Beginning Permaculture in My Urban Backyard

Yesterday, it was hot here.  After a relatively mild August for Philadelphia, I was not prepared for 90 degree heat and a buttload of humidity.  I wanted to work in the backyard, but it was just too hot for me, so I decided to wait until evening before doing yard work in hopes that it would cool down significantly.

This did not work.  I still managed to sweat enough to soak my entire shirt and head and feel like I should have been chanting some meditation for enlightenment.

Around 4:00pm, I ran to my local home center and picked up two bags of composted manure, two bags of organic top soil, a bag of potting soil and a bag of shredded pine bark.  The most expensive thing was the potting soil at eleven dollars and change.  The rest of it was around two bucks a bag.

After arriving home, I scrounged around and managed to come up with enough cardboard to cover the area where I wanted to start a permaculture bed - under the apple tree, one to support the apple tree's health and two to grow something there that is useful (although I am not sure just what yet).  The first thing I did was to dump the bucket of half eaten/rotten apples and leaves under the tree and spread that out evenly.  Then I laid the cardboard on top, making sure to overlap the edges so nothing could grow through.  Then I wet the cardboard down pretty thoroughly.

Next up, I dumped the bags of composted cow manure on top of the cardboard, spread that around and wet that layer down pretty well too.  On top of the manure, I spread the top soil, making sure to completely cover all of the cardboard so that nothing was showing.  Another wet down and then the last layer was the shredded bark, which I also wet down.

A fairly sizable tiny vampire bite on my face later, I stood back to survey the results.  It looks pretty good, but I think I'm going to go back to the home center today and get four more bags of top soil and a couple of bales of hay.  I think this should give me the depth I wanted and the hay on top will keep the shredded bark from wicking all the moisture from the top soil I plan on putting on top of that layer.

I originally thought about planting comfrey under the tree until I read that it was toxic to both humans and animals.  Something in it damages the liver.  I would like to put something under there that would be edible, while at the same time help support the tree's health.  A little more research is called for.

In the meantime, my packages arrived yesterday.  One of them contained a everbearing mulberry bush and a Violet de Bordeaux fig tree.  I have to say that I was rather surprised by the small size of both plants.  I guess when they said 4" pots, my mind was like, "okay, that's going to be about a foot tall."  ha!  Try about 3" for the fig and maybe 5" for the mulberry.

Anyway, they'll grow.  I just may not have figs for a couple of years.  Bummer.

In other news, I've been watching a youtube channel called "Linda's Pantry" and now I want a pressure canner.  She cans just about everything, but the beans intrigued me the most.  Never thought of canning my own black beans or pintos.