Searching for Permaculture people

Hello to all that read this,
I've been interested in Permaculture for about 19 years. I'm looking to start up conversations and freindly relations w/like minded types that are interested in trading plants & info on good publications/videos/etc., discuss ideas & issues, etc., do some co-operative problem solving and anything else related. Anyone reading this and clueless as to what Permaculture is, please go to permaculture.net or do a search on your favorite search engine. I gaurantee it's good stuff! Feel free to e-mail also.
Thanks,
Amy

Amy,

Ok, I'm going to have to do a search. I have no idea what that is. :)

Carla....save me the trouble of a search...explain it to me too. Thanks! Jo

amy - welcome from upstate new york. don't know what yhou're talking about but will give it a shot. thanks

Ok, here's the definition of Permaculture: Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. It is also the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.

Thanks, Carla...LOL Lazy Jo

Yes-thanks Carla for the down & dirty description. To all others-thanks for the welcome! I was hoping that anyone doing a search would (search and search and) find lots of great stuff and would get so interested they'd have to keep searching for more (like I've done for years).

I woke up this morning thinking about the mulberry trees I planted yesterday. I thought about the mulberry tree I used to climb and commune w/the birds over sweet feasts when I was a grade-schooler. It came to mind that my new trees would be big enough to sit in and eat mulberries from when I get grandchildred that age (I'm hoping my kids graduate college before they start thier rounds of baby making). Until then, I'll just keep planting lots of potentially yummy stuff for whomever will end up eating it.

Anyone have anything to say about starting new mulberry trees, grapes, blueberries or gooseberries?

Hi canalgal. Welcome to Daves.

Gosh, I remember eating mulberries in my aunts orchard as a kid, but they weren't sweet. Just juicy and messy. The only thing I can think of to say about planting mulberry trees is that I hope you have a dark blue car when they start producting berries because not only will you be sharing with the birds, but they will share in return. LOL! Sounds like you have some great plans for permaculture. Good luck. Hope to see pictures of your place soon.

Canalgal! Welcome :) Great to have you on DG :)

Sounds like you might want to start a thread in the Fruit & Nut Plants Forum or maybe Organic Gardening??? That way everyone interested in that general area will see your thread :)

Welcome again,
Hugs

I to am getting my feet wet in permaculture. I don't trust anything on the grocery store shelves anymore. So many companies are using genetically modified ingredients and who knows what kind of chemical fertilizers and pesticides taint our food. Even the brands we think of as earth friendly and safe are often owned by big nasty corporations(like Con-Agra). A friend of mine recently found out that Rice Dream rice milk, Celestial Seasonings Teas, and Terra Chips are all owned by Monsanto! Every eco-active hippy friend I have has at least 1 of those products in their pantry. So this year I to am putting in berries(blueberries and raspberries)and expanding my veggie growing and no chemicals. Hope to try my hand at canning and dehydrating to. Keep us posted how its going for you.

Hello from Poland NY!
I am SOOOOOO interested in Permaculture. But new to it. www.AcresUSA.com has a wonderful selection of books on the subject. I get their monthly newspaper which is quite educational and somewhat political (can you say greenparty?). I actually like the greenparty but the informative articles have some awesome info. One of the writers mentioned a book called "Tree Crops" by J. Russell Smith. I just finished reading it. PHENOMENAL. 2 story gardening, improve your soil, feed your pigs, cows, chickens with better nutrition than feed or hay and just let them forage for themselves! The book is out of print but you can get used copies at Amazon.
My husband and I recently moved here from a suburb of NYC. We were going to buy a farm after we retired but I realized I was going to die of a heart attack or a spent soul. I am 39 years old and we found a home with 70+ acres and I am raising my 8month old son here. It is heaven on earth and we cannot believe we were able to get this much land. I also joined United Plant Savers (www.unitedplantsavers.org). It is a group that is dedicated to preserve, conserve, restore and cultivate at-risk native medicinal plants. I plan on building a santuary. I am waiting for the local Forest Ranger to come survey our wood lot (approx 30 acres) to help guide us in forest management to support a wildlife refuge and wood for fuel. /www.millernurseries.com/ is located in West Central NY and has breeded a pecan, other fruit trees, and grapes that will grow in my zone 5. I plan to eventually have animals (alpacas and/or sheep, a donkey, chickens...maybe a cow). But MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE now is to plan plan plan. Everything I read on permaculture stresses that labor is everything. So I am designing from my front steps out. I just need to daydream out to 70+ acres (did I say I was in heaven?) I also get Countryside magazine which I HIGHLY recommend. It is a magazine for homesteaders but you get some really innovative ideas from the folks that write in. In the last issue was an article about Soay sheep that are somewhat wild and don't require much upkeep, can be used for wool but don't require shearing as they will scratch on posts and are excellent for meat. I would like to grow Black Locust trees for the fence posts (will last 50 to 100 years) and because it is a legume, they will provide nitrogen for the black walnut trees which I intend to plant. I may be 65 when much of my work is realized but I keep meeting local farmers over 70 that are still working the farm with more gusto then most men half their age. I have been looking at greenhouses on the web and found http://www.geodesic-greenhouse-kits.com/index.php . These are expensive but will withstand the 50mile an hour wind we get here....AND I can get 4 season gardening out of it...AND the fan and heating is solar powered. And they will last a long long time. I could go on and on and on...and probably will. But I would like to hear from you wonderful people. Just signed on today. Quite a gem...I will be telling others about Dave's garden.
Monica