permaculture design

Q&A with Kareen – Top 10 Crops to Feed a Family

In this week’s ‘Q&A with Kareen’, I address Julie’s question about my top 10 favorite crops to grow to feed a family. In particular, Julie was interested in crops that were either high in calories and/or macro and micronutrients, as well as easy to grow, prepare, store, and preserve.  You’ll notice that I don’t mention some of […]

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Q&A with Kareen – Permaculture pitfalls, leaf mulch, and greywater systems

In this week’s ‘Q&A with Kareen’, I address multiple questions and comments from Tyler. I really appreciated him sharing his experience as it allowed me to address some common permaculture pitfalls and mistakes that I often hear from clients. Click on the video to learn: Why a site plan is super important and how it helps you

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Q&A with Kareen – How to deal with an overheating greenhouse and tips for growing tomatoes in cold climates!

This is the first video in my winter series, Q&A with Kareen. In it, I answer Sandra’s question about ventilating a greenhouse as well as her questions about growing tomatoes in our cold climate.  An overheating greenhouse is a common problem, especially if you have a small one. I’ve found that even with windows or

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Raising Chickens in Cold Climates

Chickens are one of the easier and more useful animals to have in your backyard gardens. In permaculture, they are often the example of ‘each element performing multiple functions.’ In other words, having chickens as part of your backyard ecosystem accomplishes several functions at once. Not only can they provide you with eggs and meat

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My Top 3 Questions to Ask When Designing your Homestead

One of the most frequent comments I get from potential clients is, “I recently moved to our site, and have no clue where to start.”  It’s common to be immediately overwhelmed by the possibilities. How big should your garden be? How many fruit trees do you want and where do you plant them? Should you

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Top 4 Most Effective Groundcovers in a Food Forest

Harvest season is now in full swing on the homestead and I am so grateful. The other day, I dug up all my garlic, harvested fava beans, and am enjoying broccoli, zucchinis, basil and cucumbers from the garden. Meanwhile, the tomatoes are starting to ripen, the winter squash plants are sprawling, and the peppers are loving these hot

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