George Yacus

Presumably there is some kind of hand washing station near this system.  It would be neat to use the waste water from washing hands in that sink to automatically chase the waste of the urine diverter, and thus fill the p-trap to prevent venting odors.  Users' normal pattern of washing hands provides a stacked function without extra thought involved.

Mamalana Bliss wrote:
I am curious if y'all have any thoughts or advice about where to market my design work. I have just about 20 years of experience in Permaculture design and education, and when it comes to the work, I am solid.

I would start by editing your "about me" profile (https://permies.com/u/185965/Mamalana-Bliss)
to include a link to your website and showcase your design work.  Also highlight where you earned your PDC.  Include in your profile or (maybe even your signature block if it's concise) what your services are exactly, and how you can be initially contacted (Purple Mooseage, phone, Email, online Google Form or website form, etc ) and how you can be paid, and what services you freely provide.

Put yourself in your ideal clients' shoes (or more likely, boots or sandals) and think from their perspective.  Where are they, and how did they find you? Perhaps they discovered you from a free workshop you provide at the local library, or an awesome YouTube video, or chatted you up at a local house of worship, or a trash pickup at a National Park, or met you at Wheaton Labs, or as a PDC teaching intern on a permaculture institute's website.  etc etc

Since you're thinking internationally, if you don't have a portfolio of work online, that seems like priority one.  Until you have a fancy website, a wiki thread here on permies.com could easily help organize and showcase your work from these past 20 years, along with biographical information (to include what languages you speak) so clients can better appreciate your character and style and whether you're a good fit to support them.

Include on permies.com photos or links to your specific work if you already have it documented elsewhere, and quotes from satisfied clients to date.  Ask your current clients if they would be references for future clients, or if they can refer you to new clients.  Don't have any clients yet?  Well, the forums are filled with folks seeking novel permaculture ideas and designs.  Help others where/when you can.

Humidserable.

(adj)

1. 🌦️+☀️=🥵

"I can't permaculture right now, it's downright humidserable out there."

"Finder's keepers, lose your sweepers!"

The idea of growing tasty permaculture fruits and veggies makes me both smile and salivate.  

Incrementally over a lifespan, a gardener may journey from a few tomatoes in pots on a balcony, to a backyard suburban patch, to a community garden plot in the city, to their own blank canvas garden in the rural countryside... surrounded by equally hungry wildlife!

I'm currently thinking of rural Zone 1 possibilities for my friends' farm I am helping design, as well as my own future homestead.

I'm envisioning rural permaculture Zone 1 "gulag" gardens, but without that vegetables-are-serving-time-in-prison vibe.  Especially garden ideas and designs that:
1) Are well defended from wildlife,
2) Conserve energy in material and energy flows,
3) "Stack functions" through thoughtful integration.

If you currently have (or are dreaming up) a well protected Zone 1 garden:

What are you especially proud of, design wise?

What would you have done differently in your garden's structural design, relative placement, shape, layout, materials, elements, or whatever, if budget wasn't a concern?

What are nifty permaculture elements, patterns, or integration points and designs you'd love see more of in Zone 1 gardens? (Aka Permaculture demonstration sites)

Zone 1 permaculture garden dream list:

Garden is next to Zone 0 to save walking time and increase observation and ease of harvest.

Gravity-fed irrigation from rainwater water storage, collected from Zone 0 roof.

Garden beds are downhill from animal or mulching systems, enabling easy "kickdown" of materials and fertility.

Great solar aspect, and nearby structures or trees help reflect heat and/or enable shade for warm/cool-weather plantings, respectively.

Tools are stored nearest their points of use.

Kanban and "lean" systems help make scheduling and execution of work a breeze.

Thermal mass (rocks, water tank) helps moderate temperature extremes.

No frost traps!

Structures or functional hedges ameliorate adverse winds.

Sitting spots available for working or resting, especially on the side of raised beds.

Communal eating and celebration nooks within the garden.

Night path lighting.

Rot-resistant fence posts with no chemical preservatives.

Artful structural elements from natural, on-site materials e.g. wattle fences, baskets, trellising, stone mosaic pavers.

Manmade elements are durable materials... buy it for life.

Ponds for frogs and fountains for birds (for pest control).  Plus the sound of falling water.

Animal integration.  Make the animals do the work.  i.e. Chicken tilling, pig digging, sheep mowing.  Chicken moats for pest/weed barriers.

Evergreen vines "sector out" neighbors for privacy.

Pretty pollinator patches and flowers for bees = increased yields overall.

Summer sitting and eating areas...under trellised shading vines.

Handicapable raised beds and pathways for aging in place.

What else? (Crowd sourced list)

Incorporating perennials (e.g. asparagus as backdrop). Strawberries, garlic, walking onions, raspberries along path. Tea plants. (hat tip Robert R. below)

Locate garden beside well travelled paths for keen and frequent observation and upkeep.  Composting! (h/t Rachel L)

The idea of growing tasty permaculture fruits and veggies makes me both smile and salivate.  

Incrementally over a lifespan, a gardener may journey from a few tomatoes in pots on a balcony, to a backyard suburban patch, to a community garden plot in the city, to their own blank canvas garden in the rural countryside... surrounded by equally hungry wildlife!

I'm currently thinking of rural Zone 1 possibilities for my friends' farm I am helping design, as well as my own future homestead.

I'm envisioning rural permaculture Zone 1 "gulag" gardens, but without that vegetables-are-serving-time-in-prison vibe.  Especially garden ideas and designs that:
1) Are well defended from wildlife,
2) Conserve energy in material and energy flows,
3) "Stack functions" through thoughtful integration.

If you currently have (or are dreaming up) a well protected Zone 1 garden:

What are you especially proud of, design wise?

What would you have done differently in your garden's structural design, relative placement, shape, layout, materials, elements, or whatever, if budget wasn't a concern?

What are nifty permaculture elements, patterns, or integration points and designs you'd love see more of in Zone 1 gardens? (Aka Permaculture demonstration sites)

Zone 1 permaculture garden dream list:

Garden is next to Zone 0 to save walking time and increase observation and ease of harvest.

Gravity-fed irrigation from rainwater water storage, collected from Zone 0 roof.

Garden beds are downhill from animal or mulching systems, enabling easy "kickdown" of materials and fertility.

Great solar aspect, and nearby structures or trees help reflect heat and/or enable shade for warm/cool-weather plantings, respectively.

Tools are stored nearest their points of use.

Kanban and "lean" systems help make scheduling and execution of work a breeze.

Thermal mass (rocks, water tank) helps moderate temperature extremes.

No frost traps!

Structures or functional hedges ameliorate adverse winds.

Sitting spots available for working or resting, especially on the side of raised beds.

Communal eating and celebration nooks within the garden.

Night path lighting.

Rot-resistant fence posts with no chemical preservatives.

Artful structural elements from natural, on-site materials e.g. wattle fences, baskets, trellising, stone mosaic pavers.

Manmade elements are durable materials... buy it for life.

Ponds for frogs and fountains for birds (for pest control).  Plus the sound of falling water.

Animal integration.  Make the animals do the work.  i.e. Chicken tilling, pig digging, sheep mowing.  Chicken moats for pest/weed barriers.

Evergreen vines "sector out" neighbors for privacy.

Pretty pollinator patches and flowers for bees = increased yields overall.

Summer sitting and eating areas...under trellised shading vines.

Handicapable raised beds and pathways for aging in place.

What else? (Crowd sourced list)

Incorporating perennials (e.g. asparagus as backdrop). Strawberries, garlic, walking onions, raspberries along path. Tea plants. (hat tip Robert R. below)

Locate garden beside well travelled paths for keen and frequent observation and upkeep.  Composting! (h/t Rachel L)

Does anyone have a recommended website with a chart or graph depicting the lowest recorded temperatures by county by year?  Thanks!

Hi Oliver!

First off, Go Hokies! Congratulations on your acceptance to Virginia Tech!  My grandfather was a Hokie, and I *strongly* considered their ROTC program for military service, but ultimately chose a different military path.

"Where do I start?" is a common question, and a frequent response in permaculture circles is "At your doorstep."  

And one of (permaculture co-founder) David Holmgren's 12 permaculture principles is to use "small and slow solutions".

So with those two things in mind, have you considered possibilities local to VA Tech?  They are an absolute powerhouse in the agriculture education world.  And permaculture of course originated as a portmanteau of "permanent agriculture".

So maybe a "major" change in the academic sense would help, rather than a "major change" in the life-choices sense?   Perhaps some faculty (or your academic advisor) can give you guidance and point you towards hands-on extra curricular opportunities that align with your values.

More specifically, check out VA Tech's "College of Agriculture and Life Sciences".  They have several permaculture compatible schools:

https://www.vt.edu/content/vt_edu/en/tags.html/vt_edu:academics/colleges/college-of-agriculture-and-life-sciences

Tech even has an agroforestry team...way cool!

https://agroforestry.frec.vt.edu/

They may be at the grad school level, but I see they have a link to a sustainability center, and even a forest farming YouTube channel.  Surely a good sign!

https://youtube.com/@exforestfarming?feature=shared

Maybe cold call some of their faculty, and bring up "permaculture".  I bet they'd resonate with your values and speak your language.  (I actually used to be a freshman academic advisor once upon a time -- faculty really do care about your success and well-being, and are generally *very* passionate about their areas of expertise.  They'd love to support you, and they want you to succeed!)

Outside of academics, maybe next fall on the weekends between classes you could attend Shenandoah Permaculture Institute's Fall PDC, and meet some local permies and Virginia farmers. I recall they have a scholarship -- perhaps you could apply for a free PDC?  

All this to say, you're in a good place, Oliver.  And as a runner, you know how to "go the distance".  So don't give up!  See you around the forums.

P.s. You mentioned LEF.  I bet if you are in the area this November, you could be invited to attend their 14th annual "Land Day" party...I hear there's solar-powered dance parties!

That's a very clear and thoughtful layout, Christopher, top notch!

T Blankinship wrote:What about a lettering system by topic. Something like: UP Urban Permaculture, A autobiography, WL woodlands, RMH rocket mass heater, FG forest garden, W water etc. So a book like "Gaia's Garden" may have UP, W, FG.

I really like T's idea, too.  Perhaps a column could use those bumper stickers icons!

Criteria:

Nitrogen fixer

Capable of holding up kiwis / grapes

Zone 7b

Straight and pole-like

Doesn't shade out neighboring shrubs

Able/willing to be cut back in winter

Black locust meets your listed criteria, good sir.  

Here's a post  -- of a post! -- with some observations from my own farm.  If you plant one and prune it thoughtfully every year, I bet you'll be able to get a good standard trunk shape that provides a sturdy pole within 5 years.   I've been hanging my hammock sleeping between such young trees without fear of breaking.  And since hardy kiwis are known to be mighty heavy vines, such strength is warranted.  Permaculture farm "Tangly Woods" currently uses black locusts to trellis grapes.  Consider eventually adding some kind of strong cable between your posts, unless you plan on using a chainsaw or milling the wood.

My maintenance recommendations:

Plant at your own risk due to its opportunistic nature.  Check regularly for suckering plants at the outer edges of the root zone/drip zone and lop them.

Be extra mindful of thorns.  Wear sturdy leather gloves (gauntlets even) and eye protection.   Be especially careful if lopping overhead branches.  Or don't and accept the regular and painful feedback

Prune in winter to encourage development of a single standard trunk aka "central leader".  Cut up the pruning bits as ramial chipped wood "chop and drop" for higher value plants