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Learn Permaculture
United Kingdom
Приєднався 6 січ 2007
Designer, teacher and author Aranya shares various videos around the themes of permaculture and gardening...
Mulch your vegetable garden paths and see what happens
Covering some of our grass paths with wood chip mulch had an unexpected effect. We were hoping for easier maintenance and less grass incursion into the beds, but attracting a mole was a bonus. They like cooler and moister soil. Moles help decompact and drain our heavy clay beds and eat many of the pest larvae that like to nibble on veggie roots.
#gardening #permaculture #permacultureuk #learnpermaculture #growyourownfood #moles
#gardening #permaculture #permacultureuk #learnpermaculture #growyourownfood #moles
Переглядів: 167
Відео
An low maintenance tuber that can also protect your brassica crops.
Переглядів 2,3 тис.День тому
Machua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is another of my favourite plants - and not just because it's good for eating...
An unusual delicious and abundant berry for eating in July
Переглядів 76214 днів тому
Silvan berries are prolific, delicious and very early fruiting for a blackberry cultivar. Very easy to propagate too. If you don't mind the prickles, this plant is a fantastic addition to the garden.
Design Your Site with Permaculture part 8
Переглядів 3714 місяці тому
This week we're looking at the different factors in creating implementation and maintenance plans. These in particular are relevant: * Least effort for greatest effect - what small things can we do that would make a big difference? These often involve plugging energy or resource leaks. * Limiting factors - which important things can only be done at certain times of year? Put those on the calend...
Design Your Site with Permaculture part 7
Переглядів 2035 місяців тому
This week we're focusing on integrating our on-site systems together. Can you utilise the waste products of one system as inputs for others? Or make use of secondary benefits, such as a microclimate? Again, some permaculture principles in particular are relevant: * Energy cycling - can we keep resources on site for longer by utilising the waste products of one system as the inputs for another? ...
Design Your Site with Permaculture part 6
Переглядів 2625 місяців тому
This week we're focusing on where we place the things we've chosen in relation to everything that's happening on the site. We'll need the maps we made during our survey - all of them contain relevant information, but some permaculture principles in particular are relevant: * Microclimates - place things where they'll be happiest, including those that prefer some shade or moisture. * Access, des...
Design Your Site with Permaculture part 5
Переглядів 4215 місяців тому
It's time to analyse what we know so we can choose the best systems and elements for our site. This phase has three parts: choosing them, deciding where best to place them, and figuring out how best to integrate them together. This week we'll focus on the first of these. To help us decide which of our ideas are best we can use some common design tools and what we can learn about nature's secret...
Design Your Site with Permaculture part 4
Переглядів 4115 місяців тому
Now you've made your site survey maps it's time to clarify the aim(s) of your design. Permaculture prioritises putting some resilience back into our supply lines, especially food, water and energy - so choose one or all of those to focus on first. Where are you most vulnerable? Who are the people in your design? We need to survey them too. How much food/water/energy do you consume? Use what you...
Design Your Site With Permaculture part 3
Переглядів 3896 місяців тому
It's part 3 - the third and final part of your site survey. You'll need 4 more copies of your base map. This week we'll be looking at the plants and fungi on our site, the many animals that pass through and the type of soil you have. We'll also map our best and worst views and think about where we're overlooked and where we have some privacy. #learnpermaculture #permaculture #permaculturedesign...
Design Your Site With Permaculture part 2
Переглядів 6246 місяців тому
Welcome to part 2 of your site design survey. You'll need another 3 copies of your base map again today. You'll be observing how you move around the site and the areas you spend a lot of time and those that you hardly visit. You'll also be mapping the utilities coming onto your site as best you can. All these maps will help you to make good decisions later. #learnpermaculture #permaculture #per...
Design Your Site With Permaculture - part 1
Переглядів 2 тис.6 місяців тому
Become both more environmentally sustainable and resilient! Follow my weekly series and learn step-by-step how to design your own home and garden using permaculture design. I'll release a new video every Saturday evening though the first few months of 2024. #learnpermaculture #permaculture #permaculturedesign #aranya #growyourownfood #foodforest We need to start with observing many things about...
Tim and Maddy Harland of Permaculture Magazine at home in 2006
Переглядів 2036 місяців тому
Tim Harland of @PermacultureMagazine suddenly, and very sadly, died last September (2023). This is a lovely interview I did with Tim and Maddy that shows their gentle chemistry, giving space for each other. Through their work they've made a huge contribution to making our world a better place for all. You can help support the continuation of this work here: shop.permaculture.co.uk/products/tim-...
If you're planting trees this winter, do this now.
Переглядів 1,6 тис.11 місяців тому
Now is the time of year (early autumn) to pot up the bulbils of perennial alliums along with some mycorrhizal innoculant. It's a quick and easy job and if you're planning to plant bare root trees this winter, by the time you get there you'll have established pots of these alliums partnered with one or more mycorrhizal fungi. Planting these alongside your tree will help to quickly establish the ...
Something rather sinister is happening....
Переглядів 1,6 тис.Рік тому
Books are an amazing gift, only freely and cheaply available in our recent history, but something disturbing is happening. A book used to be a trusted source of information - they were properly edited and costly to publish. Then print on demand came along, giving us all the power to publish. This enabled some important ideas to be shared, but also flooded the marketplace with many books of a lo...
10 tips for garden water storage in butts, tanks and ponds
Переглядів 2,6 тис.Рік тому
10 tips for garden water storage in butts, tanks and ponds
Should I... Dig Swales to Harvest Rainwater Surface Run-off?
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Should I... Dig Swales to Harvest Rainwater Surface Run-off?
Should I.... make a hugel (hugelkultur) grow bed in my vegetable garden?
Переглядів 3,1 тис.Рік тому
Should I.... make a hugel (hugelkultur) grow bed in my vegetable garden?
Fruit tree spring and autumn maintenance
Переглядів 600Рік тому
Fruit tree spring and autumn maintenance
Should I... Get a Hotbin Garden Composter?
Переглядів 20 тис.Рік тому
Should I... Get a Hotbin Garden Composter?
The 9 forms of wealth - and how they can make you happier
Переглядів 1,1 тис.Рік тому
The 9 forms of wealth - and how they can make you happier
The Permaculture Design Course Experience
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The Permaculture Design Course Experience
5 Reasons NOT to do a Permaculture Course
Переглядів 12 тис.2 роки тому
5 Reasons NOT to do a Permaculture Course
Moles: encouraging to know your soil life has reached the highest trophic level, not so encouraging when all your transplants wilt as their roots hang in the middle of a new tunnel, or your carrot sowings disapear! You could turn your old bed edges into biochar before they rot completely, I use a 55gal drum on it's side with a 10" slot cut down the side, any metal container would do really (or even a hole in the ground) I used to use an old 11 gal stainless beer barrel but I wanted much bigger batches, start with a small fire, add more fuel as the previous layer starts to ash over, which starves the lower layer of oxygen, repeat until it's almost full, then when the yellow flames cease, quench it with water. John Kempf said their experience with broadacre biochar only had a measureable response up to 100lbs per acre, that's only 11grams per sq M, didn't say what the soil type was unfortuneately. I'm trying to get the top 6" to 10% biochar which is considerably more than 11g psM as I'm in sandy loam trying to increase the CEC.
Yes, biochar could help raise the level of microbes in some of the less productive beds though I'd also need to be making compost tea to inoculate it with. That's a plan for the spring when we have our next batch of good home-made microbe-rich compost ready. As for potential losses, so far I've not noticed anything significant and having found plenty of root nibbling grubs/larvae in the soil I'm happy that we have a predator reducing their numbers.
The other benefit of mulching the paths (aside from grass/weed control, microclimate, habitat) is that after the growing season (in the winter) you can scrape the partially decomposed materials - in your case cardboard/chip (I use cardboard/bracken) onto the beds to enrich/deepen the no-dig system. In some ways I pay more attention to the paths/bed edges than the beds themselves!
Yes! Many years ago, when I had a few rescued hens, they used to spend most of their time foraging in the woodchip paths for bugs and pooping, turning it in a few months to excellent compost which we also shovelled onto the beds.
No bad bugs, no good bugs,... trap plants are essential in my mind.
Yes, indeed. Balance is the most important thing.
I make it with all my fruits leaves trees, thanks very much.
That looks symmetrical around north and south. But, that's rubbish, because those are MAGNETIC north and south, which do NOT correspond to the sun's path... Also, because it's printed, it's for one latitude only. Not very helpful given that we don't all live in a long line.
Yes, you do have to account for magnetic declination - that's what the numbers are either side of the N at the top are for. You just point the magnetic needle towards the relevant angle east or west to account for that (it's explained in the compass instructions). It is indeed made for 50 degrees latitude - it was created by a Brit, so they're the local angles. It's still pretty accurate anywhere between 45 and 55 degrees (and a lot of people do live in this band). For the purpose it's intended for - giving an approximate sense of the Sun's path across the sky (for photographers and gardeners) as it changes with the seasons it works perfectly fine. It's made to be a cheap and rugged tool to do a specific job.
Hi Aranya, your videos and teachings are very much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with such peace and clarity.
Thank you! :)
Great tip! I love nasturtiums, excited to see if I can find machua here in the Pacific Northwest.
The tubers are probably going to be easiest to source come the winter. Best of luck!
Would you end up with Compost in the bottom over a period of time ?
Actually you get an accumulation of the dry matter. Each spring I empty this out and start afresh. For nettles it looks just like old straw. If you've not added any nettle seeds you can just use this as mulch or put it on the compost heap. If you have added nettles with seeds during the previous year I'd put it somewehre you don't mind lots of nettles growing. ua-cam.com/users/shortszbvfC1VCvm0?si=c-mJRVzS5s0Qa1qp
Haven't heard of this one, thanks, will have to get one mate (wink).
Or five?
Blackberries can be tremendously invasive in mild climates, that may be why they are not more common.
@@artifex_amandalastname2297 Yes, of course. You need to manage it but, for us, it's worth that little bit of work for the abundnace it provides.
@@LearnPermaculture That makes plenty of sense; for me one of my limitations is that I can't always keep up with things so I avoid planting anything that can run away if you don't stay on top of it.
@@artifex_amandalastname2297 That's very wise! Saves more work further down the line.
permaculture courses essentially are scams
thank you, detailled description which will help me avoid issues down the road. can I use newspaper as the paper element please?
I should think so, though you'd probably want to shred it, or at least tear it into strips first.I think most newspaper ink is supposed to be non-toxic these days. The Hotbin people say shredded office paper works best, but it's there primarily to soak up the excess moisture in your kitchen waste, so should still work okay. Best to experiment with different quantities and see how well it works. With shredded paper they recommend half a caddy's worth for every full caddy of kitchen waste.
With a Hotbin you can indeed shove anything in and leave it. You don't need to stir and you don't need the bark chips either. Ther are lots of second hand HotBins knocking around to buy. Also a basic rubbish bin with holes in the base works well, though cooler
Yes, you can. The bark chips help to maintain air spaces so convecting air can flow in the bottom and out the top keeping it more aerobic (less smell) but it'll still work without it. Stuff wants to decompose, the Hotbin design helps it to happen quicker and without a bad smell. :)
Wow, such a thoughtful video! Thank you!
Thanks!
Do you add the worms yourself initially?
No. They just turn up - presumably as eggs on some of what we put in - probably the bark chippings. They obviously like it enough to thrive inside. :)
excellent!
Thanks!
instead of using a drill, using a soldering iron which just melts a hole ... no little plastic bits
Thanks, that could work too, though there would be some fumes...
Great video!
Thanks! :)
First year grower here, trying to get away from spending so much money and stay natural. Been watching a number of videos on JLF etc and blessed to have came upon this. Would you say there's a benefit to nettles vs. comfrey or is it pretty much the same fuel for the process? Thanks so much for posting your experience.
Hi Xander, glad you're finding it useful. Nettles and comfrey are complementary. Nettles come earlier in the year and are high in nitrogen, which your young plants need to make stems and leaves. Comfrey is a bit later and is rich in potassium and also phosphorus which your plants need to make flowers and fruits. A prefect combination, but if you only have access to one to begin with, that's still good. Happy gardening!
@@LearnPermaculture Super, thank you sir for the response and articulate explanation. I really appreciate it!
@@rasserfrasser You're welcome. :)
I might have missed this, but do you dilute the slurry before you put on your veg? And, in a real dry climate, will the debris break down without water? I live in the high desert of SW Colorado. Thanks. Great presentation.
It's very much a liquid, but it does need diluting. I'll add one part to between ten and twenty of water (half a litre in a ten litre watering can) depending on whether it's already been diluted with rain.The leaves do have some moisture in to begin with, but a little sprinkling of water from time to time will ensure the decomposing microbes have enough moisture to do their work.
Thanks for getting back. I will be trying it out.
$890.00 for the 100 gallon one! Wow.
Yes, but that's for dealing with 20kg of kitchen waste a week - that's commercial scale. And exporting a British product is always going to add on quite a bit extra to the price.
@@LearnPermaculture I picked up a free Sceptic Garden Gourmet compost bin 82 gallons - made in Canada (priced at $120) but no longer produced (so vintage). Only problem is I got pulled over by a cop who told me a "composter" is not worth it. Luckily he just gave me a warning citation. hahahaha. So the next day I received a $975 composting toilet from "Toilets For People" - designed by an environmental engineer who does volunteer work installing that composting toilet in developing countries. Vermont is working to pass a composting toilet law enabling citizens to compost their humanure legally - currently you're supposed to "bury it" which is not quite the same as composting - also the subsurface permit people really don't understand composting. hahahaha. thanks
@@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885 Sometimes British laws are frustrating, but at least we're allowed to have a composting toilet.
@@LearnPermaculture nice to hear! The tricky bit here is "year-round composting toilet" - as normally it's just for a seasonal residence. There's one county in my state that has "year-round composting toilet" in their septic ordinance. I see there's even a composting toilet-cabin kit sold in the UK!! "WooWooLoo GT Compact is a high-capacity, low-maintenance, toilet cabin" - yes that is what my county allows - as a privy permit. So that design is perfect. thanks
@@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885 Yes, I'm aware of the WooWooLoo and a few other kits that are available here. We had a lot of fun designing and making our own dual chamber system inside (and under) a standard shed.
Anything that says … AI bonus … is probably a big turn off to anyone who is into gardening.
Yes indeed. And puzzling...
Thank you so much for this video-perfect for me in so many ways. Your teaching style is so welcome. I have a very modest and am not very strong but this looks very doable for me....I don't have orange bricks but will figure something out (none to find nearby). Re comfrey - I don't have nettles but have an abundance of comfrey a couple times in the summer (right now it needs cutting). Can I use comfrey for everything in my garden? I heard you mention tomatoes but I need to have something to use on everything-potatoes, greens etc..maybe berries? Thank you so much for your help with this. .
Yes, anything that will lift the barrel above a container will do - my friend Pat uses a pair of old van roof bars. Comfrey is very good too. It's more suited to feeding plants when they are in the flowering and fruiting stage and comes a bit later in the season, but I always make a barrel of comfrey liquid too. Yes, this will work for any plants that need a feed though for potatoes you could use the leaves as a mulch instead and save the work. I actually wrap a comfrey leaf around each seed potato when I plant them in the spring.
So I have a couple of questions, do you add water at any point? I am also wondering why the compost at the bottom was so wet? Is that normal?
No, the only water added is in the kitchen waste being composted. And to a degree in the bark/wood chippings. Yes, it's still quite moist when we take it out - because it's well insulated and contained there's nowhere else for it to go.
very informative and great way, Thank You
Glad to be of help.
How do you deal with rain getting into the bin (and flooding out the container)? Do you cover it in bad weather?
Essentially yes. You need a little moisture for the bacteria, but too much would give you a very dillute feed and, perhaps, a regularly overflowing container. If I'm expecting a lot of rain I cover them - with a couple of offcuts of old scaffoled planks, because they're heavy enough not to blow away. Use whatever you have. In a wet climate I'd use a more permanent cover. I got a lid with the barrel I use for my comfrey feed bin so I keep that on and just water the leaves occasionally - with captured rainwater of course.
@@LearnPermaculture Perfect thanks. I live in Wales (say no more!) so will look at a tarp or something similar perhaps. Maybe with an upright fence post so it tents. Hmmm will need fo think! Cheers :)
@@tipthebalance Then you'll definitely want to keep some kind of cover on it most of the time! :)
Great stuff mate, love your process to liquefy weeds to fertiliser without a stinky brew, airating with aquarium bubbles is fun too, but this is the simplest for sure, I'll definitely be doing this. Thankyou
Thanks! it was originally taught to me by Pat Bowcock at the wonderful Ourganics in West Dorset. It's been the only method I've used for years...
Terry King, a wonderful master gardener does this on a grand scale on his plot in Britain. Can't remember his channel name, but it should show up with a UA-cam search of his name.
Thanks! Yes, I see that he uses the pipe method, but on a bigger scale than the usual drainpipe. Good if you have a structure to attach it to. Not sure he has any more volume than a butt like this can generate though...
❤❤it🎉😊😊
Thank you!
Informative series, really well communicated, cheers.
Thank you, that's much appreciated. :)
How big does the container have to be for this to work? I tried a mini version with a 5L bucket and the nettle just dries right away. Tried adding water, but it flows right through.
I'd say the greater bulk in a bigger container has less surface area compared to its volume to dry out. I have seen a drainpipe version before, which would make a smaller amount but limit evaporation / drying.
@@LearnPermaculture To update/answer my own question, 5L is enough after all. Just need to be a little more patient and keep running a bit of water through. Here's what I did: - Take a 5L bucket, drill holes in the bottom. - Fill with nettles, or just about any weeds (no need for the net on the bottom so far). - Put this inside another 5L bucket, without holes, that will collect the tea - I add a rock or two on the bottom to give a bit of space for the water to collect. - Pour in a small amount of water if the leaves are too dry. It'll go right through, like I said, and remain pretty clear at first, but the next day or two I pour the same water from the bottom bucket to the top bucket again, recycling the same stuff over and over. - Water will indeed turn very dark after a while, like in the video. There's still a bit of smell, but much less than the full immersion method. I use 5L yoghurt containers, because I get them free from the local cafe when I pick up their coffee grounds to compost.
@@TomiRantanen Sounds like a great system - always best to use what you can get for free - things others are throwing away. Nice work! :)
Chicken wire and bricks....Geniuuuuuusssss!!!!
Apart from the Rodent issue its the SMELL. I only have a small garden and my last compost stank, then I had swarms of flies. So this by the sounds of it does not have this issue and can drain out the liquid that can smell. So for me , I think I will buy this for my garden.
The usual reason for smelly compost is that it's anaerobic - caused by it being too wet. Two things that help with this are keeping it part covered (in a wet climate) and making sure we add enough carbon-rich material - to balance our nitrogen-rich kichen waste. Old paper bags, torn up cardboard, shredded paper, perhaps some fine bark or wood chippings are all good sources of carbon. Hay and straw too, though they can contain unwanted seeds.
Impatient people like me can skip to 8:30 or 9:00 for the useful info.
One of the true joys of gardening is smelling so foul for 90% of your life, that nobody bothers you.
There is that... 😄
What about rain water getting in the barrel?
The bacteria that break down the leaves do need a bit of moisture, so you could cover the barrel and add a little from time to time, or you could leave it open and have a more dilute feed and have to empty the container more often. Personally, I put a couple of old scaffold boards over these nettle barrels if it's going to rain a lot. Neither of these barrels came with a lid. My comfrey barrel does have a lid and I mostly leave that on once they've started to break down a bit.
I became a widow in July of 2022. I have 27 acres of basically raw land. I had a shop built in July of 2023 with the idea that I will develop a permaculture nursery and elderberry farm on my land. I am in the process of deciding where two small homes will go on my property. One will be for me, and another for a farm hand or one of my adult children to live in to help me with the farm. I just purchased your book, and am starting to read and make my first maps. Any advice you can give me for my particular situation will be most appreciated. I am in northeast Oklahoma, USA.
You're right to take your time with the placement of those homes - it's always better to give such big decisions a lot of thought and to make our mistakes on paper. There's a lot of potential factors to take account of, many of which I cover in the videos that follow in this series. Bill Mollison advised us to observe a site for a whole year before building anything substantial, so we have time to observe seasonal changes - of climate / microclimates, animal activity, fungi and vegetation. Part 6 focuses on how to place things in the landscape and part 7 on integrating them together into effective systems. If you're starting with what's essentially a blank canvas, you could use the scale of permanence (mentioned on pages 56/57 in my book) - Yeomans' version was developed to help layout broadscale properties, though the concept can be adapted for gardens too. McHarg's Exclusion method (on page 122) is also a useful approach, ruling out all the places something shouldn't go, to reveal what remains. Anyway, work your way through this series of videos and if you've further questions along the way, post them in the comments. :)
Thank you. Doing that next week with my nettles and comfrey. Potatoes just broke ground
The new growing season is always exciting!
Someone who collects small particles of plastic like that I can really appreciate!
Thank you. :)
makes perfect sense. you dont want them in your soil or garden.
@@jamesgarner2103 I agree!
How long can I keep the fertilizer? Also, where do you store the liquid you have collected
I store it in a cool dark space overwinter, so the liquid produced at the end of the autumn I'll use vary soon. That's at least 6 months. As long as you filter out any bits before you store it, it still won't have that bad anaerobic smell when you open it after all that time.
Does this work with tree leaves and vegetable kitchen waste?
It's best with large leaved fast growing 'weedy' plants, so tree leaves are not so good - at least in cooler climes like Britain. Vegetable waste tends to not be as sappy, so I'd just compost that.
Do mosquitos breed in the finished liquid or do they not like it since its not pure water?
I've not noticed them doing so. Either I use it pretty quickly or I bottle it - neither gives them much opportunity anyway.
He needs to do it so the liquid from the crack will be caught in the container.
Drink lots of booze
😇mygreathanks and blessings
btw, how long before the collection would stink?
@@paulbraga4460 Thanks Paul. It doesn't, as long as you don't bottle it with undigested bits still in it (sieve it first). I keep it in bottles in a cool dark place over winter - so about 6 months between producing and using again in the spring (about now) - and there's no bad smell.
@@LearnPermaculture wonderful...
I tried this method in a 10 litre bucket and it just didn't work. Produced nothing worth mentioning. Maybe because the quantities needed are huge for the amount of liquid produced, so the bucket simply didn't have enough comfrey to produce the required liquid?
A 10 litre bucket is pretty small for this, though I have seen some people packing comfrey into a drainpipe and that working - and that might not be that much bigger. But yes, the more leaves you add the more liquid you'll get. With this size (approx 120 litres perhaps) I'll get 3 or more 5 litre bottles full in the first few weeks.
Isn't it simply a compost?
We're decomposing the leaves to release the liquid within. 'Composts' are solid matter.
I think one of the hardest and most important concepts for me to internalize is how cyclical the design process is. My natural inclination is to want to get it “perfect” the first time and be done, and realizing that not only is that unrealistic and setting myself up for misery, it’s not even how permaculture design works.
Yes indeed. If we wait until we think everything is perfect we'd never get started. And the process of implementing ideas we think might work gives us feedback that helps us to better understand.
I love all your tools, and how thoughtful you are in your approach.
Thank you. :)
I really appreciate your use of visual cues. I have found as you mentioned it can be hidden. However I use an automatic reminder software that sends the reminder to my phone 1 week before; I day before and on the day. My office calendar is a giant white board with sticky notes. Lol. Which I find a “in your face “ reminder.
Thanks Larry, yes the best kind of reminder is the one that we notice. That can be different from person to person depending on where we most place our attention.
Is it an idea to soak seeds in the nettle liquid with water and what ratio should I use. And use it also for the soil for those seeds
I've never tried that - seeds tend to have all they need for the first few weeks of growth, but you could experiment (with something you have a lot of, such as lettuce) and see if it makes a positive difference. If I did I think I'd use it more dilute than when feeding a large, hungry plant. Perhaps diluting 40 to 1 instead of my usual 20 to 1.