On May 1, 2013 11:00 AM, "Steve Gabriel" <steve> wrote:

Agroforestry Solutions is offering for sale inoculated shiitake logs for 2013. Grow you own gourmet mushrooms at home! Logs come ready to go you just set them up in a cool, shady spot. Full instructions included. Shiitake logs can be fruited on a reliable schedule with soaking 24 hours in cold water. Each flush produces 1/4 – 1/2 pound of mushrooms or more.Wondering how many to get? SEE THIS POST

All wood was harvested sustainably from forests, where cutting was done to improve forest health.

NOTE: Because of state firewood hauling restrictions logs cannot be sold beyond 50 miles of Mecklenburg, NY.

OPTIONS:

Shiitake (Logs are 4 – 8" in diameter, 36"long)
- 2012 (will fruit this year): $20 each, 5 for $80
- 2013 (will fruit next year: $15 each, 5 for $60

Logs will be available for pick up in early May. $25 extra for delivery within 20 miles of Mecklenburg, NY.

TO ORDER:
Email steve or ring 607.342.2825

Tompkins County Public Library
101 E. Green St., Ithaca, New York 14850
6:00pm until 8:00pm
By using the principles of permaculture design, Jonathan and co-author Eric Toensmeier created a thriving edible ecosystem from a blighted dead landscape. Enjoy learning about our delicious uncommon fruit and perennial vegetables, a year-round food bioshelter greenhouse, raising micro-livestock like black soldier flies and aquaponic fish, using microclimates for growing figs and kiwis, starting a successful backyard plant nursery (www.foodforestfarm.com), and enjoying the cornucopia with friends and family. Jonathan will present his challenge-to-opportunity story through vibrant pictures and enlightening discussion.

Signed books will be available for purchase.

MORE: http://fingerlakespermaculture.org/?p=2167

My name is Thomas Heikes and I want to let everybody know of a few natural building workshops, two of them are on our property. I shall inform you a little bit about the projects so that you have a clearer idea of whether or not you would be interested in joining us for these educational natural building workshops. We live on a small farm outside of Berne, NY where we grow most of our own food and live quite a sustainable and organic life, but mostly we grow medicinal herbs for medicinal products. This summer we are expanding our operation and will be constructing an earth bag and straw bale building and finish it with plaster in the form of workshops for the public. The workshops will be carried out as an educational training workshop, and we are still searching for our participants. These workshops are being carried out by a non-profit natural building organization with whom we are friends. And through this non profit, there is also another workshop being held in July, an Off-Grid House. You can also check out the workshops in way more detail on the non-profit’s website: http://www.motherearthbuildings.com.

I hope all is well and that we can share in this experience which brings us closer in harmony with the interconnectedness of all things, especially the earth! It is so liberating to work with pure materials to craft structures that provide our needs in a conscious manner. I hope to see you there, and let me know if you have any further questions and I look forward to hearing from you!

Thomas Heikes

note: be sure to click “Image – Original Size” for the full size of the flyer

Jonathan Bates, contributing author of “Paradise Lot: Two plant geeks, one-tenth of an acre, and the making of an edible garden oasis in the city,” speaks about his 10-year-old edible forest garden in Holyoke, MA.

Tompkins County Public Library
101 E. Green St., Ithaca, New York 14850
6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

By using the principles of permaculture design, Jonathan and co-author Eric Toensmeier created a thriving edible ecosystem from a blighted dead landscape. Enjoy learning about our delicious uncommon fruit and perennial vegetables, a year-round food bioshelter greenhouse, raising micro-livestock like black soldier flies and aquaponic fish, using microclimates for growing figs and kiwis, starting a successful backyard plant nursery (www.foodforestfarm.com), and enjoying the cornucopia with friends and family. Jonathan will present his challenge-to-opportunity story through vibrant pictures and enlightening discussion.

Signed books will be available for purchase. (In the meantime, Home Green Home has copies if you’d like to read “Paradise Lot” before Jonathan’s talk.)

This event is free.

Hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County (www.ccetompkins.org) Ithaca Children’s Garden (www.ithacachildrensgarden.org)
Cornell Garden-based Learning (www.gardening.cornell.edu)
Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute (www.FingerLakesPermaculture.org) Home Green Home (www.homegreenhome.com)
Groundswell (www.groundswellcenter.org)

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This workshop will lead participants through all the stages of building an earthen wood-fired bread/pizza oven.

In this workshop we will begin with a discussion of the basic elements of building with earth. This will cover aspects of soil composition, suitability for construction, and methods for testing. Next, we will go through the steps of design and construction of our project, culminating in hands-on work as we mix local mud and actually construct the earthen oven.

Come prepared to get your hands – and everything else – muddy.

This year’s workshop will be held at the home of Georgia Dent 27 Lamoree Rd, Rhinebeck, on June 8th, rain date June 15th. The workshop will run from 10AM-3PM, and includes a delicious lunch made by Georgia. Please RSVP info@johncorcoran.net and to hold your place, send check to John Corcoran 225 Kidd Lane Tivoli, NY 12583.

We will meet again later in the summer to fire up our oven and make pizza.Date to be announced. Bring friends, drinks, pizza dough and/or toppings.

Cost of workshop: $45 Barter welcome.

All wood was harvested sustainably from forests, where cutting was done to improve forest health.

NOTE: Because of state firewood hauling restrictions logs cannot be sold beyond 50 miles of Mecklenburg, NY.

OPTIONS:

Shiitake (Logs are 4 – 8″ in diameter, 36″long)
- 2012 (will fruit this year): $20 each, 5 for $80
- 2013 (will fruit next year: $15 each, 5 for $60

Logs will be available for pick up in early May. $25 extra for delivery within 20 miles of Mecklenburg, NY.

TO ORDER:
Email steve or ring 607.342.2825

Ken and Steve are very thankful and amazed at the generous outpouring of support.

Our campaign is over 75% of the way toward our goal of raising $8,000 and would really appreciate it if you can share our work and help us get over the top! The link to the campaign is: http://igg.me/at/farmingthewoods

There has been a recently flurry of media around our work that we want to share with you. Our most important goal in our extension and research work (and how we promoting Forest Farming and Mushroom production) is to share information so others can achieve success cultivating non-timber forest products. With this in mind, please enjoy the following articles, audio, and video presentations.

*Chelsea Green Publishing reports on crowd-source funded books: http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/how-to-use-crowdfunding-to-finance-your-sustainable-book-project/

*Steve Gabriel interviewed on Ithaca Community Radio WRFI: http://soundcloud.com/wrfi-farm-fridays/wrfi-stevegabriel-042613?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fwrfi-farm-fridays%2Fwrfi-stevegabriel-042613


* “‪Forest Mushroom Production and Forest Health‬”, part of monthly webinars through Cornell’s Forest Connect program: http://cornellforestconnect.ning.com/profiles/blogs/forest-grown-gourmet-mushrooms

* Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann: http://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2013/agroforestry/

THANKS for helping us spread the word.

Steve Gabriel
Ken Mudge

presents our 11th

Permaculture Design Certificate course

July 26 – August 11, 2013

Since 2005, we’ve been offering the internationally-recognized permaculture curriculum, preparing students to put their new design skills to work immediately. Join instructors Steve Gabriel, Michael Burns, Karryn Olson Ramanujan and Rafter Sass Ferguson at this year’s class and immerse yourself in a discipline that is catching on across the globe as a practical, yet revolutionary way to create an abundant and sustainable life. Enjoy learning at our off-grid permaculture site on a woodland farm in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York.

We begin reviewing work trade applications for reduced tuition reviewed this week!

Fellowships offered for activist, organizers, and educators in collaboration with the Permaculture Institute of the North East.

Save $200 by signing up before May 1.

Go to: http://FingerLakesPermaculture.org

My primary concern is that there is no method to fully isolate the litter which contains feces from the litter that contains only urine. While I have confidence that the C content of the red cedar sawdust is high enough to handle the N load from the cat urine and compost it down, I cannot be certain or know that, even when the feces has been sifted from the litter, and disposed of through my sewage line, that the remaining used litter can be processed as normal compost, without concern for the traces of cat feces carrying pathogens. I don’t know what is sufficient processing to handle toxoplasmosis oocysts, and I do not feel comfortable experimenting in my kitchen scrap compost pile.

As an aside, I am aware that I could process the whole of the used litter, fecal traces included, as separate from my normal compost processing. I could then use it, with caution, only in places with no exposure to foodcrops, but I am not certain whether the 2 years normally given to finish fecal composts would be sufficient for toxoplasmosis cysts. Further, I’d rather keep one compost system, as my current space, and any space I’m likely to afford under current property law, can probably only really handle one compost system.

I look forward to hearing people’s thoughts.