Are you wondering what advantage comes from a little bit of permaculture planning before you spend the rest of your life pottering about in your garden growing food? How does design increase the success of a garden? Join us in our upcoming tour, March 4th afternoon tea and discussions at Earth Keepers in Buxton. Not only will you meet permaculture teachers Judith and Paul Collins but also be engaged in discussions about effective permaculture design with April Sampson-Kelly. The group will explore what makes this property unique, and witness how this wise couple face the challenges of being self-reliant in …
Go Easy There’s more than one way to shape the land and direct water to your gardens. Most people can’t afford machinery to shape the land and build abundance. So, they usually abandon hope of reshaping their site and work with what is there. Why bother shaping the landscape? We can shape the landscape to: collect surface water when it rains store water in shallow ponds provide water for birds, lizards, frogs encourage beneficial insects improve the soil water the plants prevent erosion and nutrient loss What are our no-dig options? We can use animals (pigs, chickens, guinea pigs) or …
Abundance on a Shoestring A natural water management system can save you heartache, time and money. Learn how to grow food in a planned landscape. Utilise the different micro-climates. Sculpt the thirsty places and soak up the soppy patches. Mitigate flooding rains and prepare your home for wildfire. Not all water management systems require pipes, dams, tanks or machinery. Nor do they require weekends of back-breaking digging, bags of cement, pebbles or terrace bricks. All Earthworks need a bit of know-how and planning. With this bit of know-how you can turn you garden into a more resilient and productive space. …
For people interested in the art, science, health, economics and politics of cooking with fuel from the garden. Learn about different types of garden fuel and fuel-stove cooking techniques. Dine by a Hot Stove – Friday July 8th About the workshop Long before gas or electric stovetops and ovens fueled every household’s power-bill, cooking by a hot stove was commonplace. Re-discover the simple art of cooking with pleasure. Grow and manage your own fuel and enjoy the excuse to be toasty warm all winter. This workshop will show you how to manage valuable fuel plants of your garden or local …
In 1956 someone built a path. Not a lot of thought needed to go into the path. People trod this path every day back and forth people as they walked to the letterbox, to friends houses, to school, to uni, to work, to orchestra, to the buses, to the city, to the beach, and sometimes to the rest of the world. But the path had a dark side. It also worked very well to harvest water and direct it straight to the house. So, finally, we built a new path that is happily compacted and maintained by the foot-traffic and …