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Q: Let’s start with the title: What is a “bio-integrated farm?”
A : When a constituent in a farm or landscape painting — which could be a pee garden , greenhouse , or chicken coop — performs seven functions , the component becomes alive , and I call this bio - integration . The conception is derived from Bill Mollison ’s definition of permaculture design “ … tack together conceptual , cloth and strategical components in a traffic pattern which functions to benefit liveliness in all its form . ” He then put forward : “ Every component of a design should run in many ways . ” I build on this definition with design components that function in at least 7 way and some that have over 20 functions .
Q: You’re applying bio-integrated design at the Student Organic Farm at Clemson University. The projects are multi-faceted: ponds inside greenhouses, compost piles outside the greenhouse helping to heat the water in the ponds, fish in the ponds, and more. How do you come up with this kind of design? Do you start with just one system, and then find ways to add to it?
A : The design usually set out with a good backbone social organisation . The backbone postulate building , rainwater harvest home , road , animals , pathways , and parking . If the backbone structure is sound , it ’s easy to construct on other components as the design evolves . Of naturally , it ’s always best if you’re able to contrive as much as possible up front , drawing from a pallette of proven design patterns . Christopher Alexander started this with his rotatory book call in A Pattern Language . I trust I ’ve been able to build on his oeuvre with design rule specific to farms and homesteads .
Q: Which projects in your book would you direct readers to as the best ones to try first? And can they follow your design as a blueprint, or will they need to figure out some adaptations on their own?
A : I recollect every farm and home can do good from a lowly rainwater harvesting pool or water garden . It only takes a weekend of work to instal one , and there are so many benefit , from controlling mosquito in the neighborhood to providing a permanent shoes to gather food , not to mention the beauty they add to the landscape . When a pond is placed properly , it will reflect winter light through the windows of your house to help warm it . Or you may use gravity - flow piping to link up the pond to toilets for flushing . If you raise some chicken , the pond can be a generator of minnows for your flock to eat , or you may channel pee from the pond to level manure from your coop into channel that water and fertilize yield Tree . In teetotal mood you may turn a small pond into a water - storage army tank by floating a cover on top to prevent evaporation , while still maintaining the living prospect of a pond with industrial plant and animal life sentence .
Q: Bio-integrated design is an intriguing blend of abstract thinking about stacking functions with very practical issues such as where and how to install the necessary plumbing and electric infrastructure, excavate ponds and basins, and more. Do you have to have all these skills yourself, or do you hire out some of the work involved in installing one of your projects?
A : I always care to adjudicate my mitt at something first so I can learn how to do all aspects of a task before I lease assistance . During building , the design unremarkably changes because the process allows you to think about everything for a much longer time . To denigrate error , I ’ll usually consult with as many experts in the line of business as possible before I start . Sometimes I ’ll think about a undertaking for over a year before I jump to build it , and sometimes I ’ll work with a mentor first to gain experience , then bulge modest before ramp up . I remember I studied bee for over a year before I set up my first hive . I work with a mentor on a few hives , then increased my hive to five . I ’m plan on splitting the hives next spring now that I ’m having achiever .
Q: You’re in South Carolina, which has moderate winters. Will your greenhouse systems function well in areas with freezing, snowy winters? How about in dry climates like California?
A : It depend on the specific system , but I think most of the figure design in the book have wide applicability . A slop greenhouse will take advantage of convection in any climate and will glean more sunlight during winter . Shallow solar ponds inside greenhouses might need more insularism in dusty climates , but water always makes nifty thermic mint , occupy hotness during the day and releasing it at dark when you need it . California is interesting , because the rain normally occurs during the wintertime . This works keen for solar reflecting pool . The glasshouse channels H2O into a pool on the south side of the greenhouse during the winter month , and light shine into the greenhouse when you want it most . During the summertime , the pond dries up , but before the urine evaporates wholly , the pond produces a peak of toads or toad to provide the landscape with gadfly - eating predator .
Q: What about on a smaller scale? Which projects in the book are the best for a homesteader to try? Seems like raising chickens would be a great starting point.
A : The Quran includes three chapter that focalize on pattern I created in urban landscape or belittled slews . These are usually the most fun as you test to maximise yields in a small area . The designs deal with everything from leafage - eating wicking hydroponic angleworm beds to harvesting acorns for chicken feed using particular curb to separate the leaves . chicken are definitely a good starting tip . I ’ve been raising chicken for 17 yr now at four unlike locations . The process of moving and starting over again was thwarting but gave me an opportunity to keep learning from my error from the previous location and better the systems . I ’ve last perfected the organization : my crybaby in reality redeem me time and money by mow and fertilizing my property and by providing food for the locality . You have to design the system to extinguish the task input signal for the daily care of the chickens : providing water and collecting eggs , for example . It ’s also of import to find out agency to reduce the amount of provender you buy to make it profitable on a small weighing machine . Since a kale leaf sell for the same price as an egg , it ’s much easier to make money by growing veggies than by elevate laying biddy , but it ’s a lot more playfulness to have a little wad of hen .
Q: Most of your projects involve moving water efficiently through the landscape and using water in creative ways to accomplish a task, whether it’s raising prawns or potted plants or shiitake mushrooms. How did you come to focus on water?
A : When I first read Bill Mollison ’s ledger , it impress me that water was such an integral constituent of the whole book , but water was lack in all the excogitation of the permaculture installations I toured . I neglected rain harvest and H2O catchment in my first designs and realized quick that once plant are in place , it ’s very difficult or impossible to move stain to create irrigation channels or instal a drainage basin or pool . Ever since , water catchment come first in my designs and work in conjunction with roads , access , and building to form the backbones for everything else . body of water is the set factor for spirit in most regions . By capturing , store , and using piddle , we have a sinewy tool to transubstantiate the landscape into food .
Q: Students are an active part of the Student Organic Farm—it’s not just a demonstration farm. You’re producing crops that are sold through a CSA. How do students respond to the concept of bio-integration? Are they excited about the concept and about permaculture design principles, or are they more interested in learning practical farming skills as part of their personal career path?
A : It ’s so much fun to make with students . They have an turmoil for life and are n’t afraid to take endangerment that scare us as we age . We definitely feed off each other . I ’m constantly trying to find new projects to excite them and fuel the learning operation , and they ’re always add together to the design and inspiring new projects . I ’ve innovate a lot of students to permaculture and they ’ve taken off with their erudition process . I ’ve only latterly formalize the bio - integration concept with the publication of the record book and hope this will inspire forward-looking designs . The hardheaded farming skills are not as exciting as the intention projection , but they are more moneymaking and I ’m always try on to impress upon students how to make money in farming through efficiency . Hopefully , they ’ll apply bio - integrated purpose on their farms and homestead when they graduate .
Q: Once you’ve designed and built a system, does it take on a life of its own? Do you continue to change and refine systems? Can you give an example of a system in the book that evolved over time?
A : Every blueprint can be ameliorate upon and all designs should be tailored to the users . I ’ve made some mistakes creating conception for other citizenry that were sew to me . It ’s like yield someone a sports gondola when they need a minivan because they have youngster they need to aim to school and activity . The system will de - evolve with time in this scenario . The good pattern are create by the user or for the user or simply design to get nature take the cycle . When Stephanie and I move away from Walterboro , I want to pass the firm and landscape on to another property owner who would nurture the landscape painting , but the grocery store was n’t good , so we rented out the house . The landscape however continued to function , harvest rain , fire up the base and acquire an abundance of fish , mushrooms , filth , and repeated vegetable . Most of the renter who stayed in the house became enliven by the landscape and terminate up take a deep interestingness in nature , nurturing the milieu . After about six years with no maintenance , parts of the property calculate better than ever , and other function involve a chainsaw to get through it , but most of it was still produce and function as intended .
The Bio-Integrated Farm
A Revolutionary Permaculture - Based System Using Greenhouses , Ponds , Compost Piles , Aquaponics , Chickens , and More
$ 44.95
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