Permaculture @ MindSay 
I've been pretty much leaning towards ecology so it will give me some kind of background to do permaculture gardening. The only problem is that there is nothing offered at the college I go to that has anything to do with ecology.
I believe that a couple months back I made a brief post simply with a few words and linking to the home page of New College of California. NCC offers exactly, exactly what I would need for this, in a way that sounds pretty damn neat.
I'm kind of scared, though...
Here's the things I consider when I consider my future:
1 - If my job must be my life, or very much of it, I want it to be my life because I make it that way, through my love, passion, belief and devotion to it. ...Don't we all?
2 - Well... I guess anything else would only be expanding on #1. So let me try and do that...
What keeps coming to my mind as I sit here is my hands. I have always simply loved working with my hands... Anything that involves that kind of work with the hands being very involved, preferably doing lots of things, not just one mechanical thing over and over (although I can enjoy this too, as is obvious through my enjoyment of knitting... however, I would not like to knit for a living, no way no how. heh). Bring the mind and problem-solving and creating into it, and you will have created a love connection for me. Permaculture design seems to combine these two pretty well, not to mention the whole idea of permaculture is something I can easily appreciate and want to contribute to/be a part of.
This is also why I have considered carpentry. I have also, always, ALWAYS loved building things and putting things together. I remember some years when I saw a show on PBS of a carpenter who made replicas of antique furniture, I thought for weeks and weeks after that, "I want to do something like THAT!" Everyone keeps telling me I would be stupid to do carpentry, though, seeing as not only am I female but I also have so many other, better options open to me. Could be true... Probably is.
Lately I have been learning quite a bit about the art of glass blowing. I was sitting around on campus the other day talking with three guys when one of them asked me if I knew anyone who would like to learn glass blowing. I told him I had thought about it myself before. I won't go any further into that exact incident, but anyway... I've been doing more and more looking into it and it looks just awesome. However, again, another area greatly dominated by men...
I once dreamt of being a writer. Today, though, I honestly do not think I could do that. I am OK and even enjoy being alone and working alone, yes... but ... I just could not be a writer. Not to mention how unrealistic it is. That is just out the window, splat on the ground, dead.
Why I brought it up, I don't know... Probably because as I sat here thinking of more to say I found my eyes lingering around my bookshelf.
So here is another post where I come to no real conclusions. Besides the acknowledgement of the fact that I love working with my hands and figuring things out. I'd probably even enjoy being a mechanic... Unless that REQUIRES some love for vehicles, which I don't much have... But the figuring and hands-on thing is extremely appealing. Again... male dominated.
Notice not much of what I have mentioned has very much prestige. A lot of it might actually be work people avoid or dread... Hmmm... Perhaps I would, too. I really can't know for sure. I'm just making assumptions based on what I know of myself as of right now... Speculating.
I have also had a dream in the back of my mind... That involves own my own business. Which I am also kind of weary of. Also, while at first I may create the things on my own, or hand-made (I am purposefully not saying exactly what it is I am talking about), there might come a point when I would no longer be the one making the products. But ... Oh, who knows...
I can't say I know too too much about anything I have mentioned here.
I always knock myself down...
This is getting quite depressing. I still think sometimes of being a teacher... Maybe I can have just a hobby on the side that involves hands-on work. I just know I need to keep doing things with my hands. I have been doing lots of things with my hands lately and I have been quite happily busy. Playing guitar, knitting, sewing, painting, making other artsy fartsy stuff, I spent all of yesterday moving my room around (I have always moved my furniture around a lot and I used to joke with my sisters that I wanted to be a mover. hahah..... Hmmm....), etc.
Maybe I should start a garden next spring. I have had plants and they always die. It probably isn't a very good idea to be a permaculture gardener if I can't even keep a house plant alive, is it? Then again, at this point I really know nothing about keeping plants. Perhaps I only need some knowledge to develop grandly and do well with... There is only one way to find out.
*sigh*
-Liv-
The letters W, S, X and the number 2 are broken on my keyboard at home. Something spilt on them. So now I'm at the library.
I made a list yesterday of what I wanted to talk about when I got the chance to get here to the library and make an entry. Unfortunately I left that list at home and can't remember what was on the list... I can't even remember what I wanted to do...
Except that I don't like doing this in public.
I like being in public alone, though. Specially at the library. It's... relaxing. I should come to the library alone more often. There's mostly old people here... but that's wonderfully fine by me.
I've been wanting to come here to get some books on permaculture and/or ecology. A couple months back I got my fines paid off and my card renewed so I'm back in business. Very exciting! :)
My mom dropped me off here while she goes to work for about an hour. Hopefully it's only about an hour... since it takes her time to get there and get back... but I'm guessing I may be here for up to three hours, at most. Fine by me, again.
I'm not sure if permaculture is really the grandest idea. I'm worried if I have the mind for it and... I mean, I can't even hardly keep a vase of flowers alive, so what the hell makes me think I'm capable of this? Maybe I just need the right know-how...
For those that keep asking what permaculture is or are curious:
Permaculture: the use of ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development. Permaculture is built upon an ethic of caring for the earth and interacting with the environment in mutually beneficial ways.
I was thinking more about the situation between my mother and my grandparents and myself, with the fact that my grandparents are wanting to pay for my education, and I really wish for several reasons that I wasn't going to Chicago in a few days. One reason beign that I am going to be there for over a month. When I come back, I will only have a short time before I'll be expected to begin college (I'm going to community first). I REALLY wanted to be able to do a permaculture workshop before starting college. I could do it during a break or something... but I'm the kind of person that wants my breaks to be total me time. Call me selfish or lazy, I just like to chill when I have a lot of other things going on in my time. This Summer would have been a perfect opportunity for me to do that. Did anyone ask me that, though? No. My mom and grandma just begin planning when I'm going to see my grandparents and when my mom is going to help me get enrolled in school without talking to me about any of it. Next thing I know I hardly have time to take a breather between the things that are going on in my life.. and I NEED to take a breather. I know that things in everyone's life get busy and hectic and somethings just work out that way... but why do that to ourselves when we don't have to? If it's not necessary and something else which is more pleasant is totally possible, why do the opposite? I don't get people sometimes. But then I start questioning myself, always: Maybe there's something I'm missing or don't see that they do? I don't know. I know this isn't what I had in mind, though.
My mom expresses concern about whether a career can actually be had in permaculture. She may have a small point (she really has no knowledge of anything permaculture, though, and shows no interest, which if you ask me is the first wrong move on her part...)... but there ARE people who do it and I don't see why if it's something I really want to do, I shouldn't at least try and she and my grandparents shouldn't support me, although I understand and appreciate certain concerns...
The Permaculture Training in Mexico starts just after I get back from Chicago and I'd love to go to that, but...
Permaculture, or, as some know it, sustainability, is a system of design which we use in order to conserve, collect and recycle resources. This in turn avoids waste - and hence pollution.
The word "permaculture" is a combination of two latin terms; permanens and cultura.
Permanens means "existing on a continuum," or more obviously, "permanent."
Cultura means growth or cultivation, but is derived from "colo" - to live in.
Together, these two roots mean creating and/or maintaining the ability to live and thrive more or less in one location over an extended period of time.
The primary values inherent in permaculture are:
Care of the Earth
Care of People
Redistribute surplus back into the system to maintain energy (reduce entropy)
The "developed" nations of the world seem to base their concept of wealth on their ability to do as they please.
This they call "freedom."
I would say that we are free to do more than some people please. We are also free to provide our children with a world that is not based on a resource that is about to run out.
Permaculture is a design concept which allows us, among other things, to consider alternatives to a petroleum based lifestyle. Renewable resources exist in our world, and petroleum is not one of them.
The sun, the wind and the sea will always be there as long as we exist, and yet we turn to such an inefficient and dirty way to power our systems.
Namaste,
Steve.
(Namaste => nah - mass - tay => "I recognise and acknowledge the sacred personified in you."
Tratitionally accompanied by clasping the hands in a prayer-like gesture and bowing forward towards the recipient of the gesture.)
The Natives Are Friendly
Now is the time of year to think about planting wild flowers. The is no easier way to get Native plants in our landscapes than to sow wild flower seeds in the fall so that we can enjoy their beauty for years to come. It is an excellent time to get things like Bluebonnets, Lemon Mint, Indian Blanket, Cutleaf Daisy, Indian Paintbrush and many others started, so that they can develop a strong root system and burst forth this spring in all their glory. Here are some tips to help you have success at growing your own wildflower meadow.
SITE SELECTION
Select an area that is suitable for the type of seed you are planting. Take into consideration the soil type, sun exposure and the moisture needed to germinate and maintain that species. Adequate moisture is required for germination. By planting at the right time, natural rainfall can be taken advantage of.
WHEN TO PLANT
Cool season plants like most of the wildflowers germinate in the early fall when rainfall is most likely to occur. Best time to plant wildflowers is September and October, however germination can continue to occur through early spring in some cases.
Warm season plants such as most of the native grasses germinate and grow from when the night time temperatures are at 50 degrees for ten consecutive nights, or when the soil temperature is 65 degrees or above.
SITE PREPARATION AND PLANTING
You will get a higher rate of germination and healthier plants by sowing seed in a prepared seedbed. Good seed to soil contact is essential.
Native Wildflowers
Scalp any existing grasses and remove the clippings so the seeds can make contact with the soil. Rake the seeds lightly into the soil. Gently press soil on top of seeds. Be sure not to cover more than twice the diameter of the seed. Never plant wildflowers into nonnative winter grass or clovers.
Native Grasses
It is best to start with an area free of weeds when planting native grasses. Till the soil no deeper than 2 inches. Be careful not to till too deeply because this will stir up unwanted weed seeds that have been lying dormant. Remove debris from the area, rake level, and smooth. Scatter the seed evenly across the area, rake in, then roll to press in less than half an inch deep. The goal is to place the seed just deep enough to stay in adequate moisture for a sufficient amount of time to allow germination to take place.
Be careful not to plant the seeds too deeply. A good rule of thumb for planting depth is no that the seed should never be planted deeper than twice the width of the seed.
WEED CONTROL
In most cases, it is advisable to consider weed control in two phases - as part of site preparation prior to planting, and as an important component of the post-germination maintenance program. Before planting, remove existing weeds by pulling, tilling under, solarization or a combination of these things.
Once wildflowers and grasses have germinated, further weed control is usually necessary. If practical, pull or hoe all weeds as soon as they can be identified, or selectively cut weeds with a string trimmer. Be sure to remove weeds before they reseed. Weeds invariably appear after seeding, and controlling them is one of the most difficult problems in establishing grasses. Because weeds grow faster than your newly planted seedlings, you must control them or they will out compete your desired plants.
The detrimental effects of weeds include shading your seedlings and competing with them for moisture. One way to control weeds is to water and mow correctly. Watering too early or too late in the season and over watering are practices that encourage weeds to grow. Since many weeds are annuals, keeping them mowed off during the first year, you will have a strong effect on the future year’s weed populations.
IDENTIFICATION TIP
Sprinkle a few seeds in a clay pot and keep by the house where you can water and watch grow. Use these seedlings for identification in your planted areas.
ESTABLISHMENT
All seeds need ample moisture to germinate and to develop into healthy seedlings and plants.
Native Wildflowers
If little to no rainfall, you can remain patient until rainfall occurs. That’s the benefit of using native wildflowers! If your patience runs thin, you may water using the Watering Guidelines below. Caution: If you begin watering, do not allow your new seedlings to dry out!
Native Grasses
Most native grasses are warm season perennials. Take advantage of spring rains, and plant during this time to aid large planted areas that are difficult to water. For quickest establishment of lawn grasses use watering guidelines below.
WATERING GUIDELINES
For germination, water lightly and frequently to keep top of soil constantly moist. Depending upon weather conditions, you may be initially watering several times per day. After seeds have sprouted and seedlings are approximately 1” in height, give less frequent but deeper and more lengthy watering. This allows for healthy establishment of the root systems of your new plants. Once native plants are established, supplemental water is not required, though they will appreciate a drink during drought conditions.
BE PATIENT
Patience is important. Annuals are usually the quickest to germinate, grow and bloom. Perennials take more time getting established. Native grasses and wildflowers are eternal, not instant!. Much energy is spent in growing deep, strong roots the first few years, just like a good family!
