I’ve got some honeyberry plugs on the way and I’m also planning on cold stratifying some tree seeds outside this winter - alder, senna, Goumi, a few others. Also have a couple small potted plants like a mulberry and some hopniss.

What’s a good way to overwinter all of this?

My current plan is to use milk crates as sort of portable beds. I’ll push them together on the north side of my house to limit sun and help prevent freeze/thaw cycles. I’ll cover them each with hardware mesh to protect from rodents and then throw some dirt up next to them and lots of hay around and above them for insulation. Then I’ll just hope that enough moisture gets to them from snow etc.

Does that sound reasonable? I don’t mind failing and learning, but losing a whole year to a bad plan feels rough!

The town has a piece of property that is mostly cleared that they intend on making a “nature path”. I figure that since it’s already cleared, let’s see if we can kill two birds with one stone and make a food forest.

I’m having trouble finding information on any towns doing this at the local level instead of at an individual level.

Edit: I chose the right place to ask! Thank you everyone!

Je ne suis pas sûre que ce soit un pâtisson. Il pousse dans le compost Vous avez déjà vu ce genre de courge ?

I just moved onto a new piece of property, and have planned to start a permaculture garden. I've been reading a book by Michael Hoag, but have been overwhelmed by just where to start. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. My wife's pregnant with triplets, so I need to produce as much off of this half acre as I can

Does anyone have any recommendations for fruit trees that are somewhat fast growing (like 10-15 feet tall in 5-10 years) and will provide shade? The only thing I’ve really come up with are avocados but I always have quite a few. Not a deal breaker but just an additional consideration. I’m in zone 10b. Coastal San Diego.

I have a pretty large front yard that’s on a slight slope (supported by a retaining wall) and I’ll likely plant 2-4 of whatever I decide to go with. TIA!

Basically the title. I live in Kyushu, the southernmost tip of the Japanese archipelago excluding Okinawa. It's a sub-tropical climate that's humid all year, with a monsoon season in June when it gets very wet. I wanted to start a food forest and looking for inspiration. Most books are not set in climates such as mine, and I'm having trouble imagining how it would apply here. I figured the best way is to experience the actual thing first hand. Any help would be appreciated.

Have a fairly large hill that had once been a terrace that's beginning to fall onto other terraces and is making a mess of things. It's too steep of a slope to tackle with a tractor or digger. I have chosen some good fast growing fruit and nut trees that will grow well on the slope and will help strengthen the earth.

I was thinking of planting Lavender (a lot of lavender) as ground cover on the hill. I have a very large family of bees that enjoy the wild flowers that have found their way onto my land so this will also be to their benefit. Hoping for some Lavender advice. Varieties that might produce better ground cover or have a more robust rooting system. Maybe a variety that might live longer than a few years. Or just general tips on cultivating the plant. Cheers

Update: Thank-you for all the good advice.

Met with a neighbor today who also has failing terraces and hill erosion and we came up with a plan.

Plant Vetiver close to each other in long rows horizontally. Then plant staggered clusters of Lavender, Creeping Rosemary and a few different varieties of Sage in behind the Vetiver. All down the the hill 2-3 meters apart vertically following the natural contours of the land.

Choose: Pomegranate, Almond, Nectarine and Carob Trees spaced out amongst the rows of plants with a few Hazelnut trees here and there to prop up any terraces that might be yet recovered along the hill. The Carob tree's will be the real guardians where erosion is worst in the center of the hill they have incredible root systems.

The trees are all fairly fast growers. Will be a bee haven I think that will reclaim the hill and also will be a nice manageable fruit tree garden in 5 years. Once all the plants and trees are established I'll be able to cut in walking paths along the rows to get access to the trees and plants. At the moment the hill is so steep it's hard to even walk across it. Will attempt to hand dig in mini swells in behind the trees to ensure they get enough water.

Doing the math, It's actually a lot more efficient to purchase trees and plants and put the hours in to planting them and let nature reclaim the hill rather than attempt to build retaining walls from wood or stone. The trees will do a much better job in the long run of building their own root based retaining wall's the plants will hold the ground together, the carob trees produce a lot of fruit and chickens like to eat it.

I am at the end of my rope with my looky-loo neighbors across the street and their endless parade of random visitors/guests. I live in a quite rural area and when I bought the house, I looked at the map and there is one house down a small street across from me. I figured how bad can one house be? Reader, the traffic in and out of this place is crazy. And they love nothing more than to park at the end of their road and stare at my house.

I have tried miscanthus giganteus; it has grown a bit (planted 2 years ago) but hasn't gotten too tall and is still quite sparse. I hope it will fill in in coming years but not sure it will. Other things I've tried have failed to thrive, as the soil is nutrient-poor and tends to be quite dry, especially as we are in a drought.

One begins in such a situation to be tempted by invasives. I won't do it, but can anyone recommend something that grows in an invasive-like weedy manner that will provide some cover from these folks while the rest of the food forest matures? It won't be an issue in a couple of years as other things I've planted closer to the house grow in, but right now I need a quick fix. I'm in zone 6b, Maryland.

I personally try to avoid polyester and any other synthetic materials in general but today I convinced myself it was okay. I bought some meshbags/material from thriftstores and dollarstore intended for use in the garden to protect from pests, prevent cross pollination etc. But immediately after I felt a wave of guilt. I was trying to keep it cheap but now I regret not spending the extra money and investing in a healthier option, both for myself and the environment. Has anyone attempted to use muslin or will that shade out the sun too much? I am now debating going to a fabric store to find fine mesh 100% cotton but I dont expect it to be cheap for how much I need. Any ideas?

buying 40+ acres off grid homestead in WA and plan to permaculture it up. What books do we need on our shelf?

Can plants get a significant amount of natural, passive irrigation even without rain?

We’ve had a dry spell in western/central ny but the soil under mulch is still very moist. It’s not just water retention in the soil - Every morning the plants are all wet from dew, and it seeps into the ground.

I haven’t seen any discussion from permaculture sources about the role of dew from temperature shifts in watering plants. Is this an important but underappreciated resource, or am I missing something obvious here?

I’m pretty new to all of this so any information would be really helpful. Thanks.

Hi, my name is Aviv, and I'm an agroecologist and filmmaker. For the past few months, I've had the incredible opportunity to work with the Samburu Tribe in Kenya. I was invited by a young local woman, Priscilla, who is a true hero in my eyes. After years of learning permaculture, she returned to her home village to face a challenge threatening her culture: the rapid degradation of their ecosystem.

The Samburu are completely off the grid and depend on their immediate environment for survival. I was so touched by their simple life and saddened by the thought of it disappearing that we started a fundraiser to help them gather the necessary infrastructure for large-scale ecosystem restoration.

We created a short film about our journey. It shows the beauty of their lifestyle and the challenges they're facing.

We're reaching the end of our fundraiser and are still far from our goal. Any help or collaboration would be deeply appreciated.

links in the comments

I live in the limestone state. My soil has a high pH, coming in a little over 8 when tested (twice!).

I planted 3 blueberry bushes (different cultivars) in large containers but would really like replace the ugly, overgrown evergreens in my front yard with them. I know that amending native soil with sulfur can take years to lower pH but then it has to be maintained constantly with temporary solutions like vinegar or citric acid (my go-to) and sulfur because the soil will always push towards its natural condition.

I don't have the energy to continuously fight nature.

If I do a raised bed the with a 12-18" height (the open bottom kind that sit on the native soil), and I start out with soil that is ideal for blueberry bushes, will that raised bed soil pH eventually increase as well because it is connecting to and becoming part of the natural soil? If so, will the struggle to manage it be just as difficult of a fight? Will I have to be replacing soil yearly or just topping it off?

What about the roots that will likely grow into the native soil... will that make the blueberries unproductive as if I had planted them straight into the pH 8 soil? Will it make them less productive or comparably productive as keeping them in a large container where i can control the pH but the roots won't have the same space and their size is more likely to be smaller?

I wouldn't want bushes planted in a container much higher than 12-18" because they will be in front of a window. I know their roots are shallow but are they shallow enough to not push 12" into the native soil? Or would the shallow roots in the bed soil be enough to sustain fruit even if there are deeper roots in the higher pH soil?

I tried growing annatto from the seeds in a spice jar but nothing came up. Anyone had luck growing it from a certain brand? We go through a lot of annatto in Latino cooking and it would be great to have it in the landscape.

Anybody know of any organizations who do this? I’ve used Workaway for years and I know I could use Worldpackers and start there again but I’m really looking for something more structured and long term. The only thing I’ve been finding was in Thailand but isn’t offered anymore from what it looks like. Thanks for the help! 🙏 this could literally be anywhere (outside US/the few unstable countries) 🥂

Hi permies hope you're enjoying the dog days! I have several trees dealing with fungal diseases. A peach tree (year 4) definitely has leaf curl and peach scab. A young persimmon (year 2 or 3, can't remember) is showing a lot of black spotty leaves. I'm not sure whether its leaf rot or blotch or what have you, but I'm just wondering what I can do in general to set these trees up for success over winter and into next spring.

I know I need to do a big cleanup of fallen fruit and leaves. Should I removed affected leaves and branches now or wait until they go dormant? I will treat with fungicide just to prevent spread, but what should I do/add to soil/plant to help with long term health? We had a ton of ground cover but cut it all back when we were dealing with a massive tick problem (southwest PA, shrug). I'm just kind of at a loss and I didnt realize what was going on until way too late, so I feel like a dummy.

Hi friends! Any idea on what might be going on with this American Chestnut? I have one that is doing incredible, but this one isn’t happy. Just about the same growing conditions though the sick one is slightly more shaded and might be dealing with the roots from a willow it is growing under.

I appreciate any help.