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Amellia

My blog:

• Bioneers Conference Blog
• Random day blogs
• Report from permaculture Summer 2006
• Plant Research Project
• Guild
• Mini Biosphere Project

Bioneers Conference:

I was deeply touched by every single speaker on Friday. The man (Van Jones) who talked about not leaving the poor behind in the green wave blew me away. There is so much to learn and realize and act upon that at times I feel overwhelmed and motionless and then hearing people like those who spoke at the conference, how they did things that make such a huge difference in this world simply by being themselves. Their life makes sense to them. This is what enthralls me and makes my blood move again. That simply by being myself, creating good, it will make a difference and help our world move out of our selfish gain paradigm.

The lady who owns the White Dog Cafe really blew me away. She simply acted from her logical and passionate heart. Sometimes when faced with these catastrophic problems you feel like you and your friends must rise up and act like these fantasy super heros, and then you realize the simple fact that these people are human, acting with a clear heart and mind. Doing what makes sense to them. And hope seeps back in and reminds me that change will happen slowly and deeply rather then a quick fix. That people have to actually evolve in order for their action to be naturally beneficial for everyone around them.

I had a great time at the conference. :D

10/18/07 Today we did alot of hands on fun stuff! I mainly worked with the oven team. We are building an oven out of clay, sand, straw that is about 2.5 feet high. Right now we still need to put the finishing layer on, then dig out the door and all the sand on the inside! So awesome! The greenhouse is almost finished as well. The beds are planted nicely and the plants are all happy.

As for our Main Teams, we are kind of biting it, simply because we have not been able to meet with everyone in our groups, I feel it will be simple once we just put all the ideas down on paper, luckily Eric, Jaime and I wrote them all down and everyone is still brainstorming. I hope it is not just one dimensional normal greenhouse, but something jazzed up and interesting. :D Sweet.

10/13/07 It is almost the third week of our block 2 course. I feel we have gone over many important fundamental values of Permaculture. What excites me the most is molding the way I actually think about relationships in nature and how they benefit from eachother in a system. I still don't feel that I know enough in order to think properly to actually make a working system of positive relationships, but hopefully our design groups and small groups will give us more oppurtunity to have hands-on and mind-on experience. (to make mistakes)

I am really happy that we now have the vermi-composting farm going on in the science wing. I love the potential these worms give our options for waste equaling food in our daily society. Also, in the neccessary act of regenerating our top soil. I am very passionate about learning all I can about worm composting!

Magazine Report

The Tale of a Back Garden Micro Farm This is an article showing how easy it is to create a thriving biodiverse garden/farm without buying a place in the country with acres of land to use. By implementing ideas of permaculture a couple nearing their 40s creating just that. Instead of the countryside, they bought 24x14m back garden which was entirely lawn. They started with the blank slate designing the garden with principles of permaculture. They kept a small amount of grass as the path, and made raised beds, narrow rows easily tended from both sides and not being walked on. The other paths were wood chip mulch. They read their land and worked with nature rather than against it. They built a a wind break with a fence which once the wood rots their espalier damsons will have been trained up it to be a longer alive fence. They planted several apple trees in zone two or three for their mini orchard. Using the natural meadow grass around them as compost for later autumn.

They have hens for eggs and their waste and ducks to eat the slugs. They did put money into a great greenhouse that enlongates the harvesting of fresh fruit and vegetables. The whole plot is taking care of itself, which was their plan in the beginning, and now has 19 different vegetables, 8 types of fruit, a dozen or so herbs, plus their own eggs.

The ariticle quotes to author about his experience: "Permaculture is about accepting the limitations within which we live, and implementing the good design. This way, we can cheive productivity and a peace of mind by living within a system that is appropriate and acheicbale in relation to the way we live our lives."

Plant Research Project:

Plants Insect Repellent and Medicinal

1)Achillea millefolium -Yarrow 2) Allium cepa Onion 3) Allium schoenoprasum- Chives 4)Cucumis sativus - Cucumber 5) Coriandrum sativum- Coriander 6)Mentha arvensis villosa- American Wild )Mint 7)Ocimum basilicum - Sweet Basil 8)Rosmarinus officinalis - Rosemary 9)Chamaemelum nobile- Camomile 10) Allium wallichi-Kunth - Jimbur 11) Lavandula angustifolia-Mill - Lanvender

Osage Orange -Maclura pomifera

Synonyms Maclura aurantiaca - Nutt. Toxylon pomifera - Raf. Known Hazards: The milky sap can cause dermatitis in some people[200]. An extract and the juice of the fruit is toxic, though a 10% aqueous infusion and extract diluted 1:1 are not toxic Range Southeastern N. America - Arkansas to Texas. Habitat Woods, fields and thickets in rich bottom lands

A decidious Tree growing to 15m by 12m at a medium rate.

It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from September to December. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required)The plant is not self-fertile. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Medicinal Uses A tea made from the roots has been used as a wash for sore eyes. The inedible fruits contain antioxidant and fungicidal compounds. A 10% aqueous infusion and an extract diluted 1:1 have cardiovascular potentialities.

Other Uses Dye; Fuel; Hedge; Preservative; Repellent; Shelterbelt; Tannin; Wood.

A yellow dye is obtained from the bark of the root and the wood. Green and orange can also be obtained from it. The sap of the fruit is used as an insect repellent. It is said to be effective against cockroaches. The bark is a source of tannin. The plant is often grown as a hedge in N. America and Europe, it is very tolerant of severe pruning, makes an effective stock-proof barrierand succeeds in maritime exposure. A hedge in a very exposed position at Rosewarne in N. Cornwall has grown well (1989), though it is very bare in winter. This species is also used in shelterbelt plantings. Wood - coarse-grained, exceedingly hard, heavy, flexible, very strong, very durable, silky, lustrous. It weighs 48lb per cubic foot. One of the most durable woods in N. America, it is seldom used commercially, but is used locally for fence posts, piers, bows etc and makes an excellent fuel.

Cultivation details Prefers a well-drained soil in full sun. Succeeds in poor soils and also in dry ones. Plants are fairly tolerant of maritime exposure. They dislike waterlogged soils. Dormant mature plants are hardy to about -20°c though the young growth in spring can be cut back by late frosts and young plants can be damaged in cold winters. Plants require hot summers to fully ripen their wood if they are to thrive in areas with cold winters. Plants are tolerant of severe pruning. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in pots in a cold frame. Pre-soak stored seed for 48 hours in warm water and stratify for 2 months at 4°c then sow in a cold frame. Germination is normally good. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seed stores for 3 years. If growing larger quantities of plants, it is probably best to sow the seed in an open seed bed. Grow the plants on for a couple of years in the seed bed before planting them out into their permanent positions. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood, November to January in a frame. Layering in summer. Root cuttings 4cm long in December. Plant horizontally in pots in a greenhouse and plant out as soon as possible.

Roots System Excavation of root systems in 7-year-old or older shelterbelts revealed a lateral radius of 4.3 m (14 ft) and a depth of more than 8.2 m (27 ft) for Osage-orange near Goodwell, OK. The soil was Richfield silt loam. Most of the lateral roots were in the uppermost 0.3 m (1 ft) of soil. Excavations in Nebraska revealed a lateral radius of 2.1 m (7 ft) and a depth of 1.5 m (5 ft) for 3-year-old Osage-orange in Wabash silt loam; for 23-year-old Osage-orange in Sogn silty clay loam, lateral radius was 4.9 m (16 ft) and depth was 2.4 m (8 ft) (47). At both ages, there was a well-developed taproot, and most of the long laterals originated within the first 0.3 m (I ft) of soil. At 3 years, most of the long laterals were within the first 0.6 m (2 ft) of soil; at 23 years, laterals were as abundant in the eighth as in the first foot of soil.

'''This information is thanks to Plant for the Future website: http://www.pfaf.org/'''

!!Guild

I find the Osage very beautiful in a rugged way and therefore decided to choose it for this project.

Before I grow my Osage Orange I would grow a locust to nitrogen fix the ground, creating a nice shelter for the Osage Orange to thrive. Then later removing the locust for the wood and allowing the Osage Orange to grow fully. I would also plant comfrey near the base of the tree to keep grass from taking over, its great green compost as you can slash its nitrogen rich leaves several times a year and also for it to mine with its deep roots the minerals in the earth. I would also plant Scilla Siberica because this bulb plant will grow well under deciduous trees, due to their early blooming period and beautiful blue flowers. I would also plant lavender to bring bees and insects and for the simple beauty and herbal values. Lavender also has the same well drained soil requirements. Around the outter area of the tree would not be lawn, but Clovers, Alyssum or Alfalfa for the nitrogen fixation as well as permeating compacted soils, providing increased drainage. Also this would help as I would not need to cut these down making it easier to manage and the large Osage Orange fruits would not be in the way.

Early locust

comfrey

lavender

scilla siberica

clover

• clover.jpg

YAY! Go Osage Orange!