Stabilizing and planting on a steep sandy slope

This site lists a technique of using check logs to terrace by building up rather than digging in:
https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/2014/10/heres-a-quick-way-to-terrace-a-hill/ 

Here are some plants for erosion control:
https://wshg.net/blog/2014-06-17/best-native-plants-for-protecting-your-hillside-from-erosion/

PNW options: (definitely full sun, southern exposure, drier soils)
https://wmswcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Native-Plants-for-Erosion-Control.pdf

Some promising ideas: Kinnikinnick, deltoid balsamroot, Red flowering Currant, Hairy Honeysuckle

Planting Veggies

Now that I had a nice mound of dirt in the front yard, today was the day to plant! I am going for something between row planting and square foot gardening. We'll see how this turns out.

I planted onions on top, tomatoes around the back, fennel around the front. And greens, spinach, lettuce, and a mesclun mix, on the lower slope.

In particular I was a little unsure of where to put the plants relative to the slopes, troughs, and ridges along the side of the mound. So I did a little of each and will try to pay attention to what does best.

I planted a few herbs on the other mound between the path and the driveway. This will get a little less frequent water and seemed like a better place for some herbs: basil and parsley. I also planted a zucchini squash as much as a ground cover as for the food.

"Sustainable" vs. "Restorative"

There is an interesting point in a TED talk I just watched:
http://www.ted.com/talks/barton_seaver_sustainable_seafood_let_s_get_smart.html
of thinking about the difference between striving for restorative rather than merely sustainable. Still thinking through the implications....

Article about one person's experience with "green living"

An interesting article from Southern California reflecting on various efforts to live more sustainably:
After two years of eco-living, what works and what doesn't

Fuel

Just watched Fuel (which is on Instant Download in
Netflix). Overall, I though it was a compelling treatment of the problems and possibilities surrounding transportation fuel in the U.S. and as they relate to the rest of the world. I liked that it covered the unintended consequences of diverting food crops into the fuel supply. The film finished strongly with an upbeat, yet not sappy, exhortation to get out there and do those things that are within your power.

Economies of local

I have heard a lot and read about economies of scale. It seems like we need to develop a better understanding of the economies of local.

We should understand the forces that help keep operations local and tied to community and offset the benefits of growth. Maybe I should plan to fly to the next International Conference on Localism? I find it ironic the tension between promoting local thinking to the world and researching and sharing best practices in the widest possible way, with the ethos of focusing on that place we are at.

The role of raccoons?

While planing for life in the backyard section I keep encountering questions of dealing with raccoons (Procyon lotor). There is something unspeakably cool about raccoons -- crafty, intelligent, versatile, fastidious, silent, lurkers. I don't like thinking of them as enemies. But I also don't want them nabbing my hens and such.

Their diet consists of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant foods, and 27% vertebrates -- eating invertebrates is good, usually. Since raccoons are able to increase their rate of reproduction up to a certain limit, extensive hunting often does not solve problems with raccoon populations. Older males also claim larger home ranges than younger ones, resulting in a lower population density. The costs of large-scale measures to eradicate raccoons from a given area for a certain time are usually many times higher than the costs of the damage done by the raccoons.

In an enlightened world, what then is the place of a raccoon in the urban environment?

Crazy Idea: fowl greenhouse swim center complex

For the area behind the garage I think I may have too much stuff I am trying to fit in:

• Chicken henhouse
• Duckhouse
• Quailhouse
• Space for endless pool -- exercise, thermal mass
• Outdoor shower -- use the rain water to clean up after a swim, use gray water on site
• Rain water storage -- provides lots of thermal mass
• Greenhouse -- passive solar and source of light for winter growing
• A composting toilet -- for infrequent use, gather humanure.

There are a lot of musings about chicken greenhouses on the internet in the permaculture crowd.

These are a lot of functions to stack, but I don't see why they couldn't play well together.

Since most of the use of the greenhouse will be from equinox to equinox (Sept. - March), we only need to capture light when the sun is below 45 degrees above the horizon. We also don't want too much solar capture in the summer when the sun is more like 68 degrees high.

This makes me think of using clerestory windows facing south with 1:1 roof pitch behind in sort of a saw tooth pattern (a little like this).

We could install solar water heating on the garage roof for the pool, though we will likely need auxiliary heat in the winter.

All of the rain from both structures could be captured and kept inside the envelope for thermal mass, and for use watering plants, the poultry, duck pond, and for showers. The composting toilet would be nice for pre/post swim "emergencies" and while working out in the yard. And why waste perfectly good waste?

From the coops I've seen it doesn't seem like a couple hens, ducks, and quail are going to take all that much space, especially if we stack them somewhat.

So, how much room will my crazy complex take?

How much water should I have storage for? In what shape?

Wildlife Habitat

Found a couple good tips for creating bird habitat from the Audubon Society.

• Naturescape your yard: Plant a combination of native plants and trees to provide birds with cover, food and nesting opportunities. Group several of the same species together with the largest species towards the edge of the yard to create a songbird border. Include evergreens for cover, thorny species to create nesting opportunities and berry producing shrubs such a snowberry, salmonberry, red flowering currant and huckleberry to provide food.
• Create a brush pile: Pile up downed tree limbs to create a brush pile, a great source of cover for birds during bad weather. A 3' x 5' pile can also be good for reptile habitat.

I also came across some good info on habitat for native bees.

Bee blocks can be made by drilling nesting holes between 3/32” and 3/8” in diameter, at approximate 3/4” centers, into the side of a block of preservative-free lumber. The holes should be smooth inside, and closed at one end. The height of the nest is not critical—8” or more is good—but the depth of the holes is. Holes less than 1/4” diameter should be 3-4” deep. For holes 1/4” or larger, a 5-6” depth is best.

These nests should be placed where they are sheltered from the worst of the weather, with entrance holes facing towards east or southeast, so they get the morning sun.

One thing that I haven't seen is varying the sizes and location of the holes to make an attractive pattern. Not that the bees would care, but it would be fun for observers.

There are also notes for ground nesting bees (need dry bare ground) and bumble bee nests (7" cube).

A pond can also be useful for many species.

Permaculture Planning -- zones, sections, goals

In permaculture planning it is useful to distinguish 6 zones:

• Zone 0: The built environment: house, garage, porte cochere
• Zone 1: Intensive gardening -- Annuals, finicky plants that need tending
• Zone 2: Perennial gardening -- Plants that produce year after year
• Zone 3: Food forest -- Fruit and nut trees, vines, understory plantings
• Zone 4: Forage forest -- timber (in 100 years or so)
• Zone 5: Wilderness -- leave it be

For planning purposes, I also think I will divide the property into three sections:

• The back: back yard, garage and area behind it, east side yard.
• The house: Front porch, trellis over porch, window plantings, indoor plants, back deck, rain catchment system.
• The front: planting strip, sidewalk, front yard, driveway, porte corchere and plantings west of the driveway.

With this division I can write separate articles focusing on one section at a time. Before I get into that level of detail, I should reflect on my overall goals:

1. Produce a lot of food for ourselves and our friends
2. Minimize inputs: fertilizers, purchased stuff, city water, labor
3. Maximize diversity: nurture a rich interoperable mini-ecosystem
4. Focus on natives: but allow for some well adapted species and strains
5. Contribute beauty: try for a balance that will quiet the eye and calm the soul

So, with those as organizing principles we can proceed to plan the sections....

References from The Urban Homestead

I Just finished reading The Urban Homestead. Very good book covering many sustainability topics for the modern city / suburban dweller. Here are some of the references from the book that caught my eye:

• Plants for a Future -- information on 7000 plants in a searchable database (the US version didn't work for me today, but the UK one seemed to be fine). It also has articles such as an interesting one on hedges.
• http://wormpoop.com/ -- if nothing else, this website has a cool name.
• The UC Davis IPM site -- searchable database of pests
• Raising quail -- "Raising quail is inexpensive, easy, provides very healthy low-fat white meat, and supplies the fertilizer you need for your home garden. The moderate start-up costs for raising quail are well worth it."
• Chicken breed chart -- amazing
• Solar food dehydrator -- plans. I gotta make me one of these!

There are many more sites and books that look interesting. But these were the ones that seemed to speak to me at the moment.

Musings on rocket stoves

In reading The Urban Homestead, I have been getting interested in taking a closer look at rocket stoves (more at wikipedia).

I wonder if there is a way to make a combination rocket stove / solar oven. So you could use a small amount of fuel if clouds (or timing) make solar unavailable. Or use both to obtain high heat. You could use a parabolic trough to bring in heated air into the intake of the rocket stove. You could also use a fresnel lens to goose the heat at the rocket's output.

Crazy Idea: a month as a lookavore

A locavore is someone who eats foods produced "locally" (e.g., within 200 miles). But what would you call someone who obtains their calories only from operations they have seen and inspected with their own eyes?

• Lookavore
• Inspectavore
• Connectavore

It would take a little thought to put together the "rules of the game".

What constitutes having seen and inspected a place?

How much of the process must be witnessed?

What exceptions can be made? (Maybe flavorings, spices, herbs, salt, ...)

As a stunt, it should only count if you have done the inspection since the beginning of the ordeal, which would make the beginning quite an adventure.

For practical purposes, it might be kinder and gentler to allow a degree or two of separation:

buying food directly from someone who has seen the operation and represents it as something you can support (and is presumably willing in principle to allow you to inspect it for yourself if you wish). Or trading with a neighbor who went through the process themselves.

Ultimately the goal could be to have a robust web of trust where everything desired could be had from some source that someone known to you could personally vouch for.

Just had some fun checking out the Pacific NW based Ed Hume Seeds Garden Site which I found in the resource section of Self-sufficient Life and how to live it, by John Seymour.