Permaculture in Amsterdam Saturday 160808

Permaculture in Amsterdam Saturday 160808 (full moon in aquarius, partial eclips) 18.00
Baruch loves to offer a permaculture talk for whoever is interested.
The ethics and principles can be covered in an evening with a combination of discussion and games, can be fun and very useful. Anyone interested?
Date/time: Saturday 160808 (full moon in aquarius, partial eclips) 18.00
Costs: potluck & donation for Baruch
Location: Amsterdam
Info: dreamcat@xs4all.nl

Upgrading my tiny garden

After removing some tiles and the hortensia, my garden looked like a desert...
Watch that corner in the triangle, that's the place to start a small 'cold' compost-heap.









Now, a few months later, my garden is running wild!
Even the potatoes are flowering.
Now I have to figure out how to keep the potatoes in check; having potatoes in my garden for a long time will deplete the ground unless I find some other plants that will remedy this...

Mulching

"Cold Outdoor Pile

Pro:
Easy to start. Can add material continuously.
Very low maintenance and the resulting compost is very rich in soil organisms.

Contra:
Takes more than a year to decompose. Some nutrients are leached and can also attract animals."

Intrepreting the system mentioned above, I just started piling up 'grown' waste (old straw, tough vegetable stems and hedge clippings) and 'green' waste (fruit, coffee grounds, cut flowers, grass clippings) in small amounts every week.
It looks I have to be very patient... that'll teach me for being a lazy gardener!

Sour Mulch

Beware of Sour Mulch

"..both drought and excess water can cause similar symptoms -- both damage roots, and the plant wilts and turns brown....When organic material used for mulch has been composted improperly, the result can be "sour mulch," which is toxic to lawns, bedding plants, and newly planted shrubs. "

Oops! There is a brown spot in my garden, just in the corner where I left a large pile of compost for a while...

Looking at a medium-sized Urban Garden

Now this is what I call a medium-sized garden in Amsterdam; in comparison with gardens in the countryside it is still tiny of course.

Brainstorm:
Which aspects of Permaculture can we apply at this place in one day's work with a few people?

Are there any specific topics we would like to learn about in this workshop? Do we have other places in mind for gardening?

Urban Permaculture in a tiny garden

Since 2005 I live in a part of Amsterdam that used to be a independent village. The small houses were made for the laborers at the wharves nearby; the gardens are really tiny. It took me a year to settle down, putting down my roots here, relating with my garden. For the first time in my whole live I felt really at home in a place! Working at my garden helps me to connect to this land, gives me a real rooting here and now. It heals some childhood-trauma's on having to pull out weeds as a punishment.

Starhawk's book 'Earth Path' inspired me to try some experiments on Urban Permaculture, beginning with a compost-heap, relocating plants etc. Starting to apply Urban Permaculture in my small garden is a real challenge!

How much Urban Permaculture can I apply in a small spot? I really feel strongly, these type of small gardens need Urban Permaculture. The greater challenge makes the need greater to do this at these spots. See those three tiles bordering the garden and also the hortensia? They had to go, to make space. Opposite the triangle, there is a small spot, usable for herbs. And after the change...Still a lot of work to be done on this site...