Permawhat?

That's usually what folks say when they ask me what I 'do'. Well, I write, have a holistic, metaphysical forum, and am studying to complete an associates in Horticulture. My interests are organic farming, especially small scale urban and rural permaculture, sustainable living, forest gardening, lasagna gardening, layered composting, IPM, fabric pots, biodynamics, crystal chelation in soil and in container gardening, hypertufa, blessing the land, and working with plant and animal energy.

Say what? Farmers can't feed the world using organic methods. My daddy's daddy farmed on this land, and I aint a doin' it any diff'rnt...ain't nothin' wrong with fertilizers, Hell, we need it...Did you know you can drink Round Up..it ain't hurtin' nothin' but weeds....

Yep, they said it.

And, don't even call your local ag agent and ask how fresh your eggs have to be to sell them from your micro-farm to the public, or on average how old eggs are when you buy them in the local grocery store in comparison, because they won't tell you. Typically, eggs you buy in the store are over four months old from the time they were laid, and the local farmer just gathered hers the week or two before you bought 'em, if not the day you picked them up. Just sayin'...but we'll discuss livestock and poultry in a different post.

Today we're discussing why 'everybody' now wants to do their own gardening, and some of the many ways you can, too.

Good, wholesome produce costs more to buy, and it should. It takes a great deal of time and effort to prepare the soil as organically as one is able, to tend the produce, keep it bug free or to use as much IPM as possible, to water, the manpower to do all of the above. It is a good idea, then, to do small scale farming at home, and save money over the long run.

Processed foods are bad for you on so many levels, so returning to more natural, wholesome food sources that you create are much better for your family. Even when you buy fresh foods at stores, you have no idea what was sprayed on it, how it was 'decorated' or 'preserved' even while being in the store. Waxes, bug sprays, etc. not to mention who touched it while in the store, how many times it was dropped...and you have no way to know what was in the truck just before the food you're eating was transported in it, as well.

Gardening also adds to your living space, as outdoor rooms are becoming more and more popular, and it is an excellent classroom for your children, as well as a way to re-connect as a family. There's nothing like picking your own fruits and vegetables with your kids and letting them help prepare the dishes with you.

With all of the environmental dangers out there, adding to the diagnoses of people daily, what a great way to keep your loved ones safer when you study a more organic and natural way to eat. It then becomes a way of life, as your research expands into the way you live, the things you buy, how you spend your free time im improved, which will increase your health. You are also adding to the future, as recycling, composting, and simplifying your lifestyle with less use of carbon are making things better for the current and next generation.

See, Container Gardening, here,  http://thecreatordeems.blogspot.com/ for more info.

Permaculture, Forest and Rain Gardens...

are a lifestyle development, a change for the better. This is all about how to create a space to live, how to stay in the flow of nature. Forest, or stack gardening is a great use of vertical space, especially when the growing space is small and confined. It can be as simple as putting edibles together of different heights so that there is a canopy, and understory and then groundcover.

http://spiralseed.co.uk/forest-gardening-in-the-city/

Then, there are fancy custom stack gardens...

http://alegriafresh.com/shop/vertical-gardens.html

Rain gardens are a really awesome idea, and go along with xeriscapes, as well, which is a big trend out west, as everyone is now scrambling for water, practically wherever they live.

A rain garden is a way to make use of a dry creek, mud hole or other place where water bogs up or collects by using plants that are native, and is a way to help conserve water.

A xeriscape is similar, but utilizes very dry, high drought areas, as a water conserving alternative to turf. See more about this  here, http://www.houzz.com/xeriscape.

  Hopefully you can see how this is art, an act of love, a way to commune with nature, to enjoy with your own loved ones as you create these special places together.  Many, if not all, of the plants chosen are also edible, permanent, and the space can be enjoyed for years to come.