Modular raised beds with dimensional lumber

Submitted by Ben Stallings on Sat, 11/10/2018 - 16:46
In a previous article, I ended by suggesting that raised beds could be made with dimensional lumber (specifically 4' long boards, 1.5" thick) by spacing the posts in a grid 4' apart, although I hadn't yet tried to implement it. I proposed that the uniform bed size would allow a structure such as a chicken tractor, cold frame, or trellis to be moved to any square of bed where it was needed and secured to the boards below.

Notes on OLCERI IWPSC at Pine Ridge, SD

Submitted by Ben Stallings on Wed, 11/07/2018 - 15:45

August 30 to September 3, 2018, I attended the second Indigenous Wisdom and Permaculture Skills Convergence (IWPSC) at the Oglala Lakota Cultural & Economic Revitalization Initiative (OLCERI) on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. It was a very eye- and heart-opening experience, and it's taken a while for me to wrap my head around it. Here are my notes from the sessions, with some commentary.

Rudolph the Aerobic Microbe

Submitted by Ben Stallings on Tue, 10/09/2018 - 20:50

Author's note: It's generally accepted that the reason aerobic microbes weren't around to prevent the Great Oxygenation Event is because they hadn't evolved yet. It's very convenient that they evolved just in the nick of time to save all life on earth from going extinct. But I got to thinking, what if they had evolved earlier, and they just weren't invited to the party? Then the story starts to seem very familiar...

Moving to Nebraska!

Submitted by Ben Stallings on Thu, 08/02/2018 - 08:55

In June we sold our urban farm in Kansas, and we are now in the process of moving to Omaha, but it's not yet clear what that means for the Interdependent Web business. We incorporated in Kansas, so that LLC will need to be closed, but it may not make sense to incorporate a new LLC in Nebraska until we've settled on a new business model. We intend to work closely with Omaha Permaculture to meet unmet needs and reduce waste in the local ecosystem, but what that looks like remains to be seen. Stay tuned!

Sheet Mulching Assessment

Submitted by Ben Stallings on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 10:13

(Originally published on Blue Boat Home, 4/27/2009)

The most common question that Jessie and I got about our house during the winter was, "What exactly are you doing in the front yard?"  They'd never seen anyone intentionally bury the yard in 6-12 inches of leaves before.  Here's what we were doing, and why, and what worked and what didn't.

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