Re: [permaculture-61] New Project Tips?
| From: | Adriana M. |
| Sent on: | Friday, December 10, 2010, 9:09 PM |
Hi Jordan,
You can be sure that the soil in your backyard is toxic. So while you might want to do a soil test for curiosity's sake ( it is neat to get a breakdown of what's in your soil - http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu/) I personally wouldn't bother. I would just design like the soil is toxic and go from there.
First I would consider what your goals are. Food? Fiber? Privacy screen? Beauty? Fragrance? Wildlife/chicken forage? Nectar for bees? Rain garden etc...? Will you keep chickens? You have a rooftop where you could keep bees maybe?
Second I would create a base map. Make it simple. Take a good amount of time to observe what is happening in your backyard. It's great that you got your apartment now because you will get to observe your future design project during one of the most dynamic seasons. What is happening with the water/ice/runoff/erosion/energy? Watch and observe. It's fun and you can be lazy and still be doing design work!
Third I would locate where the sun and shade is in your yard. I would create an overlay (nothing fancy here. Keep it simple) for my base map that charts the sunny and shady areas. This is important because you want to be able to pick the right plant for the right place. Some plants need a certain number of hours per day. You said that you have a tree? What kind? How big? Will it shade out all the sunlight from your backyard like all the other trees do? What kind is it? Come spring and summer the sun will have a different aspect and you will have different information to add to your analysis.
Fourth I would consider how long you are going to be in this apartment. If you are indeed renting I might consider building things modular or better yet I woul plant entirely in containers. You can build them, buy them or scavenge them. A good friend of mine has a banging garden on his roof and backyard all in 5 gal spackle buckets and those food grade barrels that olives and pickles come in. His garden is amazing! He's growing everything from fig trees (they like to have their roots constrained) to beans and root crops, lettuce, chard...on and on. Even some grapes that his family makes wine from. Everything in his garden looks like he pulled it off of the street. Brilliant.
This is all I can think of right now. Keep it all simple and remember that work = work!
For books I like Moiilison's Introduction to Permaculture.
Have fun!
Adriana
--
The Center for Bioregional Living
Ellenville / Brooklyn, NY
www.homebiome.com
You can be sure that the soil in your backyard is toxic. So while you might want to do a soil test for curiosity's sake ( it is neat to get a breakdown of what's in your soil - http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu/) I personally wouldn't bother. I would just design like the soil is toxic and go from there.
First I would consider what your goals are. Food? Fiber? Privacy screen? Beauty? Fragrance? Wildlife/chicken forage? Nectar for bees? Rain garden etc...? Will you keep chickens? You have a rooftop where you could keep bees maybe?
Second I would create a base map. Make it simple. Take a good amount of time to observe what is happening in your backyard. It's great that you got your apartment now because you will get to observe your future design project during one of the most dynamic seasons. What is happening with the water/ice/runoff/erosion/energy? Watch and observe. It's fun and you can be lazy and still be doing design work!
Third I would locate where the sun and shade is in your yard. I would create an overlay (nothing fancy here. Keep it simple) for my base map that charts the sunny and shady areas. This is important because you want to be able to pick the right plant for the right place. Some plants need a certain number of hours per day. You said that you have a tree? What kind? How big? Will it shade out all the sunlight from your backyard like all the other trees do? What kind is it? Come spring and summer the sun will have a different aspect and you will have different information to add to your analysis.
Fourth I would consider how long you are going to be in this apartment. If you are indeed renting I might consider building things modular or better yet I woul plant entirely in containers. You can build them, buy them or scavenge them. A good friend of mine has a banging garden on his roof and backyard all in 5 gal spackle buckets and those food grade barrels that olives and pickles come in. His garden is amazing! He's growing everything from fig trees (they like to have their roots constrained) to beans and root crops, lettuce, chard...on and on. Even some grapes that his family makes wine from. Everything in his garden looks like he pulled it off of the street. Brilliant.
This is all I can think of right now. Keep it all simple and remember that work = work!
For books I like Moiilison's Introduction to Permaculture.
Have fun!
Adriana
On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 3:29 PM, Sean <[address removed]> wrote:
Check out Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway as a practical Permaculture 101.? You'll need to stake out contours with an A frame (string hanging from the top of the A), plan your paths, and then sheet mulch.? I also recommend sending out a soil test, not just for heavy metals like lead (expensive), but also for tuning your soil nutrient balance (cheap).
The book "Science In Agriculture" by Arden Andersen lays out what I'm talking about in terms of nutrient balance and tells you how to tune your soil.? You can send samples for the nutrients to Logan Labs, since they do the weak acid test required for this kind of activity.? This is a good time of year to test, though October would typically be optimal for this stage of developing your soil life.? During the growing year, it will be helpful for you to have a soil conductivity tester (<150 micro-siemans translates as an emergency) and something that can measure plant sap pH on the fly (crush a sample of the plant, the sap, onto the meter window).? Forget about soil pH, unless it's below 4 and you have contaminated soil.? Nutrient tuning resolves pH issues without directly addressing it.
A class about soil nutrient density will begin at Stone Barns Center near Tarrytown next weekend, so get in touch with the Real Food Campaign soon if you want to take it.? I'll see you there if you do.
? http://realfoodcampaign.org/workshop-series-2010-2011
If you have contaminated soil, check out Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets or his web site http://www.fungi.com ...
-Sean.
--- On Fri, 12/10/10, Jordan <[address removed]> wrote:
From: Jordan <[address removed]>
Subject: [permaculture-61] New Project Tips?
To: [address removed]
Date: Friday, December 10, 2010, 2:56 PMHello all,
I am moving into a new apartment in Clinton Hill this weekend with a huge, empty backyard with one big tree.? I want to grow a lot of food, build raised beds, set up rain water collection, compost, etc.etc.? I also have a large roof.?
I am excited but completely? overwhelmed and have no idea where to start....It is December now, where do I go from here?? I am willing to invest a lot of time and some money into making this an amazing project.? Can anyone offer "101" advice?? Or a particular book I should I pick up?
Thanks!
--
Jordan Rogoff, LEED AP
392 Clinton Ave, #3S
Brooklyn, NY 11238
[address removed]
[masked]
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The Center for Bioregional Living
Ellenville / Brooklyn, NY
www.homebiome.com
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