It's about time! #California is going to finally start putting #solar panels over our miles & miles of #canals.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/us/california-solar-panels-canals.html

It's a win win win win solution - #StackingFunctions in #Permaculture. #LandUse is already designated so no imminent domain or environmental impact. Massive clean power generation potential. The solar panels prevent evaporation of our precious #water. And the water keeps the solar panels cooler and thus more efficient.

#Indigenous community solutions. #SocialCapital. 100% awareness of #ClimateChange. #Low-tech community based solutions. #Empowerment. #ValueTheMarginal. #Adaptation. Raised gardens that float, but don't flood - #chinampas. #StackingFunctions. Permaculture https://youtu.be/e_az105J53g

How to make a surprising amount of #compost in the paths between your raised #garden beds. #stackingFunctions #permaculture https://youtu.be/BJDyQhkQqr8

Living in the #PNW, and starting to see trees budding. I'm starting to look into what to do with my inherited, small, #foodforest. It's in it's infancy but has a good start. I'm looking into Plants For a Future (https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx) a great #permaculture resource for sure! Nice to see several of the plants I have growing there already highly rated. I also, just added an edible variety of Lupin. #StackingFunctions

I was surprised to come across one of the details I must have retained from the book without knowing. Early on, the characters gather offshoots of the big spiky agave from an abandoned farmstead, which they use to make a “thorn fence” around their property.

Where I live, the block backs on to public land. There’s a steep slope down to the creek, covered in blackberries. I’ve been slowly digging a tunnel through the blackberries, and now I’m within about 2 metres of an open patch.

My housemates (the owners of the property) asked me not to dig further for now, so the dog doesn’t get loose. And also so people don’t wander up from the creek, which they say has happened before. So I got to thinking about how to discourage that, and the “fence” of prickly plants came to mind.

I’ve pondered this for years on and off, when fantasising about different blocks of land. I don’t want to live in a walled compound, and even standard fencing is expensive. But I’d like to have some privacy, as well as a distinct entrance(s) for people to come through and know they couldn’t wander in some other way. I’ve pondered English style hedges (which would work well in our climate) as well as prickly native plantings of things like Bursaria spinosa, and Mediterranean options like artichokes (seasonal) and some citrus varieties.

Funny that this has stuck in my brain for so long, when I don’t remember the book’s plot.

#memory #permaculture #UsefulPlants #SmallAndSlowSolutions #StackingFunctions

I use recycled and repurposed items in the garden, like this fence made from pallets, tied together. The fence then doubles as a series of compost bins. #gardener #gardening #recycling #homesteading #stackingfunctions #selfsufficiency