is done commercially in Portland, Oregon.

>To replace some purely ornamental
> plantings with edible ones such as edible pear trees for Bradford pears,
don't wait, top-work them NOW! They're fine rootstock!


> And then I'd
> check to see if there are millet and amaranth varieties that do well.
  Try some of the Chilean types of Quinua (Chenopodium quinoa)

-Rick