Subject: Re: Lurking

From: PAULA STILLMAN <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 15:15:17 +1000

Hi listers
I'm a lurker also and agree with the other hidden voices who've sent
messages.   I'm looking for practical discussion and advice on a
permaculture list, although the broader information is also of interest.
I live on a bush acre on what used to be the edge of Melbourne, though a
bit degraded now it still has good indigenous values and is not suitable for
food gardening.   Currently I'm searching for a half acre near a country
town with a view to moving there in a few years time and trying to live
with Permaculture principles in mind.   The land I'm looking at now is on
river silt and has some old fruit trees on it, including a beautiful old quince,
still producing well.   But the soil is thoroughly compacted and the place a
weedscape because of it prior use for horses and some sheep.   The
sort of advice I might be looking for would be other people's experience
of bringing weed-infested land under control or of succeeding in reviving
compaced soil.   Perhaps I need an organic gardening list, but the one I
tried had hardly a message on it.
It would seem unlikely self-sufficiency could be achieved on half-an-acre,
but there could be others on this list who might know how much (or how
little) can be achieved and some interesting stories about how they
managed.
Regards
Paula