George Yacus

I'm with you there, Bekki!

I've purchased gift cards for family to Edible Landscaping, but it was only last year (during a PDC with Shenandoah Permaculture Institute near Staunton) that I finally visited the place myself.  Some closer permaculture nurseries would certainly be fun.  But going back -- as well as a road trip to Polyface -- are on my permaculture bucket list.

Maybe someone here knows of a permaculture nursery closer to Tidewater?

Hello Virginia permies!

For folks in the Hampton Roads, NOVA, C-ville, and RVA regions, what kind of permaculture-related products, services, foods, plant nurseries, experiences, farms, communities, businesses etc. do you wish you had easier or closer access too?  In other words, what kind of permaculture itch could use a good scratchin'?

Alternatively, what permaculture gems do you currently enjoy in your region?

Cheers!

I just did a Google (AI) search for "biochemistry of composting?" and one of the references was from the Cornell Waste Management Institute:

https://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/composting.htm

The search linked to a neat chapter of a book, "Composting in the Classroom" attached.  Nice little reference.

On page two there is a chart showing the second mesophilic phase of decomposition in the pile, during which lignin and other resistant compounds are broken down.  Likewise, there are nice charts on page six and eight.  Later it mentions that "fungal species are predominantly mesophilic" so that makes sense about needing cooler temperature and longer time to break microscopic woody bits down.

Yes, although instead of a "pledge" to provide funding upon some distant circumstance or achievement, the pledge is purchased pie, and trust based -- actual digital capital, not a promissory note.

Gracious folks pay up front to buy pie, then allocate how they wish for it to be used via placing it into a "pie poll", and then the pie is converted back into non-digital capital later on.  

The pie-poll (or perhaps the pie-pollster staff who builds the pie-poll) functions as a kind of escrow.  The pie poll's creation could be a privilege inherent to specific permies staff volunteers.  The poll could be set up for a single person, or multiple individuals.  It could be open, or secret to the PIE forum.  It could be a competitive poll, such as winner take all, or it could be equal distribution, or people's choice how it gets distributed among the recipients.  It could enable one individual with multiple projects to determine which project to undertake: e.g. should I use $100 to dig that pond, or build a solar collector?

Upon completion of the pie-poll (which mechanically looks like an apple poll), the volunteer staff is responsible for ensuring it is converted and distributed to the recipient individual(s) as a gift in the appropriate form of capital - e.g.  PayPal transfer / amazon book purchase sent to the recipient's address / gift card to LOWES to buy the thing / check in the mail to cover cost of the repaired whats-it-called / living capital or seeds shipped to the recipient.  

A portion of the collected pie within the pie poll may be given to the staff pollster as compensation for their time and energy spent creating the poll and distributing the gift, either as a flat amount, or a percentage.  A portion should also go to the empire, so the system has sustainability.

Idea:  Crowd funding/gifting on permies.com.  It'd be really cool to have some kind of tiny Kickstarter-esque function for permies by permies to achieve specific, measurable, openly shared and financially-limited goals and projects.  

A way for a half dozen or a dozen strangers to chip in a gift of $1 to $50 each to support someone's personal permaculture growth, with nothing expected in return.  Like raising money to buy a specific book from the review grid, or tools / materials to build a cool project, and subsequently post about it online -- just not exclusive to rewarding the hard workers at Wheaton labs.   Somehow its open to any permie.

And maybe the empire takes a cut of the funds to be the middle man.  

Perhaps functionally, it is like an apple poll, but instead of apples, it is PIE-limited.  A PIE-poll.  People "vote" with purchased pie to help support someone's goal.

Example:  A permie would love to buy the PADM, but financially isn't willing to dig deep into savings.  She wants to raise $100 to buy the PADM, used.  Pie it forward empire rate for books is +20% (or whatever) to subsidize the time and process for cutting a check / doing the transaction via PayPal / buying a book on Amazon; so if a dozen people chip in $10 each of PIE, the empire pockets $20, and then either buys the book on Amazon and sends it to the permie, or cuts a check or PayPal or whatever.  The Pie it forward rate might vary depending on how much effort is required.  Or how much value is created in the permaculture world.  Maybe the posted Pie it forward rate for buying and planting trees is 5% to the empire, for instance.

A Pie poll could be a big ol' list of fundraising links for different people's projects.  And once a project gets to 100% funded, the transfer takes place.  That'd be a fun way to anonymously chip in small amounts to help folks grow and achieve goals.

Fingerprints

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fingerprints_close-up.jpg#file

Arches, Loops, and Whorls, but they certainly remind me of waves.  In addition to showing the uniqueness that is you, the little waves of your fingers provide just the right friction to touch and grasp.

In this case the "waves" are like little speed bumps or a rumble strip, again slowing things down.  

Thoughts as a permaculture designer:
In a permaculture design, a few "waves" in the vertical profile of an otherwise flat landscape could slow down or redirect wind for high value downwind plantings (e.g. a wind break made of an ecotone of woody herbs, then taller shrubs, then taller trees).  Waves can also slow down and concentrate rain -- like an imprinted desert landscape (see https://imprinting.org/ to learn about imprinting.)  Waves in the vertical profile can "grasp" a little extra sunlight and turn it into warm (and cool) spots when compared to a flat garden -- think tefa, or the sunward and pole-ward sides of a hugelkulture garden bed.  

In a horizontal setting, a wavy or curved path slows a traveler down compared to a straight one.  This subconsciously encourages a gardener or visitor to "stop and smell the roses" and perhaps tend plants.  On a highway it helps keep drivers energized and on their toes during long stretches and forces them to slow down (road to Hana, Hawaii, anyone?).

A wavy garden bed may make it extremely challenging to conveniently use some larger farm machines, forcing a farmer to do more things by hand or by animal perhaps, and possibly  protecting soil structure from losing aggregation in the process.

Faeryn,

Can you confirm, are you trying to get this one:

https://a.co/d/2fDBpqq

or this one...

https://a.co/d/fJCSmjJ

A couple months ago, someone stole my prized 30 lb watermelon from my Back to Eden garden in my yard.  It was a rare variety that turns yellow when ripe -- a great variety for fall because it looks just like a pumpkin.

I was so eager to sink my teeth into that melon, to share it with my family and my neighbor, and especially to save the seeds for next year on my farm.  

Then one day -- *poof* -- it was gone.

I was so sad and angry.  I was even a little paranoid as I looked at strangers walking by, wondering "were you the one who stole *my* watermelon?"

Forgiveness was a decision point, a "seed" I formally planted in the garden of my mind, whereupon Person A - wherever and whoever they are - no longer owed me a watermelon.  Person A's debt to me is buried.

The seedling of forgiveness grows best with tending, and it eventually grows a little root down to the heart; and it produces fruit of peace and mercy, such that I no longer have to carry around a 30 lb watermelon.

Rivers

Professor Bentley wrote: When they are young, rivers ideally start out relatively straight in map view, entrenched in V-shaped valleys. You’ll also find plenty of waterfalls and rapids at this “Youth” stage. As time goes by, the river erodes downward to base level, and loses the gravitational impetus to incise any deeper. The river now begins to meander side to side, and as it does so, enlarges the size of its valley by lateral erosion at cut banks. It is “Mature.” As time goes by, the valley walls get further and further apart. …Then what?

(Source: Professor Callan Bentley, River landscape evolution)

Folks can check out his blog post to see how the river further changes into the "Old Age" and "Rejuvenated" stages.  


(Source: Professor Callan Bentley, River landscape evolution)

Thoughts as a permaculture designer:
When it comes to water, we usually want to "slow, spread, and sink" it to rehydrate a landscape.  A wave pattern (in an overhead plan view) does just this, from "source to sink" going down hill.  A wave pattern slows down erosion by reducing the velocity of water.  This also maximizes the water's "edge" and allows more plants and animals along the way to fully utilize it -- using edges being one of Holmgren's 12 permaculture principles.  

In Amelia, VA a man sells 240 liter food grade barrels (previously holding pickles) which when filled with water, could form an excellent thermal mass for a greenhouse's back wall.  Then the back wall could be a normal stick-frame construction with your insulation of choice.  

Even better but more challenging to construct would be an earth sheltered  Oehler-style solar greenhouse like in his book.  Best wishes!