On the last day of our Permaculture Design Course (PDC), Wayne Weiseman our teacher asked the class this same question, “What is permaculture?” Each student was asked to come up with his or her definition and internalize it. For me, certain aspects unique to permaculture always stand out. One is that the very idea of permaculture comes to us in …
Shade Garden: Permaculture in Dark(ish) Yards
Shade gardens are often the topic of frustration among gardeners. They are especially so for those of us who want to make the most out of our land but think we might not be able to grow food due to the lack of sun. I recently shared a photo of shade plants that was posted on the wall of a …
Fall Garden Maintenance
Author Clara is a retired business owner, who currently works in community gardening. She operates GardenerGigs, which aims to connect local gardeners with those who need them. It’s fair to say that productive gardens are born in the fall, a time when many people are tempted to put away their gardening tools, fertilizers, and lawn mowers until next year. Think …
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What is Composting? And how to get started
In this blog, we’re going to attempt to answer the very basic question, “What is composting?” Perhaps you are keen on composting because you want to produce rich fertile soil that is best for growing healthy food in. Perhaps you aim to close the loop in your consumption cycle by going “zero-waste.” Whatever the case may be, starting with a …
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Best Sustainability & Climate Change Solution: Grow Your Own Food!
What you can do about climate change As Geoff Lawton put it, “All the world’s problems can be solved in a garden.” At this point, if we haven’t yet convinced you that gardening is the green choice, why not try closing the loop on our food consumption by starting with composting. Here’s a little blog we wrote about how you …
Gardening in California Successfully
California’s climate is generally called “Mediterranean.” Yet it ranges across the state from the hot deserts, as in the case of Death Valley, to the sub-artic, dry, mountain regions of Western California. But what does a Mediterranean climate consist of and why is it harder to garden in California than in other parts of the United States? A Mediterranean climate …
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Permaculture Student K-12 Online
This is a sample video lesson from week 3 of Matt Powers’ Permaculture Student K-12 Online course. Matt interviews soil scientist Dr. Elaine Ingham about the different biological processes in the soil. Dr. Ingham explains how plants generally need two forms of nitrogen to grow. These cannot come in the form of N2 which we get from the air. Neither …
Bees – Pollinators and Friends
If you take a look at your garden right now (and it’s in season), you can be sure that there are dozens of pollinators, large and small, working diligently to collect pollen or eat nectar. These creatures are essential partners with many of the vegetables and fruit trees in our gardens, who rely on them entirely for their reproduction. This …
A Medicinal Herb Garden
Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links. The small commission we receive if you choose to purchase goes towards making this gardening education available for free! We do not affiliate for anything we do not personally use. Thanks so much for your support! BTW, If you want to listen to the audio version of this post, it is at the …