Dear friends As the warmer days of May arrive the bats are fully out of hibernation and gather over our fields to forage for food in the darkness of night. It is this time of year that the female bats are consuming food both for themselves and the young, they will soon … Read More
Dear friends, You may recall that back in September 2023 I posted a letter I had sent to the planning officer of the North Yorkshire Council objecting to a planning application that had been submitted to build 28 houses on an ancient wildflower meadow at Bolton Crofts an area that provides essential habitat to … Read More
Humour is one element that for some odd reason seems to be missing from the permaculture books I’ve read. This could be due to the nature of such books; they tend to be manuals missing the storytelling elements of a good book that you can get lost in for hours at a time. … Read More
As we move from summer into Autumn it’s that time of the year to stop and reflect upon what progress the kitchen garden has made this past growing season before I start and collect the leaf fall from all the sycamore trees surrounding the car park and pack the garden away for another winter.
As the squash grows larger in the September sun it’s a good time to catch up with how the edible forest garden is looking in 2023.
Dear friends, This post is to highlight what is currently taking place in Richmond North Yorkshire to our ancient wildflower meadows at Bolton Crofts. A planning application has been submitted to build 28 houses on an ancient wildflower meadow that provides essential habitat to the town’s wildlife. This location also provides one of the … Read More
Well, that took some doing but after six years I’ve finally completed my diploma in applied permaculture design. The diploma program is run by the permaculture association UK. To complete the diploma you need to produce a portfolio of ten designs that will demonstrate how you develop into a proficient permaculture designer. My final … Read More
Five years on and the forest garden is awash in colour, it’s overflowing with growth and life. The transformation of a small garden from a lawn to an edible forest garden has involved lots of work but it goes to show how using permaculture design an unproductive piece of land can become a … Read More
Permaculture Quote: “The core of permaculture is design and the working relationships and connections between all things.” Bill Mollison
Permaculture Quote: “Traditional agriculture was labour intensive, industrial agriculture is energy intensive, and permaculture-designed systems are information and design intensive.” David Holmgren