News Articles

Hey people!

I’m not sure if this is the right sub for my question. I’m 32 and i have a university degree in software engineering and have worked as a software developer for over 12 years. I live in egypt and I’m currently recovering from a medical issue that has prevented me from working full time for about a year and a half ,I’ve been doing some freelance gigs when i have the chance but I’ve grown sick of what i do and i think it is pointless other than to make money and the market isn’t that great anymore due to AI.

I used to work for an agritech company that works in hydroponics for a while and this got me interested in agriculture and ecology. during my break time i’ve started becoming very interested in permaculture and soil regeneration, I’ve been learning a lot from youtube and the internet about permaculture and desert reforestation. Unfortunately i don’t own any farm land and i live in an apartment so i have no land to try to apply what i’m learning but i have started experimenting with some food waste recycling techniques like different types of composting, bokashi and vermicomposting to try to building soil fertility and biology in potting soil atleast for my house plants. I’m also trying to learn more about traditional organic farming philosophies like KNF JADAM and the soil food web(i know that isn’t scientific but i csn still gain some insight from a practical method that has been used for a while for farming even if i’ll not follow it exactly) , i’ve also been learning about permaculture design from youtube channels like andrew millson and geoff lawton’s channels but have no place to try to apply what i’m learning. I have a pretty big concrete patio and i’m currently trying to merge all of what i’m learning to try to make a small potted vegetable and fruit garden according to the principles and methods i’ve been learning(getting a very slow start).

i would love to switch careers and work in this but i’m not sure where to start. I’m aware of permaculture design courses but due to inflation where i live most of the courses i’ve checked are outrageously expensive when converted to EGP.

I’m open to suggestions on where to start!

Sorry for the very long post.

Thanks.

I’ve been an advocate for leaving the leaves, letting them mulch and feed the soil and plants. As well as the help it gives to our insects friends. However, the tick population in my suburban set up is exploding. Due in part to being organic as well as increased wildlife that has set up their lives here.We know that leaves shelter them as well.

It’s become a dilemma as our health is at stake. There are a huge amount of lone stars in my yard. We refuse to spray and also cannot have chickens or guinea fowl due to town ordinances. I’d love your advice.

Bonjour, je me permets de vous solliciter dans le cadre d’un projet. En effet, je suis étudiante en master entrepreneuriat et j’ai besoin de vous afin de réaliser une étude approfondie pour un travail de groupe. Pouvez-vous m’aider en m’accordant un peu de votre temps et compléter ce questionnaire. Nous souhaitons viser les passionnés de jardinage.

Ce lien est un formulaire destiné aux personnes possédant un système d’irrigation :

https://forms.gle/Gjqnhu9C3gTv4E1n6

Ce lien est un formulaire destiné à ce qui ne possède pas de système d’irrigation pour l’arrosage de leurs plantes :

https://forms.gle/jQDJp5p2YnTD3WVE6

Hello, I’d like to ask you to help me with a project. I’m a master’s student in entrepreneurship and I need your help to carry out an in-depth study for a group project. Could you help me by giving me some of your time and completing this questionnaire? We’d like to target people with a passion for gardening.

This link is a form for people with irrigation systems:

https://forms.gle/Dx6ZihCj8Cy5omCA6

This link is a form for people who don’t have an irrigation system for watering their plants:

https://forms.gle/Sfuzvs8qDuPxx9YH7

Someone commented on my last post that I should add photos of the air prune beds setup, so here it is. I took cinder blocks to keep the boxes up off the ground. The actual boxes are made from 1 2x8x8 each. Cut each board into two 1 foot and two 3 foot pieces. Underneath I have hardware cloth stapled on with some supporting scrap would helping hold it on with screwed in pieces. The soil/compost was falling through the hardware cloth so I added normal insect screen above it this year, hopefully that doesn’t impact the roots much.

First image, left, front to back: the heartnuts (maybe 10?), hybrid chestnuts (only got 2 of 5 sprouting), and apricots (like 13). In the right box this is just black walnuts.

Second image, front to back: PawPaw (took forever to sprout, I think July even), schisandra I think, honey locust.

Fourth image same beds in May/June: pawpaw haven’t sprouted yet in first bed, chestnuts/heartnuts on the left and apricots on the right, black walnut forest in last bed

For propagating I got most seeds from either Sheffield’s seed co, Etsy, or locally if available. In my city thornless honey locust are planted by the city everywhere as ornamental trees so easy seed source. I didn’t process the seeds at all though so germination was poor, just left them outside all winter and stuck in where I had space. Black walnut was also local from a massive tree in a cemetery. Literally removed husks, washed, and stuck in the box. Note I did have hardware cloth on top of that box during winter and you can see the cage I made just in case of squirrels too. At our old house this didn’t seem to be an issue so I removed it so the plants could grow unimpeded, but already since moving the squirrels dug up any unsprouted black walnuts from last year.

Apricots needed a warm and cold stratification, the first year I tried keeping them on a heating mat for seedlings along with plum, peach seeds. These almost all molded and did not sprout. With my leftover apricot seeds (all the others were gone), I just planted them outside in July, letting nature warm then cold stratify. This worked great and was way simpler. The chestnuts, pawpaws, and heartnuts were cold stratified in the fridge using damp peat moss in a yogurt container with holes poked in the top. I got about 60% success on these so pretty good results. PawPaws take forever to sprout and only grew 4″ so I won’t transplant them until next year.

I have also planted apple seeds with no success at all, my seeds probably dried out or something. Seaberry is another one I did last year and it was so simple, probably had 35 plants, with the biggest being 15″ tall. They didn’t transplant great and my soil sucked bad (solid clay), but a couple plants were big enough to transplant again to the new house (will see if they live).

Hello everyone 👋 Sorry in my last post I had selected one wrong image. I am new on this app and I don’t know how it works. 🙈

So I am posting this again. The design is based on requirements that suits site. Site is located in western ghat of maharashtra, India. Primary goal of farm is to create healthy environment and produce food for those living and working with us. Farm will have small medical team, educational professionals, guest and tourist. Along with senior citizens residence. And farm kitchen with capacity of 20 to 50 peoples.

Design work is in progress final outcome may vary. Due to file size limits 50% of plantation is hidden in drawings.

You can check out my design on https://youtu.be/QSLmJ_j3MMY?si=u4iDRatk8PeyRIto

Or visit

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Thank you 🙏