If you haven't heard of it yet, Starbucks Coffee Company has a composting program which packages up used grounds for people to take and add to their garden or compost bin. Clean, easy to acquire and use composting materials are always a benefit, especially as I try to build the less than wonderful soil at my home site. I usually see the can for this program located near the door so it's easy to sweep in and pick up any that are there. At the local stores they are popular and get picked up quickly so there's a bit of luck grabbing them. I grab them whenever I am near one and get a chance to go check. Even if you don't have a Starbucks nearby, consider talking with your local coffee shop and see if they have, or would consider starting, a similar program. It doesn't hurt to ask and the benefits you can reap are high. From what I remember of Starbucks packaging for the program, the PH of the grounds are essentially neutral, 6.9, with a C/N ratio of 20/1 making them a "green" when added to the pile, and containing trace nutrients.

I don't have a label on hand at the moment, but nearly identical information comes from this Garden Web article.

https://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2002015354019975.html

This is a another article from Bruce. Though I tend to prefer really low tech solutions, as much of a techno-geek I can be at times, I am more and more inclined to support some "bridge" technologies that allow for a more slow decline into energy descent rather than a rapid crash of some kind. I am not a techno-optimist. Here is the link to the main article, which includes the construction guide.

https://www.applied-sciences.net/library/zoetrope.php

This is another Q&A show, this time with a question from Tony. I actually take up two questions in this show, but the one that is the focus of most of this episode can be summed up as: How can people implement Permaculture in heavy human area, i.e. cities? Because I often focus on solutions and things people can do, it's not a discussion of applying the ethics and principles to an urban setting, but rather examples of things people can do to start living them. There is, however, encouragement for people to take a Permaculture Design Course as a first step. The short question was about the inclusion of animals in Permaculture. This wasn't answered in depth because the regular episodes of the show are going to start working through the material that one would normally encounter in a PDC. Since Tony brought it up, animals in Permaculture will be the first part of that series when we get back to it.

If you want to check out a great city project that is lead by a Permaculturist, check out: The Philadelphia Orchard Project

Questions? Contact me! Email: The Permaculture Podcast

My answer to this is a firm yes, but not only because of the knowledge imparted, but because of the copyright on the word Permaculture. It is a protected word and you must hold a Permaculture Design Certificate, awarded for having taken the class, in order to use it. Now, there are no Permaculture Certificate police running around checking on these things, but you may be challenged on it. Take the PDC, gain the knowledge, and use it freely. Here is more information on the copyright issue:

https://www.permaculture.net/apd/permaculture_use_and_copyrights.htm

https://www.midwestpermaculture.com/PermacultureCertification.php

This is a sample site assessment I did on a project, so you can see a possible service to offer clients as a Permaculturist, using the knowledge gained in a PDC. I've removed the name and other identifiers of the client. The greenhouse mentioned in this assessment is located on private property and has not been used for some time. It was being offered to a group of individuals for their use. At that time the agreement was very informal, which lead to the questions about right and ownership. One of my biggest concerns was that the site would be repaired only to have it taken away with little or no recourse for the volunteer group.

Greenhouse Site Assessment (PDF)

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We've done it! We've made it! After all that time together working through these principles, it has come to and end and here is Holmgren's final one. Principle 12: Creatively Use and Respond to change. I find this principle to be one about vision and dreaming up the possibilities of what the future can hold for our design, both good and ill, and using those thoughts to prepare for what may come, to accept the changes, and then be in a place to respond to it positively. I want you to be calm and centered so you can make the best decisions possible while intentionally building the land and community around you. With that comes the last homework assignment for this series: Go out and practice what you have learned. With the Prime Directive, Ethics, and Principles of Permaculture, you are ready to begin this process. I can lead you further on with more information, but this is the core of the work that you will then do. All the techniques and concepts that you will find elsewhere build off of this. You can do it.

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We are getting near the end of looking at Holmgren's 12 Principles of Permaculture with this episode on Principle 11: Use Edges and Value the Marginal. After a brief introduction to what each one, numerous examples are given. There are a number of homework assignments as well. Give them a try and see what you learn in the process. Also mentioned in this episode are Phytoremediation and the work of Paul Stamets, who is working with fungal mycelium as a way to handle pollutants. Here is more information on both for sources that I like. Phytoremediation: Citizens Guide to Phytoremediation (PDF) This is a simple 2-page overview of the process and is good for letting people know this option is available. If you go to: www.clu-in.org and search for Phytoremediation a number of articles are available.

https://www.mobot.org/jwcross/phytoremediation/

https://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jun00/soil0600.htm

Paul Stamets: This is his TED Talk. At 18 minutes long it is worth your time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

We are nearing the end of this series on Holmgren's 12 Principles of Permaculture this time looking at Principle 10: Use and Value Diversity. In this episode I mentioned how quickly the number of connections between elements in the system can grow. There is an equation, borrowed from Network Topology that shows this, if the connections are 1 to 1. It is : N(N-1)/2, where N is the number of elements. Here is a diagram of The connection between 6 elements. But, you will quickly find as you examine the world and the different ways things are connected, that the real number is much higher than that equation or diagram suggests. There is an example of this in the episode between a blueberry bush and bird.

Questions?

Contact me! Email: The Permaculture Podcast