Growing Community in Southwest Michigan
Documentation of the growth habits / forms of some of the woody perennials at my (PJ’s) forest garden, with a snowy backdrop and a 6-foot “yardstick” to show scale, with notes about planting years. I have dry, sandy soil and a lot of these things didn’t get much care or watering—plus many have been...
Visit two different forest gardens on two very different sites in Southwest MI—throughout an entire growing season! Forest Gardens or “Food Forests” are a way of growing food by imitating nature: plants on many layers, cooperating rather than competing. It doesn’t mean growing food in a dark forest—more like a semi-open woodland featuring many...
Our March Van-Kal Permaculture meetup was at Rachelle’s place. We spent a couple hours outdoors pruning a really overgrown old apple tree (Thanks to John and Josh for the pruning guidance and Tomme and Steve for their skill and daring in tree-climbing). We also had an excellent meal and conversation indoors. A great time...
Amy and John hosted our group at their CSA/farm (Harvest of Joy) in Shelbyville. We had a great turnout despite the cold, cold weather. Good to see a lot of familiar faces and also new friends made at the MI Permaculture Convergence a month ago. Thanks to all who showed up and esp. to...
We had an action-packed weekend in September, starting with a potluck get-together and tour of Dale and Tomme’s gardens in Kalamazoo on Friday evening. Saturday Bill Wilson of Midwest Permaculture gave an excellent Intro to Permaculture class at the Nature Center, and Sunday we had a booth at the always-fun Harvest Festival at Tiller’s...
Norm and Rita were gracious enough to lead me on a plant walk around their beautiful property in SW Michigan, where I could see the plants and trees in late summer of 2010. Thanks for a lovely and informative tour!
