I could honestly watch Michelle all day! She has such a calming presence and she set me off on a path that was life changing! Funny story, I watched this video years ago and it gave us inspiration to use our balcony to grow plants and start vegetables seedling to transfer to our parents garden. I can’t remember how many people I fwd this video to. Fast fwd years later and my brother in law was looking to get into some acreage. I started looking up ways to utilize marsh land and came across Takota Coen, Curtis stones videos and have since been on a mission to better our way of living and become self sustaining. Essentially we were looking for a permaculture without know it. Within Curtis videos we were inspired to start micro farming because we are apartment living. Finally after chasing Curtis down the rabbit hole I came access your permaculture intro course and I’m in the middle of part 5 and fully addicted to permaculture. While I was looking thru your show notes, I came across this video! The same video that resonated with me all those years ago. I’ve been following Verge all along and didn’t put 2 and 2 together till now. It seems I've come full circle! Thank you and Michelle for all the wonderful, enriching and inspiring content.
I am amazed, it's so beautiful. I wished I had access to land (I'm in the city, 3rd floor). It inspire me to have plants, maybe on my window at least, to provide some pollinator support during summer.
I'm so impressed you pulled this off in Calgary! I never would have thought it was possible to have such a green permaculture setup there. Amazing and thank-you for sharing your knowledge!
Beautiful garden and home. I would be interested to see the winter process. Winter prep, Cellar/ pantry for harvest storage, or if you have techniques to grow and produce year round. I am a new homeowner in Minnesota (zone 4) and have slowly started the food forest process myself. Thanks, All love.
Awesome! Learned so much from your videos, clearly described + well shown! Inspiring all along the way to show us all how to build environments that are more fun and taste better. Love how community support followed your efforts. Offers hope that this will be effective in my area. Thank you for sharing!
Very well done! When things get serious you're going to have people wanting designs of your designs so they can try to copy and paste what you have into their own yards.
I am SO HAPPY to have found your channel today! I'm near Edmonton, and it's so hard to find any year-round greenhouse info that can be used here in our winters! I'm fascinated by the idea that I could have a year-round greenhouse here, without it costing a small fortune. I'm considering converting my garden shed (it's "siding" is thin wood planks, that of course is *not* weathering well)... they're all falling apart, so I'm trying to research what my options are to do something with it other than shove it full of tools, etc. I"m thinking if I reorganize, purge and maybe get a small "side-closet" type of thing to store the lawnmower, I would have LOTS of room for plants. Not sure about lighting through ... do you need to add supplemental lighting in the dead of winter to keep your plants going? Our days are even shorter as you go north and while we have some days that are super-sunny, it's even more days that are grey-skies and gloomy. If I had to add lighting, or anything else that required power (ie fans), I'd like to figure out having it off-grid, so using solar panels or smaller windmills to charge up batteries so that on gloomy days I could have the lights on, but sunny days leave them off & allow the batteries to charge up. I have no idea at this point how to go about all this, but with solar generating becoming less & less expensive nowadays I'd like to think it's doable. Thank you for sharing everything! I've subbed & thumbs-upped and will be watching all your videos as I go :)
CanadianErin Just wanted to say hi, cause I'm just west of Edmonton between Spruce Grove and Devon. Really loving finding these vids that deal with "our" climate where we won't be growing pineapples, grapefruit etc., but seeing that we still have options. By the way, I'm just in the process of getting signed up to be a destination farm for Alberta Open Farm Days in august this year, so you could come check out all the perma culture stuff I'll be implementing.
I am impressed that you are able to grow such a dense variety of plants, many of which grow in growing zone 5 or higher like comfrey. I also admire the fact that you are able to grow a forest in a suburb, and that no one has complained about this as is typical when you live in the city. Have you guys considered moving to a warming climate such as southern Ontario where you can probably grow a much larger variety of crops such as fruit trees like peaches, and nut trees like Northern Pecans. I myself live in eastern Ontario, and am contemplating a potential purchase of a property that backs onto the beautiful gatineau hills. On the far backside of the property it faces north which is bordered by a 300 M rock facing column which is a great potential heat sink from the southern exposed sunlight. I was thinking of planting peach and nut trees like Northern pecan as I would suspect that this is a micro-climate where you could potentially grow plants that are more suitable to growing zone 6. I live in a predominately in growing zone 4 bordering on 5, but with the orientation of this large lot that I may purchase it looks like I can grow a potentially larger variety of crops. There are also many acres of hardwood decidious forest on this property where I could potentially grow crops like wild leeks, and ginseng as well as a variety of mushrooms. With the potential for harvesting a great volume of maple syrup, and oak nuts it sounds like there is so much potential on the property. Now I just have to come up with 400K before i complete the purchase. What do you think? Does it sound like I am dreaming or could this be realized? By the way, There is also a 40 year old house that sits on the lot with 4 bedrooms, and it was recently upgraded so there isnt much left to do on the house.
Well done you guys! I have some land 2 hours west of Edmonton, and I am thinking about first steps to start a permaculture project there. Seeing what you've done at your place excites me, and gives me hope that we will be able to accomplish this type of food forest out there!
Good morning. I'm from Manitoba and we are wanting to start down the path of permaculture as well. Just wondering what the chances would be bit of a Q&A with you how you got started and where to start.
Water-wise I have the opposite problem, I am desperately trying to find ways to drain water away from my constantly wet garden here in Scotland. I have heavy clay soil which doesn't let water drain away so I have puddles everywhere.
I believe that your fix is actually similar, add lots of mulch and bio matter which will be able to soak up the excess moisture and aerate the soil, helping it to drain. Plant deep tapping roots that will help to break up your clay and pull nutrients to where other plants will more easily access it. Clay has the benefit of holding a lot of nutrients. I'm on extremely sandy soil, and could use some of your clay. If shipping prices become negligible perhaps we could do a soil exchange, haha.
Try growing in raised beds, if you are adding clay soil from your garden it would probably healp if you add wood chips, or hay and straw (ore what you can gett your hands on). You can even start with growing directly in a bale if you really need to raise the bed from the water.
Your garden is amazing! Thank you for sharing. Was wondering how you guys manage mice? Is there something built into the garden to prevent mice from living there?
I Love you guys so much For starting with your climate info your are the first permaculturists i've seen do it:) but it is so importent to know what climate your working before anyone start copying the tricks :)
You guys need more land. My wife and I started on a postage stamp in the city but we had too much energy so we ended up for 45 years on a 30 acre property in the country. Just do it. Even if you have to live in a tar paper shack like we did for 4 years. We don't any more of course.
I didn't really see where you actually grow food to be self-sufficient. Ecology is good and great but where's your crop to eat? Isn't that the purpose of a homestead?
I could honestly watch Michelle all day! She has such a calming presence and she set me off on a path that was life changing!
Funny story, I watched this video years ago and it gave us inspiration to use our balcony to grow plants and start vegetables seedling to transfer to our parents garden. I can’t remember how many people I fwd this video to. Fast fwd years later and my brother in law was looking to get into some acreage. I started looking up ways to utilize marsh land and came across Takota Coen, Curtis stones videos and have since been on a mission to better our way of living and become self sustaining. Essentially we were looking for a permaculture without know it. Within Curtis videos we were inspired to start micro farming because we are apartment living. Finally after chasing Curtis down the rabbit hole I came access your permaculture intro course and I’m in the middle of part 5 and fully addicted to permaculture. While I was looking thru your show notes, I came across this video! The same video that resonated with me all those years ago. I’ve been following Verge all along and didn’t put 2 and 2 together till now. It seems I've come full circle! Thank you and Michelle for all the wonderful, enriching and inspiring content.
Thanks for sharing Maria! Best of luck in all your future ventures :)
Wow. Design makes my brain glaze over. I am not bad with plants but getting that whole together, that is the challenge. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks Rob, I'm starting my permaculture journey. I just bought my first property in the city and this is exactly the inspiration I needed. God bless.
We live in Billings MT and I am beyond excited to dig into your materials!
I am amazed, it's so beautiful. I wished I had access to land (I'm in the city, 3rd floor). It inspire me to have plants, maybe on my window at least, to provide some pollinator support during summer.
nice video. Very nice garden. Congratulations on your success and thank you for sharing it!
I love it! ❤ I'm in a forest way south from you working on creating a massive food forest on my land.
We're so thankful to have a permie teacher in Alberta! You're a blessing to all.
+Veta B thank you!
Also check out the Canadian Permaculture Legacy channel.
I'm so impressed you pulled this off in Calgary! I never would have thought it was possible to have such a green permaculture setup there. Amazing and thank-you for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks Jessica!
Great video! Thank you for the inspiration to make the leap to permaculture north of Sault Ste. Marie (in Ontario). Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words.
Beautiful garden and home. I would be interested to see the winter process. Winter prep, Cellar/ pantry for harvest storage, or if you have techniques to grow and produce year round. I am a new homeowner in Minnesota (zone 4) and have slowly started the food forest process myself. Thanks, All love.
We're so close. Thanks for showing what southern Alberta can do. Lethbridge 🇨🇦 new sub.
Nice to meet you!
Awesome! Learned so much from your videos, clearly described + well shown! Inspiring all along the way to show us all how to build environments that are more fun and taste better. Love how community support followed your efforts. Offers hope that this will be effective in my area. Thank you for sharing!
we are fixing to try and start doing some thing like this in north west Florida. I hope it goes as well for us as it did with you guys
+John&Nikye Cole it will go great!
Very well done! When things get serious you're going to have people wanting designs of your designs so they can try to copy and paste what you have into their own yards.
I am SO HAPPY to have found your channel today! I'm near Edmonton, and it's so hard to find any year-round greenhouse info that can be used here in our winters! I'm fascinated by the idea that I could have a year-round greenhouse here, without it costing a small fortune. I'm considering converting my garden shed (it's "siding" is thin wood planks, that of course is *not* weathering well)... they're all falling apart, so I'm trying to research what my options are to do something with it other than shove it full of tools, etc. I"m thinking if I reorganize, purge and maybe get a small "side-closet" type of thing to store the lawnmower, I would have LOTS of room for plants. Not sure about lighting through ... do you need to add supplemental lighting in the dead of winter to keep your plants going? Our days are even shorter as you go north and while we have some days that are super-sunny, it's even more days that are grey-skies and gloomy. If I had to add lighting, or anything else that required power (ie fans), I'd like to figure out having it off-grid, so using solar panels or smaller windmills to charge up batteries so that on gloomy days I could have the lights on, but sunny days leave them off & allow the batteries to charge up. I have no idea at this point how to go about all this, but with solar generating becoming less & less expensive nowadays I'd like to think it's doable.
Thank you for sharing everything! I've subbed & thumbs-upped and will be watching all your videos as I go :)
CanadianErin Just wanted to say hi, cause I'm just west of Edmonton between Spruce Grove and Devon. Really loving finding these vids that deal with "our" climate where we won't be growing pineapples, grapefruit etc., but seeing that we still have options. By the way, I'm just in the process of getting signed up to be a destination farm for Alberta Open Farm Days in august this year, so you could come check out all the perma culture stuff I'll be implementing.
I am impressed that you are able to grow such a dense variety of plants, many of which grow in growing zone 5 or higher like comfrey. I also admire the fact that you are able to grow a forest in a suburb, and that no one has complained about this as is typical when you live in the city. Have you guys considered moving to a warming climate such as southern Ontario where you can probably grow a much larger variety of crops such as fruit trees like peaches, and nut trees like Northern Pecans. I myself live in eastern Ontario, and am contemplating a potential purchase of a property that backs onto the beautiful gatineau hills. On the far backside of the property it faces north which is bordered by a 300 M rock facing column which is a great potential heat sink from the southern exposed sunlight. I was thinking of planting peach and nut trees like Northern pecan as I would suspect that this is a micro-climate where you could potentially grow plants that are more suitable to growing zone 6. I live in a predominately in growing zone 4 bordering on 5, but with the orientation of this large lot that I may purchase it looks like I can grow a potentially larger variety of crops. There are also many acres of hardwood decidious forest on this property where I could potentially grow crops like wild leeks, and ginseng as well as a variety of mushrooms. With the potential for harvesting a great volume of maple syrup, and oak nuts it sounds like there is so much potential on the property. Now I just have to come up with 400K before i complete the purchase. What do you think? Does it sound like I am dreaming or could this be realized? By the way, There is also a 40 year old house that sits on the lot with 4 bedrooms, and it was recently upgraded so there isnt much left to do on the house.
I've been looking for comfrey seeds for a while... I'm in Calgary too and wonder where you got your seeds from?
Well done you guys! I have some land 2 hours west of Edmonton, and I am thinking about first steps to start a permaculture project there. Seeing what you've done at your place excites me, and gives me hope that we will be able to accomplish this type of food forest out there!
Wonderful showcase, Thank You!
TOO COOL! Where did you take your permaculture course? Thanks for sharing.
Glad to get part 1;-)
cool stuff...doing it here...
Good morning. I'm from Manitoba and we are wanting to start down the path of permaculture as well. Just wondering what the chances would be bit of a Q&A with you how you got started and where to start.
Keep an eye on the channel and sign into one of our future livestreams. Alternatively check out our Permaculture Design Courses.
Water-wise I have the opposite problem, I am desperately trying to find ways to drain water away from my constantly wet garden here in Scotland. I have heavy clay soil which doesn't let water drain away so I have puddles everywhere.
maybe try growing (wet tolerant) cover crops where you see puddling both at summer and winter. that might build the soil structure to allow draining.
I believe that your fix is actually similar, add lots of mulch and bio matter which will be able to soak up the excess moisture and aerate the soil, helping it to drain. Plant deep tapping roots that will help to break up your clay and pull nutrients to where other plants will more easily access it. Clay has the benefit of holding a lot of nutrients. I'm on extremely sandy soil, and could use some of your clay. If shipping prices become negligible perhaps we could do a soil exchange, haha.
Try growing in raised beds, if you are adding clay soil from your garden it would probably healp if you add wood chips, or hay and straw (ore what you can gett your hands on).
You can even start with growing directly in a bale if you really need to raise the bed from the water.
Lots of wood chips. They hold water and break down to become soil. Good luck. Get some ducks.🖖🏻💪🏻👍🏻🐾🐾🐾
Very inspiring, thanks for the great video!
also absolutely beautifully produced and made video :)
Brilliant...
Wonderful!!!
Talk about your planting designs more.
Your garden is amazing! Thank you for sharing. Was wondering how you guys manage mice? Is there something built into the garden to prevent mice from living there?
We don't have a mouse issue. Thanks for the kind words.
Enjoyed the video content .
Thanks for your comment.
Good job!
love it!!
I Love you guys so much
For starting with your climate info
your are the first permaculturists i've seen do it:)
but it is so importent to know what climate your working before anyone start copying the tricks :)
You guys need more land. My wife and I started on a postage stamp in the city but we had too much energy so we ended up for 45 years on a 30 acre property in the country. Just do it. Even if you have to live in a tar paper shack like we did for 4 years. We don't any more of course.
Site's down
The link is fixed and is working properly now!
When I read the 'Avis' in the title, I thought it will be to do with chickens : )
Nice Rob and partner.
Isn't Alfalfa edible?
What about for humans?
+Sean Rafferty alfalfa sprouts are pretty Good. But mature alfalfa i dot know
I didn't really see where you actually grow food to be self-sufficient. Ecology is good and great but where's your crop to eat? Isn't that the purpose of a homestead?
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