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I’m wondering if anyone knows about a message board for folks looking for a rural location to practice permaculture. We are considering opening up our acreage to the right person to implement permaculture ideas in exchange for the use of our land for their exploration. We’re in Northern California on 20 acres. I think it has to be a board not on Reddit because people here are anonymous and I’d want references and transparency etc. thanks.

Hi all,

Anyone know of a perennial spinach or spinach-like greens that can survive a mild temperate climate?

Curious if anyone has experience with Russian olive in the PNW, and whether it’s invasive in this climate. I’ve heard it’s problematic in other North American climates, but it sounds like warm, wet summers might be necessary for it to be an aggressive spreader.

It would work really well in a deer exclusion hedge I’m working on, offering several benefits (thorns, evergreen, strong grower, nitrogen fixer), but I’d rather avoid it if it’s problematic in this climate.

Hi, we’ve had to switch cat food for one of our cats due to health issues. Now we have all this bulk cat food that we can’t use. We’re trying to give it away to friends, but everyone is so stingy with their cat food. It seems like everyone else’s cats, just like ours, are on special diets. So my question is, can old cat food be used as fertilizer to improve the quality of soil for growing vegetables and perennials?

As stated, short story, marshy low lying area. Stays mostly dry, working on building up for drainage. Near a creek as well. Most of these systems call for perforated pipe, but I think it would just fill with water. We live in an area that can get 75+ inches a year. So is there a way to do one of these systems in wet areas? Solid pipe sealed with a cleanout for condensation? Not planning on going very deep, 16″ frost line. More along the lines of the gh in the snow, running about 600′ of pipe 2-3′ deep. More info in the link. Pipe will be under a future food forest… greenhouse

Hi everyone! 🌱

I’m a Master’s student at TU Delft researching precision farming for small-scale farms. I’m developing a modular farm robot designed to support, not replace, farmers through automation and data collection—but I need real insights from farmers! 👨‍🌾👩‍🌾 My focus is especially on small farms involved in arable or vegetable farming.

🔗 Survey link: https://tudelft.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_emtbmDLobtdldky

I’ve created an anonymous survey (10-15 min; available in English, German, and Dutch) to understand key challenges and farm structures better.

I’d be incredibly grateful to anyone who takes the time to share their knowledge with me – your input will help develop a future-proof solution. Thank you to everyone who spares these 10 minutes! ❤️

Much appreciated! 🙏

Okay so I’m doing everything I can now, late winter to prepare -Yes IF I do, I’ll buy native and local from a nursery if I can this early, -and I’m also using trap plants to get them away from the main crops this year. -I’m using neem oil like it’s going out of style – I’m pinching and squeezing and spraying (and hoping) and using perlite and watching water sources

But none of that helps for PREVENTION in my greenhouse in 7A in February lol. Add to this the fact that I’ve been growing indoors all winter so I’m literally not helping lol.

Am I absolved of my permaculture guilt in buying some predators to help me manage the 6’x8’ greenhouse? Arthropods or not it feels like keeping them inside the GH may be cruel if they’re trying to go out and get some of that Bugussy.

IF YOUVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL USING BUG PREDATORS especially in a small GH please lmk if you did anything special.

Also has anyone tried fumigating with smoke? Not just aphids, I mean all pests. I’ve seen people mention it but it’s almost always the people who suddenly have a PHD in whatever the subject is. I get the sense you’d have to burn an astringent wood like birch.

Hi, looking for some advice please. We have bought an old farm house with about an acre and half of land. We hope to develop part of the land into a food forest and eco cabins in the future, but for now only have time for working on the house. In the meantime, we’d like to screen off the nearby neighbours and road by planting some fast growing bushes/trees. We have a high water table and clay soil to consider. Also we don’t want to plant something that could be too invasive or disrupt the future food forest. Any suggestions welcome 🙏 (we’re in dordogne France)