I always need another garden bed, but my goal this year is to work really hard on getting enough production from the garden that I can put away a decent amount of food. In the past, I have done some pickling, canning, and fermenting, but no large amount of food …

The snow has taken forever to melt.  We can’t start digging as soon as I had hoped.  That’s ok though.  I have a lot of other things I can do to keep busy.  I’ll be building some small things like a rainwater system.  I am planting tons of seeds and …

Think about two different eco systems: a forest and a meadow. The forest is full of larger trees an d larger animals, while the meadow is full of smaller plants and animals. The two habitats provide very different needs for the different animals. Now think about where the meadow meets …

The next permaculture principle is produce no waste.  No wasting things can be anything from recycling to being efficient and not wasting time.  Much of the “waste” we produce can be used for other things with just a little creativity. One of the most obvious sources of waste is simply …

The fifth permaculture principle is use and value renewable resources and services.  I know what you’re thinking, solar power! but it is so much more than that. We always try to make the most of our renewable reources here on the homestead for a few reasons.  Anything we can gather …

The first of 12 permaculture principles is observe and interact.  This is about sitting back and looking at what you have before you interact.  Take a walk, sit on a rock, get a portable hammock so you can set it up in various places so you observe your land in …

What is permaculture? Broken down into its parts, permanent agriculture. It is a sustainable living methodology including home, garden, and community. According to Bill Mollison, one of the founders of permaculture, it is, “The conscious design and maintenance of cultivated ecosystems which have the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of natural …

My autumn season has been incredibly busy.  Cut firewood.  Haul materials for new garden beds.  Along with all the regular chores of course.  I am preparing beds now so that the compost can start to rot in its new home and because the leaves are so numerous in the autumn.  …

This is the fantastic pile of rich yard waste we have to work with: The purpose of this post is to demonstrate how a pile of twisted up “waste” can be useful for so many different things.  The pile is tree tops left by the logger and pushed aside, twisting …

I have many areas around the house that are suppossed to be the yard.  However, being fresh cut forest, the wild field plants have taken over.  I plan to turn these wild plants and excess of trees into mulch.  The majority of our lot is wooded, so I don’t feel …