permaculture

["WWOOF Taiwan" <wwooftaiwan@hotmail.com>]

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience using (lots of) human urine in a garden setting? In particular, I am trying to find ways to use the urine from many visitors to a large rooftop garden. It is my understanding that the composting toilet that we will use up on the rooftop will have some urine leachate as well as some urine that will be kept separate from the feces. Any ideas for a greywater system or will urine (or urine leachate that has passed through feces) be too concentrated for that?

And another separate question along similar lines: does anyone have experience using rice hulls in a simple bucket-toilet humanure system (ala Joseph Jenkins)? The rice hulls in a compost pile two years old have not decomposed in the least (and that's after soaking in a bucket of urine and feces for a week or so). I think i'll stick with sawdust, but its harder to find in Taiwan.

Peter

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I used to eat White Oak acorns when i was a kid and remember them tasting quite good and many times better than Red Oak or other oak species in our neighborhood in southern Wisconsin.

WWOOFTaiwan@hotmail.com

>From: "jamie"

>Reply-To: permaculture

>To: "permaculture"

>Subject: RE: [permaculture] acorns

>Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:03:36 -0000

>

>Thanks to Rob and Kathy for their comments. I know that J Russell Smith's

>'Tree Crops' was an essential foundation text in the development of

>Permaculture and wonder what work has been done by permaculturalists in

>respect of the breeding work for oaks (as well as many other forage and food

>trees) advocated by Smith?

>

>The 'cork and pork' dehesa system of Portugal and Spain using Quercus suber

>(cork) and Q. ilex (for feeding pork and with Q. ilex var. ballota to feed

>humans without need of leaching) continues, I believe, to this day. Does

>anyone know if such a system has been introduced to the US in the South West

>perhaps, where I know from friends Q. ilex volunteers freely? Are there low

>tannin US species of acorn that can be eaten out of hand? Or work toward

>such an end?

>

>On calcareous soils (such as I have here in France) chestnuts do not thrive

>and acorns become the obvious alternative and, inspired by Smith's words and

>his sense of urgency that we find alternatives to the erosion prone culture

>of cereals on hillsides (an urgency only increased with the history of

>agriculture in the 20th Century - 'Tree Crops' was first published in 1929

>after all) I'd very much like to follow research done in this area. If ever

>there was a Permaculture project of first importance for temperate

>agriculture then Smith defined it perfectly 74 years ago.

>

>A concerted effort to gather the experience of PCers and researchers alike

>and put together a booklet of the information currently available might well

>kindle/rekindle a system that has been shown to be not only profitable but

>ecologically beneficial. I'm very willing to see what I can uncover here in

>Europe (close to the Spanish border) but wonder if there are others in SW

>USA and elsewhere that might be able to contribute their experience and

>knowledge to help make a compelling case for the adoption of oak-based

>forest systems?

>

>Jamie

>Souscayrous

>

>-----Original Message-----

>From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org

>[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Kathy

>Carter-White

>Sent: jeudi 18 décembre 2003 09:08

>To: permaculture

>Subject: Re: [permaculture] acorns

>

>

>Hi Jamie-  I took a Cherokee wild cooking class and one of the dishes

>was acorn bread... actually more like the texture of corn mush.

>According to Indian Herbology of North America, acorns can be used for

>soup, bread and pudding.  I can't find my recipe book right now, but

>I'll check for recipes.  Indian Herbology says these were gathered

>sometimes, ie 500 lbs per person and stockpiled for winter cooking, so

>I'd assume they were gathered in the fall... and I'm guessing it was

>after first frost just because most things for winter were gathered

>after first frost (grapes, persimmons, hickory nuts).  Were the White

>Oak better?  Above source says acorns have the property of neutralizing

>poison... Just guessing that the high tannin content  does the ph

>thing.  I recall you roast them before grinding, and pour boiling water

>over them to take away the bitter... k

>

> >

> >

>

>

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