Not widely known is that most prairies and forests start as water retention pools also known as ponds. When a water filled hole in a landscape fills, the “4 layers of life” balance the pond and maintain it for several hundred years (learn more). After many years silts from decaying organic matter start to fill the pond. If […]
Nitrogen fixation, to say the least, is COOL! The design of nature that allows for bacteria to symbiotically align with legumes, and some other species, to deliver atmospheric nitrogen into the soil is a blueprint for the next phase of the long term food supply for humans. When we combine a technique called chop and […]
When studying permaculture at any depth it is easy to be empowered with information such as every forest in the world has seven layers (learn more), or that prairies are layered too (learn more). Since design and order is not exclusive to land systems, we can see the order of life in every pond or aquatic system. The […]
Depending on where you live the word prairie can be exchanged with rangeland or grassland. The popular, and profound, work of Allan Savory and his Holistic Management has shown how large herding animals graze off of rangelands/prairies, and then are moved by predators, thus giving us a blueprint of how rangeland ecosystems function. This knowledge […]
Written by Nicholas Burtner, published by permaculturenews.org Many farmers and growers are in massive amounts of debt. Many still want to go organic but the time and red tape needed to do so will deliver them into bankruptcy. I have outlined a few steps a farmer/grower can take to move around the red tape and speed […]
There are a variety of ways that nature seeds clouds. When we look to deserts and through history of the Native Americans (and many natives of other countries too) community events such as rain dances are often used to make it rain. Known of unbeknownst to them, when having a community full of dancers in […]
Most climates, aside from the arid climates, have at least a time where the season can be very humid. Humidity makes both the heat and cold feel penetrating. In regions where we build living quarters that have vast amounts of humidity, it is wise to establish proper heating and cooling strategies that are designed to work with […]
There are very few sustainable and regenerative farming methods in known recorded history that can be modeled after for long term food and water abundance. Thailand has been known to bear highly productive rice fields that have existed for over 5000 years. At first glance of the abundance it is easy to think “why don’t we just build rice […]
A good p.H. for a permaculture garden (or any garden that has food as it’s primary) is 6.2 to 6.8 on the p.H. scale. Many gardeners spend quite a bit of time and money attempting to adjust soils to just the right p.H. for growing annual and perennial fruit and vegetables. It is true that blueberries (which […]
There is a multitude of factors to consider when purchasing a property: soil type, water catchment, pasture vs wooded areas, history of the property, etc.. However “The Primary Factor” to consider when purchasing property is… Is there adequate, well distributed, reliable rainfall? *Note that even if you are already on a property where your evaporation exceeds […]









