This Sustainable House

Posts Tagged ‘Permaculture’

Do you purchase Free Range Eggs?

Why do you buy them? Is it because they;Free range chickens merrily picking their way over lush green grassy slopes

* taste better?

* are more nutritious?

* have a better ‘energy’?

* the chickens are more humanely housed?

All the above are reasons that many people shell out the additional sheckles for Free Range eggs but the sad truth is that there is little protection for consumers. This article, on the Green Phoenix Permaculture website, looks at the ‘definitions’ of Free Range Eggs, focussing on the housing requirements within the standards, and considers the question “Can bought eggs ever be considered Free Range?”

Check out the article here.

Well the weather has been getting cooler and already the greenhouse is begining to show some promise. A few weeks ago I spent an afternoon taking root cuttings of some Bocking 14 Comfrey. Bocking 14 is a special cultivar of comfrey, developed at the Henry Doubleday Institute, which doesn’t produce viable seed. It was chosen for TSH to reduce the weed risk associated with this plant.

Anyhow, the root cuttings were planted into some super tree tubes, and then placed into the greenhouse under the automatic misters. Today, the signs of life are more than evident…

Check out the video below for more information.

One of the major differences between standard gardening and permaculture is that the latter put’s great emphasis on design and planning. It can seem that ‘permies’ only ever talk about design however it is often easier to correct a deficiency in garden design prior to it’s implementation. This is especially true if you site something in the wrong location… in that case moving it is a drag!

The video below outlines the new Mandala Gardens being set-up at TSH, and the reason they are laid out the way they are. The system being adopted was originally designed by Linda Woodrow (The Permaculture Home Garden) so credit where credit is due.