Aimee Hall

I am in Australia and I am always happy to talk permaculture. I too am hoping to find more like minded people in Australia, though I am in the Melbourne region. How is your search going Bronwyn? We will be going into Spring before too long, I have already gotten some of my annual seeds started and have been cleaning up and chop-and-drop mulching my perennials in preparation!

Yes, I would be happy to help if I am able. (Sometimes ingredients I am used to having in the States can be hard to come by in Australia but I am sure there are many recipes I could help with testing.) I am no chef, but I do love to cook!

Hello all! Excellent thread. Gorgeous grapes and muscadines Steve, thank you for sharing all you have learned!

Samantha, you should be able to use the grape leaves for cooking if the grapes are not to your taste. Though other than fresh & jammed (which didn't work for you), and as juice or raisins (which were already mentioned) I do not know of many other options other than maybe adding them to a fruit salad to maybe enjoy the natural freshness of other fruits. There are recipes like waldorf salad (which I personally cannot stand) and others on sites like allrecipes. Good luck!

Jennifer, about the tiny worms, they may be grape beetle larvae, you should be able to google it. I too am very hesitant to use any form of pest control but you should be able to use BT if absolutely necessary. It too will kill beneficials like neem oil does but not to quite as much of an extent in my experience.

And, I have a question myself! I have recently moved to Melbourne, Australia and I will be trying to grow some grape vines in large (45L) pots. They will be on either side of a sidewalk in a highly visible area so my potting choices were limited by the local council who insists everything must look pretty. They will have to grow in the pots for 2-3 years most likely, I am looking for good land near Melbourne but between insanely high land prices and not having tons of money to invest it is going to take me a while. I am hoping to use these and a few other plants (everyone recognises grape clusters!) to show passers by how much even a small suburban yard can produce instead of lawn and I am looking for suggestions on growing the grapes in these large pots (because I have only ever grown them in the ground) and economical trellising ideas to maybe arch the plants over the side walk. Normally I would use cattle panels but those are very hard to get here and super expensive, and I have a roommate that is about 6'6" and I want him to be able to walk through there without getting hit in the head. (I am also quite tall for a girl so I appreciate this as well) Any advice and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks all, you guys are awesome!

Welcome Jim. That is a very important topic, thank you for bringing your book to the world and congratulations.

What I read in your excerpts and on your website I do fully agree with and have implemented (to the best of my understanding without having read the rest of your book) in my own communities.

I think the issue I have had the most problem with is the slackers. They are often the most involved and helpful in meetings, planning, often want to be the ones in charge but seem to fall short when it comes to doing any of the real work. Unfortunately, others get tired of doing those peoples share of the work and then tend to fall into their habits, but I have found that many of the principals you mention will rally most back into action. They have varied in specific habits and excuses, but always insist they want to be a part of the community, sometimes they are spouses, siblings, or children of helpful active members.

Though I have never found an ideal solution for dealing with the people who are lazy, nor have the other community leaders. (unfortunately I believe being lazy is something most humans have to fight against. I do not want to do all the work that I do, I just feel I must or I cannot properly relax during the moments of peace I allow myself. Some people however are quite content to let everyone else do the work.) What are your suggestions? Because in my experience, they have been the single biggest challenge to productive and healthy community building.

Thank you so much for your time and expertise. I hope your book helps many get onto the right track with their communities.

Welcome Crystal and congratulations on the publishing of your new book! I hope it reaches millions and gets them to change their grass yards into productive, Earth restorative fruits and vegetables. =)

I love all the recipes and may give some of them a try! I have made some small changes to a recipe I found from Wellness Mama She does it in parts and I think that is great, but I usually just do it in tablespoons and it is a rough estimate. I do leave out the optional DE just because it was a bit too abrasive on my gums, I think I probably brush too hard.... The recipe has some distinct similarities to some posted here. I do like that it is simple as that works for me.

Like the previous person noted, the coconut oil alone can leave it a bit too stiff to spread in winter. To fix this, during the colder months I add a tiny bit of vegetable glycerine or a liquid oil. I tried olive oil and was not super fond of the taste, sweet almond oil did work well for me. I was also planning on trying walnut at some point.

5T Calcium Carbonate
4T melted coconut oil
3T Xylitol
2T Baking soda
1/2tsp finely ground sea salt
Essential oil mix (I like peppermint and use between 20-40 drops for this amount.)

(If it is cold, use about 3T coconut oil and 1T liquid vegetable/nut/seed oil of choice. This may take more liquid oil in a colder environment than the 6b I am accustomed to.)

I do feel I have much better oral health since going away from commercial brands. Thank you for sharing everyone and good luck in your quest for the perfect oral care!

Basket/container weaving is fascinating and unknown to me so I would most love to learn about that.

Taking plant fibres into useful things such as twine and the like would be second on my list. Thanks R and everyone contributing!

I would love to see this kickstarter and I would be be able to donate on the $15 level. I do think you guys should keep in mind that a lot of folk may still be financially unstable right now due to the virus, so support may still be somewhat less in July. However, it is a fantastic project and as much as I would truly love to see more behind the scenes, I have to figure out how to pay my bills first. I just worry many people are in the same boat right now.

As far as a title goes, I agree that adding Montana in will be helpful. As much as greywater is what caught my eye, I agree that it is not going to catch as many people as the thought of being able to use the greenhouse year round for growing edibles will. Will you be adding into the documentary how the greywater is being treated and piped through the greenhouse and beyond? Will greywater plant selection be included as well? Adding these things are fairly vital for anyone who is really wanting to use this for greywater treatment. While, those who are interested in growing edibles can simply ignore those parts.

Tiny home is a good buzzword but really since that is already established has little to do with this project. Though I think that a lot of people want to learn, especially right now. So, my suggestion would be something along the lines of "Documentary: Passive greenhouse treats greywater in Montana" for something strictly informational, it does not have the witty touches the other titles did though.

I wish you guys the very best of luck in this project. You are awesome!

Thank you Leo! That does sound exactly like what I am looking for. =)

Welcome Leo!

This is a subject that fascinates and terrifies me. I am allergic to bees, they used to make me keep an epi-pen (spelling?) when I was a child after an incident when I was about a year old, however I quit bothering in my adult life as bees and wasps rarely are a problem. Then last year, I got stung not just once but twice! One time was my own fault, I grabbed something that had a wasp on it where I couldn't see. The other, actually chased me down and I have absolutely no idea why, I saw it coming toward me from about 20 yards away and altered my path and knew I was in trouble when it veered as well but being out in the open like I was, there was no escaping. That second one almost did me in too! Even after going to the hospital I had to cut the sleeves of several shirts my arm stayed swollen to about twice its normal size.

And yet, despite that I still really want to keep bees. I just figured I would keep them without stealing the honey, the bees love my farm in Missouri anyhow. Now I am in Australia though and will have to learn all about the bees native here. Does your book cover the types of native bees found around the world and their different needs?

Thank you for adding to the rich and diverse permies community!