The PermaDesign Weblog, with Nate Downey and Melissa McDonald!
Archives from March 2017
SLIDE 32: A Mulched Basin
Here is another nice drawing provided by Art Ludwig (www.oasisdesign.net). It shows how much is going on under the surface in a mulched basin. Don’t forget to keep the top of your plant material’s nebka (root crown) high, so that your stems and trunks don’t rot after someone takes a super long shower.
03/15/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 31: Filtration “Systems”
Here’s a graphic by greywater guru, Art Ludwig, which shows a side view of the previous slide. The outlet chamber shown here under mulch can be made of an upside down 5-gal plant bucket or a sturdier material such as the lavender-colored valve boxes shown in the previous slide. Either way, small holes are drilled in the side(s) of the circular “boxes” such that greywater can escape into the mulch (where it is filtered and broken down by naturally existing bacteria). Finally, the wet resource seeps into the root zones of neighboring plant material. The holes should be small enough so that no animals can get into the chamber. The outlet of the pipe should be high enough to prevent mice and other small rodents from getting into the pipe (in the unlikely event they squeeze through a hole or burrow under the bucket. For more info about greywater, please see my book “Harvest the Rain,” our greywater page (http://permadesign.com/portfolios/greywater_recycling), or Art Ludwig’s books and website, http://www.oasisdesign.net
.03/13/2017 | (0) Comments
The Future is Bright—and Fishy
From my latest Permaculture in Practice column:
Property owners have a special responsibility now that much of the United States government has been pirated by a self-serving school of science-deniers. Yes, our public lands face peril, and every conscious soul must demand protection for the resources upon which we depend. But those blessed with the privilege of owning private land must do more.
03/06/2017 | (0) Comments
Slow it, Flow it, Grow it
*It's not part of a plan for legalizing recreational marijuana,* says veteran journalist, Mark Oswald, of the Albuquerque Journal in this excellent piece featuring Melissa McDonald. My wife has many great quotes, but my favorite pops up at the end. When it comes to stormwater, she says, *Slow it, flow it, grow it.*
03/03/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 30: Splitting the Flow
Here’s a close-up view of the flow splitter. On the sides of the slide, you can see where the greywater pops out into the mulched basin. The pink/purple circular “boxes” prevent varmints from getting into the pipe. Note that we drill small holes in theses cylinders to allow the grey water to escape and to prevent animals from getting in.
03/02/2017 | (0) Comments
Santa Fe Resource Page
One of the best resource pages for our great city is santafe.com. It has a great calendar of events that is packed full of things to do every day. There is also an extensive list of links for everything from dining to recreation. Whether you are looking for something to do, or want to point some out of town guests in the right direction, this site is the place to go.
03/01/2017 | (0) Comments
Ampersand Indoor Seed Propagation
As springtime nears, get a head start on the growing season with some indoor seed propagation. Our friends at Ampersand will be hosting a hands-on indoor seed propagation event March 18th from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Visit the event homepage for more information.
03/01/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 29: The Branching Pattern
Here’s a good look at how the branching system works. This picture is from a different project than the main example in my APLD lecture, but it provides a good close-up drawing (by George Lawrence, Harvest the Rain’s ever-wonderful illustrator) of the “double elbow” or “flow splitter” designed by Art Ludwig. Without this plumbing part that Art invented, it would be very difficult to send grewywater in more than one direction. That is, we could not use branching, and we could not be very productive with our greywater were it not for this plumbing part.
03/01/2017 | (0) Comments
