Permaculture Plants: Bougainvillea

Beautiful Bougainvillea Bracts.

http://www.paradiseearth.com/Plant%20Articles/bougainvillea.jpg

I recently received this email from a reader:

Hi John, this isn't actually a temperate climate question, but I'd love to hear your thoughts anyways. I've just moved into a new home in Southern Turkey where the climate is similar to that of southern California. I'm hoping to experiment with some permaculture projects in my living space and want to start with what's already there. There is a large Bougainvillea bush ("paper flower") in the back yard and roses in the front yard. Do you have any insights from your reading about the benefits and uses of these two plants in particular and how they as ornamentals might fit into a permaculture system? 

First, I have to say that the Mediterranean climate really is technically part of the world's Temperate Climate Zone.  While there are roses that can be grown throughout most of the world, Bougainvillea is more tropical and sub-tropical, and many readers of the blog live in just these areas.  In the U.S., it can be grown in large swaths through California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.  Overall, very appropriate!

I'll talk about the roses in a separate post where I will devote a full "Permaculture Plants" article on them.  Today I will really focus on the basic Permaculture aspects of the Bougainvillea.  While not a plant that is often considered when discussing Permaculture, it does have a number of uses from which we can benefit if we already have these plants growing on our land.

Bougainvillea grows high and thick.

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/1c/93/d2/bougainvillea-adorning.jpg

Common Name: Bougainvillea, Paper Flower
Pronounced: boo-gan-VEE-yuh or boo-gan-VEE-jah
Scientific Name: Bougainvillea species
Family: Nyctaginaceae

Description:
Bougainvillea are woody vines that can be shaped into a standard upright shrub that can grow fairly tall.  It is most well know for its vibrantly colored bracts - modified leaves that surround the true flower inside.

USDA Hardiness Zone: 9b-12.  If kept dry, can withstand light frost and temperatures to 32 F (0 C).
Life Span: - 3-10 years

Primary Uses:

• Ornamental vine
• Ornamental standard bush or shrub
• Ornamental hedge

Secondary Uses:

• General insect nectar source - has small flowers which bloom long and often from which smaller, beneficial insects can eat
• Natural barrier fence due to its thorns and dense growth habit
• Drought and heat tolerant - excellent for outside of normal watering/irrigation areas
• Small animal shelter - especially small birds
• Privacy Hedge - due to its very dense growth
• Wind Break
• Potpourri - while lacking scent, the bracts hold their color and shape well when dried
• Wreathes - made from cuttings
• Used in traditional medicine for diarrhea, heartburn, cough, sore throat - studies are lacking
• Recently studied for diabetic and cancer treatments - no current treatment recommendations 

A Bougainvillea Hedge

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDvbWDsOerv00DalGHpozXnZeErW3yyfUBekmHSAJtV5hmOThGtzJMvpVi-9kPqHu9JnYecypdD4bjvSwkicvHLRmPvL0IQHLHtVqo6AlRxbd2lm6tTrl05g_ZyzHfeo0JyQI7KQZox4/s400/P1013501.JPG

Flowering: The closer to the equator, the longer the blooming season.  More Temperate Climates can expect long, recurrent summer and early autumn blooms.

Special Considerations for Growing:
Bougainvillea does not tolerate high levels of prolonged moisture.  Avoid overwatering.  Too much water causes the plant not to flower and can cause root rot.

Propagation:
Seeds.  Easily propagated through tip cuttings.  Just keep the cutting in moist soil in the shade until roots develop.

"Propagating bougainvilleas from cuttings is easy. The best way to identify the best quality wood for a cutting is to look for the striped bark, which will be semi-hard wood and take a four-node cutting. Remove all of the leaves except for the top leaf. Injure the bark of the bottom node and dip in rooting hormone and place in a striking mix in small pots. Normally it takes between two and three months for roots to be visible at the bottom of the tube."

- From Gardening Australia website

Bougainvillea can get quite large if allowed.

http://www.home-herb-garden.com/images/BOUGainvillea.jpg

Maintenance: Relatively pest free.  Minimal once established, but will need pruning to keep in bounds

Concerns:

• Sharp Thorns!  Don't walk barefoot near this plant.  As a child, we had a large bougainvillea on the side of our home.  We often avoided this corner of the property, because we rarely wore shoes as children when playing outside.  I had numerous thorns impaled in my calloused feet when I would run too close to this plant.  Note that all varieties do not have thorns.
• Irritating Sap.  Can cause poison ivy (poison oak, poison sumac) like reactions.

Bougainvillea come in a wide variety of colors, although the shades of purple are most common.

http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/images/Bougai1.jpg

Permaculture Projects: Composting

The Classic Compost Bin

http://www.composting101.com/images/compost_bin.gif

I received a comment on Facebook asking me for resources on composting and vermiculture (worm composting).  My initial thought was that I would write a quick post on composting.  I would then do some more research on vermiculture before I wrote that post since I have yet to do any vermiculture myself.  However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what I have done and know to do is more complicated than just a simple post.  Instead, what I thought I would do is share some of my basic thoughts on composting, and then share some of my favorite resources on composting.

When I have time, I will go back and write about what I have done specifically with composting, the variations/experimenting I have done, and the lessons I have learned.  I will also write a post soon about vermiculture - it is really cool!

There are a couple of things I want to point out first...

One of the many modern (and pricey) compost tumbler designs.

http://www.4seasongreenhouse.com/images/Compost-Tumbler-Back-Compact.gif

Mesophilic Composting
Mesophilic (ME-zoh-fill-ick) composting is composting done at temperatures that are warm but not too hot.  This is what most people think of when someone says "compost pile".  This is how most backyard composters expect to run a compost pile or bin.  Certain things that can be pathogenic (disease causing) should not be placed in a mesophilic compost pile.  These are things like meat, bones, cooking oils, animal and human feces, diseased crops, etc.  The temperatures typically do not maintain a high enough temperature for long enough to kill the pathogens potentially found in these items, so they should be avoided.

Thermophilic Composting
Thermophilic composting is composting done at very hot temperatures.  Thermophilic composting has been proven (over and over in many research studies) to kill all known human pathogens (parasites, bacteria, viruses, etc.), all known plant pathogens, and all weed seeds.  All home or "backyard" composters have the ability to easily make their mesophilic compost pile a thermophilic compost pile.  You just need a bit more space, plenty of moisture, plenty of aeration, a good C:N ration (that's carbon to nitrogen ratio - read all about this in the links below), and plenty of time.  A thermophilic compost pile should sit for at least a year before it is used.  If you have the time and the space, then this is the type of composting I would highly recommend.  You can truly recycle all organic material.  Period.  It is the most efficient and resource conserving method of composting.  The Humanure Handbook, which I highlighted a few days ago here, extensively discusses thermophilic composting.

Composting and Permaculture
As this blog is about Permaculture, I need to say that composting is a no-brainer when it comes to Permaculture.  Permaculture Principle One (Observe and Interact) and Six (Produce No Waste) dovetaile nicely in composting.  If we observe nature, we see that in nature there is no waste.  Everything is recycled.  If we are trying to emulate nature, we should compost as much as we can.  This is just one way to be truly sustainable.

Get out and start composting!

Finally, if you are thinking about starting a compost pile, just get out there and do it.  You can learn as you go.  It is so easy.  You will feel good about doing it.  You will end up with a great resource that your plants will love!

Composting Resources:
www.composting101.com:  This is a good site for the simple basics of composting (also has a page on vermiculture).

www.epa.gov - Composting: This is the Environmental Protection Agency's information page on composting.  It is well organized and very extensive.  Excellent information.

www.epa.gov - Where You Live:  This is the Environmental Protection Agency's link page to each state's composting page. Yeah, pretty much every state has a composting page!

www.howtocompost.org: A really good site on composting.  It has a lot of its own information, but it also has a bunch of links to other pages on the internet.  Not as well organized as it could be, and some of the links are dead, but overall, there is a lot of good information on this site.

Tumbleweed Tiny Houses

A huge trend of tiny houses...

www.tumbleweedhouses.com

Tiny houses.  It's a growing trend in homes, and I absolutely love this whole idea.  I have been interested in small houses for many years.  It is interesting how people will often gravitate to the smaller, more intimate rooms in a very large house.  It is these small spaces that are more inviting, more comfortable.  My thought was, "Why not make a house much smaller and full of small spaces?"  Then I came across Jay Shafer.  He is making small houses a reality.  While I don't plan on living in a 100 square foot house as he does (or did before he got married and is expecting a child), I am not going to live in a 6,000 square foot house either.  I don't think under 1,000 square feet is unreasonable by any means... in fact, it is on the border of arrogance and naiveté (Marie Antoinette-"let them eat cake"-style naiveté) to think we deserve more, especially when we take into account how the rest of the world lives.

Now don't get me wrong.  If you have the money and the desire, you can go ahead and live in a 6,000 square foot home.  I think it is a waste of your money.  I think it is a waste of your time and energy and resources to build and maintain it.  I think it will take you away from the more important things in life.  But if that is what you want, then go for it.  If you will be a slave to your home, either in debt or time or because you have too much stuff, then I say it is a bad decision.  But please don't confuse desire with need.  We do not need a large home.  We may like it, but we don't need it, and just because we can doesn't mean we should.  I'll get off my soapbox now.  Back to the really cool tiny houses...

From the Tumbleweed Houses Website:


I’m Jay Shafer, author of The Small House Book. Twelve years ago I designed and built the tiny house that would later become known as Tumbleweed. I’ve been, designing, building and inhabiting little houses ever since. I’ve built a dozen with my own hands and created designs for hundreds of other folks. My small houses and ideas for efficient living have been featured on Oprah, CNN, and in Natural Home Magazine.


I’ve shared my vision of living small by creating The Small House Book and Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Today, I lecture across the nation on small house living and design. All of my home designs are tried and true. I’ve traveled 7,000 miles across the country in one of my tiny houses. To my knowledge, no one else has been doing it longer and no one else teaches workable designs teaching people how to design and build along the way.


Viva la Tiny Revolution,
Jay Shafer



Here is a fun video where Jay Shafer takes us on a tour of his tiny home.  Please note that, as he says, the homes he designs have many more amenities (like proper plumbing) than this home he is living in now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJLSoUkh1Vs

Check out his website where there are photos and floor plans of these tiny houses.  I find it very inspirational!

Permaculture Principles: Principle Eleven - Use the Edges and Value the Margin

http://www.thelivingcentre.com/cms/images/stories/principles_menu.gif

Holmgren's Twelve Principles of Permaculture

1.  Observe and Interact

2.  Catch and Store Energy

3.  Obtain a Yield

4.  Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback

5.  Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services

6.  Produce No Waste

7.  Design from Patterns to Details

8.  Integrate Rather than Segregate

9.  Use Small and Slow Solutions

10. Use and Value Diversity

11. Use the Edges and Value the Margin

12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change

http://permacultureprinciples.com/principle_11.php

Principle Eleven: Use the Edges and Value the Margin
Holmgren's Proverb for this Principle:  Don't think you are on the right track just because it's a well beaten path.

This principle highlights a vital component to Permaculture design itself... the edge.  I wrote about the Importance of Edge more extensively in this post.  The main thing to consider is that if there is more life and richer biodiversity in the edge, then we should do all we can to increase the edge.  While the fastest route from point A to point B is a straight line, nature doesn't do straight lines.  If we are truly trying to mimic nature, then we should avoid straight lines as much as possible.  Of course, sometimes we need straight lines with certain design elements (roads, piping, wires, etc.), but the point is to question it when you see it.  Make sure it is vital and not just for us to impart our perception of "order" on the natural world.

Valuing the Margin reminds us that the mainstream is not always right.  There have been many things that have been abandoned, left on the margin, for reasons that have more to to with mass commercialism than wisdom or prudence or sustainability.  I often think about the loss of all the genetic diversity and flavor in our extinct varieties of plants and animals that we call Heirloom or Heritage Food.  The main reasons for their absence on our dinner plates is mainly due to shipping and storage and not flavor or consumer desire.  What else on the Margin have we passed by because everyone else has ignored... ideas, tools, design, people?

"Don't think you are on the right track just because it's a well beaten path" reminds us to reevaluate what we consider not worth considering.

The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place, these are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.

- David Holmgren

How Permaculture Saves Money: Plant a Fruit Tree!

Planting a fruit tree can save, and maybe even make you, money!

http://www.prlog.org/10190588-in-paradise-money-grows-on-trees.jpg

Permaculture can save you money!  There are many ways this is true.  I plan on using posting examples of this from time to time.  The first example I want to use is by planting a fruit tree.  Please hang in there if some simple math causes you to glaze over... it will be worth it.

Initial cost of the tree: $26.50 (Williams Pride Apple Tree, full-sized)
Seller states this is an apple that is highly rated for flavor.  Large red fruit with a sweet rich spicy flavor.

Cost of fruit in a grocery store: $1.50 per pound
No, you cannot get this excellent tasting apple in stores.  This is just an example price, about average, for apples in the produce department.  Many are cheaper, and some are more expensive.

Years to begin producing: About 5 years to begin and up to 10 for maximum average production

Quantity of fruit produced: 100-400 lbs of fruit per season after it is about 10 years of age

Years of productive life: 35-100 years
Note: You can buy a dwarf apple tree that will begin bearing fruit in only 3 years; however the amount of fruit produced is less and the tree doesn't live as long.

Net total of fruit produced:
     Minimum: 100 lbs a year for only 35 years = 3,500 lbs of apples
     Maximum: 400 lbs a year for 100 years = 40,000 lbs of apples!

Cost of fruit produced (in today's prices):

     Minimum: 3,500 lbs of apples x $1.50 per lb = $5,250

     Maximum: 40,000 lbs of apples x $1.50 = $60,000!

So, am I saying that we will be rich (monetarily) if we plant some fruit trees?  No.  While, it is fun to run the numbers and see what the theoretical potential of a scant $26.50 investment, it would be highly unlikely to earn $60,000 dollars from one apple tree.

However, it is very possible to save $5,000 by planting one apple tree over the course of its productive years.  If we never had to buy an apple again in our life, how much would we save?  If we sold all the apples, we could make a little extra money as well.  If we produced value-added items (applesauce, apple jelly, apple butter, apple pies, apple juice, apple cider, etc.) we would be able to make even more, but it would also cost us some of your time.

Now what if we had early, mid, and late-season apples (apples that matured through the growing season)?  What if we also had pears, persimmons, plums, peaches, medlars, cherries, paw-paws, walnuts, etc.?  We would have the ability to significantly cut our food costs, and this is just from trees!  We would have healthier food as well.  If we incorporated all of this into an Edible Food Forest, then we would substantially cut our time as the system helps to govern itself.

This is just one reason I am such a huge proponent of Permaculture.  This food cost savings is why Permaculture is sweeping through the developing world.  When the majority of your money is going to buy your and your family's daily food, a well designed Permaculture system can be like winning the lottery.  But don't be so arrogant to think that we in the western world don't have to worry about food costs.  Our food costs are beginning to significantly rise as well, and many experts believe this trend is going to continue and worsen in the next 5-15 years!  (Read more in this post about the soaring costs of food.)

The best time to plant a tree is today!  Get out there and do it.  Don't just read about it and plan and plan and plan.  Just get it done!  It will be worth your time and money to do so.  Trust me.

Book Review: The Humanure Handbook

 

  The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure

Now let's just dive in to the topic that is sitting right in front of us.  The topic no one wants to talk about, ever.  Poop.  Crap.  Stool.  Whatever you want to call it, everyone does it.  But no one ever wants to discuss it.  The Western world is very fecophobic.  No, I did not make up that word.  But the fear of our own poop, or someone else's, makes this a topic that most people would rather avoid.  Let's avoid, rather, the verbal constipation of this subject.  As a Family Medicine physician, I talk about bowel movements all the time, so this is not uncomfortable to me at all.

A quick definition for those who are a bit slow:  Humanure = Human Manure

Where to begin... I guess I'll start off with my impression of this book.  It was fantastic.  Never would I have thought that a book, a whole book, about composting human manure would be such a great read, and yet it was.  I kid you not.  Joseph Jenkins has given us a very well written book.  It combines history with biology with agriculture with up to date science, all in an interesting and fun to read format.

I firmly believe everyone should read this book.  Even if you have no desire to ever compost your own crap, this book will break down a lot of misconceptions about this normal body function.

For those who are ecologically minded, you may be shocked at the amount of environmental damage and waste of water we commit to by pooping in drinking water and flushing it away to be chemically treated and released.

For those who are interested in the concept, either out of curiosity or out of a desire to actually implement this, but who are fearful of disease and contamination, you will be delighted to know how safe and easy building and maintaining a humanure compost pile really can be.  You will read in the book who building a thermophilic compost pile will reach temperatures of over 160 F (71 C), and this is hot enough to kill all known human pathogens (diseases) within 24 hours.  But to ensure safety, the recommendation is to let the pile stand for a year before using it.  For those who are really paranoid, he recommends letting the pile stand for two years.  By the time you actually use the compost, the material is really just like a high fertility soil.  Another point to ponder for those who are fearful that they will die from some deadly disease because they composted their poop... if you are healthy (i.e. NOT SICK), then where are the deadly bacteria that will kill you going to come from?

For those who are just freaked out by the gross factor, this book causes you to challenge your personal biases against a normal human process.  I find it humorous that most gardeners jump at the chance to pay good money for composted, or even fresh, horse and cow manure, yet will stare at you as if you had a third arm growing out of your head when you mention composted humanure.

I will probably talk more about this topic in the future, since I truly think it will be a growing trend across the world, especially when the world starts to realize how little fresh water we have left on the Earth.  But I will save that for another day...

Let me end this post by listing some of the reviews about this book:

"This is a cult classic which might strike those without an outhouse as disgusting. But the methods outlined within have the potential to change the ecological fate of the world."

- New Yorker Magazine, May 22, 2009

"The handbook contains a lot of hard information taken from the author's humanure composting experience." "Jenkins provides a convincing case that human waste can and should be a safe composting material." 

- Mother Earth News

"We think the Humanure [Hand]Book ranks right up there with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring as one of the most important environmental exposes of all time." 

- HortIdeas

"...outrageous humor and brilliant, diligent research." "This is one book that could save the world!"

- Permaculture Drylands Journal

"...almost certain to become a classic in its field." "This book should be required reading...and not only for homesteaders." 

- Countryside Journal

"...a good read for anyone who is ready to entertain the possibility of more fully integrating him or herself into the ecosystem." "Replete with bad jokes, provocative queries, and practical suggestions."

- The Natural Farmer

Spiral Patterns in Nature and in History

The Triskelion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triskelion

I have been intrigued by patterns since I was a child.  Maybe it was my artistic background.  Maybe it is why I became an artist in the first place.  Maybe it was my love of nature.  I'm not really sure.  I do know that there are patterns to everything.  Even the things that we think have no pattern are either collections of many smaller patterns or are fragments of larger patterns.

In the conceptual sense, there are patterns that are not seen but understood.  Patterns are then in literally everything from finance to geology to relationships to medicine.  It is the true genius that can see the larger pattern and understand it.  These are the people who are the trendsetters, the visionaries, the leaders in their field.  I don't claim to be one of these individuals by any means, but I can appreciate it.

I don't want to get too esoteric here today.  Suffice it to say that we are surrounded by patterns every day. Once you are keyed in to looking for patterns you will see them everywhere.

Now what in the world does this have to do with Permaculture?  Permaculture is all about design.  When we design, we use patterns.  Sometimes we don't realize we are using a pattern.  We may think we are just placing a path based on the way the land slopes.  In reality we are creating a pattern.

Today I am going to focus on spiral patterns.  These patterns would be amazing templates for gardens, orchards, forests, paths, waterways, anything you can think of.  Here are some of my favorite:

Variation of the Triquetra known as the Trinity Knot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triquetra

Variation of the Celtic Knot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_knot

Variation of the Chi Rho.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Ro

Nautilus Shell.

http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/nautilus_shell_cross_section.jpg

Spiral Aloe.

http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/645/908645_aloe1.jpg

Millipede.

http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/645/908645_aloe1.jpg

Sunflower.

http://greenwellt.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/sunflower.jpg

Hurricane Isabel.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/51677main_isabel_new_4.jpg

Romanesco Cauliflower.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/images/Scr2.jpg

A Fingerprint.

http://education.vetmed.vt.edu/Curriculum/VM8054/Labs/Lab14/IMAGES/FINGERPRINT.jpg

Labyrinth at Barvaux (Duruy), Belgium

http://www.tourpress.nl/files/nieuws/pers_images/080829_080828_belgie_LabyrintBarvaux.jpg

The Herb Spiral.

See my post on Herb Spirals here!

Beneficial Insects: Fly Parasites

Fly Parasite stinging a fly pupa!

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/aug02/k9933-2i.jpg

Fly Parasites
Latin Name:  Muscidifurax zaraptor, Spanglia spp. (over 340 species in the Muscidifurax genera)
The majority of the information available about the Fly Parasite is on M. zaraptor, but most commercial insectaries sell a combination of both.

An emerging adult Fly Parasite.

http://chem-gro.com/cart/images/Fly_Parasite.JPG

Why are they beneficial?
These tiny wasps kill fly pupa (pupae are like hard cocoons) of most flies including the house flies and stable flies.  The common house fly, also called a "filth fly", live on/near manure and garbage waste and have the ability to transmit diseases.  In fact, they are able to transmit over 100 pathogens to humans including typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis, and anthrax.  Keeping filth fly numbers down is part of preventive medicine!  The tiny Fly Parasite is harmless to humans and other animals.  Fly Parasites should be just one part of our fly reduction plans which should also include sanitation, proper waste disposal (likely in the form of good composting habits), and additional fly predators (like muscovy ducks).

Casings of fly pupa with holes showing where the Fly Parasite emerged.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z257/americanwildlife/Insect/Muscidifurax_raptor_2.jpg

What is their lifecycle?
The female Fly Parasite will sting a fly pupa and kill it.  It will then lay an egg in the pupal case.  The egg will hatch and the Fly Parasite larvae will feed on the dead fly pupa.  The adult Fly Parasite will emerge in 19-21 days, will mate, and will begin looking for new fly pupa to deposit eggs.  The adult will attack about 50 fly pupae in its life.  Some Fly Parasites can overwinter, but the number drastically falls with winter.

Adult Fly Parasites also feed on the fluids from fly pupae.  Sometimes, the adult female will sting and kill a fly pupa without laying an egg.  Fluid from the fly pupae will leak out of the stinging site, and the female will feed on it.  She will even share with nearby males.

The small but helpful Fly Parasite.

http://rossalpacaranch.com/images/male-muscidifurax-raptor.jpg

What do they look like?
They look like wasps!  They are really tiny, black wasps, about 0.04-0.08 inches (1-2 mm) long.

What do they need?
There is not a tremendous amount of information available about the Fly Parasites.  The main thing they need to survive is a population of flies as prey.  If we have flies around us, then that is likely all the Fly Parasite needs.  Fly Parasites are also very susceptible to pesticides, so here is yet another reason to avoid pesticides.

This is how Fly Parasites arrive.

http://www.marchbiological.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/flyparasites.jpg

Purchase:
It is recommended to purchase only Fly Parasites from commercial insectaries that are free from microsporidosis.  Fly Parasites are available for purchase.  They are typically shipped in a paper bag full of wood shavings.  Inside the wood shavings are a bunch of fly pupa that have host Fly Parasites maturing inside.  Try to sprinkle the Fly Parasites in areas that flies are breeding.  The new adult Fly Parasite will fly in about a 100 yard (91 meter) radius from where it emerges in search of prey.  The best results are achieved by releasing the Fly Parasites before the flies become a problem.  Small but steady releases, like  will keep the flies in check.  There is a wide range of advice on how many Fly Parasites to release on a farm, but a good rule of thumb is 500 per large animal, 250 per medium animal, 5 per small animal, and 5 per cubic foot of compost.  First release is in early spring, and repeat every 2-4 weeks in fly season.


Check out these other pages on beneficial insects in your garden!
Bees
Fly Parasites
Lacewings
Ladybugs
Praying Mantis
Trichogramma Wasps

The Xerces Society

www.xerces.org

From their website:
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs.


Butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, worms, starfish, mussels, and crabs are but a few of the millions of invertebrates at the heart of a healthy environment. Invertebrates build the stunning coral reefs of our oceans; they are essential to the reproduction of most flowering plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and nuts; and they are food for birds, fish, and other animals. Yet invertebrate populations are often imperiled by human activities and rarely accounted for in mainstream conservation.


The Society uses advocacy, education, and applied research to defend invertebrates.


Over the past three decades, we have protected endangered species and their habitats, produced ground-breaking publications on insect conservation, trained thousands of farmers and land managers to protect and manage habitat, and raised awareness about the invertebrates of forests, prairies, deserts, and oceans.

One of the programs that they offer (I am hoping to take one of these days) is their Pollinator Conservation Course.  Many of these day-long courses are offered for free or for minimal cost (around $30).  They are offered in many places around the U.S. and they were just approved through a grant by the SARE to do a tour through the southeastern United States.  Their Pollinator Conservation page is here.  Their extensive Pollination Conservation Resource Center page is here.  Their listing of upcoming Pollinator Conservation Courses is here.

Take some time to check out this website, their resources, and find out what they may be doing near you.

Book Review: The Sibley Guide to Birds

 

  The Sibley Guide to Birds

Identification guides are an important component of your library if you plan to have anything to do with nature.  From hiking to gardening to living in the country, identifying what you see can make the difference between just seeing nature and truly understanding it.

I have read literally dozens of bird identifications books since I was a kid.  I have often liked one or two aspects of them, but none of them have been anywhere close to the level of The Sibley Guide to Birds.  The big issue with most bird identification guides is that while they may show a photo, it is usually a single photo, of one bird, of questionable quality, in one season, in unique lighting.  If you happen to see a bird in that same time of year in the same conditions, then you have a reasonably good mode of identification.

Sample pages from The Sibley Guide to Birds.

Left: Golden Eagle; Right: Bald Eagle

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The Sibley Guide is all illustrated with paintings done by David Sibley.  Many of the birds have multiple illustrations showing immature, mature, regional, and other variations.  As you can see from the pages above, the Golden Eagle has twelve illustrations for identification... 12!  That is amazing!  While each individual illustration is good, they may not be the absolute best artistically - meaning they may not look as good as some amazing painters recreate life.  But what Sibley excels at is capturing the unique characteristics of each bird.  It's almost like how a caricature artist captures the two to three unique features of a face and portrays the image so anyone can identify that person.  Sibley's paintings are more realistic than that of a caricature artist, but he is so talented at capturing the unique points to identify each species of bird.

Overall, this is the best bird identification book I have ever seen and used... and I have used it often.  I highly recommend this book be added to your bookshelf.

Permaculture Principles: Principle Ten - Use and Value Diversity

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Holmgren's Twelve Principles of Permaculture

1.  Observe and Interact

2.  Catch and Store Energy

3.  Obtain a Yield

4.  Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback

5.  Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services

6.  Produce No Waste

7.  Design from Patterns to Details

8.  Integrate Rather than Segregate

9.  Use Small and Slow Solutions

10. Use and Value Diversity

11. Use the Edges and Value the Margin

12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change

http://permacultureprinciples.com/principle_10.php

Principle Ten: Use and Value Diversity
Holmgren's Proverb for this Principle:  Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Variety is the spice of life!  It is also the key to sustainability.  Nowhere in nature do you see just one thing, one plant, one environment.  Our Permaculture Design should be no different.

Our plants should be diverse - this allows more variety in our diets which is healthy, more redundancy in our harvest which is prudent, less monoculture which is great for pest confusion, healthier soil, and creates habitats and microclimates which in turn lead to increased diversity of insects, birds, mammals, fungi, and all life in general.  One way to utilize diversity in plants as a design element is with the concept of Permaculture Guilds.

Our plant species themselves should be diverse - besides diversity in flavors, different varieties also provide diversity in pest and disease resistance.  Early season, mid season, and late season varieties also provides much needed and desired redundancy.  It helps ensure a crop regardless of late frosts, droughts, pests, or any other unforeseen calamity that strikes at the perfect, or worst possible, time.

Our systems should be diverse - again this also allows for greater redundancy, which again provides more stability in our total system.  Water harvesting is one of the most important systems that need to have diversification.

Finally, this diversity can also apply to many things non-agricultural: investing, skills, education, transportation, communication, communities, etc.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" reminds us that when we rely on only one method or system, if that system fails, then we have guaranteed failure instead of success and sustainability.

Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.

- David Holmgren

RainSaucers

www.rainsaucers.com

I was going to start this post by saying how much I hate it when I come up with a great idea only to find out that someone else has already beat me to it.  But in reality, I don't care that much.  It makes be feel good that I had an idea that works!

My idea was to have a large circular sail that could open up flat (horizontal) when it rained.  It would have a very large surface area of at least 1,000 square feet (300 square meters).  This would be used for rain water collection, mainly for livestock tank filling, but also for human consumption as well.

The simple, yet elegant, RainSaucer.

Then, just a few days ago, I heard an interview with Tom Spargo on The Survival Podcast.  This gentleman created a scaled down version of my idea... okay, so it was his idea! :)

The RainSaucer can easily be connected to many different systems.

The RainSaucer is a rain harvesting tool.  It is portable.  It is durable.  It can be connected to many different collection systems (buckets, barrels, troughs, etc.)  It is also not that expensive at only $55.  He has completed many field trials in Guatemala providing locals with inexpensive ways to obtain clean drinking water.

RainSaucers incorporated into a trellis on a sustainable garden.  Love it!

No, I don't own stock in this company (I doubt they actually have stock), but I see a great product here. This is one that will be incorporated into my Permaculture System in the future.  Here is a link to the only place the currently sells the RainSaucer online, but I think that will change quickly as this company continues to grow.  And here is a video on installing the RainSaucer.  It shows how simple this system is, and typically all great ideas are simple but brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mUMQ4Dzq_0

Check out these other Water Harvesting posts:

Dew Ponds
Gabions for Creek Restoration
Hugelkultur
Rain Harvesting from Your Roof
Swales

Permaculture Plants: The Medlar Tree

The Common Medlar

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Common Name: Medlar
Scientific Name: Mespilus germanica
Family: Rosaceae

Ripe or "bletted" Medlars ready to eat

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Description:
The Medlar is a small tree or a large shrub native to southwest Asia (Turkey and Iran) and southeast Europe that was one of the most common fruits in Western Civilization, yet is almost unknown today.  The name of the tree is also the name of the fruit.  It has large dark leaves that turn yellow or red in the fall.  The fruit are 0.5-1.5 inches (2-3 cm) in diameter and are brown when ripe.  People either love or hate the fruit.  The hard fruit only become edible after bletting (see trivia below).  When ripe, the fruit has a flavor and consistency of "spiced applesauce with wine undertones".  People who dislike the flavor of the fresh fruit state that it tastes like rotten apples. This is yet another great-tasting fruit that few people know of because it doesn't ship or store well and is therefore not available in stores.  It has almost no pests or disease and requires almost no maintenance.  This is one of the great trees for an Edible Forest Garden.

Medlar Trees, Cagnes by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1908

http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/pierre-auguste-renoir/medlar-trees-cagnes-1908

History:
Native to the Black Sea coasts of Turkey and the Caspian Sea coasts of Iran, the Medlar has likely been cultivated for over 3,000 years.  Introduced to Greece aroun 700 BC and to Rome around 200 BC.  It was a common Middle Ages fruit that spread through much of Europe and Britain.  It became less and less popular as apples and pears become more common, and their fruits store and ship much better.  The Medlar was often stored in stacks of hay in the barn and enjoyed through the winter, very uncommon for a fruit.  It is believed to have been brought to North America by Jesuit priests in the 1800's and to South Africa in the 17th Century.

Trivia:

• Fruit must be bletted before eaten.  Typically this is done by picking the fruit after the first frost and storing it in a cool place.  The fruit must be stored calyx-end down.  The fruit will sofen, the skin will darken, and the skin will slightly wrinkle.  Bletting can take from one to three weeks.  Fruit can be allowed to ripen on the tree, but this may result in more dry-tasting fruit; however, some people prefer this.
• There is a Stoneless variety that has no seeds, but lacks good flavor.
• The only other Mespilus species, M. canescens or Stern's Medlar, was found in Arkansas, United States in 1990.  Only 25 existing plants are known.
• Popular in European Literature: Chaucer calls it the "open-arse fruit"; Shakespeare makes frequent mention of the medlar that is "rotten before it is ripe" and used as a symbol of premature destitution; Dekker states that women are like medlars, "no sooner ripe but rotten".

Harvesting Medlars

Photo from the Root Simple website.

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USING THIS PLANT
Primary Uses:

• Fresh Eating - Halve the fruit and scoop out the pulp, avoid or spit out the seeds
• Jams and Jellies - naturally high in pectin
• Tarts 
• Pies and Desserts
• Fruit Leather
• Folded with cream
• Wine
• "Medlar Cheese" - made with fruit pulp, eggs, and butter (similar to lemon curd)
• Traditional dessert - roasting Medlars with butter and cloves

Secondary Uses:

• General insect (especially bees) nectar source
• Specimen tree (elbowed branches, big leaves, interesting flowers, beautiful fall color, fruit stays on after leaf drop, great tasting fruit, tree that is low-maintenance)
• Very hard wood, but does not get large and the branches are not very straight; therefore, it has been used for spear points, hunting and warfare clubs, fighting sticks, and in windmill parts.  The Basque people use the Medlar to make their traditional Makhila (walking stick and weapon)

Yield: 20 lbs per tree
Harvesting: Mid-Autumn (October-November); Typically harvested after the first frost or when the leaves are starting to drop.  Handle the hard fruits gently for best bletting (see Trivia above).
Storage: Once ripe, they will only last a few days.

The central Medlar blossom at the end of the stem with elliptical leaves.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Medlar_blossom.JPG

DESIGNING WITH THIS PLANT
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-8
AHS Heat Zone: 9-4
Chill Requirement: not described

Plant Type: Tree
Leaf Type: Deciduous
Forest Garden Use: Sub-Canopy Tree or Canopy for a small Forest Garden
Cultivars/Varieties: A few are available, but the difference is either in the size of the fruit or the shape of the tree (weeping, bushy, open tree).  The fruit flavor is not much different between

Pollination: Self-pollinating (Self-fruitful) - only one plant is needed to produce fruit

Flowering: May-June
Life Span: Information for this ranges from "30-50 years" to "very long-lived tree"
Years to Begin Bearing: 3-5 years

Medlar Tree in an English backyard

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhedwards/4971270733/sizes/m/in/photostream/

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PLANT
Size: 10-20 feet (3-6 m) tall and wide
Roots: not described
Growth Rate: Medium

Bark of the Medlar Tree

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GROWING CONDITIONS FOR THIS PLANT
Light: Full Sun
Shade: Tolerates moderate shade, but still needs a little direct sun per day to fruit.  More sun = larger yields
Moisture: Medium
pH: 5.5-7.5

Special Considerations for Growing: Plant new trees between November and March.

Propagation:
Typically grafted on to hawthorn rootstock (which can grow in a variety of conditions), but also on pear and quince rootstock.

Maintenance:
None once established.  Does not need pruning and does not have any significant pests or disease.
An occasional pruning in let in light or too remove dead branches could be needed.

Concerns:
Fruit must be bletted, which some lazy people find too time consuming.
Some people do not like the flavor of the fresh fruit.  If you have limited space, try to taste one before you plant the tree.

Medlar in mid autumn

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Medlar in early winter

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Medlar in mid winter

http://www.ediblelandscaping.com/images/site/medlar%20fruit%20winter%20DSC_02340304.jpg