Talking Permaculture at Art Outside

It's official, I'm giving two workshops at Art Outside!

The first, slated for Saturday October 24th, is Food for Everyone.

Some for me, some for you!

It's centered around public food: public food forests, public orchards, front-yard food gardens and wicking beds, mapping public food trees and perennials, even the growing popularity of guerrilla gardening.

The second will be on Sunday October 25th: Designing Like Mother Nature

Mother Nature has abundance in mind

If we design like those who toil and labor away their whole lives in fields and gardens each season for very little return, this is how we will live. If we design so that Mother Nature can step in and provide the abundance that is her forte, we will live in abundance.

Both talks will be in the Eco Zone. Food for Everyone is at 5:30pm on Saturday. Designing Like Mother Nature is at 12 noon on Sunday. 

We're really looking forward to reconnecting with the larger permaculture community!

-Samantha Kuykendall

p.s. We should still be offering free samples of the Lucid Light hypnagogic experience during those times since we have someone to help, but either way there's the entire rest of the 4-day Art Outside experience to catch a sample meditation light session!

Sustainability & Hypnagogic Lights at Art Outside 2015

Well that was an unexpected hiatus! But despite a few setbacks we're designing again and helping our community with sustainable and beyond sustainable permaculture and food forest projects.

Speaking of going beyond sustainability! We're jumping the final hurdles to give a workshop at Art Outside this year. Cross your fingers, wish us luck, and drop us a line if we'll be seeing you there!

Art Outside night shot, Photo by Kevin Bradbury.

We'll be giving sustainability talks--more info on the schedule as we get it! I'll be focusing on prominent permaculture themes and ideas, primarily that the common idea of "sustainable" won't be enough to get our environment and ourselves out of this mess; we need to proactively heal the environment and socio-economical food systems we're in. And, of course, I'll be giving out helpful information and taking questions. 

We'll also be providing sessions with an amazing technology known by a number of names: Lucid Light, Lucia No. 3, Lucia Light, and the Lucia N3 hypnagogic light. 

In a nutshell, it's a light-based meditation appliance that drops you into the kind of meditative brainwave state that people meditate decades to achieve -- in about minute or two.       ...And the internal light show and opportunity to peek into your own consciousness will be something you'll always remember.  

 Another blog post about our attendance at Art Outside can be found here... More info, video testimonials, scheduling sessions, and information regarding purchasing a Lucia N3 can be found at the Lucid Light LLC website.

Can't wait to see you all there!

Samhain Stare

Bonita gives us her best "Samhain Stare".

(Photo by Erik Kuykendall)

Happy Samhain and Happy Halloween.

Free-Range Baby

(Photo Courtesy of Erik Kuykendall)

Standing in the Garden Last Night

Standing in the garden last night, 

I was inspired to photograph the beauty before me.

The words that came to me were not my own, 

But those of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

May you see and appreciate what is right before you.

Our Chicken Coop Awaits Artistic Inspiration

We scoured blogs and free chicken coop designs for months and had friends bring over old pallets and break them down in an attempt to provide us with materials to create one.  Due to time and resource constraints, it seemed wiser to buy a pre-fabricated coop to get rolling.

We have assembled our chosen coop and the the run and will connect the two after we get it painted and sealed.  The coop is well designed, but we had to throw out all of the original hardware and screws due to quality issues. 

Our plan is to get four Black Australorp chicks this next week and we plan on adding an elongated run as the chicks mature.

This week, we are collecting brooding supplies, looking for an appropriate predator barrier for the bottom, and hoping for artistic inspiration for the coop.

Some paper resources on starting up this important component of permaculture: 

The Chicken Whisperer's Guide to Keeping Chickens
The Complete Encyclopedia of Chickens

Keeping Chickens

Chicken Coops - 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock

And you can't forget the Old Farmer's Almanac any time you are doing something with permaculture, farming, or ranching.

My Friend the Dragonfly

I really enjoyed working in one of the gardens today as my friend would survey my work and come sit by my side.  I look forward to more time together.  

Photo of Brown Dragonfly on Tomato Cage 

Planting Calendar For Travis County

What are the best seeds to plant this time of year?

Here's a planting Calendar for Travis County and Central Texas:

(Feel free to let us know of more plants that work well this time of year)

July	August	September
1-15 Chard Sweet Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Okra Black-eye Peas Pepper Plants Pumpkin Salsify New Zealand Spinach Summer Squash Winter Squash Tomato Plants Watermelon 15-31 Lima Beans Snap Beans Canteloupe Carrots Cauliflower Chard Sweet Corn Cucumbers Fennel Okra Black-eye Peas Pepper Plants Pumpkin Rutabaga New Zealand Spinach Summer Squash Winter Squash Tomato Plants Watermelon	1-15 Lima Beans Snap Beans Broccoli Carrots Cauliflower Chard Chinese Cabbage Sweet Corn Cucumbers Fennel Garlic Kale Okra Black-eye Peas Potatoes Rutabaga Shallots New Zealand Spinach Summer Squash Winter Squash 15-31 Snap Beans Beets Broccoli Carrots Cauliflower Chard Chinese Cabbage Collards Sweet Corn Cucumbers Endive Garlic Kale Kohlrabi Head Lettuce Leaf Lettuce Mustard Potatoes Shallots Summer Squash	1-15 Beets Carrots Chard Chinese Cabbage Collards Endive Garlic Kale Kohlrabi Head Lettuce Leaf Lettuce Mustard Parsley Garden Peas Radishes Shallots Summer Squash Turnips 15-30 Beets Carrots Chard Chinese Cabbage Collards Garlic Head Lettuce Leaf Lettuce Mustard Parsley Garden Peas Radishes Shallots Spinach Turnips

(Chart obtained from the Texas Agrilife Extension of Travis County.)

Areas included in Travis County:

Austin Bee Cave Briarcliff Creedmoor Elgin

Jonestown Lago Vista Lakeway Manor Pflugerville

Point Venture Rollingwood Round Rock  San Leanna Sunset Valley

The Hills Volente Webberville West Lake Hills

Anderson Mill Barton Creek Garfield Hudson Bend

Jollyville Lost Creek Onion Creek

Shady Hollow Wells Branch Windemere

Bluff Springs Cele Del Valle Elroy Kimbro

Littig Lund Manchaca Marshall Ford

McNeil New Sweden Oak Hill Pilot Knob

Relief and Renewed Hope in the Summer Harvest

I have to admit, I was getting really discouraged. Hail storms, one late freeze after another, plagues of birds and ravenous insects...the list of calamities our gardens have been trying to endure has been seemingly endless. We planted seeds as often as possible despite our preoccupation with our lovely new baby girl, Tesla, but each time something new seemed to come along to dash our hopes of eating abundance from our permaculture garden.

Oh, we've had kale and a few other greens, and the occasional beet. But Spring saw little coming from the garden to our table, and frankly I was sad.

But then a trickle came. A few peaches that clung on through the freezes and hail storms. Okra here and there that produced despite stunting from unseasonably cold weather. And then the cucumbers went gangbusters, signaling the rest of the garden that it was time. And today, this:

Yes, we ate almost all of this tonight. FRESH from the garden.

Everything on the cutting board came in today. The jars are full of lacto-fermented relish and pickles from the first cucumber surge a couple of days ago. Well, almost full. It turns out they're delicious and we're impatient. And we're not the only ones excited and a bit impatient about the fresh pickings:

"Tesla, what'cha doin', honey?"

Bye, bye, apple.

Lovely Chioggia beets

So there's an apple (or at least there was), some carrots that amusingly showcased which parts of the garden actually have shallow soil with hard caliche right underneath, tomatoes that were just silly delicious (yes, we already ate them. With the cucumbers. In shopska salata), Chioggia beets that were almost too beautiful to eat (...almost), wild onions that had been hiding under carrot greens, okra (most of it not pictured because I snack while I harvest), zucchini (despite several attacks from squash vine borers), seeds from a sunflower "weed" that got huge in our fertile garden and only a few of the cucumbers (we gave half to the neighbors because we have so many more almost ready to pick). Erik picked wild flowers for us as well, adding a perfect sentimental touch to the joy of eating from our own garden.

It's been a lot of work, a lot of learning, and a lot of energy. I know this is just the start, but I can't help feeling this just got real.

Resources:
Cultures for Health has wonderful fermentation recipes and guides to make your garden food even more nutritious with the bonus of a longer shelf life.
Seeds for our garden came from Native Seeds/SEARCH, Sustainable Seed Company and High Mowing Organic Seeds.

Rocket Stoves to Power our Permaculture Kitchen

We have been experimenting with a rudimentary rocket stove that we built from a number of cinder blocks and one we broke pieces off of to form an H-block for the chimneys of the dual burner stove.

A rocket stove uses small diameter wood, burned in a high-temperature combustion chamber containing a vertical chimney and a secondary air supply which ensures almost complete combustion prior to the flames reaching the cooking surface. 

The heat available from a rocket stove is considerably higher than a stove top and lends itself well to cooking with cast iron and, even more appropriate, a carbon steel wok.  This is a new 14 inch wok that we are seasoning over the rocket stove.

Learn how to build a rocket stove from 6 cinder blocks by watching the video below.

A small piece of advice...  When clearing the oxygen pathway in a burning rocket stove, make certain to use a large diameter, long stick so as not to burn all of the hair off of your arm and weld one of your braids to your beard.  

 Fortunately, I have cat-like reflexes and with a bit of trimming, no one seems to be able to notice a change in my visage due to my potentially hazardous indiscretion.

This is how to build a stove like ours:

A Definition of Permaculture

 "Permaculture" - A word coined by Bill Mollison.

Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.  It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. 

Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms--based on principles of cooperation, rather than competition.  

The philosophy of permaculture lends itself to working with, rather than against, nature.  

The prime directive of permaculture:  The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. 

Our Newest Family Member

The Man Who Planted Trees

My apologies for not posting more lately.  

We are in focused preparations for our new family member.  
The video below, "The Man Who Planted Trees", speaks to the impact each of us can have.

Each seed planted and each stone tossed causes a ripple in the waters of humanity.  

Each of us matter.

Food Amazes Me

The miracle of food production impresses me with each new sprout, flower, fruit, & vegetable.  

Each piece of land I grow on and with impresses upon me how life happens within the wide range of ecosystems I've experienced.

Our first squash of the season.

Each time food appears where I live, planted or provided, the feeling is reminiscent of riding a bicycle for the very first time.   

It's like goosebumps, mixed with sunshine & freedom; the scents of dirt on the wind, and a sense of security while on an adventure--an experience often overlooked by "civilized" society.

These seeds were obtained through a gift of the Gladys Project -- a collaboration of like minds:
Eldorado Heirloom Seeds
Botanical Interests

Seeds of Change

The Farmer's Seed Cooperative

High Mowing Organic Seed

Johnny's Selected Seeds

Garden Update

We've been charting our property and documenting planting notes, modifying our mini-swale system and enjoying the rewards of our efforts.  A garden update on our first garden at this property.

Our green friends taking hold in zone 1.
Our swales take less than 5 minutes to fill and take about 30 minutes to drain.

Alfalfa and Crimson Clover.

Greens from our garden.

Our first apple of the season.

We planted this okra at the edge of the woods to see how it will integrate with no amendments.  It's doing well, even as the ground cracks around it.

This little guy self-sprouted and has been battling the wind.  I used a bit of pine bark mulch to fortify it.

Festival Beach Food Forest Community-Design Workshop

There was a wonderful turnout on Sunday at Festival Beach Community Garden in Austin for the Community Design Workshop hosted by East Feast 2022 and the East Side Garden Exchange. The gathering was to do additional planning and community outreach in preparation for Austin's first community food forest.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Here's a quick clip from Fox News about the Food Forest Community Garden Plan:

Looking forward to the next one?

Click here to get informed and involved in Austin's first community food forest.

East Feast, Austin Food Forest, Fox News Interview

This is the first (of many to come) news report I know of for the City of Austin Food Forest Project at Festival Beach Park:

KTBC Fox Affiliate spoke with Elizabeth Walsh of the East Feast Coalition about the potentiality of the Food Forest who said, "Hopefully, we can get this one to work well and if it works well we can have this all throughout Austin parks...where it's normal to walk down the trail and you can pick a peach of the tree." (KTBC quote)

Hope to see you all at the next gathering!

Austin Permaculture Morning Meeting

14-Year-Old Wipes the Floor With Kevin O'Leary

This is an amazing video that should be watched all of the way through.  Although, you might have to pause it to yell at the screen.

Rachel Parent (14 years old) recently put forth a GMO debate challenge to Kevin O'Leary, host of the Lang and O'Leary Exchange  on CBC Business "News".  Surprisingly, he accepted. What you see below is the result:

She made cogent, researched, points and was able to bat his talking points down like a mom being lied to by a child.  She was also able to school them on the differences between GMOs and hybridized seeds.  Rather than address any of her points, he attempted to condescend, demean, and to change the argument.  She stood her ground and was the clear winner.

She did so in the face of vitriol and rhetoric that spewed from O'Leary's lips.  Lang, not to be left out, ganged up on this brave young lady.  Of course, she did help seal O'Leary's point that restated one of Rachel's points: We are the lab rats for Monsanto and other Big Ag GMO-producing companies.

Very well done, Rachel.  You give me hope for the future.

I've long believed truth-seeking teens to be smarter and wiser than many who claim to "speak for the masses".

Rachel's website:  http://www.gmo-news.com

This gets my vote as the Funniest Video of 2013!

Austin's First PUBLIC Food Forest! Making It a Reality.

Seattle may have gotten their toes in the public food forest waters first, but Austin's diving in right behind! It's one of the first cities in the US to design and move towards establishing a public food forest on city parkland, open for the benefit of the entire neighborhood and ready to serve as a model for similar projects across the rest of the city and nation.

        

East Feast 2022, a volunteer-only organization, has been working within the community of East Austin (the founders and much of the team lives within the community) and with the City of Austin to help realize a food forest within the scheme of the Holly Shores re-design project. It has a small but determined core team and an ever-growing list of new volunteers collaborators, including the Food Is Free Project, East Side Compost Pedallers, East Side Garden Exchange, the Sustainable Food Center of Austin, the Austin Parks Foundation and dozens more.

What started as a vision among a group of residents of East Austin, shared with local food forest enthusiasts and permaculture designers, has been gaining momentum: "Imagine] diverse neighbors from all parts of East Austin celebrating abundant local food and community along the shores of Lady Bird Lake."

Sketch of Basic Mechanisms of a Food Forest by Samantha Belyeu

"What if we could restore this land and water to health and it could produce healthy food again? What if we could train and hire neighborhood youth to help transform our old fire house to a new resource center where we can work, learn, and experiment together to create and sustain accessible sources of healthy food and healthy living? What if research from this center could help all of Austin and other cities find ways to create communities where life thrives?”

Ongoing community outreach, design workshops and proposals keep this dream alive. If you're in the Austin area and are looking to get involved, check out East Feast 2022 on Facebook. Better yet, drop by August 11th for their Festival Beach Food Forest Community-Design Workshop. We at the Food Forest Retreat will be out there with you!