What is a Closed System? Using 12 Yds of Leaf Mold in the Garden

[@jameskniskern2261]

We gave up the ideal of self-sufficiency years ago. We grow what we can. We grow much of our own food. And I still have people who think that I'm disappointed to have to buy the few things at the store we need that we don't produce ourselves. We do what we can. We share. We give away our surplus. And we don't worry about what *everyone* else thinks. You do great things. And you have beautiful gardens. And you just happen to be doing them with a permaculture mindset/set of tools. Good for you. :)

[@braydenluciano4687]

I know I am kinda off topic but does anybody know of a good place to stream new series online?

[@gordoneli3786]

@Brayden Luciano I use FlixZone. Just google for it =)

[@shanezane6230]

@Gordon Eli Yup, been using flixzone for since march myself :)

[@braydenluciano4687]

@Gordon Eli thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D I appreciate it !

[@gordoneli3786]

@Brayden Luciano no problem :D

[@oharikobees]

I’m learning a lot from your videos and my garden here in Japan is looking better and better thanks to you!

[@oharikobees]

@Henry Hellfire No, I don’t.

[@saraho8540]

Norman, OK has a composting program. You can shovel all you want for free, get a regular truck bed for $10, or a comercial load for $20. It isn't organic because for sure people spray all kinds of crap on their yard, but I like to use it because I prefer to encourage community programs like that versus adding to the landfill. Since moving to our property almost 4 years ago I think we've gotten around 10+ truckloads and have seriously improved the rock hard clay soil we found here. When I 1st moved here giant chuncks of the ground were so bad not even weeds were growing.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

I completely agree it is important to encourage those kinds of community programs. I think we have to work with the resources that we have. Even if they aren’t perfect or organic. Glad to hear your local program has helped you all improve you’re soil

[@miabagley2202]

Lovely video and wonderfully said. Thank you.

[@garyfowler5585]

Your "closed system" comments are clear and helpful, particularly when you extend the definition to include community. Some of my activity fits that broader view: my extra produce to local free food tables; free swapping of all kinds of goods in our extended neighborhood (including books, CD's & DVD's that I pick up locally and then distribute to Free Little Libraries); purchases and donations at locally run thrift shops; etc. All of these have low "carbon footprint" as they're moved around locally-- and they're not going to the landfill until used at least one more time. Plus: through all of these activities we are building community relationships and systems, hand-in-hand with local sustainability and resilience.

[@erinbraun9609]

I LOVE this video! I love that closed system flexibility is being talked about! Thank you!

[@rhondawelker6742]

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. 😃

[@nagasvoice8895]

Thank you so much. I appreciate your discussion of the community as the resilient system instead of narrowing the confines down to our most tiny urban lots - we don't need guilt trips inflicted on folks who can't afford larger properties. Yours is an inspiring garden and I'm so glad to have found your channel.

[@urbanhomesteadingpdx]

The PBOT leaf mold compost program is excellent. We have topped off our beds at our house and community garden plot the last several years. It's great seeing all the people loading bags and buckets of compost for their gardens. Good thinking on hiring the dump truck driver for a load.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Someone in the Portland Organic Gardening group did it and I asked her for the deliver man’s number. I don’t know why I had thought of it before! I always borrowed a friend’s truck to get a yard.

[@ingeleonora-denouden6222]

Thank you. I agree. Having a (fairly small) garden in a town we need to 'import and export'. We can't produce everything we need ourselves and some things we produce leave (like through the sewer). We can do our best to buy from local sources as much as possible and to have as little waste as possible. In my opinion doing educative permaculture projects together (here it's a community garden project in the park) is more important than having a 'perfect' self-sufficient garden. That's what the three ethics of Permaculture mean to me: Earth care, People care and Fair share (or Future care)

[@JuiceDrumandBass]

Wonderful video and beautiful garden. Great perspective, thank you for posting this in Portland Organic Gardening FB group!

[@bw-mi9xp]

thank you for this information. think of the import/export between neighbors as simply sharing. when we work together we have a greater chance of success and sustainability. to me, this is the type of 'communism' that would work. hence, commun-ity. not a totalitarian/authoritarian/dictator type communism, but neighbors simply sharing that which is natural and sustains us. you have a beautiful landscape there and hopefully more people around you are catching on to the idea. continue being a beacon of light and demonstrating the way.

[@PegsGarden]

What a great resource that leaf mold is, it looks so rich and dark, thanks for sharing another great video Angela💕

[@3musketeershomestead62]

Your videos are fantastic. I have already learned so much!

[@prestone.1676]

Hi Angela! I absolutely love watching your videos. I gain knowledge, a different perspective on sustainability, permaculture, and all things gardening. I was wondering if you had considered turning your video into mini podcast episodes? It would be so easy to listen while on a walk or doing miscellaneous things during the day. Thanks for all the knowledge!

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

My kids keep suggesting I do this! I will definitely give it some more thought. Thank you!!

[@saraho8540]

I like this idea a lot! You have a very relaxing voice. 😃

[@earlshine453]

Cheer up. With the import of all that leaf mould you imported a lot of highly trained microlife to your garden to immobilize or destroy all the toxic substances that dwindle down from the toxic shroud (aka athmosphere) that our planet surrounds. I wonder about your soil life, if it's OK it should attract a lot of wild birds searching and feeding. I always recommend to add nesting boxes for wild birds and adding insect hotels to the garden. But I'm aware it will take many small steps and a lot of convincing to change the attitude of people about how to manage the environment. Staysafe, best wishes, greetings from Holland.

[@huffster6344]

Considering how much useful material goes into landfills in this country, anytime you can make use of it helps everyone.

[@pixelrancher]

As long as the sun is our primary resource, the planet will never be a closed-loop system.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Sun and water moving into the property, lunar influences, as well as wind and other climatic factors are generally not considered exterior factors in a closed system because they are universal. :)

[@brucefraser159]

Great video here Angela. Yes, it’s hard to have a closed loop system in an urban garden. Here in Tauranga, New Zealand, we try to be as sustainable as possible but face the same challenges you address in the video

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Hello in New Zealand! There is so much beautiful permaculture there! A tiny bit jealous of all the yummy things y’all can grow there! Have always wanted to visit

[@otanewainukukiwitrust9544]

@@ParkrosePermaculture Yes, we are lucky here. I visited Portland 3 years ago and was impressed with how environmentally conscious your local council was

[@karenradcliff9163]

One thing you mentioned reminded me of something that keeps coming up for me--the fear of not being able to keep in mind the nutritional needs of every plant in the garden. Who needs what in terms of more fertilizer, more nitrogen, etc. How do you keep track? Thanks!

[@theallotmentkitchengarden3694]

That leafmold looks great! Do they screen it? Our allotment site used to get leaves dropped off by the local council in the autumn, then they would distribute the composted result after a year, for cost of delivery. It wasn’t screened so it was very rough and full of pollution. I got several loads one year, but the amount of rubbish in it was just awful! So I never used it again even though it’s so cheap. Unfortunately last year someone on site got scratched by a hypodermic needle that came in the leafmold 😱 So I don’t think the committee will be doing this anymore for safety reasons.

[@jewelsfromcoal]

Why did I not know about this sooner?!😭

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

I wish they advertised it better. It’s kind of a well-kept secret.

[@sandrah583]

You are planting your beans now? I thought it had to be warmer. I will definitely get out there and plant some (I'm in Sweet Home so a little bit different temp, but I don't think too much).

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Yeah from seed. Too early for tomatoes or peppers but ok for bush beans.

[@sandrah583]

@@ParkrosePermaculture Thanks!

[@dereka8041]

Portland, OR is zone 8b? I'm here in southern Kentucky and I'm zone 6B. I wouldn't have thought that.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

We have some ocean effect which makes our climate more mild. Long growing season that is overall a bit cooler.

[@dragonmammma]

There's one thing you haven't talked about, maybe you do it but you're afraid to bring it up in public? I'm talking about Humanure Composting. My husband was very resistant at first, but since I had already taken full control of our composting system for 4 years, he finally got on board. That's right, we "poop in a bucket" using the system Joe Jenkins talks about in his Humanure Handbook. We're not out in the boonies, we're pretty close to downtown Santa Rosa on a regular city lot, and it works. I know there's an "ick factor", but that goes away really quickly, I actually prefer to manage our Humanure compost system over cleaning toilets. There's something about water spraying out of a porcelain toilet that has grossed me out my entire life.

[@lillihansen8000]

I'm so sad I missed this. I wish I had I known. Oh well maybe next year.

[@gregorybaur3097]

Is pine bedding mini chips good or bad for my soil?

[@TheEmbrio]

My brother in-law was so judge_y that we got municipal compost too, oh and some minerals. Said we needed to make more ourselves. I replied that to make compost, first, plants had to be able to grow on our soils, which they struggle to do in the current state ;) He has great soil and a wetter climate, and also less surface, so really, I let him have his frugality competition on his own. He doesn't understand our context. Surely permaculture was not meant to be judgemental of other people's efforts to bring back some soil life through organic, local resources... and cure soil mineral deficiencies with 2 kg imported rocks. I bet he eats more than 2 kg of imported food or buys 2kg of imported manufactured goods...

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Ugh. People in permaculture can be pedantic just like any other area of life. I’m sorry you were treated that way. If we want to rebuild fertility on a human time scale, places that have been to certified and stripped of their fertility have to have fertility brought in. There is nothing wrong with that. The leaves were going to be cleaned up out of the parks and the leaves can’t sit in the street gutters. Why on earth would you not make use of that resource? It’s not the Permaculture Olympics to see who can out permaculture each other. Of course I would also argue that using municipal compost is VERY GOOD Permaculture.

[@TheEmbrio]

@@ParkrosePermaculture yes I very much share your point of view. He in that particular case is a beginner, and is on that beginner's high horse. Wise people many ways can be good at once ;) and yes, another common sense phrase is we need many people doing things better, not a few doing things perfect. And, not all rocks and soils were created equal when it comes to mineral content good enough for nutrient density in our home grown food too.

[@Crew4Life]

Where did you purchase your purple tree collards?

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Project Tree Collard in CA!

[@bdaaawg]

If you eat from your yard it’s not a closed system. Free mulch and compost is fair game and ethical.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Yes, I explained it’s not a closed system. Eating from my yard isn’t what makes it an open system. Importing woodchips and such is still closing loops within the greater community.

[@tifbrown8419]

I'd love more details on how you only produce a micro-can of trash every other week.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Can do!

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Oof, unintentional pun, there😂

[@tifbrown8419]

@@ParkrosePermaculture 😆😆

[@dmcdonell3062]

Yikes! I would do the same thing but the trade off is a harsh reality. Find all that plastic!!

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

I feel like micro plastic pollution is the burden we are passing on to future generations much like past ones gave us lead paint contamination. It’s such a shame. Every piece of broken earbuds or plastic utensil or weed whacker string I pull out of this pile can feel demoralizing at times. We are putting so much plastic pollution into the Earth. At least I can filter out what comes onto my property and make use of a good free source of fertility. But each piece of plastic makes me sad for the mess we’ve foisted on future generations

[@JohnClarke808]

Shouldn't you be wearing riot gear on?

[@mekaremaurin8580]

Because I'm on a transitional property I'm concentrating on closing certain loops in the system. For example, I don't buy in tomatoes, okra, greens, or herbs. I make some of my own skin care for which I have to bring in some ingredients but I've opted out of the "deodorant" supply chain. Just a little here and there.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Slow and small solutions!