Gardening

Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest. These pictures show the front and right side. (See the left side, and the Coles County Community Garden.)

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Today's project was creating an enclosure behind the log garden. I dragged some more logs back there so I can dump dead leaves inside. That way, they'll stay put, create habitat, hold moisture, and remain available in case I want some leaf litter during the warm season. This is a good use for old logs if you have any lying around.

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These photos of the Coles County Community Garden came from October 9, 2025. Begin the trip with Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side and Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side. Continue with Seeds.

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These pictures are from Thursday.  I went foraging at the Charleston Food Forest.  It's across the parking lot from the Coles County Community Garden.

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Today I started making liquid fertilizer from Russian comfrey. This plant fills a lot of guild roles in permaculture including fertilizer, miner, mulcher, protector, attractor. I have been using it primarily as a bee plant that I can also slash-and-drop several times a season. I grow it under many of my trees and there's some in the prairie garden too.

There are various ways to make liquid fertilizer from comfrey. I will be testing two: 1) a small amount of comfrey leaves in a large amount of water, and 2) only comfrey leaves crammed tightly in a jug. (See Part 2: Leaves.)

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Today I took some pictures at the Charleston Food Forest.

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Today I took pictures around the yard. It's cloudy, so the lighting is bad, but so much is happening that I wanted to capture it. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna, and Prairie Garden.

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Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest.  I took pictures and rescued some plants that were growing in the paths so they don't get trampled. These pictures are mostly from the right side. See Part 2 Left Side.

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This set of photos begins documenting an experiment to see which type of pen will prove most durable for outdoor plant labels. I also took a few pictures around the yard, as long as I was out there with the camera.

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I got to talking with a friend about permaculture in Great Britain and it kind of snowballed from there...


These are permaculture design principles. They can help figure out how to build a mini-ecosystem.

Here is a handbook for Midwest North America tree guilds. Some of these, like oak and ash, will grow in many parts of the world; and a fruit tree guild can be customized for anywhere.

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