Pittsburgh Permaculture » Ideas

Food4Wealth Review: Less Work, More Food with the Ecological Garden

Michelle — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:04:18 +0000

Personally, I have had lots of fun growing food and herbs. I have also spent many hard, sweaty hours pulling weeds and preparing beds. Eventually, I managed to develop garden beds that perform similarly to a Food4Wealth bed; however, this was after obtaining a Master’s degree in Sustainable Systems, working in a market garden, [...]

The plastic bag, stick and a brick trick!

Troy — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:29:33 +0000

This is a quick and easy way to train fruit trees to get the branch angle you want.

Materials list:

A couple plastic grocery bags A straight stick or piece of bamboo A few small rocks A fruit tree you want to train

BEFORE

An apple tree with an upright branch [...]

10 Methods for Soil Improvement

Troy — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 04:03:20 +0000

The following is a list of 10 easy and effective approaches to improving your soil. We have also noted the benefits that each technique provides and included a description of why each one is important.

Adjust the soil pH to optimal levels (6-7)- general (nutrient availability) – The pH of soil dictates the ability [...]

Tree Planting with Pittsburgh Permaculture

Guest — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:55:08 +0000

Over the summer, I had an interesting email; Catherine from Ireland was visiting Pittsburgh and wanted to help out a bit, here is what she wrote about her experience.

-Troy

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Tree planting with Pittsburgh Permaculture

After reading an article on ecological travel and responses to peak oil, I decided [...]

Rocks in the Garden

Troy — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:54:48 +0000

I am exploring the use of large rocks strategically spread throughout the garden to aide in the thawing process in spring. In the warm months, and in the winter when the rocks aren’t covered in snow, rocks buffer the diurnal temperature swings. That is to say they make the micro-climate around them a more [...]

David Holmgren’s Insights

Troy — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:34:56 +0000

I have put together some interviews of David Holmgren, the cofounder of permaculture. I wouldn’t suggest watching them straight through, but it is worth watching/listening to them very intentionally. I have grouped the multi-segment videos together. I hope you enjoy them.

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UPDATE 1: Indoor Lighting System

Michele — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:20:56 +0000

Click Here For My Original Blog “Indoor Lighting System”

Click Here For My 2nd Update

Here are several pictures 3 weeks into my seed starting journey for 2010 in comparison to last years lame lighting system. Remember, last year I purchased several lights from a popular chain store, that were labeled “Indoor Plant Grow Lights”. [...]

Selecting Seed for Your Vegetable Garden

Guest — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:18:22 +0000

By Mykie Reidy

Before you turn the first shovel of soil or plant a flat of seedlings, in anticipation of bringing to life the abundance of fruits and vegetables that can offer both sustenance and joy, you must first have seeds. Whether you raise your own or buy nursery grown plants, the decision of [...]

Urban Zones 3 & 4

Juliette — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:07:53 +0000

I was just reading Gaia’s Garden, the second edition. In this new edition Toby Hemenway includes a chapter on Permaculture Gardening in the City. He talks about how, differing from rural locations, zones 3 and 4 in a city setting become the city itself and all of its resources. He talks about how in [...]

Sepp Holzer Videos

Troy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:44:20 +0000

The following is a retelling of a Q&A session with Sepp Holzer from RichSoil.com:

Somebody asked Sepp how to get rid of invasive blackberries. Sepp’s answer: “put a string of electric [fence] around the blackberries and then run pigs in there.”

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And then somebody asked what if you don’t have pigs? [...]