when foods sit around and ‘go good’

Orna’s note: This awesome post was written by my friend Marina P-K, who lives in a Permaculture paradise of her own creation in the northern Sierra Nevadas. She works with beings of several kingdoms — plants, animals and microbes — and shares her copious knowledge freely. Reprinted with permission from her blog, Cultured, Aged, Brewed, (“A docu-sploration of what happens when we allow foods to sit around long enough to ‘go good.'”) this article considers serious infections, building and supporting a strong immune system, and giving the body appropriate microflora through the use of traditional fermented foods. 

 

Warning, graphic pictures in today’s post. I think they’re amazing documentation of the body’s ability to heal, but if your stomach is easily turned I suggest scrolling down til the subject turns to garlic.

Today marks the fourth week in healing the holes my pig poked and tore in my legs. The puncture in my shin is growing smaller and remains predictable, but the cut on my thigh has become infected. I host a certain strain of staph bacteria. A neglected cut at age six resulted in a  swollen foot and a course of antibiotics. The doctor explained to my mother that once staph enters our blood stream, it never really goes away. My immune system can surpress and restrain it, but when a large enough disturbance tests my biological defense systems, staph emerges. Continue reading “when foods sit around and ‘go good’”

sea buckthorn for garden and medicine

sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) fruit

By Dr. Orna Izakson

Sea buckthorn, also called seaberry or, in Latin, Hippophae rhamnoides, is a popular nitrogen-fixing shrub in Permaculture circles. Tolerant of all sorts of extreme weather including drought and bitter cold, this east Asian plant is great for stabilizing soil and supporting its neighbors. The female plants produce tart, nutritious, bright-orange berries. Because the plants are either male or female (dioecious), you’ll need at least one boy if you want berries. Its Latin name, “Hippophae,” means “shiny horse,” a reference to the glossy coat horses get from eating the plant. Continue reading “sea buckthorn for garden and medicine”

Permaculture, undefined

By Orna Izakson

Permaculturists have been searching for a sound-bite definition of their practice for years, and the process hasn’t turned up much that explains the concept well to the uninitiated. Jude Hobbs, a Permaculture instructor and landscape designer in Eugene, Ore., has a list with dozens of different attempts.

The concept is fundamentally about making everything fit, reassembling the pieces of life — food, community, animals, people — that have been shattered by the modern, industrial world. It’s about recreating a world that functions sustainably, recycles everything and works for people and the environment. It’s not just about gardening, but because food is a critical component of life, it’s therefore a critical component of a sustainable life.

Lofty as that sounds, permaculture is tremendously practical, dealing as it does with the basic stuff of living. It can be as simple as growing grapes above the hot tub so you can relax in shaded luxury while enjoying the fresh fruit of the vine. It can be planting herbs just outside the kitchen door to facilitate their fresh and medicinal uses in home-cooked cuisine. Continue reading “Permaculture, undefined”