Under Cover Farmers - Feature Length - YouTube

[Anna Lee]

Great video...Love this guy Ray.  Love the farmers, too.  All men...hmmmmm.

 

Anna Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWXCLVCJWTU&feature=related

[Just Fruits]

 Anna Lee, Great video, and good timing as I'm in the midst of thinking about planting a cover crop. Have you found a way yet to get the cover crop seeds into the soil without tilling yet?  I've got to work out a way to get the seed into some patches where behiagrass is taking root. 

Also, ran into a permacuture group forming in the Tallahassee area, wondering if everyone in this group is aware of it, here's a link to it http://www.meetup.com/The-Florida-Permaculture-Guild/ they are looking for members.

Brandy  

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From: annab...@embarqmail.com
To: Apalachee-perma...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Under Cover Farmers - Feature Length - YouTube
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:57:34 -0500

[William Wallace]

Thanks for the video, i will share it with my farming family in Va, and continue to try cover crops at Wildcat. Much Love, bill

--
"Live simpler so that others may simply live"

[Anna Lee]

Hey there, Brandy!  I'm glad you got a chance to see the video and liked it.  I am the worst person to ask about seeding cuz all I have done is the lazy farmer way...throw it out there and throw some soil/compost on top if you've got it. 

 

I haven't, of course, worked with anything but small areas near some trees.  However, I did see some good response from the trees.  I'm just beginning to understand this process, but the movie made it more real to me than just reading about it.  I love the idea that conventional farmers are playing with this and getting great results.  More, please, more!

 

I liked that the farmers agreed that tilling was now out the window for them.  They disk to break up the soil, and on a small scale like mine anythng that allows the seed to touch the soil will work and not disturb the soil further.  Like Mollison says, Small and Intensive if possible. 

 

But getting through Bahia might require some aerator equipment, or on the small scale, the foot pressing tool that forces holes or a fork creating holes would help, then dropping the seed.   Maybe try a few methods on different patches of the Bahia.  Or do what Tim Meng and Mike Goldschlager have done running pigs in the area for a bit then seeding. 

 

Tim and Mike are on to this creating pasture thing big time.  They've gone round and round as to how to approach it without damaging soil with too heavy of equipment.  I remember Mollison and Holmgren stating that using heavy equipment may be necessary at first, but then as things get established to avoid it.

 

Tim and Mike put a lot of thought into it and I suspect they will have us some good info on their success before long.  I know they've been astonished as to the amount of butterflies and pollinators they now have.  They've been figuring out a lot about what seed mixes to use.  Do you keep in touch with them?

 

A

----- Original Message -----

[Anna Lee]

Ah!  Brandy!  I forgot your question about the "meet-up group"...I received a stray series of emails being sent about concerning this group and its attempt to move into Tallahassee to set itself up. 

 

I may have it all wrong, but it seemed like a bit overwhelming in its agenda "for us", as though there was not a lot of work going on here already and we needed this group to name us and lead us into what is considered important to them, what seemed to work for them maybe. 

 

I think it would be good to make all our own connections with groups and individuals here in our area...a stronger connection among us.  However, I don't think we need someone from outside our area to dictate how this will go, what we will be named, and to charge us for the service.

 

I encourage everyone interested in the concept and practice of permaculture to join the Apalachee Permaculture Network and keep our conversation going, produce and attend the workshops offered such as at Wildcat Creek and through the Permaculture Design Course and to take advantage of the myriad things offered through the extension office and FAMU, etc. 

 

Maybe a calendar posting events in the region would be good. 

 

Maybe our own PermaBlitzes among members to help each other out and to exchange information would benefit all of us and grow our understanding of what each other is trying to achieve. 

 

But I don't want to create a bureaucracy around it.  I like the grassroots aspect.  

 

Anna Lee 

----- Original Message -----

From: William Wallace

To: apalachee-perma...@googlegroups.com