MOSES conference, Advanced Design Class, and Hoop Horrors

The Moses organic farming conference starts Thursday night in La Crosse Wisconsin. I am looking forward to spending the days on the exhibit floor talking to farmers and homesteaders. Everybody loves looking at the designs and talking about their property.

I was very fortunate to get a booth this year. Pictured is the quick booth I put together for the ACRES conference that was in Springfield Illinois last month.   The week after that I also spoke and exhibited at the Minnesota organic farming conference in St. Cloud.

As much as I enjoy teaching and speaking to groups, just standing and talking to people as they show interest is a great way to find out what is going on in the landscape.

 Last Sunday we finished the first of 2, 5 day Advanced Permaculture sessions at KAAP.  Everyone did very well and I think that a lot of the class are moving their skills forward. Now developing the drafting and accuracy with those designs on paper for well defined implementations. We all focused on one property nearby, a 3 acre residence with excellent topography and sunlight aspect. Each student develop their own design for the property, but they all seem to see the same patterns developing and followed the natural shapes to similar results.

While I was away, we had quite a huge snowstorm that started out with the rain and followed with high winds. One of the seams in the house plastic gave away. I clamped what I could back up to the pipes and cover the outside with foamcore board until I can work on it on the first warm day that comes.

I am very glad we reinforce the top of the group house with mesh. The snow was really heavy and pushing down. Next fall I think either we will take off the plastic for the winter or reinforce the sides with plastic snow fence to give the pressure off the walls. I am leaning towards covering everything up with tarps inside and rolling the plastic off the house for the winter. Especially winters like this that do not seem to end and continually apply sub 0ºF temperatures. Too much worrying with this kind of climate. Not much benefit in leaving the plastic on even for season extension past the first big freeze.