PermaDesign

Category: Edibles

It’s Lovely Weather for a Hoop House

Here's a shot of our hoop houses under this afternoon's fresh blanket of snow. Inside, we've got lots of lettuces, kale, chard, cabbage, beats, peas, and any number of herbs. I hope to have a greenhouse someday but for now these cold frames are working well.

The hoops are made of 1/2" diameter PVC (a terrible product if you live downstream from an irresponsible manufacturer) pipe which is a light, strong, flexible, rigid, inexpensive and basically perfect material for making low arches in between rebar stakes. Three hoops and pairs of stakes are set within a 4' x 8' rectangle of 2-by lumber. The hoops are covered in a

The Reality of Eating Animals

by Nate Downey

One of the largest subdivisions in the state of New Mexico, Eldorado, just went through an electoral fight by which it was determined that residents CAN own chickens!!! Here's my current "Permaculture in Practice" column about the issue.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/113097177/Santa-Fe-Real-Estate-Guide-November-2012#page=15

Hawthorn Berry Harvest

by Melissa McDonald

We have a hawthorn "tree" (Really, it's a large bush.) out in front of our design studio. Most of its yellow leaves have fallen off in this picture at right (the orange is gro-low sumac), but you can still see

the red berries. These pics were taken after we harvested the cupful below.

11/06/2012 | Edibles | Shade | (0) Comments

Garlic Tea

by Melissa McDonald

Here's the low down on growing big garlic. I'm not sure if size matters when it comes to garlic. Large or small, it's probably the most medicinal plant I know. Going into cold and flu season, always make sure you have at least a few cloves on hand. If anyone starts complaining of the first signs of a soar throat, congestion, unexplained achiness, or the gamut of cold-and-flu symptoms, we suggest a simple "garlic tea."

http://kgi.org/blog/project-homestead/how-grow-big-garlic-1

11/03/2012 | Edibles | Events | (0) Comments

Time to Plant…Garlic

by Melissa McDonald

As Nate read during my father's memorial service, there's a time to plant and a time to reap. In permaculture, these often come one right after the other. We think of fall as harvest time, and it certainly is, but it's also time to plant peas, garlic, and starts under insulation blankets, cold frames, and greenhouses.

As you can see, we've gotten our starts going, and below you'll see our peas, but it's time to get a decent patch of garlic planted.

11/02/2012 | Edibles | (0) Comments

PermaDesign Pays Off in Green

by Melissa McDonald

In this economy, it’s not always easy to sell a house, but some wonderful clients just sold theirs in 76 days! After they moved in (just before the crash of 2008), we replaced a whole lot of water-wasting lawn with a gorgeous low-water garden. When they decided to retire closer to family, none of us worried that the place would sell because its narrow backyard resembled nothing if not paradise.

Community Water Harvesting: Alive, Well in SFe

by Nate Downey

This one is about the positive effect on our local economy due to Santa Fe’s community-wide and vigorous “water-consciousness.” It was first published in Green Fire Times in October.

11/10/2011 | Community | Edibles | Water Harvesting | (0) Comments

With Book Release on Tuesday, Here’s My Schedule

by Nate Downey

August, 2010

TUESDAY, AUGUST 17 (AFTER MIDNIGHT), HARVEST THE RAIN IS AVAILABLE! Nate releases Harvest the Rain: How to Enrich Your Life by Seeing Every Storm as a Resource.

“Compost This”

by Nate Downey

Here’s the first in a series of seven or eight articles I’ve published since “Harvest the Rain” came out in August. This one about compost appeared in the Fall issue of Edible Santa Fe.

11/11/2010 | Books | Compost | Edibles | (0) Comments

Greenhouse Bust Backfires on Cops, Us

by Nate Downey

Here is my recent “Permaculture in Practice” column, which is published in the Santa Fe New Mexican’s monthly real estate magazine.

It was a typically permacultural day at Camino de Paz School and Farm. The students had tended the chickens, goats, sheep, and horses. They’d weeded and watered vegetable beds, picked fruit, made cheese, canned tomatoes. They’d taken math, English, Spanish, and history. Two students, Sasha and Sarah, prepared campus-grown potatoes, cheese, applesauce, and a medley of fresh greens. Under the shade of an old apricot, Ben and Reyes set 25 places for lunch.

11/03/2010 | Children | Edibles | Energy Savings | (0) Comments