"All The Worlds Problems Can Be Solved In A Garden."

Front yard from May 2012

Yes, that's right!!!  All, not just some, but All the worlds problems can be solved in a Garden.  i came across this quote from Geoff Lawton after watching all the possible permaculture and homesteading videos i could and reading many articles over the last year.  i felt a bit more equipped to be that "Gardener" that God has purposed me to be for Him.  So all that was left was to take a little action, do some ant stuff and gather, pile, plant, build, wear out another shovel, etc.  Here's a bit of what has come out of my understanding through this research and a glimpse of my future direction and drive.
  i don't need to give you a lengthy definition of permaculture but will suffice to say that it is a way of life... "permanent culture" or "permanent agriculture."  The three most notable people that i have researched are Sepp Holzer, Bill Mollison, and Geoff Lawton, and each has had a profound impact on how many people now view and work agriculture.  i equate it to a revelation that brings people back to the Garden of Eden, and an understanding that God can provide all our needs as we keep and tend the Garden for Him.  (Genesis 2:15)  Through observation of nature, repeated failures and some successes, we learn what works, how plant guilds/families can support each other, how to store energy/gather yields, and the natural cycle of inputs and outputs.   ... If you're an optimist...

Front yard Hugelkultur bed December 2012

  One of the initial aspects of permaculture i began working on is soil creation - start simple.  Being a landscaper, i have an abundance of yard wastes that i have composted over the last seven years.  If we consider a forest and how the soil is built up over the years and seasons of growth and die off we start to understand the natural process of the natural system free of any chemical or synthetic inputs.  Through using my yard "wastes" in composting, soil creation is accelerated just as in nature, and the soil health, with all the amazing micro-critters and worms, increases.  Healthy soil creates strong disease and pest-resistant plants.  A specific technique i have used unknowingly over the years is called HugelKultur.  It's like making a big soil lasagna using wood as a foundation.  As the wood decomposes, it creates a sponge that retains water and begins the amazing breakdown of organic matter and the increase in mycelium.  Here's an after pic of the front yard since May..and a close up of the bed.  i am also using a large root ball from a Dwarf Yaupon bush i removed from a landscape demolition.  This bush serves as a corner piece of this landscape bed.
  The bed that i am currently building up is also forming a swale to catch rain water, much like terracing on a slope.  As the swale retains water it allows the soil to slowly percolate the moisture into the surrounding beds and the downhill flow is gradual and consistent.  Here's a great description and graphic from Geoff Lawton on the benefits of on-contour swales.  Without slowing down the natural flow of water, it would merely run off and take many of the soil nutrients downstream, or in this case into the storm water system.  i will add a couple feet of soil over the top of the wood foundation, plant some raspberries, strawberries and blackberries and mulch the top.

  On another site, my landscape staging area, i began building a hedgerow out of brush and log cuttings over many years of work.  My next step on this property is to dig a swale on the uphill side of this pile and deposit the soil on top of the hedgerow to create a self watering planting mound.  Earlier in the year i also dug a swale on the upper gardening strip and i recently enlarged this swale to hold a greater volume of roof runoff.  i continue to buildup the soil with organic matter on the downhill slope to create the moisture retaining sponge.  Although the initial work required to establish these swales and systems takes a bit of effort, it will generate a self-sustaining garden, and a piece of "permanent agriculture" to produce fruits and produce for decades to come.
  So where is all this heading?  Abundance was my first thought.  The direction i am heading with this is to establish these working systems, food forests, plant guilds, etc. as an example of what can be done with permaculture.  In the past i have developed several local garden plans and designs for individuals and our small town of Amory, but this deeper lesson was not taken to heart, though the words and drawings were well accepted.  In essence, i have had to take action, and keep my words few, in order to better communicate this direction, drive and purpose/vision that i am so passionate about.  These foundational elements are merely scratching the surface of future potentials, but i do have to keep it simple, focus on what is before me, and believe and hope in this future.  i started composting seven years ago and have come full circle... back to composting, back to basics.
  Glad to be back and writing some.  i have the main website back online - look for more in the coming weeks... www.antbrotherfarms.com

Love and God Bless,

~ antbrother