Our family farm stretches over 100 acres with a 250-foot elevation change throughout the property. At the highest point, the soil is tough clay and limestone rock—challenging to work with and always keeping us on our toes. But as you head towards the bottom of the property, the landscape transforms- the county survey describes […]
Almost no calves who are newly birthed survive without colostrum. Colostrum is the first milk/antibodies that mother cows offer to their calves. Colostrum is extremely important for humans too. Typically the intake of colostrum with calves from their mother cows is something you don’t have any part in or have to worry about. However, if […]
I’ve had a number of folks ask me to design in a firing range on their farm. Good idea for practice and especially if you have excess material you need to find something to do with. In the past, I’ve always just chosen what I considered a good location. I could not say I was […]
There are three classifications of sorghum: Grain sorghum Sweet sorghum Broomcorn There is overlap of use for all of these however the type of sorghum used for syrup making is sweet sorghum. I consider sweet sorghum a true permaculture annual plant that can and should easily fit into any permaculture homesteader’s property. The stalks grow […]
For Centuries Western Europe has taken care of it’s farmland better than most places in the world. One of the main reasons for it’s success is it’s climate with it’s gentle rainfall and long growing seasons. Plus much of the farmland being not too hilly. Shrub hedges and/or stone walls such as Cornish hedges were […]
I’m all for the “know your farmer” family farm model. It is exploding across the country right now. Especially in the Dallas Fort Worth area. I like it better than the GMO model of growing food for people for sure. The family farm model has many benefits when it comes to knowing what is in […]
We love hearing testimonies and getting updates from our students. From those who plant their first gardens to those who completely rock the homesteading. And this couple did just that. In 2016 they took our in-person PDC course and used their property (10 acres), which they purchased a few years prior, to design their final […]
The Preparedness Garden & Natural Medicine Series
Here at the School of Permaculture we offer a 72 hour, internationally recognized Permaculture Design Course, tailored after the book “A Designer’s Manual” by Bill Mollison. We do it a little bit differently around these parts, though. Don’t worry, we still cover all the required topics to set you on your introductory path to permaculture […]
Here we’re sharing a cool resource from our colleagues at Wild Abundance. They run a school for permaculture, homesteading, and natural building in the southern Appalachian mountains, near Asheville, NC. Based on nearly 2 decades of experience living with the land and applying permaculture principles to a variety of sites and situations, they created this for […]