East Wind Community is an intentional community with 1000 acres of land in the Ozarks of southern Missouri that has been around since 1974. We currently have around 45 members. We have room for closer to 70 members, so we're open to more people joining. There are permaculture projects happening now with a lot more potential for more if the right people show up with the energy and motivation to make them happen. We have large organic gardens and orchards with landrace plant breeding to adapt crops to our conditions with low inputs. We have two herb gardens growing culinary and medicinal herbs. We have animal systems with rotational grazing of beef and dairy cattle, as well as pigs, chickens, and a few goats, ducks and geese. We have a forestry program emphasizing sustainable forest management, including a sawmill.

The primary way that East Wind supports itself is through our main business, East Wind Nut Butters. We have a small factory on our land to produce the nut butter. It should be said that the nut butter business isn't permaculture, it's a processing facility where we roast and mill purchased bulk nuts into a product to sell. At this point, the permaculture stuff on the land is primarily for our own use. However, many here recognise a need to diversify and there is room to create other businesses that are more land based. Right now, having the nut butter business pay the bills allows us to have plenty of other time to experiment with other projects, as well as relax and have fun. The Ozarks is a beautiful area with plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation from hiking to floating the creeks and rivers.

Those seeking membership need to go through a three week visitation period first. The details and more info about our community can be found at our website.

I’m exploring the idea of a platform designed to connect people through shared skills and hobbies, including permaculture and sustainable living practices. The goal is to create a space where individuals can share knowledge, exchange skills, and collaborate to grow a more connected and sustainable community.

I’d really value input from the permaculture community to ensure the platform reflects the needs and priorities of people like you. I’ve put together a short, 5-minute survey to gather feedback:

https://forms.gle/z52kKmzv7PDTuLAX6

This is a personal project, and I’m seeking ideas and insights from those passionate about sustainability. Thank you for your time and for helping shape something that could amplify the impact of permaculture!

Hi all, I made a small smokeless TLUD biochar kiln as I was getting requests from people for a smaller, more affordable unit. What do you think? It's made in the UK, shipped worldwide and I've made it as affordable as possible so that more people can make their own biochar. It's made of stainless steel and I've designed it to be modular, to increase lifespan. Would love your thoughts / questions. I've decided to sell it on pre-order to help with manufacturing. If you're interested in seeing more photos/videos of it in use, I'll share a link to the page for it. Thank you :) Happy biocharring

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My latest blog post is an update of all my vegetable breeding work of the last few months, including work breeding tomatoes, melons, tulbaghia, eggplants and surprise success using surplus saved crop seeds as an edible green manure.

https://open.substack.com/pub/zeroinputagriculture/p/green-manure-for-dinner?r=f45kp&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I need some tips ad tricks to get started! Systems for dry biogas digesters are preferred. Thank y'all!

https://misterjones.substack.com/p/a-permaculture-journey
I have been immersed in the permaculture world for 30+ years, and it has been quite a journey. It started on a small farm in Zimbabwe, I thought it was an African thing at first, but quickly learned about Bill and David then everything else. I have started to write about it on Substack, as a reflection of this adventure and also whilst trying to figure out what next? The world has changed so much in the last three decades, what should be my focus going forward, and where next. I am based in Wales now, in a small village, growing food, working for housing co-operatives and do bits of teaching and personal support around horticulture. I am really open to hear from tohers with similar interests.

A permaculture inspired mandala garden, Treflach farm, a project Ii began in 2021.

Ideas? Moving there, to El Sobrante (near Richmond, but in the hills, not right on the coast). I'll have 2/3 of an area and want to start out right and slowly create a food forest.

Hey all! I'm currently in the process of moving up to north Wales to the old family home, and was wondering about water management and food growing in water-saturated soil. Water generally flows from east to west downhill towards the sea on this land (which is about a mile or so away). Annoyingly, the person renting the field uphill from our house has not maintained the historical drainage ditches, and so has allowed a large area of stagnant water and marshland to develop about 10 metres uphill of our home, which is now causing severe rising damp. I was wondering if there was anything I should plant between this marsh and the home to reduce how waterlogged the soil might be? I've read that the best way to deal with flooding is to create wetlands, and was hoping to create a food forest in a waterlogged area which could then act as a sponge during downpours - any hints and tips about what I could plant?

Hey people!

I'm not sure if this is the right sub for my question. I'm 32 and i have a university degree in software engineering and have worked as a software developer for over 12 years. I live in egypt and I'm currently recovering from a medical issue that has prevented me from working full time for about a year and a half ,I've been doing some freelance gigs when i have the chance but I've grown sick of what i do and i think it is pointless other than to make money and the market isn't that great anymore due to AI.

I used to work for an agritech company that works in hydroponics for a while and this got me interested in agriculture and ecology. during my break time i've started becoming very interested in permaculture and soil regeneration, I've been learning a lot from youtube and the internet about permaculture and desert reforestation. Unfortunately i don't own any farm land and i live in an apartment so i have no land to try to apply what i'm learning but i have started experimenting with some food waste recycling techniques like different types of composting, bokashi and vermicomposting to try to building soil fertility and biology in potting soil atleast for my house plants. I'm also trying to learn more about traditional organic farming philosophies like KNF JADAM and the soil food web(i know that isn't scientific but i csn still gain some insight from a practical method that has been used for a while for farming even if i'll not follow it exactly) , i've also been learning about permaculture design from youtube channels like andrew millson and geoff lawton's channels but have no place to try to apply what i'm learning. I have a pretty big concrete patio and i'm currently trying to merge all of what i'm learning to try to make a small potted vegetable and fruit garden according to the principles and methods i've been learning(getting a very slow start).

i would love to switch careers and work in this but i'm not sure where to start. I'm aware of permaculture design courses but due to inflation where i live most of the courses i've checked are outrageously expensive when converted to EGP.

I'm open to suggestions on where to start!

Sorry for the very long post.

Thanks.

I've been an advocate for leaving the leaves, letting them mulch and feed the soil and plants. As well as the help it gives to our insect friends. However, the tick population in my suburban setup is exploding. Due in part to being organic as well as increased wildlife that has set up their lives here.We know that leaves shelter them as well.

It's become a dilemma as our health is at stake. There are a huge amount of lone stars in my yard. We refuse to spray and also can not have chickens or guinea fowl due to town ordinances. I'd love your advice.

ETA: Hey, thank you so much for your replies and the great information and tips.

I just wanted to add that I've been using tick tubes for probably 8 years now, as well as beneficial nematodes specifically to target the tick. But it's still out of hand. We do have mice in the yard and chipmunks, and I actually thought of getting some snakes in here to try to help take care of the situation with the mice. I used to see snakes, but I haven't seen them over the past couple of years. Specifically, rat snakes. I'm located in New Jersey, so they are native to the area. And they arrived here naturally on their own, but as I said, I haven't seen them lately. Either way, if they're still here, I need more of them. LOL

We also have time planted in our yard and in our garden beds as well as other herbs, mint, all kinds of stuff. I've been working on the permaculture and Native gardening as well as wildlife and pollinator gardening for about 10 years now. Are yard is like Walt Disney movie, but it also means increased wildlife and hence the ticks. I think they also flourish because of the organically grown everything here. We don't use spray. Because part of my garden is dedicated to Monarch butterflies and other pollinators, and we refuse to spray or use chemicals anywhere.

One thing we've researched, and I want to add it here in case anyone else has this problem now we're in the future and is reading this, are baited tick boxes. They are non-lethal metal boxes, that were developed up in Maine because of the issues there are pretty bad as well. These tick boxes have insecticide where when the animal AKA rodent goes into it, it gets treated with tick repellent killing the ticks, and the rodent goes free after it is applied. Supposedly, it will knock down your tick population 80% in 2 to 3 years. So we are going to go that route. Only licensed pest control has them. I already contacted a company, and paid for them to install these tick boxes in the early spring. Unfortunately, not many companies use them. And that's a shame, and I hope that changes. Because most of these companies just napalm your yard.

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/health/tick-and-lyme/more-mainers-using-tick-boxes-over-spraying-their-yards-lyme-tickborne-illness/97-4177431f-a9e9-41a2-907f-2365c196ad12

Bonjour, je me permets de vous solliciter dans le cadre d’un projet. En effet, je suis étudiante en master entrepreneuriat et j'ai besoin de vous afin de réaliser une étude approfondie pour un travail de groupe. Pouvez-vous m'aider en m'accordant un peu de votre temps et compléter ce questionnaire. Nous souhaitons viser les passionnés de jardinage.

Ce lien est un formulaire destiné aux personnes possédant un système d'irrigation :

https://forms.gle/Gjqnhu9C3gTv4E1n6

Ce lien est un formulaire destiné à ce qui ne possède pas de système d'irrigation pour l'arrosage de leurs plantes :

https://forms.gle/jQDJp5p2YnTD3WVE6

Hello, I'd like to ask you to help me with a project. I'm a master's student in entrepreneurship and I need your help to carry out an in-depth study for a group project. Could you help me by giving me some of your time and completing this questionnaire? We'd like to target people with a passion for gardening.

This link is a form for people with irrigation systems:

https://forms.gle/Dx6ZihCj8Cy5omCA6

This link is a form for people who don't have an irrigation system for watering their plants:

https://forms.gle/Sfuzvs8qDuPxx9YH7

Hey probably been asked a million times on here, but would love to hear which yt channels you all think are the most quality.

Cheers!

Permaculture Design Course recommendations sought. something in-person for January - Open to Considering any location, but don’t want to stay for 2 weeks in a primative thatch hut in the jungle. My aim is to understand the systems and get closer to the earth, but I don’t have any ambitions to turn this into work / income. Just for my own enrichment and curiosity. thanks in advance!

I'm working on a design around two peach trees. I have sandy clay soil type and I'm looking to improve the soil quality by adding a nitrogen fixer along with amendments like worm castings and cover cropping. I have a lot of space to work with plus I've wanted to add a tree to the backyard anyway. I planted the trees two years ago and have seen a few flowers early in spring but to significant growth in size. The trees are a few feet away from my garden which attracts A LOT of pollinators over the spring and summer. My goals are to nurture the trees long enough to bare fruit.

I'm open to any suggestion generally too so please give pointers.

Also this is my first Reddit post ever so be kind!

Hey guys,

Looking to get my soil tested before I lay down mulch and compost for my no dig garden. I’m in a cold climate and the local university says that general soil quality testing must be performed in the warm months. I was just going to get it tested for heavy metals for now. Is there anything else to consider? Also, I’m planning on having some compost trucked in from a local place. Should I have that tested as well or ask them if they test it?

I live in Northeast OH in zone 6b. I have had a vegetable garden the past 2 years and am slowly becoming obsessed with living as self-sustainably as possible and am creating a food forest. I decided to use the James Prigioni method and covered roughly 1,000 sq ft. in layer of wood chips 6-8in deep. I ordered 3 apple trees, a cherry, a peach, 2 blueberries, and 2 raspberries. The trees are dwarfs, except for the peach, which is a semi-dwarf. All bare-root which will be shipped in early March. 

I have heavy clay soil. I dugout where the peach tree is going and backfilled with half native soil/half compost, and plan on doing that with the other 4 trees when the rest of my compost is finished For the blueberries I plan on working some peat moss in the soil  to increase the acidity. 

I am looking for some advice in planting and if there is anything you would change with the design I created? I spaced the dwarf fruit trees with a 4ft. radius from center, and the peach with a 7ft radius. I plan on fencing in the entire area, so would 4ft be enough space for a dwarf tree next to a cattle fence, or should I move them out a little bit? I plan on planting milkweed, purple coneflower, and other perennials throughout the garden, what else would you recommend flower wise?  Moving forward what else would you add to the garden?

P.S. I plan on installing a rain water catchment system in the spring, and would like to build a slow sand/biofilter in the future for potable water, if anyone has experience with that!

Thanks,

Brendan

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Any ideas/projects that have worked for you? Big or small- taking all ideas.

Hi! I’m brand new to gardening and permaculture in every way but would like to start making plans for a low-maintenance, all-native forest garden in my backyard in northern Illinois. Does anyone have ideas for what plants I should start with? I’d love to have as many as possible be things I can also eat in order to reduce dependence on non-local foods. I do have a decent amount of space but I’m wary of getting in over my head. There’s a lot of info out there and it’s very hard to sort through and figure out how to actually begin! Also trying to be budget conscious, which makes things even trickier.

I’m also curious folks’ thoughts on starting a small indoor winter garden with growth lights?