UNPERMACULTURE

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Accusations,  (Mostly) not TrueI’ve understandably been accused of being a “permie,” that is, of practicing permaculture.    (In the words of permaculture founder, Bill Mollison, “Permaculture is about designing sustainable human settlements. It is a philosophy and an approach to land use which weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management, and human needs into intricately connected, productive communities.” In the words of www.dictionary.com, permaculture is “a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture or horticulture…
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PROXIMAL THOUGHTS, PROXIMAL ACTION

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I realize the laziness of humans, including myself, and dig lines for more convenient watering; gardens are already situated sufficiently close to save a few steps. And celeriac, what's going on? Grow!

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A VERY GOOD YEAR, SO FAR

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All is good: Mexican bean beetles cease to be a problem, corn soars higher than 10 feet, and, as usual, blueberry bushes bear awesome quantities of delectable berries.

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ROT AND FLOWERS

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Juicy plums just about ready to pick and then . . . yecchhh, brown rot srikes again. Shift gears, plants flowers. Will they help against brown rot?

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PESTS, INCLUDING ME(?)

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I watch out for pests: thousand canker disease of black walnut, chipmunks (not a pest for me), and me (not a pest for strawberries, although it might appear so)

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GOOD FRUITS, ONE A VEGETABLE

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World's Best Fruit?    Finally, I reap the fruits of one of my labors. Literally. The fruit is black mulberry, the species, that is Morus nigra, rather than any of the black-colored mulberries that grow all over the place around here. The latter are species and natural hybrids of white and red mulberries (M. alba and M. rubra).    Black mulberry, native to the Mediterranean climate of western Asia, is not cold-hardy below temperatures in the ‘teens (Fahrenheit) so definitely not cold-hardy here. I first tasted it at a fruit conference in Davis, California and it wowed me even from among…
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FRUIT EXPOLORING

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TWO DELICIOUS ORBS, ONE BLUE & ONE WHITE

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I offer a "prescription" for blueberry soil, which is most important for healthy plants and the bowl after bowl heaped high with blueberries here on the farmden all summer long. Then I mosey over to the vegetable garden for some of the best-tasting turnips.

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HEAVEN AND(?) SOME HELL

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I turn off the highway in New Jersey to find my myself in "The Blueberry Capital" of the world, then drive on to taste a number of new and tasty berries. Back, Japanese beetles rear their ugly heads.

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