Questions tagged [permaculture]

Horticultural/Agricultural systems modeled on ecological relationships.

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How does nitrogen-fixing bacteria access gaseous nitrogen if it's on root nodules that are below ground? (rhizobia) [migrated]

How do root nodules have access to nitrogen-rich air if they're located underground? Nitrogen-fixing plants (eg legumes) have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that live on the root nodules that ...
Michael Altfield's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
31 views

For 7 layer food forest what should be the sequence of plantation?

Location: Eastern India, West Bengal (Tropical Climate) For the following layer, is there any prescribed sequence of plantation? Canopy Understory Shrub Herb Ground cover Climber Root Questions Can ...
Sarbbottam's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
133 views

Does Marsh Mallow fix nitrogen?

I'm doing some research before installing a fruit forest as I can't grow vegetables on the STUN (sheet total utter neglect) method, and was wondering if the Marsh Mallow plant is a nitrogen fixer or ...
black thumb's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
1k views

How many wood chips do I need to kill off grass?

I'm trying to kill off grass in an area that has probably been establishing itself since the last ice age, and was wondering how many wood chips it really will take to do the job I desire, and keep ...
black thumb's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
91 views

Are moles effective at controlling Japanese beetle grubs?

My garden is under assault this summer by Japanese beetles from above, and moles from below. From my research, Japanese beetles lay their eggs a few inches underground, and moles are voracious ...
alexw's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
45 views

Favorite small-scale gardening books for beginners? [closed]

I recently started cultivating a 20'x25' vegetable garden, which is to say, I signed up for a community garden plot and have a few containers for tomatoes on my porch. I don't have any experience ...
elduderino260's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
331 views

How to use hazelnut shells in the garden

I eat a lot of raw hazelnuts (I love them!) I have been trying to use the cracked shells in the garden for years. Here is a list some of my attempts: Composting them. This wasn't very effective, as ...
usumdelphini's user avatar
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2 answers
113 views

Where did potatoes originally grow?

I've heard a major misconception about potatoes wanting full sun, but they're so short, and suspect that they grew wild in the understory of forests. Is this true, or should they be grown in full sun ...
black thumb's user avatar
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0 votes
4 answers
142 views

Are mulberry trees great for the shrub layer?

I'm planning to purchase some mulberry trees, then cut them very short in order to get some fruiting shrubs. Does this sound like a bad idea to make them easily picked?
black thumb's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
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Cover crop - cutting rye before it flowers

I planted a fall cover crop last fall to loosen up our compacted yard in Sacramento, California. Currently, it's very tall, like 3 feet, and I'd like to mow it soon. But it contains winter and annual ...
user25265's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
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What does "an extremely popular host plant" mean?

I was reading about sweet fern, and it says "Wind-pollinated shrub that doesn’t attract bees or butterflies, but it is an extremely popular host plant for a wide variety of caterpillars: geometer ...
black thumb's user avatar
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3 answers
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Should I use creeping types of plants to cover walking paths in my veggie gardens?

I'm wanting to suppress weeds in my garden with creeping plants, and am wondering if I should get varieties of short plants for my garden so they spread to cover the entire garden so I can go around ...
black thumb's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
29 views

What is the recommended elevation between the water table and the growing surface?

I'm starting to plan out my garden for the spring planting, and am trying to figure out how much surface I need between where the green part of the plants and the water table. I'm trying to have a big ...
black thumb's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
124 views

How do I harvest acorns from a Palestinian Oak (Quercus calliprinos) for planting?

I've got one of these growing by my house, and it's full of acorns. Some have fallen, but most are on the tree and are green (starting to turn brown at the end.) I want to grow a bunch of them for a ...
Boris K's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
115 views

What types of sorghum works well for syrup and sugar cane?

I'm wanting to grow sorghum next year, and the stuff I purchased for this years growing season is doing very poorly (height/thickness wise). What type of sorghum should I plan to grow a plot of next ...
black thumb's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
637 views

How do I erosion proof a hillside with mycelium?

There's a new hill that was built at a friends place, and since I'm into permaculture he asked me what type of mycelium I would recommend covering the hillside with before winter comes. He has also ...
black thumb's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
207 views

What type of edible mushrooms can I easily inoculate in logs and grow in USDA zone 4a for full sun?

I'm currently building a home fungal/crop garden, and am wondering what types of mushrooms can inoculate fresh cut oak logs with that will grow in full sun next to tall grass on one side, and a wood ...
black thumb's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Any permanent solution in killing wild grape vines?

I have 80 acre with over 3/4 bush/trees situated about 1 mile from an old CN railway line (no longer in use) where people throw out their fruits among them, grapes. The grapes seeds have made wild ...
E Kyer's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Need identification on this growth on cherry & possibly plum trees and possible remedies

It's what I like to call The Alien Fungus, the plants don't seem to be happy about it, but they do give fruit - it grows in continental Croatia, Europe, typical yearly temperature range -20 to 40 ...
bbozo's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
96 views

how do I modify the square foot gardening method for a community garden with mushrooms also?

I'm building out my community garden concept this year, and was wondering how I can use square food gardening to grow mushrooms in the walking paths, and vegetables on the sides with none of the same ...
black thumb's user avatar
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7 votes
4 answers
559 views

How can I help my permaculture garden that's being overpowered by weeds?

My permaculture design garden is being taken over by horsetails and other common 'weeds'. I'm spending hours every day or two on weed control. I believe they are choking my fruit trees and bushes, ...
kendra's user avatar
  • 113
5 votes
1 answer
131 views

I've read that Sorrel is a permaculture green, but an anual, how does it come back?

How does sorrel come back every year if you pick it all, when people say it's an annual?
black thumb's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
187 views

What permaculture crops should I grow together in USDA zone 4a? [closed]

I'm trying to work on building a permaculture garden, and was wondering what I should plant in USDA zone 4A. Ideally I'm looking for a list of each bed with crop combinations to have them help each ...
black thumb's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
64 views

Permaculture and World Food Needs [closed]

Can permaculture techniques feed the world's nutrition requirements? Are we stuck with GM crops to feed the worlds burgeoning population?
greywanderer's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
4k views

Are there plants that add acid to soil naturally?

I'm curious if there are any plants that might add acid to their soil so that they might work well in a permaculture setting, you might be able to plant X, Y or Z near a blueberry bush to eliminate ...
Throsby's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
4k views

How can I get a map of my plot of land for planning purposes? [closed]

I'm studying permaculture and I would like to design before I start doing anything. Is there any software that could give me a map of my plot of land, like from Google maps or from sigpac in Spain? ...
Hola Soy Edu Feliz Navidad's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
18k views

Can my DIY grey water bio filter system be improved?

I have just finished building a grey water biological filter and would love to hear the different ideas and concepts others might have. I know there are other concepts that can be added such as a ...
Jonathan Rogiest's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
572 views

Desalinating plants (the botanical kind) which create fresh water

Are there any plant architectures or permaculture schemes which can filter seawater and create fresh water? I imagine a saline pond or bore, flowing down through a series of ponds to a lower ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 163
8 votes
2 answers
806 views

Are there any fungal or plant counters to Juglone (walnut allelopathy)?

I'm getting ready to begin building a food forest on the back quarter acre of my half acre yard. However, my yard is absolutely surrounded by walnuts. Walnuts release Juglone, an allelopathic ...
Daniel Bingham's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
727 views

Plant recommendations for tropical food forest shrub layer

This is a small area in the front yard in Jakarta. What I have right now are three mango trees providing a rather dense and low canopy. This is bordered to the south with the house and a fence/wall ...
Chris Travers's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
3k views

What to guild with Asparagus

I have been working on applying permacultural techniques of layering in space and time, and most of my gardens work well on this principle but I am having trouble applying it to asparagus. What should ...
Chris Travers's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

How much soil do I need on top of my hugelkultur beds?

I'm building a bunch of hugelkultur beds from the blowdowns, branches, trimmings, and sticks we have scattered around the property. This weekend I built a 20' long, 5' wide, 2-3' high pile of (mostly ...
bstpierre's user avatar
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16 votes
4 answers
5k views

What are some good plants to put in a guild built around plums/stone fruit?

I'm starting a small orchard of stone fruit trees -- just a few hundred square feet. I will be putting in plums next spring, and I'm thinking about what to plant between/around them. In the lingo of ...
bstpierre's user avatar
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28 votes
1 answer
11k views

What woods shouldn't be used for hugelkultur?

I have a yard this year for the first time and I'm attempting various methods of building beds. For my first bed, I used double digging. But that was an insane amount of work and I'm not all that ...
Daniel Bingham's user avatar
18 votes
1 answer
326 views

How can I do permaculture in a city garden?

I'm currently looking for a new home, and one of my goals will be to use permaculture for my yard. Living in a dry climate (Denver, CO gets about 15 inches of rain per year) that gets freezing ...
Tangurena's user avatar
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