When I moved to the Big Island about 10 years ago, I brought along Bill Mollison's Permaculture Manual and a brainful of ideas. My best success came with my vision of never mowing a lawn again. I planted a low-growing ground cover that doesn't need to be mowed and coupled that with goats and chickens so that anything that grew up too high got munched.
My perennial peanut ground cover (also known as tropical alfalfa) is now established and it keeps out the weeds while it fixes nitrogen for my orchard. Has it saved time? I don't know, but it sure has saved the gas and exhaust that a lawnmower would use and produce. Plus it's pretty! The ground cover has made it possible to aim my efforts on new parts of my land. And what's in store for the new parts? More ground cover, of course!
And a pond... but that's another chapter. (Year 20?)
Another brainstorm came in the form of my pathways. I had loads of rocks that came out of the soil in my newly established garden area. I used the largest rocks to line the outsides of a 3 foot wide path and filled in with smaller and smaller ones. I wanted to be able to roll my wheelbarrow to and from the garden, so I topped the path off with the smallest rocks. I can walk to and from my garden without getting the least bit muddy. The paths have the added use of acting as retaining walls. One visitor commented that the paths were a lot like the King's Trail, a path that used to go around the island.
Do I need pictures? Yes! Look for some soon. And let me know if you need perennial peanut cuttings. I've got plenty to share. In the meantime, look at the pictures on my July 2014 blog.
My perennial peanut ground cover (also known as tropical alfalfa) is now established and it keeps out the weeds while it fixes nitrogen for my orchard. Has it saved time? I don't know, but it sure has saved the gas and exhaust that a lawnmower would use and produce. Plus it's pretty! The ground cover has made it possible to aim my efforts on new parts of my land. And what's in store for the new parts? More ground cover, of course!
And a pond... but that's another chapter. (Year 20?)
Another brainstorm came in the form of my pathways. I had loads of rocks that came out of the soil in my newly established garden area. I used the largest rocks to line the outsides of a 3 foot wide path and filled in with smaller and smaller ones. I wanted to be able to roll my wheelbarrow to and from the garden, so I topped the path off with the smallest rocks. I can walk to and from my garden without getting the least bit muddy. The paths have the added use of acting as retaining walls. One visitor commented that the paths were a lot like the King's Trail, a path that used to go around the island.
Do I need pictures? Yes! Look for some soon. And let me know if you need perennial peanut cuttings. I've got plenty to share. In the meantime, look at the pictures on my July 2014 blog.
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