This website was the first result of a search for “raw milk finder.”
Here is the link to get the direct information for those locations near you: Farm Directory - Real Milk
Here is the link to get the direct information for those locations near you: Farm Directory - Real Milk
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I’m aware. Our soil is actually pretty acidic, and I knew it was a risk when I planted them under the trees. But I wanted to believe the permie gurus. Realistically my land is WAY too dry in the summer and only things that can handle watering once a week should be there. Strawberries burn up under the trees too.
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I love the concept of permaculture. I just have too little land sandwiched between invasive neighbor yards, and (importantly) am way too much of a control freak to apply it in full on my tiny space. So, I pick and choose. I also question how valuable it would be to go full permie on a tiny city/suburban lot. If I had 90+ acres like @clarkinks and so many other lucky people on here, I would thrill in experimenting with it in full and seeing what comes.
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Even if it was not planting under trees will make it dry. Trees suck water. Good luck planting anything under a tree.
I did it but it required almost daily watering. I finally let it go and everything under the trees died. Best just to mulch trees heavy to limit evaporation. I don’t want to water fruit trees that much but had to to keep plant’s underneath alive. So I quit as I don’t want watered down fruit.
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I think it really depends on what people are meaning when they say “permaculture”.
When you go looking for evidence that someone has actually made some of the more “popular” concepts work, you can’t find it. The “popular” concepts I’m talking about are the ones that get shopped around in courses and by influencers - things like guilds or layered “food forests” with nut trees, fruit trees, berry bushes, and groundcover. There aren’t demonstration gardens or pictures or people willing to show you their 7 layer food forest.
Here’s an example of something that is just… not real. For so many reasons.
However, if permaculture means you’re working with the resources your land has in a sustainable way that makes sense for your location and climate and is ethical and resilient … then that’s a real thing.
I am not sure what “full permie” is so maybe I’m getting this wrong, but I think a lot of the ideas of permaculture work really well in suburbs or city lots. I’m curious to know what you would try with more land.
My bigger issue with what I’m imagining is “full permie”, even on 10 acres, is that it would be a full-time job. The stuff Clark does is a ton of time and investment- I can’t imagine doing more. As far as I can tell, a lot of the hardcore permaculture people are able to to live that way because they are selling the permaculture lifestyle through social media, books, workshops, etc.
I promise we are surrounded by invasives in the middle of nowhere too.
And if you’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with lots of well-maintained landscaping done with boxwoods and lawn, there’s something to be said for reduced pest pressure.
And one more rant: Another concept that sounds good but I think isn’t realistic is the productivity and wonderfulness of the “edges” of “zones”. Having animal habitat right next to nut trees means you get no nuts because the wildlife takes them and eats them. Planting fruit bushes/trees on the “edge” of a low input area provides a lovely place for pests to overwinter after they get done snacking on your fruit.
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So, I have seen some people showing videos of guilds that are built like that. the ones that are true permaculture guilds (as I understand it) aren’t “pretty” because they aren’t manicured. And that’s what I meant by going full permie (joking)- I personally can’t just let it go. I have seen people who build guilds as a business for school and such and they are manicured, which I consider picking and choosing from the permaculture concepts because my understanding is that you aren’t weeding out plants you don’t want in a true permaculture area. In that respect, it isn’t nearly as much work as trying to keep an area aesthetically pleasing.
regarding turf lawns and boxwoods and pest pressure- I swear I have substantially more pest pressure than if I was surrounded by more natural land. I like to say that I have ALL the bugs- good and bad- because nothing can make a home or find food on my neighbors properties! My friends and family who are suburban but in less dense neighborhoods with more woods/generally less manicured areas or wild space between the manicured, have far fewer pests than I do. That’s just what I see around me.
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