Had to do another post on John Kohler’s project…INSPIRING!!  John’s really doing IT WELL.. and PASSIONATELY.  Thanks for sharing.. SO much info John..these videos are a HUGE resource for all those wanting to do the same!!

growingyourgreens.com

remineralize.org

Holy awesome interview David Wolfe and Paul Stamets!!  Just listened to this…loved it!!  If you’re a fan of fungi and growing with it..consuming it.. or not doing any of that yet…check out this interview!!  “Pairing with Fungi“ as Paul puts it, is advantageous to us in so many ways…and has been going on for tens of thousands..if not millions of years.

Mycologist Paul Stamets…is THE ambassador of mushroom information..

Just listen to this amazing info!!  ..here’s the link to the free interview..

http://www.longevityconference.com/paul-stamets-interview-with-david-wolfe/

below.. is a link to Paul’s site for the mycorrhizal spores he mentions..and more info on the subject…

mycorrhizal fungi

and here’s a link to Paul’s multi mushroom blend for immunity!

HOST DEFENSE - MyCommunity

http://www.youtube.com/paulstamets 

FUNGI.COM

     It’s fall…we’re running around mulching, amending beds..and planting cold crops under warm blankets of straw and Agribon!  It’s the end of our first year, growing our own food…and the beginning of a new passion and love for this work!!  There are so many benefits to …

GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD!! 

Here’s a series of photos, followed by few videos, of the same tour…showing the growing dome and gardens…SO much more to come!!

 Enjoy the following video tours…they’re already getting outdated..as things are changing rapidly around here.  Some of the above photos are newer than these videos..but at least you get the vision!

We hope…. you get inspired to grow your own food too…or maybe just start reading about it…or buying food from someone who grows their own!  We all start somewhere…I know I am…we’re all learning TOGETHER!!

FALL GARDEN TOUR “Part 1″

FALL GARDEN TOUR “Part 2″

GROWING DOME “October 2009″

HAVE FUN GROWING YOUR OWN!

As a kid…and even in my adult years… I loved mowing the grass every Saturday. 

Carefully concentrating….I would mow perfectly straight lines into the lawn.  Sometimes getting creative…I would mow a zig zag pattern …like a baseball infield….taking great pride in keeping my grass nicer than my Senior Citizen neighbors.

This was my understanding of a nice yard in America….just kinda grew up doing it!  Have you ever wondered why so many people grow lawns?

Check out this great summary on the “History of Lawns“  and their impact.

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a grassy patch in your garden or yard….but…. there’s other options than just growing a HUGE patch of grass!!  Especially if you’re interested in growing your own food!

In my opinion that answer is….

URBAN PERMACULTURE

This method provides food to “generations” of people…whether you still own the property or not.  There’s a movement afoot…check it out!!
 

 The two videos above…seem like a great time to me!  What an idea to get going in every city and town!!  We should get “Grow Food Party Crews” going in everywhere!!  Wouldn’t it be a blast to do homeless shelters, drug rehab centers or maybe senior centers….they might be into it!!

For those just getting into permaculture….check out the above video…it’s full of insights into getting your own yard going and then branching out from there.

…..and for those with no land, lot, or soil nearby…check into community gardening…the above video shows how people are finding unwanted areas everywhere and working together to create abundance!

For backyard permaculture designers…check out ….”Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture“ by Toby Hemenway.

GROW YOUR OWN…or help others LEARN TO GROW THEIRS!!

EDIBLE FOOD ON THE PROPERTY.. so far.. THIS SUMMER  (2009)

Apples Trees = 6
Peach Trees = 5
Apricot = 1
Cherry = 2
Asian Pear = 3
Pomegranate = 2
Almond = 2
Fig = 4
Lemon = 1
Lime = 1
Mango = 1
Avocado = 1 
Blueberry = 5
Raspberry = 6
Strawberry = 10
Grape = 5
Gooseberry = 6
Serviceberry = 2
Wolfberry = 10
Blackberry = 5
Boysenberry = 1
Cherry Bush = 5
Currant (Red and Black) = 2
Aloe Vera = 20
Agave = 5
Prickley Pear = 1
(the trees are mostly dwarf and ultra dwarf varieties)

….and to go a long with this fruit, berry, nut tree list…..we experimenting with growing traditionals like corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, potatoes, onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage…and tons of different herbs…some fun ones for our drinks like Stevia and Tulsi and Astragalus!!

but… our staple is the green leaves, for green smoothies, like kale, collard, lettuces, chard, and so on..so we’re learing to create microclimates to attempt to allow these more heat delicate crops to grow.  We’re using arched PVC pipe with shade cloth draped over it in the summer time and construction plastic draped over it in the winter….it worked really well last winter!!  Check out the “GROW GREENS YEAR ROUND“ post…to see what I mean.

square foot gardens...blue hopi corn...and in the other box... are the brassicas..kale, cabbage, broccoli, and LOTS of swiss chard!

The white cloth is AGRIBON..covering the Brassicas from invaders

No bugs munching on these leaves...

 

more greens/flowers and herbs coming up...

Far southwest corner of our property looking back up toward the gate.

Composting operation to the right...and looking east down the backyard..you can see the vertical grow boxes.

 

The vertical gardens.. the first two beds are tomatoes..vining up yellow twine..

First Mr. Stripey coming on....

For the last vertical bed...we're experimenting with nylon netting...muskmelons of all types are just peeking up. There's a stepping stone in the middle of each section, so we can step into the box and harvest from all sides.

 

 I  Spent most of May, like many gardeners… outside…taking advantage of the awesome warming weather…..which, before I started gardening and eating live foods, I never took too much notice of the weather….except how it affected my weekend or travel etc…

Now, I’m constantly observing its rythms and natural flows…..like the sun’s ever changing trajectory in the sky, and how it affects shadows in the garden etc….and I of course check weatherbug.com quite a bit! 

You can also take the ”May” video tours of the “backyard” and “growing dome”…..check them out below…..

HAVE FUN……GROWING YOUR OWN!!

Ok…it’s the Dervaes family inspiring me again!  This is Jules Derveas, from pathtofreedom.com –  giving his recent talk on “Sustainable Systems” at UCLA.  It’s full of great insights.. describing his journey to growing his own food.. in the backyard!

The short movie of his family’s homestead, which he mentions in this talk, can be viewed here.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s quite amazing! 

Their new documentary just came out and can be purchased at homegrownrevolution.com.   I’m excited to see it…I’ve learned a ton from the Dervaes family and look forward to anything they share with the world!

If you haven’t been to freedomgardens.org yet, check it out!  It’s a great community site…. linking local growers and grower information from people taking their yards back around the world! 

We decided a while back to convert our whole yard into an edible landscape, after seeing the Dervaes family at pathtofreedom.com and how successful they’ve been at converting their own yard into a food source…. 

So… we decided to convert our lawn sprinkler heads into drip emitters and now… instead of watering grass…we’re growing food.. with less water usage!

The video above is a tour of own backyard and sprouting room.  We’re learning as we go….and having a lot of fun! 

We’re using no chemicals.. of any kind in the growth process of the plants….and no pesticides on near or around the plants.  Instead, we’re experimenting with all sorts of organic/natural methods….like using, compost, kelp, ocean water, rock dusts, beneficial insects, and worm/compost tea. 

Also we’re using high quality seed from local growers, and using heirloom strains…from growers we find from everywhere.  We just heard of this seed company that sells only Native American seeds..here. 

We recommend growing your own food to anyone! 

It’s not only incredibly nutritious.. it’s relaxing, meditative..FUN..and connects you to your food!

This is the the growth update since the last video in January.  The major update other than growth, was the addition of the tomato bed in the middle.  Also, lots of peppers and herbs like basil, lavender, fennel, dill, cilantro and of course the leafy greens and edible flowers and fruits! 

The plants seem to be loving the “Sonic Bloom!  Just found this great video on how Sonic Bloom works..worth checking out!  We’re also foliar spraying with diluted ocean water…from growgreens.com, every couple weeks, in the morning, as the Sonic Bloom plays.  There’s a whole chapter dedicated to Sonic Bloom, in “Secrets of the Soil.”  This book contains amazing insights from farmers and growers… from many different cultures around the world! 

Just wanted to mention the Growing Dome itself…which if you’ll notice in the video above…has amazing light that diffuses through the shapes of the Growing Dome.  It creates an atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re swimming in light. 

We purchased it as a kit, from growingspaces.com.  We went with the 18ft. diameter kit, because it would fit perfectly in the space we had in our backyard.  There are many different sizes though…all the way up to… I believe 52ft. in diameter and as small as 12 ft.  The Tree of Life has a Growing Dome also…  Courtney Pool posted a cool picture on her blog…here.  Then there’s Anthony Anderson’s Growing Dome over at rawmodel.com, who was our original inspiration to get a Growing Dome…he’s completely amazing us with his, “model for living permaculture project”…which we’re following very closely.  Worth checking out for sure, he has a 22 ft. diameter Growing Dome!

The plants are starting to grow quickly now as temperatures are increasing outside….we just planted cucumbers and melons which will be in the next video.  Having lots of fun!