DejahThoris wrote:Thanks for the website! My husband was really excited about it. We've been sort of flying blind, but seem to be doing the right thing so far. Yesterday we cut up a fallen tree and traded it for a load of manure. We're zoned residential so we can't have livestock. We compost our pea vines, cornstalks and other garden waste, and work them in. When we started four years ago there wasn't a single earthworm to be seen, but now just turn over the soil and you get a handful. We're so grateful for the information. We plan to be around a long time and to hand the farm on to our kids, so this permiculture information means so much to us. Thank you again! By the way, my husband's grandfather was Cyrus Swope, one of the original organic farmers. You can read about him on the internet. But all his kids (he had fourteen) rejected his methods and went for big tractors, pesticide and chemical fertilizers. My husband wishes he had paid attention to Grandpa when he was growing up! We're glad someone preserved this life saving information.
Just because it is zoned residential, you might still be able to raise some chickens. Seattle for instance lets you keep up to seven hens. Chickens work much better than the garbage disposal in your sink, and you get eggs! Check with your county conservation person.
Today, I am going over to my sisters place (urban), to show them how to harvest their roosters prior to them starting to crow. They bought 15 straight run chicks (Sussex), to start their flock. They can only keep four. So, I get the excess hens, and one rooster to replace mine, Today we show them how to kill and prep the other roosters for the freezer.