Permaculture Plus

Permaculture Plus Permaculture solutions save time, energy & money. Care for Earth & people. Share abundance. Create healthy & beautiful, low maintenance gardens & yards.

04/24/2016

WARNING: Avoid permaculture at all costs. Repeat: AVOID PERMACULTURE AT ALL COSTS. It may necessitate radical change.

Lovage. One of Ien's many contributions to our garden. She gave us three root clumps (you can also start it from seed ...
04/01/2016

Lovage. One of Ien's many contributions to our garden. She gave us three root clumps (you can also start it from seed or off-shoots) which I interspersed with comfrey (it's just starting to peek out of the ground. More on it another time) to form a w**d and grass barrier. Also acts as a hedge (lovage stalks get six feet tall if I let 'em). A vigorous, hardy, perennial herb it can be eaten in many ways (I use the leaves in salads, soups and stews. The stalks can be used like celery in stir-fries, egg/tuna salad, etc.) and has a strong flavour (a mix of celery, parsley and anise) so a little goes a long way. Beside being good to eat, the small umbrella-like yellow-green flower clusters attract nectar-sipping insects. And I've observed ants setting up aphid farms. Fascinating to watch. Both the lovage and comfrey could, if left to their own devices, spread like wildfire, but I manage them, letting them flower for the bees, wasps, ants and aphids before removing seed-heads.

Egyptian walking onions (also known as tree/topsetting/winter/perennial onions). A gift from Gail a few years back, the...
03/19/2016

Egyptian walking onions (also known as tree/topsetting/winter/perennial onions). A gift from Gail a few years back, these things do travel. And multiply. Later in the season they grow tall, thick leaf stalks that develop a small cluster of bulblets (like mini onions) at the top. Eventually the weight of the cluster pulls the stalk over, bending it to the ground. The bulblets end up a foot or two away from the mother and will root if left undisturbed. And so they walk. Very slowly. The first greens from the garden, the greens have a nice strong flavour and the bulblets are a little spicy. Anyone want some?

Crocuses (or croci if you're high-faluttin'). From the iris family. Even in late winter's bleakness they stand, harbin...
03/15/2016

Crocuses (or croci if you're high-faluttin'). From the iris family. Even in late winter's bleakness they stand, harbingers of spring and the miraculous growth to come, ready to open their cheery faces to the sun, when it breaks through. They came to us a few years ago, as a gift to Rosie from an elementary school class (was it Mrs. Grout's?). The flowers, an apt symbol of Rosie's indomitable spirit, were in a pot and the kids had made a beautiful card (a mountain and lake scene) with all their signatures. When done blooming inside, the crocuses found their way into the garden, laid-out in the bed under the window so Rosie can see them every year when they pop up, hot on the heels of the melting snow.

Alfalfa sprouts. Living food. Packed with nutrition. Grown on our kitchen window sill (Overwaitea sells them $2.59/10...
03/07/2016

Alfalfa sprouts. Living food. Packed with nutrition. Grown on our kitchen window sill (Overwaitea sells them $2.59/100g). I buy my seeds at Homegrown Market, around $14 per pound (well worth the investment). It takes only two tablespoons in the mason jar to pack it with sprouts. The square of screen is cut from a big piece Elaine gave me years ago (it came from her screen door). Just soak 2 tbsps of seeds in filtered water overnight then rinse and set in a bowl to drain on the window sill. Rinse and drain four times a day for the first three(ish) days. When the jar is half full reduce rinsing to two-three times a day 'til the jar's full and the sprouts green. Transfer to fridge in a sealed container with a piece of paper towel or folded tea towel to absorb the moisture and enjoy for days to come. Start another batch when you're halfway through and you'll always have yummy, fresh sprouts.

Who says the grass is always greener? For a thought provoking, permaculture perspective, click on the link below and re...
03/01/2016

Who says the grass is always greener? For a thought provoking, permaculture perspective, click on the link below and read what my old teacher Rob Avis, of Verge Permaculture and Adaptive Habitat, wrote. Don't forget to watch the three part video series, "Tour Our Permaculture Homestead".

http://vergepermaculture.ca/blog/2011/05/04/grass-isnt-greener/

02/26/2016

Sow sunflowers everywhere! According to the folks at West Coast Seeds Ltd., sunflowers attract pollinators from a great distance; feed domestic and wild bees; attract beneficial insects like ladybird beetles; are drought resistant and easy to grow; make excellent cut flowers; provide songbirds with oil to build up fat reserves for winter; can be used to extract toxins like lead and arsenic from soil and more.

02/01/2016

"When deeds and words are in accord, the whole world is transformed." - Chuang Tzu

01/31/2016

In this era of climate change, expensive fuel and water shortages our goals are 1) to promote permaculture as a source of solutions and 2) to transform toxic, disease and pest ridden lawns (which require an investment of great amounts of time, energy and money) into healthy and beautiful, low maintenance gardenscapes.

01/31/2016

According to Carole Rubin, author of "How to get your LAWN OFF GRASS....", North Americans use 60% of the .5% available clean drinking water on Earth to water lawns and gardens populated with exotic plants (as of fourteen years ago).

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