Eco House Film - Ecological House in Sweden

pretty and edible is the goal.

My little garden is shaping up, planted a boy and girl Sea Buckthorn, with one pathetic yellow berry. We will see how they take.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippophae_rhamnoides

Found some bastard Peonies growing by the road on the remains of a demolished garden. Tore the roots out and planted them as well, they do say Peonies sulk for 3 years after you tear them out.

Some great ideas to replace decorative japanese garden plants with edible.

http://balconyofdreams.blogspot.com/

Replace Bamboo with Asparagus

Replace clipped pine with clipped rosemary

Got a little pond going, the moment I was done filling it there was a frog swimming in, must have smelled the water. I quickly tossed a branch and a flat piece of tree so the frog had somewhere to sit and jump. It looked content. After that it was time for a trip to the local swamped pond for some regional life. The water has greened nicely.

Time to consider some edible water growing food sources.

http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/edibpond.php at Plants for a Future

Trapa natans – Water Chestnut

Acorus calamus / Sweet Flag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Flag

Typha angustifolia / Reed Reed Mace

Water Spinach

Ipomea aquatica

Stachys affinis Chinese Artichoke
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_affinis

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Zizania+aquatica

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Typha+angustifolia

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Trapa+natans

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Sagittaria+sagittifolia

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Nasturtium+officinale

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Cornus+canadensis

7800 square meters of mountain.
Will need to import earth, as right now it is barren.
Ponds in the planning.
Clover, rosehip, lupine, potatoes, jerusalem chokes. Looking for fruit trees.
Planning for chickens and pigs or yaks. Will need more farm help.

I am interested in perennial plants, that live for years, have deep roots and require no maintenance, while producing food.

Naturally, I am atracted to permaculture.
Sepp Holzer and Fukuoka and

http://www.richsoil.com/sepp-holzer/sepp-holzer-permaculture.jsp

We have very little soil on our mountain, but we do have 7000 square meters of it.

One slope has accumulated quite a lot of oak leaves over the years, that have turned into mulched/ composted leaves.

I have made two raised beds, one out of wood and one by laying earth over a long dead and rotten birch.

Potatoes and
jerusalem artichokes / Helianthus tuberosus

and some beets, pumpkins and wildflowers to fix nitrogen.
are the start of our garden, planted in July so not hoping for any crop this year.

Need to find more local swedish tubers, but also thinking about the North American Ground Nut /
Apios Americana dutch seller
One can only learn anything by doing it, so this is simply starting now as opposed to waiting for the perfect conditions in the future that does not exist.

Anna got the potatoes for free, and the Jerusalem artichokes cost 12 crowns.
I bought a mix of heritage seeds on ebay for 17 dollars, and will try to get as many local permaculture compatible plants as possible.

Dont know if I should bring earth to the mountain for raised platform beds, as there is literally no earth, just rock covered with a thin layer of grass and roots.

Now I will go harvest some willow and plant it around our outhouse, if it takes, next year maybe I will convert it into a treebog.

http://www.ee7drs.org.uk/bog/treebog.html
http://permaculture.wikia.com/wiki/Tree_bog

So we got 8000 square meters of land. It is time to start growing some permaculture crops, and we have no idea how to do it. Contact us if you have experience in permaculture want to be part of a grand learning experiment- can someone with no experience and time grow food for themselves and their family?

Reading up on permaculture, diy and farming.
Lots of good info out there.
Natural farming is not just for growing crops – it is for the cultivation and perfection of human beings.
Fukuoka Farming Permaculture Grow more without agriculture.

Masanobu Fukuoka is a farmer/philosopher who lives on the Island of Shikoku, in southern Japan. His farming technique requires no machines, no chemicals and very little weeding. He does not plow the soil or use prepared compost and yet the condition of the soil in his orchards and fields improve each year. His method creates no pollution and does not require fossil fuels. His method requires less labor than any other, yet the yields in his orchard and fields compare favorably with the most productive Japanese farms which use all the technical know-how of modern science.

Instead of deciding which vegetables would do well in which locations he mixes all the seeds together and scatters them everywhere. He lets the vegetables find their own location, often in areas he would have least have expected.

Slow sand filter- filter your water with a simple sand filter to 99.7 cleanliness.

strange edibles

to end – this is wonderful

and some Swedish permaculture resources
swedish DN article on biochar
Sweden/ Sverige permaculture

Going to make a bicycle trailer cart

something like this maybe but out of metal or regular wood.

<img src=”http://carryfreedom.com/images/P_Bamboo_FL_Line.gif”>

<a href=”http://carryfreedom.com/bamboo.html”>http://carryfreedom.com/bamboo.html</a>

<a href=”http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1981-07-01/Dime-on-the-Dollar-Bicycle-Trailer.aspx”>mother earth bike plans</a>

thinking about how much energy we can produce with a wind generator and some solar panels, in Sweden, which is not the most energy abundant place on earth, with little sun and low winds where we are.

Maybe with 2 laptops to power and 4 LED lights for the house we will be ok, store food in the basement cellar (will have to cut some rock, it is all rock in Sweden, all the way down)and do laundry in a hand-crank machine.

http://www.velacreations.com/

I have a friend, farmer Paul, that put up a wind turbine on a 30 meter pole, and no wind…. This was in NY. So i am sceptical of alternative energy, no hippie that I am. It’s just that it does seem the only way for independence.

Have a 2 night getaway for $30=20 euros= sek 250 – a person!

A well-loved pasttime with Swedes, taking a ferry boat allows one to not only enjoy astounding views of the Swedish Archpelago and seascapes, but to get drunk for much less than what it costs in the nanny state itself!

Since international waters are tax-free, alcohol retails for significantly less on the boats.
Continue reading Cheapest vacation in Sweden- take a ferry boat!

As a permanent resident in Sweden, I am lucky to recieve free SFI lessons in Swedish.

here are some quick tips to learning Swedish on your own.
Continue reading Quick guide to learning the Swedish language