Restoring Natural Stream Hydrology | A Permaculture Design Course Handbook.

New EDU article under the water chapter, this time on restoring natural stream hydrology. Explains the patterns and history of degradation as well as some of the tools possible to bring balance. Fun to play in the streams, remember doing it as a child?

excerpt below:

Background:

Imagine a stream full of fish and amphibians, the stream winding through an ecosystem, meandering naturally.  The winding action creating habitat as it sreams downward, cleansing water and bringing a wide range of ambiance through edge diversity while being full of logs and big stones.  The tangled messes in front of us looks chaotic, yet this diversity is the fulcrum of order actually. Unfortunately this pattern of wild habitat has not been how land managers have been viewing how they should manage their water resources for quite some time now. Instead the straightening, channeling and “cleaning” of streams has had a detrimental affect on local ecosystems and the hydrological cycle.  For far too long our perspective on water has been to shed it rather than harvest it and then pipe in water at a great expense of energy including finances.  Instead we should look and seek inspiration from our zone five areas that are filled with “junk” and seem rather unkempt.

Food Forests or Forest Gardens.

First entry into the trees chapter as we prepare for the food forest workshop at Terra Alta next weekend.  proud moment, so many hours, hope it helps you on the journey. Enjoy, i sure did, amazing how much you learn when you write.  The fun part of being an author of an online book.  http://treeyopermacultureedu.wordpress.com/chapter-6-trees/food-forests-or-forest-gardens/

Quick Summary

A biodiverse forest that is stacked in space and time thus abundantly yielding food and other outputs including building natural capital. Seven layers or so are developed to give yields early on in the system and all throughout its life as it matures. In essence, Vines drape on trees, herbs grow next to shrubs, and roots are dug when appropriate. Meanwhile vegetables are interspersedproducing quickly while groundcovers spread to protect. Support species are highly integrated to develop soils and push the succession forward quickly. Edge is always remembered with maximum production in this system being one where there is not a completely closed canopy. Nuclei developed early on in the system, such as a tree guild, merge over time to form a holistic ecosystem. Animal integration is warranted and evolves, as the system gets older. Prepatory earthworks and soil repair often accompanies the implementation phase. Chop and drop and cycling of the layers over time are the main management tool as well as plant propagation for biodiversity and the stability and resilience that that brings.

Thermophilic Composting Hot | A Permaculture Design Course Handbook.

An excerpt from our EDU article:

Basic Pattern Process:

Materials are gathered and a pile is heaped together in layers in one or two days to achieve the ideal size and hot compost conditions. Ratios of materials are used to

formulate a pile that will heat up and produce a quality compost aimed at improving soil fertility and seeding thewhole soil food web. The pile is monitored for moisture content, temperature and overall quality throughout the duration of the pile. When needed the pile is turned, or often called flipped, to decrease temperature and increase oxygen content. The pile goes through a hot process then turns to cold compost, which is aided further by compost worms. The compost is used in a myriad of ways in the garden, nursery, or broad acre applications through a liquidification process.

Rain Gardens | A Permaculture Design Course Handbook.

Love pressing publish as positive and informative media is needed.  This one is on rain gardens, a simple design feature that directs runoff to basins for infiltration.  Associated plantings can be food producing, biomass producing or habitat producing. Big or small, they keep water quality high and help to recharge groundwater, a vital and dwindling resource.  http://treeyopermacultureedu.wordpress.com/chapter-9-earth-working-and-earth-resources/rain-gardens/