Celebrate “culture” in agriculture & share skills like growing, cooking, canning

holiday madness

are y'all out of it yet? ready for some reading? where is everybody in the book? let's talk.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rachel Hoff on December 31, 2012 at 10:18am

I'm done with Chapter 3 and ready to discuss!

Permalink Reply by Calamity Jane on December 31, 2012 at 3:04pm

rachel, and anyone else who's done with chapter three and waiting to discuss, you could work with some of the design processes outlined in the chapter while you wait. i've been having great fun making a detailed chart of characteristics, inputs, outputs, and access needs for each of my desired elements, to help with later placement decisions. like an assessment of elements. i wrote a little post about it with some good links on the blog.

http://permacurious.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/functional-analysis-of...

Permalink Reply by Rachel Hoff on December 31, 2012 at 5:29pm

I checked out the weed indicator but it wasn't much help because of the primary weeds I have it says I have sand and it says I have clay. It also says I have acid and alkaline soil (note that most of these weeds occur together in the same beds).

I'm definitely going to need to sit down to figure out all the inputs and outputs.

Calamity Jane said:

rachel, and anyone else who's done with chapter three and waiting to discuss, you could work with some of the design processes outlined in the chapter while you wait. i've been having great fun making a detailed chart of characteristics, inputs, outputs, and access needs for each of my desired elements, to help with later placement decisions. like an assessment of elements. i wrote a little post about it with some good links on the blog.

http://permacurious.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/functional-analysis-of...

Permalink Reply by Rachel Hoff on January 4, 2013 at 12:12am

Where is everyone?

Permalink Reply by Calamity Jane on January 4, 2013 at 12:03pm

no kidding. maybe everybody got wicked sick from holiday germ sharing, and they're stuck in bed.
rachel, you might want to start into chapter 4-- patterns. i'm actually going to suggest that folks skip most of the patterns chapter, i just finished it and whoof, it's a toughie. even after having read the whole thing (much of it twice, in an attempt to understand) i still feel like i don't understand what his point was. or, i mean i get the point-- that we should understand natural patterns so that we can apply them to design-- but it was all scientific explanation of patterns without any help in how we might apply them....
sadly, patterning is the mollison proclaimed heart of permaculture, so i feel like a heretic suggesting anyone skip that chapter. but, considering many folks in this group don't have the time, i'm thinking we should get moving into more obviously relevent stuff.
that said, i think you and anyone else with the time and inclination should at least attempt to read it.

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Thompson on January 5, 2013 at 11:54am

Sorry!! So, so sorry. I've been stressing about not participating over the holiday. I'm still in. I glanced at Chapt. 4 and was NOT intrigued. I skimmed it. I'm going to start an "assessment of elements" as well.

Is there a way to email the rest of the group and alert them that we're getting back on track? Just a thought.

Here's to 2013!

Permalink Reply by Calamity Jane on January 5, 2013 at 12:44pm

good idea, there is a way to send an email to the whole group. i'll do that. with discussion of chapter 3 starting next week.

Permalink Reply by Candy Christiansen on January 5, 2013 at 2:59pm

I got sucked into a work crisis vortex and am just coming up for air. I am ready to go on chapter 3 and can upload the basics of my assessment at this point if anyone is interested (better late than never??) but have been asked by the company who has agreed to donate the land not to "open a public discussion, publish location, design plans or photographs until the board has given final approval". I suppose this counts as discussing...how exactly does one type an eye roll?

Permalink Reply by Kathryn Robles on January 5, 2013 at 9:20pm

I'm ready on chapter three as well.

Permalink Reply by heather marie on January 5, 2013 at 9:25pm

I'm back as well! Ready to discuss chapter 3.

Permalink Reply by Bryce Ruddock on January 6, 2013 at 11:56am

Yes the chapter on patterns is a difficult one to fathom. It is however central to an understanding of Permaculture. What I found for my students is that thinking of patterning from a viewpoint of natural forces such as magnetic fields, coriolus force, and weather patterns generally, will help ease some of the concepts to their understanding. A friend from Illinois was heavily into the tessellation patterns of water flow and would use those to advantage in making biodynamic soil preps. Relating some of the water, tree, and weather patterns from Chapters 5 6, and 7, should help. Try reading the Patterns chapter after those. Bryce

Calamity Jane said:

no kidding. maybe everybody got wicked sick from holiday germ sharing, and they're stuck in bed.
rachel, you might want to start into chapter 4-- patterns. i'm actually going to suggest that folks skip most of the patterns chapter, i just finished it and whoof, it's a toughie. even after having read the whole thing (much of it twice, in an attempt to understand) i still feel like i don't understand what his point was. or, i mean i get the point-- that we should understand natural patterns so that we can apply them to design-- but it was all scientific explanation of patterns without any help in how we might apply them....
sadly, patterning is the mollison proclaimed heart of permaculture, so i feel like a heretic suggesting anyone skip that chapter. but, considering many folks in this group don't have the time, i'm thinking we should get moving into more obviously relevent stuff.
that said, i think you and anyone else with the time and inclination should at least attempt to read it.

Permalink Reply by Bryce Ruddock on January 6, 2013 at 12:06pm

Eye roll emoticons

American style eye roll (8-

Japanese style (e_e)

Who would have thought that someone out there had so much free time to have dreamed these up? Bryce

Candy Christiansen said:

I got sucked into a work crisis vortex and am just coming up for air. I am ready to go on chapter 3 and can upload the basics of my assessment at this point if anyone is interested (better late than never??) but have been asked by the company who has agreed to donate the land not to "open a public discussion, publish location, design plans or photographs until the board has given final approval". I suppose this counts as discussing...how exactly does one type an eye roll?