Permaculture

[hannah j]

http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/8104_0/permaculture/perm...

which goes with this:

http://www.archive.org/download/PaulWheatonPodcast020ThirtyTinkeres...

 

[pan]

Forgot about the part-shade area near the apple and pear trees: lettuces, spinach, arugula, cauliflower, parsley, kale.

 

The apple looks to produce a huge harvest this fall based upon the number of blossoms.  Been gradually pruning both trees each year to try to get them to fruit trees rather than shade trees - the first year we were here the neighbor commented that we were the first to actually pick the fruit in decades.

[pan]

Having an ongoing issue with an infestation of pill bugs.  They thrive in the dampness of our mulch and, instead of just cleaning up decaying matter, they attack the roots of live plants.  Our research hasn't led to any viable solution other than insecticide powder around the roots - most sources don't acknowledge that they can be destructive in the garden instead focusing upon house infestation.   Any ideas?

[hannah j]

1. have you tried diatomaceous earth?  it really worked for me. 
2. have you tried beer in tuna cans buried to level of soil
3. i read something about sluggo, but avoid sluggo plus
4. get chickens

make sure it is horticultural grade diatomaceous earth.  i used to make circles around the base of my tomatoes and pepper plants.

[waldopaper]

Just returned last night from 3rd annual trip to mrea energy fair.  as always, lotsa cool shit.  the overall attitude seems to have moved from "convert the great-unwashed" to "fuckit," which i found refreshing.  the bullet-heads aint gonna pop to it until 1) they are evicted 2) the grid goes down 3) all of the above.  the trick is to avoid them spudnokkers.  mainly, to stop thinking about them.  who knows what's gonna happen or how the noodniks are going to react?  it makes sense to scale back on energy consumption because it's the right thing to do and let it go at that. 

did not attend as much food-growing stuff this year and bought naught because of no-bread fixed-income poverty "retirement."  great advances in solar technology... and lots of enthusiasm for electric vehicles- although not as many present as last year.  the bitw guy was back, just as cool as ever... and really happy with the new low-energy freezer he discovered last year. 

when tshtf, the peeps are going to mob wal--mart to buy generators on plastic.  when there are no generators, the plastic is maxed, and food becomes scarce... it's anybody's guess.  i definitely do not want to become a "survivalist" defend-the-perimeter doorknob, and the zen-slipcraft technique should be to avoid all that shite.  that's what i is gonna show to the kids... me own last-huzzah will prolly be somewhat different.  

lots of cool shit with rammed-earth and timber-framing.  thinking about taking a tramp-ship to granfors to learn the craft... if i can write a fucking grant for it... or something. 

I think we all gotta do the best we can with what we have right where we are... in a way that doesn't pig-up energy or fuck a bunch of other people.  Dealing with the tweekers and their hydrogenated-corn-oil is another discussion. 

Is the "defense" mentality incompatible with permaculture? 

 

 

[hannah j]

very cool!  i have been trying to get my ettrick, wi, friend to go for the last years....  he has 20 acres he has worked on since the 70s, with lots of apple trees, a few veggie gardens and great flowers.  he also used to grown other, ahem, things,  he has the perfect set up for a wind/solar but hasn't done it. 

i have been moving from convert to fuck it, too.  i do know that growing things makes me feel better. 

have you read the road?.....

i will not be a survivalist, i don't want to just survive.  i love my life now, could simplify it even more, start using pen and paper....

we're at the tail end of a nice storm, very refreshing, just a little hail.

thanks for the update!  yes i think the defense attitude is not compatible. 

[waldopaper]

I am always thinking/preparing for my own personal last-minute/strike-out moment... and i believe that is absolutely the LAST thing the kids should be thinking about.  It's me own thing- and i keep it to meself.  So far it seems the stupid-heads fall into the loo WAY before i can kick them with great force.

btw- saw a rocket stove and other mods live-in person.  seems to be a trend among the permies!  Growing power goes downtown...

[waldopaper]

cool. i mostly relate to the "punks."  aint into he artificial make-yourself-look-different shit... like the metal and the dyed hair... but go for it kids... whatever trips yer trigger... especially if it represents a deeper ethos... and especially one that aint manufactured by the "merchants of cool." 

now- back to the mrea trip... there was a weird side.  There was a bar in the hotel where Brother Dave and I stayed called the "Tilted Kilt."  No link provided... because I said I would check it out when I got home... and I did.  So lemme tell ya right-off that both Brother Dave and I are both into young cuties exposing flesh... what fun!  But like all fun things in our purely "capitalist" culture, they soon get exploited by hair-helmet fucks bent on making buck$, 

I could give less-than-a-shit about "sports bars" or anyplace else with giant plasma-screen TVs.  But little "Shelby" was real.  First of all, I know a thing or two about REAL Scottish and Irish pubs... and although it's been some years since I've been in one... there were NO TVs in ANY of them.  I probably drank meself senseless in those Scottish and Irish pubs right around the time little Shelby was born.  Cuter'n shoes-on-a-bug, Shelby was, and brought drinks promptly to the two old "college perfesser" tourists attending mrea. 

now- to ye ladies- there is nothing wrong with hoo-hah delight of an old man looking upon the beauty of a young'un yer granddaughter's age.  It gets all fucked up when you make an "action plan" and all that Ned Flanders do-be-do-do shit.  It just wonders the fuck outta me why so many old men can't appreciate the beauty fo Nature without wanting to stick their fucking nasty wrinkled sausage in the fucking birthday cake.  

So anyway, little Shelby sat down at our table and talked to us.  I had no idea (at the time) that it was part of her "job: as an "entertainer," but I got to ask some interesting questions and got some interesting answers. It was Shelby's last week because "management" really sucked and she found a better job as a bartender.  Shelby is a student (damn me- i forget her "major") and she's just trying to get her ticket punched and as a sideline- actually learn something useful. 

I admired the hell outta Shelby and her ability to parse the questions once she was aware that we both were not looking at her boobs ALL the time (can't speak for Brother Dave)... and that she really-really was an actual genuine young-person who had something to say.  I don't think we left her much of a tip because we're both fucking broke.  Sweet, intelligent young thing- Shelby is.  May Allah watch over her all the days of her life. 

Now, if you get into the "Tilted Kilt" story, it will make you want to fucking vomit.  A bunch of rich-ass hair-helmets in Las Vegas struck on a way to make "munny" on the society of spectacle.  And who-the-fuck would get off on the combination of tele-screen "sports-games" and "live" tits?  Well- ok- the "live tits" I can understand... but any "game" that distracts from the beautiful curve of nature Herself is truly FUCKED UP.  The "Tilted Kilt" franchise operation is trolling for senseless fucks with $1M net and $500k liquid to plow into this fucked-up "investment" that would take a really old-specialized PhD to figure the ins-and-outs. 

All I can tell you... as a junior-grade "academic" is... this is REALLY fucked up. 

 

[BO]

Your description of the tilted kilt (whatever the fuck that is) sounds a bit like a Hooters rip off. Their website takes a day and a half to load, but the vibe is typical brain dead NASCAR loving, bear-drinking redneck mentality. Big tits, yeah, woof woof. Women as objects.

Not to say this old man doesn't love the female form. I derive no greater pleasure than eyeing a young lady. But, ya gotta do it with respect. 

There's a topless/bottomless bar in north seattle that I got drug to once. it was a bachelor party. I was surprised to find out that most of the 'dancers' were college students--making really good money. After talking to one of them, I didn't feel quite so sorry for them anymore. The whole thing was a pretty matter of fact business deal from their point of view. They knew their youthful beauty was a commodity they wouldn't have forever, so they were making an investment in the future by stripping for their college education--and keeping in shape too.

Never been to a Hooters. Although I did have a girlfriend once who liked to go to topless bars. Go figure.

[BO]

BTW, there's been so much rain around here, I'm getting the sense that the woods are closing in on me. All the native plants round here are exploding with new growth. Had to resort to the roundup today to fight back the fucking weeds. Problem is...when you're too broke to buy decent ground cover, the weeds take over in a hurry. Not that there's anything wrong with weeds, but a man's not a man--according to suburban culture--if his yard is full of uninvited organisms. Real men know how to control their weeds, and their women. (kidding ladies)

[hannah j]

http://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening-blog/raised-bed-gardening-che...