Have you seen the film DARE TO BE WILD? Could be up your alley... it’s about Mary Reynolds, an Irish garden designer who wants people to remember, care about & cultivate the beauty of wilderness. ✨ Good spiritual lessons & a beautiful homage to nature in it! 🦋💫🌳
I agree that industrial farming (and industrial thinking) has spoiled much of our natural inheritance. All the natural systems were in place before human beings decided to commodify everything. You're permaculture ideas help to turn back the clock. I was reminded of my mom, who's ninety-seven, telling me that when she was a kid living "in town," they had a cow. Of course they had a vegetable garden too. I think a lot of people did. The reason they sold the cow though was that the city made an ordinance that you couldn't have a cow inside the city limits. I don't actually know what the reason for this was. (Too much mooing or too much manure?) It must have been in the mid 1930s when this happened and that was a time when separating everything and everybody into boxes was really catching on. The word, "integration" is used in many ways but, whatever it is, it usually describes something positive.
Cukes, zucchinis, and summer squash mature quickly but the plants usually get attacked by mildew and bugs soon after they start producing. Successive planting every month or so means there's always a few young, healthy plants producing at any given time. It's so much easier than fighting the insects and mildew!
I had free range chickens for a bit and really enjoyed them! They were like pets to me. After a while though it became a struggle keeping them alive through the harsh winter, and on a busy country road. No doubt they has a better life than confinement chickens, but I still feel like I failed them. This being said I think livestock is fine as long as their well-being is maximized.
I hope you can get him to agree to chickens. They're so easy to take care up with the right setup. Congratulations on your garden successes!
Have you seen the film DARE TO BE WILD? Could be up your alley... it’s about Mary Reynolds, an Irish garden designer who wants people to remember, care about & cultivate the beauty of wilderness. ✨ Good spiritual lessons & a beautiful homage to nature in it! 🦋💫🌳
Haven't seen it but sounds intriguing!
It's beautiful and a wonderful, true story about a game-changing landscape artist.
I agree that industrial farming (and industrial thinking) has spoiled much of our natural inheritance. All the natural systems were in place before human beings decided to commodify everything. You're permaculture ideas help to turn back the clock. I was reminded of my mom, who's ninety-seven, telling me that when she was a kid living "in town," they had a cow. Of course they had a vegetable garden too. I think a lot of people did. The reason they sold the cow though was that the city made an ordinance that you couldn't have a cow inside the city limits. I don't actually know what the reason for this was. (Too much mooing or too much manure?) It must have been in the mid 1930s when this happened and that was a time when separating everything and everybody into boxes was really catching on. The word, "integration" is used in many ways but, whatever it is, it usually describes something positive.
My mom would have turned 94 this year. She grew during the time when everyone had a garden and many had a milk cow. It really wasn't that long ago.
I would love to hear more about the succession planting of cucumbers etc.
Cukes, zucchinis, and summer squash mature quickly but the plants usually get attacked by mildew and bugs soon after they start producing. Successive planting every month or so means there's always a few young, healthy plants producing at any given time. It's so much easier than fighting the insects and mildew!
Do you think this would work with kale? My Tuscan kale always gets aphids.
It works best with hot season crops. Have you tried insect netting?
I will look into that. Thank you!
You had me hooked when you used the phrase, “All the tools in the kit.”
I had free range chickens for a bit and really enjoyed them! They were like pets to me. After a while though it became a struggle keeping them alive through the harsh winter, and on a busy country road. No doubt they has a better life than confinement chickens, but I still feel like I failed them. This being said I think livestock is fine as long as their well-being is maximized.
I just revisited this column (because of "Archives are Worthless.") It feels like this could be a primer for your site.
I agree.