The PermaDesign Weblog, with Nate Downey and Melissa McDonald!
SLIDE 52: Path to Patio
Here you can see how runoff will end up on the patio. Note that all of the canales direct roof water to wicks, so in most cases roof water will be diverted away from the patio. Fortunately, it gets to the roots of other plants via the wick.
08/09/2017 | (0) Comments
Let Nurses Nurse Again
From my latest Permaculture in Practice column:
After finally catching last month’s viral video of Senator John McCain’s dramatic floor vote, I wanted to watch reruns all weekend. Part of me enjoyed the well-known maverick’s just-in-time entrance from another round of pressure from the vice president. Part of me relished the former POW’s extended arm and fingers cocked as if casting a spell, but McCain’s protracted use of an already pregnant pause was what really did it for me. Of course, the former navy pilot’s swift and dauntless thumbs-down followed by a brief gaze at his colleagues on the other side of the aisle added to the political theater, as did the senator’s Santa-style exeunt. Done with his work, he turned with a jerk.
08/09/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 51: Patio Drain
Here a patio drain is covered by smaller stones to prevent sediment from entering the drain box and its associated pipe. Occasionally these rocks and the drain box will have to be cleaned out.
08/07/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 50: Patio to Windbreak
This slide shows how stormwater then travels through a drain and a pipe to plant material in the windbreak.
08/04/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 49: Runoff
The little arrows on the path and in the beds show how runoff makes it to the patio.
08/02/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 48: Patio as Resource
Finally, we knew that the patio that the client wanted to create was located in a depression (near center of slide above yellow tree) that they had dug previous to our arrival on site. In addition to reshaping this relatively protected outdoor space, we added a drain and a pipe designed to divert stormwater (not only from the patio but from the garden beds and pathway that will pour water onto the patio in a large rain event) to a daylight point and swale near the windbreak. This provides a third source of water harvested from the site for the all important windbreak.
07/31/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 47: Trench-Town Roots
All of this work will delivery water to the roots of the plant material located near the wick (colored here).
07/28/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 46: Crossing the Road
The clients wanted vehicular access to the horno patio, so that meant that this wick has a section of non-perforated pipe in between the perforated parts. See how the low end of this wick will provide water (blue line) to the windbreak species from above the greywater’s branches (purple lines)
07/26/2017 | (0) Comments
2017 Quivira Conference
Quivira turn 20 this year and with over a million acres and 30 miles of riparian drainage benefitting from the organization we look forward to the annual meeting of the ‘radical center’. This year the event will be held in Albuquerque November 15-17.
07/18/2017 | (0) Comments
Bioneers Uprising!
The 2017 Bioneers conference will be held this October 20th – 23rd in San Rafael, California. This conference has a little something for everyone. From keynote and workshop speakers to yoga and dance this conference is sure to entertain and inform.
07/16/2017 | (0) Comments
