Permaculture in Florida: What Should I Do With All These Sticks?

      Have you ever felt like winter has left your place a mess and you don't know what to do with all of the sticks and leaves? 

     The permaculture thing to do would probably be to let the sticks and leaves stay where they fell and fertilize the soil. While I would agree that this is a good idea, it can be a  little bit unsightly in the front yard gardens. Then there is the problem of palm trees and them leaving their fallen branches on top of other plants. 

     These extra branches and leaves do have a purpose in the permaculture garden. Believe it or not, fallen leaves can be fed to livestock. My rabbits eat sycamore leaves and palm leaves, but neither are their favorite. Any amount they can mulch for me is appreciated, and the uneaten leaves are put onto the garden pathways as a mulch layer. Sometimes I also put fallen leaves and rabbit manure around new plantings.

     Large branches and sticks are a whole nother problem. They take years to break down, even here in the South. So I have found a solution, and that is to cut all branches to the desired widths of the paths, and then to stack similar width sticks horizontally to create a path. This is imperfect at times, because the branches often roll, and they also can make a person trip. But I am confident that digging in the logs a little bit will prevent this problem.

Punch-bowl Gardening

     I love Cannas. They are beautiful and edible and easy to grow. They are easy to grow, but you have to give them what they want, and what they want is water and sunlight.
     So I am developing a whole new style of plant nursing which I invented, and I am going to call it Punch-Bowl Gardening.
     The technique is simple. Head to your local charity-based thrift store and buy a few punch bowls. Believe me, these large bowls are there in abundance and no one else is buying them! Make sure you don't spend more than $3.00 per bowl, as that kind of money means you are buying an antique and not just unwanted glassware. The bowls can have chips on the edges, no big deal. We are buying them to reuse and recycle, not necessarily for looks.

     Then pot on your Cannas, Taros, or other water-loving plants as you normally would into whatever kind of pot that you have handy. I am using black nursery pots that I have scavenged or begged for. When I plant Cannas and other bog plants i like to put a layer of cypress mulch into the bottom of the pot, then medium, then manure and plant base as the top layer. I use aged rabbit manure, the moldier/gummier the better. Then place the potted plant into the punchbowl sitting out in your garden, and fill the punchbowl up with water. Whenever you water your plants or when the punchbowl is empty, refill to the top.

     The advantages - easy to keep thirsty plants happy and gives wildlife a place to grab a drink (frogs, lizards, butterflies). Disadvantages - mosquito growth and high winds can sometimes knock plants over if very full of water. The easiest way to treat the mosquitos is to add BT to the punchbowl, which inhibits the larval form of mosquito. That is also the most expensive way. Hardest way to treat the mosquitos is to dump the water out twice a week, run a scrub brush around the inside, then refill with clean water.
    If you've enjoyed this post and now want to buy some mosquito dunks loaded with BT from amazon, please use Amazon Smile and donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for me. I want them to get the proceeds for any sales, not me or my plant blog.

The back yard garden, featuring aquarium Cannas, Punch-Bowl Cannas, and non-draining pot Cannas

Home-made Ollas

     Ollas (oi-yas) are a traditional Central American method of irrigation. One simply plants the terra cotta vessel in the garden, then plants the most water-needy vegetables near the olla. The more drought-tolerant vegetables are located further from the olla. Then the ollas are topped with water regularly, slowly leaking moisture to the soil nearby. The surface soil and leaves never receive watering with this method, which eliminates water lost through evaporation.
     To make some yourself, you will need terra cotta pots, some stones, super glue, and bathroom caulk. The best place to find terra cotta pots cheap is to look at garage sales and rummage sales, or ask any friends that think they have "black thumbs". I used to have bromeliads in these when I was an apartment dweller, but now that I have a yard, the smaller pots seem like more work than they are worth.
     Glue a stone over the drainage hole on the bottom of the pot. Allow to dry, then caulk around the stone to ensure waterproofing. Super glue the superior pot on the top, allow to dry, then caulk around the edges to waterproof. Bury where you plan on having the veg grow, leave the top exposed for adding water.

Azolla, Azolla spp.

 Uses: Edible, Fodder, Fertilizer. Native to: The Cretaceous Period, worldwide.
     This floating water plant is actually a tiny, prehistoric fern with amazing properties. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen due to its symbiotic relationship with cyanobacteria, like an aquatic version of our more common legumes. Due to its nitrogen-fixation, it is also an extremely protein-rich plant, making it an excellent choice for home-grown fodder. In fact, there are very few land-based livestock animals that will not eat azolla, if any. Chickens, rabbits, goats, ducks, and cows are reported to gorge on this aquatic plant.
     Historically it has been used as a wetland green manure crop in the warmer parts of Asia. In the spring when taro or rice is planted in the boglands, the azolla would be innoculated to the water's surface. There the little ferns would fix nitrogen and proliferate, crowding out any competing algae or weeds via shading. Since the rice and taro have most of their foliage above water-level, it does not hinder their growth. The azolla will thrive, then self-mulch, then die down when the cooler weather comes. The farmers harvest some and shelter it for next year's use. The green manure properties of azolla make it possibly the six most valuable ferns on the planet.

A close-up of the roots which hang into the water.

     It's culture is simple - grow it in clean still or gentle water. Wind and water turbulence can fragment and destroy azolla, so sometimes floating beds are used. Like duckweed, under the right conditions it can become weedy if it escapes into waterways, so care should be taken to prevent escape. Since it provides it's own nitrogen, phosphorous can be a limiting factor to optimal growth. "The symptoms of phosphorous deficiency are red-coloured
fronds (due the presence of the pigment anthocyanin), decreased growth and curled
roots." A quick search of the webs reveals a superior organic source of high quality phosphorous can be made by burning animal bones at high temperatures to ashes. Never has a rocket mass heater in florida sounded more appealing!
     Azolla species can be used as a very nutritious survival food for humans, but it will need to be cooked to destroy any pathogens that might be living in the watery growing media. For animals, this compilated table shows it to have 16.5% crude protein and a bevy of other useful vitamins, like leucine and alanine. This Australian study lists many of the benefits of using azolla as a large-scale fodder source, but points out a simple drawback to commercial production - that contamination of the plantings by tiny freshwater shrimp can occur. This accidental animal protein renders the azolla illegal to sell as a feed source for ruminants in Australia, as they have strict legislation prohibiting animal proteins for ruminant consumption there. They also recommend the azolla be fed fresh or refrigerated, but within a week of harvest.
     A very nice synopsis of azolla research here.

Some free aquatic snail contamination.

I don't speak this language, but the video is very informative even muted.

Covert Urban Homesteading, Part 1: Plants

Covert - Adjective: Not openly acknowledged or displayed

Homesteading - Noun: an act or instance of establishing a homestead.

     My yard is the nicest place in the neighborhood, the main reason why no one has complained yet about the vegetable garden in the front yard. Of course, it would probably matter more if a person could actually see the vegetables growing in the yard, but since most people do not know what vegetables look like, I haven't heard any complaints about them yet. So I have the vegetables growing in the flower beds that came to me with the house, things like sweet potatoes, cowpeas, sorghum, flax, and sunflowers. Also cannas, which double as a survival food source and more distracting foliage and flower. The vegetables are planted in circles around the bases of trees or in-line with the edges of the circular flower beds, so they don't stick out. Sorghum even looks like an attractive variety of one of those decorative grasses that people are endlessly planting.
     There may come a time where you can grow a garden, but you will have to work within very strict standards for unsightliness. For example, some neighborhoods may not allow rain barrels or compost piles. Both of these can be buried into the ground. It may not be the most desirable thing, but it's better than having no stored water and no compost, right? Also all garden beds should be edged, mulched, and manicured at all times. Covert urban gardening takes more time than regular gardening, and isn't for everyone.
     After the front yard gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Orlando, Florida, made the news, I checked out our county codes to see what they said about front yard gardens, animals, and easements. I won't bother you with the details, but for the most part, pretty lax on gardens but strict on animals, at least for residential areas. It wasn't too much later that a guy in Oregon or somewhere far away got busted for having unlicensed ponds, and just recently a couple in Orlando got busted for a front yard garden. But their front yard garden doesn't look like my front yard garden, which just makes me think they were DOING IT WRONG.

So here are my techniques in five easy steps...

     Step 1: Check your regional municipal codes. Each state, county, city, and suburb probably has its own rules, and don't forget your deed restrictions printed right on your deed! Don't fall into the trap as these unfortunate people have. Know your rights, then use them. Preferably to grow delicious food.

     Step 2: Check out what other people have in their yards. This serves many purposes. For example, you will get a feel for what grows very well in your climate with little care. Is that a persimmon over there, un-pruned and un-watered? Is that a pear tree? Does that neighbor down the street have a lot of edible native plants? Do you? If everyone has front yard gardens, then you are in the clear. If everyone has vegetables growing in buckets, then either you have a lot of renters or the soil won't grow those vegetables well so the neighbor is using store-bought stuff. If the neighbors all have manicured grasses with expensive, nursery-grown landscaping, it would be safe to say that some jerk will probably be unhappy with your rows of corn.

     Step 3: Do it slowly, and do it right the first time. Put in plants with careful thought as to how it will look once it is growing. No one wants to look at potato plants dying down for the season, but maybe the okra or peanuts will be big enough so no one will be able to see the potato plants.  Leave the plants that need trellising, which is considered unsightly, for the back or side yards, or just don't grow them. If you are starting with bare dirt or open grass, then build largish, circular, raised beds around productive trees. Some people call these plant guilds, or three sisters gardens.

     Step 4: Add Flowers. Since most people don't know what vegetables look like, they will think you are doing a lot with annuals every spring. Encourage that. Also put in attractive, edible perennials, like roses. The leaves are fodder for animals and the rose hips are a good food. Even bulbs like tulips or amaryllis can be cultivated and traded or sold, and they will encourage people to not notice all the other plants you are growing on. There are a ton of easy, edible perennials. Some people call this Permaculture.

     Step 5: Maintain. Mulch like crazy, it's good for the soil, and it looks nice. If you have a lot of foot traffic in a spot so the ground cover turns to dirt, then put some pavers there to keep up the place. Keep the remaining grass well-trimmed, and pick up the litter that floats into your yard. Rake fallen leaves into the flower beds as mulch. Or shred and compost as is your preference. Stagger your plantings so that your front yard has a lot of life in every part of the growing season. Some people call this biointensive farming.

Composting in Place

     Here in the deep south we are blessed by a good deal of rainfall in the wet season and humidity almost every day the rest of the year. This natural abundance of moisture promotes vigorous microbial activity even in the dry season. The activities of insects should not be overlooked either. The much vilified ants and roaches break down larger pieces of organic matter into smaller pieces the bacteria can handle.
     Traditional gardeners in the more temperate climates north of us frequently create compost piles, which not only cleans up the garden area but also concentrates all that microbial activity in one spot to rapidly decompose plant matter. I can say that I have not really seen a compost pile here ever, because organic matter breaks down so quickly it kind of seems pointless. We get to practice what northern gardeners cannot, composting in place.
     Any waste plant matter an be used to create compost, which people around here frequently call mulch. The two terms are used almost interchangeably because even the big woody store-bought mulch will break down within one rainy season to produce the humusy compost that northerners recognize. That humus becomes washed into the sand, providing nutrition for even more beneficial microorgnisms like worms.
     Most cleared land here in west Florida quickly loses its topsoil. Many a new homeowner has been perturbed by the ide that the builders laid sod down on straight sand and they now need to constantly water and fertilize in order to grow the easiest of plants, grass. In the time between the land was cleared and the builders finished they house was all the rain and wind needed to remove that layer of humus from that property. In the older neighborhoods where grass has been cultured for years, simply lift the roots and see for yourself. The grass will pull out easily if the ground is dry and you will find the bare, pale sand.
     Small particles break down more easily. This is why cedar mulch decays faster than pine bark nuggets. If you want the soil to quickly make compost then chopping, slicing, and shredding are your friends. That being said, I did throw last year's pumpkins outside and in a month all that was left was a thin, waxy, papery shell. Coffee grounds will be invisible after one good rain. Orange peels and vegetable remains also disappear quickly as long as they are cut into small pieces.
     Leaves break down fairly quickly, but you may be better served by using them as an easy mulch. In the fall sometimes I rake under the oak tree in the front yard to get up some of the leaves so the place looks good. Once the trash barrel is full its placed out on the curb on yard waste collection day. From there the leaves and twigs are taken to a municipal collection site, what I like to call, The Dump. All yard waste is collected, shredded, then placed into huge piles for people to collect for their gardens. The mulch is part humus and part small sticks. It will blow away in the wind if you let it. Bring that home and put at least a two or three inch layer underneath every plant. It will block weeds and give all the benefits of mulch, while releasing humus into your soil. And its free.
     Another item I compost in place is all the waste from the parrot cages. The mulch from the dump lines the cages, and every week I go in and scrub the bars and collect the droppings and food bits. Used mulch is then placed directly on the plants. It is said that bird waste should never be placed directly on plants because of the high ammonium concentration burning the plants roots. However, I have never experienced that. Perhaps it is because the pooped-up mulch is exposed to the sun and elements before the ammonias ever reach the roots. It does seem wise to forego putting bird waste in containers for plants.
     Someone might ask me what I would do with dog doo, and here it is... Flush it. Collect it up frequently and flush it down the toilet if you have many dogs on a small piece of property. It would be the safest way to remove any pathogens or medications if that applies to you. Another thing I might try if I had one or two dogs is to collect it into a pile away from the house and mix the waste with mulch or shredded leaves. Allow to decompose and spread onto plant beds that you will not be eating the leaves from, like the obligatory hibiscus or crepe myrtle every house seems to have. Make sure it is well buried with even more mulch to keep flies and smell down. If you did that twice a year you would have no problems. Another thing might be to try spraying the doo into the grass while its still fresh. I would probably not do that since it would be so much work.
     We compost in place coffee grounds, contents from tea bags, banana peels, egg shells, fruit skins or cores, vegetable pieces, pineapple rind and cores, and more. Stale bread or leftover meat gets run through the birds or cats.