Blogs

I am reading a really book set of books called "Edible Forest Gardens" by Dave Jacke and Eric Toesnmeier, and I'm picking up so much from these books that I feel the need to start sharing what I learn here! I'm into the soil chapter right now. So here's the first tidbit of many to coem that I'll share:

Many types of plants, especially those that grow in degraded environments and places where nutrients are not distributed really well (these plants are the weeds) evolved an interesting strategy, among others. They send out a thing called a "rhizome" which is a modified stem adapted to creeping through the soil. It creeps and then spawns new and connected plants. But here's the cool part...

If one plant ends up in a predicament with little soil nutrients or water available for a period of time, it actually gets a subsidy of those resources through the rhizomes from other plants in the system! These plants can establish a living by grabbing nitrogen from one place that has it, calcium from another place that has it, and sunlight from yet another place that has it, and all of these are invested into the whole so everyone gets a share. GENIUS! Fungal mycelium does exactly the same thing. This is the true benefit of using a network as a design.

Dear Friends and Community Group Members,

We we have been working hard to get a pot luck organized for November 25th from 6:00pm - 9:30 pm at the Mission Community Hall (2201 Cliff Street SW). We want to get a feel for where you (the membership) wants to see this group go! For example what sort of events do you want the executive to organize, what sort of benefits would you like to see, how often would you like to meet ect. The evening is going to go like this; Read more »

Take a look at some of the permablitz's coming up below that we are facilitating. These are all very different kind of projects, and there's going to be a lot's of learning opportunities!

See you there!

Don't miss out on this wonderful event coming up on September 23rd: The Local Food Supper. Should be a great time for a really good cause. As they say, we need to know our farmers with the same rapport as we would expect to know our doctors and dentists. To RSVP please visit the Calgary Horticultural Society's website at  www.calhort.org. Volunteers to help out are also being accepted, so learn more by going here: www.permaculturecalgary.org

Food prices have hit their highest ever point this year, and we'll be seeing more and more local food production happening. In Calgary, that's already underway, as more and more people are ripping out their lawns and replacing them with productive landscapes! In this post, I want to let everyone know that there will be a lot of Permablitzes happening this year, but there is also a hard limit on the number of Blitzes that can happen in a season, and they're already booking up. So if you want a Permablitz this year, now's the time to get in touch! I've decided to highlight some of the permaculture gardens we designed and installed last season. Read more »

This article's about where, I think, the best place to invest our energy toward creating positive change lies in repairing community and the planet. We all have the power to be just as positive of an influence on this planet as we are negative, as many environmentalists make us out to be. The thing is, the power of being positive is truly empowering; feeling negative is totally disempowering. Read on and learn about the case for making positive impact, and a strategy for doing so. This article begins off pretty stark, but I promise, you'll reach the end of this post hopefully as charged as I am writing it! Read more »

I very recently discovered just how much I love winter squash. I've witnessed very many a squash get turned into appetizing pot pies and sides. What's more, these squashes come with their own built-in sealing mechanisms, allowing you to store them for months after you harvest them. Read more »

Wow, it's been a while since I last wrote on our blog - I have the busiest summer of my life through permaculture design, Calgary Harvest, and making websites (my side job). But alas, as winter moves in, I'm kicking permaculture into the highest gear! In this article, I'm focussing on the Permablitz, which I'm losing sleep over because I can't stop thinking about it! Read more »

Earlier, in March 2010, I held an Introduction to Permaculture course, and one of my students came forward eager to change his front lot into a productive edible landscape and design through permaculture principles. On a cool June morning, the students from the course converged on Terry Blume's house for a day of hands-on work. The goal: to change a vacant muddy front lot into a thriving permaculture garden! Read more »

My mother developed these two wonderful recipes for delicious and hardy soups for our Halifax Introduction to Permaculture workshop. They were a hit! Everyone was talking about them, and I even had one student tell me that "this is the best tomato soup I've ever had before!" They are quite easy to make, and based on how well received they were, we have decided that these a regular fare for our Introduction to Permaculture workshops. Read more »