I have recently been studying the world
of permaculture. I had heard the word being used for a while but had
never really known what it was. I just thought it was one of those
buzz words that get bandied around. But when I sat down and started
reading about it, I realized that it was something I had been trying
to do for a while.
Basically it is a design concept that
you use to get the most out of your garden or homestead without using
up the natural resources. Using recycling, positioning and
sustainability, you can keep a property feeding you as well as making
it a clean and natural place at the same time.
We are awaiting the arrival of fifty
native fruit trees that we will plant around the property to use as a
food source, attractant for the wildlife and as a natural boundary.
We have also ordered some Oyster Mushroom spore to grow in spent
coffee grounds. There is a good example of recycling waste and
reaping the benefits by growing what is a staple food in this house.
Once the myceleum has eaten all the coffee grounds, it will be put on
the compost heap to carry on the recycling process.
I have just finished building the top
bar bee hive and it will go out on the edge of the property on the
other side of the orchard. Now I have to build a trap hive, which is
a smaller version of the main hive. I t will be set in a tree on some
property that a friend of ours hunts. He has seen bees there and if I
can get some free bees out of it, then I'm all for that.
We have also got to order some fruit
trees for the orchard. These will be apple, pear, and plum. I was
going to order some grape vine cuttings, but a friend gave us some
from his garden. These are black concord grapes and I look forward to
making some nice red wine from them.
One other thing I have been reading
about is aquaponics. This involves keeping fish in a tank, pumping
the water from it up to a growing bed where we will grow vegetables.
The action of flooding the growing bed with the dirty fish water will
feed the roots of the vegetables and then draining back into the fish
tank as clean water. I f I can source all the parts, I am going to
give this a try.
So as you can see, our family is going
to be pretty busy this spring.
