Hello Permadudes!

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself Here' started by daozen, Mar 15, 2011.

  1. daozen

    daozen Junior Member

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    Hi everyone, just when I thought I would not have another lifechanging moment, Permaculture comes into my life! I think its been barely a month or more since I first saw some Lawton vids and really got what permaculture is about, it's beyond words. I've been into gardening for about a year only, starting with spiritual plants, to medicinal herbs, now I'm into fruit trees and maybe I'll get to veggies, currently I'm digging up the hard clay on my backyard and collecting mulch, but anyway. I feel as happy as never before since I found about the journey I'm in and I'd like to share, learn and maybe help if I can, this wonderful community! :rofl:
     
  2. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Welcome! Most of us have experienced that AHA! moment too - when you wonder why no one ever told you this before because it make so much sense.
     
  3. daozen

    daozen Junior Member

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    exactly, well, I'm glad I'm with me peers here!
     
  4. purecajn

    purecajn Junior Member

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    Hey dao, welcome to the party
     
  5. Finchj

    Finchj Junior Member

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    Welcome! I share the bliss of double digging hard clay as well :)

    In the end, I think we will love having clay soil. Just have to treat it right.
     
  6. PermaGuinea

    PermaGuinea Junior Member

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    Hi, daozen. I'm new here too but have been practising permaculture for a few years now. You are embarking on a rewarding journey and although it doesn't happen overnight, you will find your soil becoming richer and richer and staying that way.

    Try to find a permaculture group in your area as well. Permaculture is also about community and sharing ideas (as well as seeds, materials, etc.) and other local practitioners will have knowledge of problems and solutions specific to your area.
     
  7. Grahame

    Grahame Senior Member

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    I highly recommend a chicken tractor to get your clay started - digging in that stuff is just no good for your back. Go for the longer term solution rather than digging and in the end you will be grateful you did. Use chooks, green manures, radishes etc to break it up. If I had my time again I would forgo a veggie garden for even 2 or 3 years and just work on soil building. Good luck
     
  8. Finchj

    Finchj Junior Member

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    I would love to use the longer method, but our neighborhood would be up in arms if we had chickens. My father wants chickens and/or ducks, but my mother will have none of it. Besides that, our dogs would have an absolute fit (especially the English Setter). Taken together, we are losing the animal part of the equation.

    I can attest to the back breaking and time consuming effort that double digging clay requires.
     
  9. purecajn

    purecajn Junior Member

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    I mulched my clay area heavily, watered every other day until a good long steady downpour, then just dug 2 shovels down making rows for shallow swells. Mulched new mounds and planted peanuts, they came up in about a week to 10 days. working great thus-far. nothing grew there before. will add radishes in sept.
     
  10. PermaGuinea

    PermaGuinea Junior Member

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    Daikon radish are great for getting down deep and opening up the soil.

    Also, if you can't bring the animals to your soil, you can buy organic fertilizer that is just a mixture of sheep and chicken manure. We have both chickens and sheep here but you can never get enough of the old animal residue, especially in the early stages.

    First year here we could grow very little. Second year a manure pile I left fallow for six months had overgrown with weeds (also good diggers) and when I pulled the weeds the soil was full of earth worms and had a lovely texture. Grew lovely pak choi in that, and then daikon radishes and beetroot and kale through the winter (our winter is mild; our summer it torrid).
     
  11. daozen

    daozen Junior Member

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    Well, I thought I was doing the long term thing anyway? the way I'm doing it is I dig up about 2 feet and then lasagna in organic matter (I'm definately expanding on this eventually with pics) and then planting nitrogen fixers, green manure. I dont have chooks, its a home garden didnt know they could fix clay?. Or radish, id have to grow one and then collect seeds i guess. That being said, I'm feeling the backpain effects as I'm writting this, I already had back problems from years before, thanks to misuse of parkour but unfortunately I cant aford more than what I have for now. Definately wish a had a tractor.
     
  12. Pink Angel

    Pink Angel Junior Member

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    Hi and welcome D
    I had the opposite, a sandy soil. So I just worked up the garden beds :)
     
  13. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    You can get daikon radish seeds from an organic seed supplier like Eden or Green Harvest. They set seed prolifically so one packet should set you up for life!
     

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