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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Another poll

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  • From: David Buitenveld <sarcasticboy@thechicken.coop>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: BPG <bloomingtonpermacultureguild@lists.riseup.net>, openpermaculture <permaculture@openpermaculture.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Another poll
  • Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:20:01 -0700

Hi Keith - answers below, but I will add a brief intro..

I am in Olympia, WA about 20 minutes south of Paul Stamets' mushroom operation.. my wife and I bought 26 acres of mixed pasture and woodland with the plan of inviting family to come live with us and experiment in off the grid living. I did some basic research on the acres/person need to sustain life and hope to eventually get 6-10 of us cooperating on projects here. My livelihood is information technology and my passion is caring for the earth.

A brief interlude - one of these days, when work (and local pro bono projects) are not so overwhelming, I hope to offer some time to those needing technology help.. I do a lot of work with the Drupal CMS system and for those wanting a comprehensive set of web technologies, I highly recommend it - blog, calendar, polling, etc are all offered either out of the box or as trivial add-ons..

anyway, thanks for the polls - very fun and informative!

david buitenveld

Keith Johnson wrote:
We recently asked the 300+ members in the audience at the Peak Oil Conference in Yellow Springs, Ohio, "How many of you are actively gardening?" The total was around 90%. We were impressed. Amazing what folks will do when motivated, eh?

So, I was wondering what kind of percentages are represented by these lists?

With 700ish on ibiblio and however many on Open Oc I'm guessing that the numbers would be at least 60-70%.

I'm especially interested in hearing from those who aren't gardening, what their circumstances are, and why not (?).

As long as I'm asking questions, I might as well add a few more:

How many of you are landless (i.e. not owners of land or gardenable property)? Does this stop you from gardening?
not anymore!!! after moving 5 times last year (yes, 5!) we are finally settled on our homestead.. being landless was mostly a pain the ass, gardening-wise, because it just adds that much more work.. it is SO easy in this culture to just coast, buying stuff from the local supermarket - especially with a hectic work schedule.. not actually owning the garden was just one more obstacle to not deal with..

How many are actively creating complex perennial polycultures?
definitely - I loved the section in Gaia's Garden on polyculture and also on guilds - I am really interested in doing research on different polyculture combinations an, in particular, the use of mycorrhizal additives.. planning for this to be in place before the end of the year.


How many aquaculturists?

in the very near future, yes.. I am the proud "father" of 15 baby ducklings who need a vastly larger habitat than mom and dad needed.. we are planning a small pond with housing (perhaps straw bale) and are hoping to grow a significant percentage of the ducks food needs.

How many are still waiting to do these things?

How many are growing for market or trade? What are your principle limiting factors?

How many in the nursery trade?
considering this, but not yet..

How many landscapers?
my sister is a landscaper and organic gardener in Kingston, WA and we are really hoping to lure her down to live with us in Olympia..


How many designer / consultants?
not yet, but currently enrolled in an Ecological Design program at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture..
Can these questions be answered and quantified in a forum like this?

How many use rock dusts as fertility enhancers (for the garden)?
I don't, but since you asked, maybe I should be? ;-)






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