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Getting Started with Permaculture By Mr. Permie Bear

Published

1 year ago

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Sometimes getting started on something is the hardest part, it certainly was for me getting around to finally writing something. Now that the so-called pen is on the paper, what comes next is likely to feel somewhat like a whirlwind on my end, but hopefully not on yours. I hope that what follows will help you get started and help you crush on a whole new level.

Before we can really get into some of the details, we ought to start out with a simple definition of permaculture. It’s a wonderful combination of amusing and inspiring when someone finds out that I am a Certified Permaculture Designer and comes up to me to say, “I just planted my first permaculture!”. Sometimes their excitement just can’t be contained (and for good reason) and I just can’t bring myself to tell them that what they told me makes no sense, so I usually just share in their excitement. Let’s not let that happen to you. By all means get excited, but do it with correct definitions. The word “Permaculture” is often defined as a combination of “permanent” and “agriculture” and while that’s close, it’s actually not quite the whole story. It’s really more like a combination of “permanent” and “culture”. It just so happens that often the easiest and most visible application is as it relates to agriculture. At its core, permaculture is a design language. It is a lens that we view and solve problems through. Ethics are at the core of permaculture and the tools we use to solve these problems are based upon patterns observed in nature. In essence, it is a way of thinking and designing systems to meet all of our needs as people living in this realm in perpetuity using ways that are not extraction based, but regenerative and therefore highly resilient and hopefully as permanent as anything can be. Systems and solutions that are Integrated and often times multidisciplinary, not singular and stand-alone. The three core ethics of Permaculture are:

1) Earth Care 

2) People Care  

3) Return of Surplus

These three ethics stem from the prime directive of Permaculture, which is the thought that in this life, we cannot rely on extraction based systems that value neither people nor the creation as a whole and that the only ethical thing to do is to provide for our own needs and the needs of our families. Something that many people in this and other communities really understand. Everything we do within the framework of Permaculture must look to those three ethics and if it does not uphold those, then our design needs work. So, for example, let’s say you decide to plant a garden. Does the way in which you plant and manage your garden meet these ethics? If you prepare your garden by spraying roundup to kill the grass, fertilize with miracle-gro, spray chemical pesticides, and burn all the garden residues – I’d say that’s a miss on 3 of 3. Let’s instead say that you use light blocking tarps or heavy mulch to kill the grass, manage the garden organically, and compost all your garden residues-Now we just hit 3 of 3. We can of course do better, but all of the things done in the second example are life affirming, not life destroying. That’s the kind of thinking we need. 

I guess there’s one other critical part of permaculture that is really present in everything and that is the connections between systems. That’s really what we are identifying and implementing when we look for patterns in nature. It is my belief that those patterns were made by God and there can be no better guide than what the Creator has set before us. 

 

Chickens and sheep working together to build soil. The sheep manure mixed with spent hay is piled up with whole grains mixed in the layers to give the chickens incentive to scratch and turn the piles, thus quickening the compost process. This compost will layer fertilize vegetables grown in the greenhouse.

 

The systems and patterns can be very simple, or very complex. Often times the more complex the system, the more stable it is because we have a plethora of redundancies. We already gave one example of a simple system, Plant a garden organically, compost everything you don’t eat. But that’s not many connections, and remember, as practitioners of permaculture, we are in the connection business. So, what if we add chickens? Chickens can turn the compost for us, get part of their feed from finding bugs in the compost, and add their manure so the compost is more fertile. If we got really crazy, chickens could also prepare our garden beds for planting. If we were to go absolutely bonkers we could add pigs to till the garden, chickens to level it back out and clean up after the pigs (who both eat the garden surplus, thus decreasing our need to buy food), the chicken and pig manure enriches the soil, we add guineas walking in and around the garden for bug control, have ducks around the perimeter eating bugs that would find their way to the garden, set up duck bathing pools around the garden perimeter so we can use the water from their bathing pools to water and fertilize the gardens (all in one shot), add certain plants to be used specifically for mulch and rabbit food (who have an area where their manure is collected for fertilizer), meat from these rabbits is used for people food and to feed the dogs that guard the sheep, which graze the grass in the orchard and fertilize it, which surrounds the garden providing a wind break and extra compost materials, more chicken food, and more pig food. See all the connections? Do you see how the needs of the system are being provided by the system? The nature mimicry? Rabbits garden, sheep fertilize, pigs dig, chickens scratch. They all eat. They have the chance to all exhibit these innate behaviors, each with inputs and outputs. We simply observed and designed. Returning to the 3 ethics:

  1. Earth care – Are the plants, animals, and soil taken care of? Yes, Animals are able to express their innate and unique behaviors. They are fed varied diets. Soil is protected with mulch and enriched with manure and compost. Pests are kept in check by animal and insect predators, therefore pesticides aren’t needed or used. (Note that I said, “Kept in check”. There will be some pests in the garden, that’s why they can be used as guinea food for example.)
  2. People care – The people work less because the animals are doing a lot of the work. Sure, you have to move them around, but compare that to all the individual tasks you now have to do less of like mowing, weeding, turning the compost, tilling, picking bugs, spraying plants, etc. Not to mention the enjoyment of working with each part of the system and the extreme health that will likely result from eating such high-quality food. (You will still have to weed, especially as you just get started. Sorry, But if managed well, weeding should be less and less each year.)
  3. Return of surplus – Compost is created and used. Manure is incorporated into the system whether as a compost addition, directly applying to the ground (as in the case of the sheep), or used to make liquid fertilizer (as in the case of the ducks). Nothing goes to waste. This system will yield more than we humans can possibly consume and so the excess goes back into the system and is used to further sustain it.

 

Pigs and chickens working together to turn pasture into garden. The pigs till and break up soil, the chickens help with sanitation and tilling while eating weed seeds and bugs.

 

Another example of a permaculture practice that might be easier for many people to implement is the creation of plant guilds. I realize many people don’t have room for pigs, sheep, large orchards, and the like, but we all have room for plant guilds. This can be as simple as companion planting in the garden. Perhaps this is planting a nitrogen fixing plant like a green bean next to or before a nitrogen using plant like corn. Perhaps this is using the famous “three sisters” guild which is pole beans, corn, and squash. The beans provide nitrogen, the corn gives the beans a place to grow, and the squash shades out weeds that would compete with the corn. This could also be as complex as a perennial polyculture under our fruit trees. “Say what Mr. Permie Bear? What is a perennial polyculture? I thought we were done with terms and definitions, then you throw this at me? How dare you?”. A perennial polyculture is just a collection of plants that come back year after year that provide things like nutrients and mulch for our fruit trees, provide habitat and food for beneficial insects, and food/medicine for us. For example, we could plant an apple tree. Say 6 feet off the tree trunk (not a firm number), in the drip line of the tree, we could plant a ring of comfrey and daffodils. This will provide mulch and block grass roots from coming in. Under the tree we can plant lemon balm, yarrow, and mint for teas, medicine, and flowers for pollinators. We can then plant garlic and thyme for cooking and keeping away certain insects. Maybe we’ll even throw in a currant bush for some more fruit and some Dutch white clover to keep out other weeds and provide nitrogen. The amount of plants you can cram in under a fruit tree is amazing! When we create plant guilds, what we are doing is stacking functions and also more fully utilizing our growing space by taking advantage of different layers (stacking layers). The stacking of functions is using that same space or system to achieve several different results such as food, medicine, pollinator support, and even beauty. Here’s what stacking layers looks like in this simplified example: in the same space required for just a tree, by stacking layers we are using the tree layer (apple), shrub layer (currant), herbaceous layer (comfrey), ground-cover layer (clover), and even the root/bulb layer (garlic). 

 

A simple polyculture. Comfrey, horseradish, violets, and comfrey grow under the canopy of an apple tree. There are also daffodils planted in a ring around the tree, but they are dormant in this photo.

 

When establishing plant guilds, it’s important to know that some plants are neutral towards each other, some help each other, and some are antagonistic. Each of these behaviors can have its place in our designs so it’s important to research relationships between plants based on what you are trying to accomplish, whether that’s to help something grow or even to try and stop something from growing. 

Now that we have covered some of the specific aspects of plant guilds, we’ll take a step back and look at the system as a whole and once again, we can compare this to the three core ethics and see we are on solid ground. 

It is truly remarkable that with proper design, we can solve or avoid many problems and create systems and gardens that are much more productive than they would be if left to their own devices. We can truly be stewards. There is a saying in the permaculture circles which is “the problem is the solution”. One of my favorite examples of this kind of thinking is attributed to Bill Mollison, the co-founder of Permaculture. When someone was complaining about all the slugs eating their crops, he replied “You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficit.” In this case, the excess slugs were the solution to growing ducks for meat and eggs without having to buy feed.

So, get started by looking around you. What do you see in God’s design that is working well? What connections do you see? What connections can you make in your Beartaria? Find outputs that can be used as inputs.  Are you hitting the mark on the core ethics or do you need to redesign some things? The absolute, most important thing is to try. There is no “one right way” so don’t let the fear of not knowing get in your way. With ethics at our core, it’s hard to go wrong. Get out there and discover what works for you. In a word, Crush.

Bio-

Mr. Permie Bear is a former commercial banker turned Missouri farmer. He, his wife, and their 4 children operate Piney Creek Farm in the Missouri Ozark’s and specialize in pasture raised meats and raw milk. He is also co-founder of Grateful Harvest Seed Company. His goal is to create a fully integrated permaculture farm which teaches and shows people what can be accomplished with permaculture on whatever scale they choose to engage, backyard to large farm. In his down time…. Oh wait, there is no down time.

PineyCreekFarm.com

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Farming

How to Tan Fur on Hides With a Note on Making Leather

This is an art. Learning takes time, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The hide is very forgiving. 

Published

3 weeks ago

on

May 18, 2023

By

By: Salt & Stone Bear

This article was first printed in our very first issue of The Beartaria Times Magazine, Origins, A Revealing of Legends

More and more folks are learning how to keep and butcher their own animals, so comes the need to learn how to tan hides. Tanning used to be a very common skill that has since been forgotten with modern textiles. Fabrics printed in China contain some nasty chemicals and the environmental impact is devastating. Buckskin pants were once as common as blue cotton jeans today, worn by people of all socioeconomic status. Currently, it is estimated that roughly 6 million deer are harvested annually and only a very small percentage of hides are ever used to make leather. Now add the endless numbers of sheep, goats, cow and even pig skin that could be used for a variety of applications. If you do not keep animals, not to worry, contact your local butcher and they will likely tell you to help yourself to whatever they have. It’s a favor to them as they do not have to pay to dispose of them. 

Disclaimer: there are lots of ways to tan, this is just how I do it, which would be called fat tanning or brain tanning. I do not like using chemicals, as they are unhealthy for the tanner, environment and less sustainable. 

  1. Skinning 

If you are starting with a whole animal, there are plenty of online tutorials on how to do this. Mainly you just want to make sure the hide has not been “knifed up” which will leave marks on the leather. The ultimate goal being no holes or knife marks in the skin, as it will be more difficult (but not impossible) in the tanning process. 

  1. Salting

I use pallets that have hardware cloth stapled on them so that when the hide is laid out, there are no sagging or drooping parts as there are big gaps in a pallet. You could just lay it out on a tarp, but I think the air flow under the skin is helpful. Once the hide is laid out flat on the pallet, spread a good layer, about an inch of white canning salt or sea salt (no iodine) on all parts of the hide, being careful to get all the edges. Leave for 2 weeks or up to a few months if you don’t have the time. I prefer wet salting (the salt stays damp) to dry salting as it makes a nicer finished product. But if you live in a very dry climate that dries out the salt, it will still be fine. 

  1.  Fleshing

For this step, you will need to have a fleshing beam and fleshing knife. You can purchase them from a trapping outlet online or make a beam out of a very smooth log. Flip the salt from the hide into a rubbermaid tub or barrel as it can be used again. Then give the hide a good shake in the driveway or woods (probably not your lawn as it can kill the grass) to remove excess salt. I highly recommend watching a YouTube video on how to do this. You want to hit the right angle so you don’t cut the skin. 

  1.  Apply tanning solution

Once the hide is fleshed, lay the skin back on the pallet and apply the tanning solution. I like a brain/egg solution, but you can use just brains or just eggs. Or even Spinal cord fat/fluid. One brain will do one hide, but adding an egg and a splash of water will bulk up the solution, which I find to be very helpful. For a single hide, in a designated blender, combine brain(s), one egg and a tablespoon or two of water. Rub in the solution over all parts of the skin. Then, three options- cover with plastic wrap/ fold in half on itself or sandwich together with another hide if you are doing more than one. Allow to sit overnight- one day. 

  1. Stretching & Drying

You will need to build a frame that is a little larger than the hide you are working with. 2x4s are great for this. If you are doing something very small like a squirrel or rabbit, you can use a board with tacks to achieve the same results. Some will also bend a limb into a circle for a very small hide, or if you are doing a very large hide like a moose or cow, an old trampoline frame is great. You just have to innovate with what you have available. With a very sharp knife, carefully puncture the edge, 1/2” or so in on the skin. You don’t want it too close to the edge or the twine will rip out. I really like to use butcher’s twine as it holds a good knot. Start at the 4 corners of the hide, then fill in-between. Give a good pull on the string, but not too hard, stretching the skin very flat. Tie to the frame. You can go back and re-tighten the strings that become loose as you go along. Allow to dry. A dehumidifier is really great in helping this process along, especially for large hides. 

  1. Scrape

Once the hide is completely dry to the touch, you can start scraping off the tanning solution and the layer of skin. You will need a scraping tool from a trapping outlet or you can sometimes find tools to do this at antique shops. Just nothing too sharp, more blunt. Scrape with good force, but not too hard. The skin will turn a beautiful white as you do this. It takes time. I like to give a good push on the hide with my hand as I scrape to aid in softening and stretching those skin fibers. You will know you are done when the leather is very soft. Cut the strings and remove from the frame. 

  1. Smoking

This is where tannins from wood and bark seal and finish the hide. Cut an old pillowcase in half long ways or some kind of fabric and pin on the bottom/ very edge of your hide. Then fold the hide in half long ways and use the existing holes and butcher’s twine to temporarily sew it together. Make a loop at the top to hang. Go back and pin together the fabric at the bottom to essentially make a stove pipe. Collect rotten wood and bark that is wet from the forest then make a fire with dry wood until it gets down to coals. Add rotten/ wet wood and bark. Attach the fabric side to your stove pipe with a rubber band and smoke for 2-4 hours. You want to be VERY careful with this part. Do not leave unattended as you only want smoke NO fire. If it breaks out into a fire, it can scorch or burn your hide. Ruining all your hard work. You want cold-warm smoke only. Periodically check the color of the skin inside, you want a nice deep amber color. Take it down, bring inside and allow it to sit for a day to more thoroughly absorb the tannins. 

Then rub in a finishing sealer. Lard is really perfect or a homemade mix of Lard, tallow and a little beeswax. 

  1. Finishing touches 

At this point, you can carefully hand wash the finished hide with soap and cool water, but do not soak for too long. Try to be as speedy as possible. A designated washer is great for this stage. Run it on the spin cycle only to get the water out or shake out very well and dry. 

With a razor blade, cut off the edges, about where your puncture holes are. Brush out the fleece or fur. Then celebrate haha. 

If you want to make leather without fur, dry scraping can be done at the point the hide is stretched on the frame. You can use a razor blade to carefully remove the fur, then scrape and apply tanning solution/ plastic wrap, similarly to how you did the other side. Scrape it down again. Smoke both sides in the same fashion. 

This is an art. Learning takes time, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The hide is very forgiving. 

If you have questions, feel free to reach me on the Beartaria Times app – Salt and Stone Bear or Instagram @salt_and.stone 

Happy Tanning! 

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Micro Greens – Macro Benefits

Having good nutrition is important, sure, but that’s just scratching the surface of the benefits growing your own greens offers.

Published

2 months ago

on

March 27, 2023

By

By: BalanceBear (aka @johnny.greenleaf)

This article was first printed in our very first issue of The Beartaria Times Magazine, Origins, A Revealing of Legends

Microgreens, as the name suggests, are small by nature, but the benefits they offer are quite the opposite of their size.

What are microgreens and what exactly do they have to offer? Microgreens are vegetable greens harvested just after the cotyledon leaves have developed (7-10 days after germination for most varieties). The benefits? Well, they are countless. We’ll get to many of them, but a few of the biggest advantages of growing microgreens over traditional vegetables are their space efficiency, time to harvest, & ease of getting started. Just because you don’t have a yard, doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. With as little as a shelf in an apartment, and a few supplies, you can start sewing seeds and reaping the benefits of these nutrient dense greens in no-time. I was introduced to the world of microgreens this past year by the legendary Urban Farmer, Curtis Stone, and in just a matter of 8 months they have already had a profoundly positive impact on my life, and my community.

Now how could something so small offer so much? It’s been theorized that the reason microgreens are so nutrient dense compared to the leaves of their mature vegetable counterparts is because they are harvested shortly after germination, when all of the nutrients they need to grow are there. Regardless if that theory holds true as to the why, nutrient tests have shown that microgreens contain 4-40 times more concentrated levels of various nutrients than leaves in the mature plants, depending on the variety & specific nutrient (i.e. red cabbage microgreens contain 40 times more vitamin E than mature red cabbage). Buying microgreens from a store can be significantly more expensive than normal mature vegetables, but growing them yourself, especially when you consider the time from planting to harvest, is much more affordable. Furthermore, when you buy anything from a grocery store, the vitality of the food has already been severely diminished due to the fact that it takes so much time for the product to be packaged and shipped off to the store. From the moment a fruit or vegetable is harvested, the nutrients begin to break down. This vitality can actually be measured. Realistically, the freshest produce you can get from a store is 4-7 days post harvest. The total time it takes to get from planting microgreen seeds to harvesting the greens is 10-14 days total (for most varieties), which is right up there with the nutrient density when it comes to the best benefits microgreens have to offer. When you compare that to typical times like 2-3 months for a mature plant to bear fruit, it’s quite astonishing that the microgreens pack such a dense nutrient punch, and when you grow them yourself, you can eat them living, which means you don’t lose out on any nutrients like you do when you get already deteriorated greens from a store. 

Having good nutrition is important, sure, but that’s just scratching the surface of the benefits growing your own greens offers. One of the biggest benefits I have personally experienced since becoming an urban farmer, is the community connection that has come from it. I believe that food and community are two of the biggest sources of energy in this realm, and when you grow your own food, and further when you exchange it within your community, the energy boost is multiplied. Picture a closed-loop energy cycle; that’s what you get to experience when you buy, sell, or trade locally within your community. First, you get an energy boost from growing your own food, you then experience an additional energy boost when you exchange your food to someone in your community, because you see the joy it brings them, and you know that it will nourish them. They receive that same energy boost when you buy or trade for their food, and thus the communities’ overall energy goes up by a multiple factor, and the energy loop remains closed. When people in your community buy food from a corporation, especially one that’s not local, energy gets siphoned off into the ether, rather than being kept in your community where it can continue to cycle & recharge.

I’m speaking from experience here, as I have felt a tremendous difference since buying, selling, & trading with local bears at our Southern California Bartertaria Meetups, as well as exchanging my greens for fruit from my neighbors’ trees.

Even if you live in an apartment in a city like I currently do, microgreens can be a great starting point for you to tap into that energy cycle. Furthermore, if you’ve never grown food at all, consider these greens as a great micro-step to start the journey that is gardening/farming.

I won’t go too much into detail about the equipment you need to get started, as there are plenty of great resources online and on YouTube for that (seek and ye shall find), but I will tell you the basics of what you need to get started, and a few good online resources to look in to if you want more details. You will need some kind of tray or container to put the growing medium in (I use 10×20 trays from Bootstrap Farmer), seeds (I get mine from TrueLeaf Market), a growing medium (I use an organic potting soil from ProMix), and lights (I use 4’ Sunblaster Fluorescents) if you want to grow indoor, otherwise you can obviously use sunlight if you have space and want to grow them outside. That’s basically it. Anything else will just upgrade your operation. A few of the best online resources which helped me along my journey, from setup, to growing, all the way through harvesting are: Curtis Stone’s From The Field TV, Donny Greens on YouTube, and OnTheGrow who have great experiments on YouTube & an ebook.

So, whether you just want to add some nutrient dense greens to your smoothies, juices, salads, or dishes as a garnish, have some sunflowers to snack on, take a micro-step towards learning to grow food, or go big & contribute to the energy cycle of your local community, the macro benefits of microgreens are there for you.

“To a man’s heart it brings gladness to eat the figs from his own trees, and the grapes of his own vines”, and to your heart gladness can come from eating the microgreens of your own stem.

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Farming

Using Hay to Import Fertility and Feed the Pastures

A recent study I read indicated that pastures responded better to feeding hay directly on the field verses hauling manure and compost from the barn.

Published

3 months ago

on

March 21, 2023

By

By: Mohawk Farmer Bear

When we took over the farm in 2015, the fields were constantly being cropped and hayed. Modern agriculture focuses on production at the expense of soil health and fertility. While we have good soils here, it’s obvious that fertility is low, and the pastures are nowhere near as productive as they have the potential to be. This winter, rather than feeding the cows down by the barn as usual, I focused on rotating them around the pastures and feeding the hay directly on the pasture. By the time grazing starts in May, I will have fed 200 round bales of hay or 50 to 60 tons of hay onto the pastures. That’s a lot of manure, organic matter from wasted hay, and fertility to spread on 50 acres. A recent study I read indicated that pastures responded better to feeding hay directly on the field versus hauling manure and compost from the barn. More fertility is captured with winter bale feeding on pastures. So, this summer, I’ll get to see it. Either way, 50 tons of hay (5 tons to the acre) should have a huge impact on the pastures. More fertility means more grass, which means more beef.

Unrolled hay bale. It spreads the fertility around the pasture and gives all the cows access to the dinner table. 

In early February, you can see where the cows have been without snow. I covered this part of the farm well. 

The farthest and highest point on the farm. Typically the hardest to get manure spread on, but I fed a ton of hay up there this winter. It’s a pretty good hill, so even with heavy baleage, I start at the top and push the bale down the hill to get it unrolled.

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