Permaculture Skills Center.org
chat box you can click I get those messages
people can send me an email
check out the website
let us know if you have any questions or inspiration.
http://permacultureskillscenter.org/erik-ohlsen/
I run an online school, we have live webinars and coaching calls. Got to be
lots of projects and ideas and keep going …
a couple of years ago I decided
good light
good color
nice camera
learning about the time of day
end of the day
go out
flack from people
shutter stock
kind of thing, you’ll catch up with ourself someday
the next thing
just finally got done
in the last two weeks, started and
in my ecosystem
there’s stuff that I want to do, that’s the learning process
beginning of last year…. partners
all right these ten short courses together now this is nine months later we almost have one of them done. Maybe it’s gonna take a few years, it’s a lot of
leadership
it takes its own time
reality takes over and you want to do it right …
Not quite millennial material, xy generation …
Tell us a little about yourself.
Erik Ohlsen director of the
Prinicipal of Permaculture Artisans
water harvesting systems
anything under the sun
doing this work since I was 19
adult life
in eco design realm
worked with hundreds of clients mostly in California
take action
build community
non-profits
small business
grassroots activism
dabble in a lot of different angles
regenat
Tell me about your first gardening experience?
I have 2 answers for that
my first answer
my grandparents lived in Santa Barbara
going out with my Grandma Marie
she buried her kitchen compost in her garden
that was how she handled her kitchen compost
I was always her little helper
she planted mostly tomatoes
I remember helping with her compost
out of her garden that we ate for lunch
kid that I made that connection
being able to grow your own food in your own backyard
colors and flavors are so
mabye it’s like an older generation thing that is passed on
first kind of memory
first gardening experience
19 years old
started an organization
planting earth activation
we learned about
woke up to the realities of
GMO
terminator seed technology
sell seed to the farmer
the plants were genetically engineered to not grow more seed, sterile
wreakng havoc on our biosphere
we have to respond somehow
came up with this idea
give gardens away to our community and save open pollinated seeds
went down to the community garden from our home town of Sebastabol CA
garden party
30 people come out
built this huge garden together in one day
important moment in my life
experience what it is like to work in the earth
grow my own food
catastrophe the earth in
heirloom
it can be a life changing experience
planted over 200 community gardens over a 2 year period
in our community now
annual seed gardens to planting perennial systems
herbal gardens in our downtown district that we planted way
Forests of fire
forest of fire
I have a few children’s books and coloring books
also appropriate of adults
pristine forest
beneficial relationship with fire
humans
move one
clear cut build their homes
different scales of fire
relative a healthy fire
vs
catestrophic fire which deeply impacts the environment
here’s the thing
much of the population
live in fire ecology ecosystems that depend on fire for health
recycle
native seeds in fire ecology
10s of 1000s of years of evolution
natural ecosystem
what we really have to point out
eveolution form a strickly non
environments
ecology evolves with the management regime
I wouldn’t disagree
her take
something to be said to call a conversationists and environmentalist
approach
unpack that is a pretty big deal
log the forest
do need to think
ecosystems holistically
through the lens of management
forest in Montana
over the past 10k years
what kind of management did it evolve with
fires
big animals there
here in CA
the indiginsou
always used fire as a management tool
antelope
elk
bear
regenerative distrubance
management regimes
stay healthy
one of the issues we have had
fire suppression campaign
squelch any fire that comes up
too much emphasis on fighting fire
have on using fire in a prescribed fashion
allowing fires to burn where they don’t threaten health and safety
one of the things that happened in the 1970s
during the conversation movement
don’t touch nature
don’t cut a thing
nothing
that has taken the management
taken the relationship
humans and big animals that are there any more
fuel load
dry dead material that burn up really fast
there’s been little to no management
complex topic to unpack
folks who support clear cutting and major logging
sustainable thinning as a way to increase logging protection
sustainable thinning is a solution
what it ultimately comes down to
the whole issue is about the whole relationship with the natural world
when we relate
what’s the holistic view
the multigenerational
Tell us about something that grew well this year.
I’m looking at an Asian Pear, we are having an asian pear bumper crop, eating too many giving them away as fast as we can
one acre homestead
90 fruit and nut trees
1/4 acre vegetable garden
medicinal herbs
habitat plants
all the trees we planted
coming into maturity
every day is like the harvest experience
daughter is 8
son is 10
new fruits and flowers
lately it’s been the asian pears
we have a suckle pear which is just coming on
also a honey pear
they are small
they don’t get bigger
too much bigger then golf
you never know year to year
this year in CA
Northern CA
peaches and nectarines did’t do well
wrong time storm during flowering
hardly any harvest
bumper crop
year to year you never know
climate changes
timing
frost
Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new?
one thing, a lot of what we do are perennial based, a lot of it, a new persimmon that is finally doing well this year
very excited
first year
never had a good crop
have to wait to november
swollen
propping trees up
veggie garden
last two years
lemon cucumbers
really rediscobered for
circluar
bright yellow
see if you can get some seed
fresh eating they win it for us
armenian cucumbers
we like those a little better
best cucumber in the garden
at any stage you can eat it and it tastes good
intersteing
yellow lemon looking things
out produce
every other cuke
time and time again
planted maybe 3 plants
taking about 10-12 feet long
sprawled off the
10×10 off two plants
everyday
Tell me about something that didn’t work so well this season.
one of our big issues here are gophers
probably the biggest challenge
pepper crop
my daughter loves fresh sweet peppers
a lot of time
prepping the pepper bed
choosing varieites
planting them out
planting intensively
let a lot of things go to seed
diverstiy without anything
planted peppers that has all kinds of other stuff that wants to come up
picked our peppers planted them out
went on vacation and came back
weeds grew up and shaded the peppers
stressed them out
gophers started sucking them down
20 plants
two left hanging on
bent over in the pathway
kind of a bummer
haven’t quite figured
8 miles from the coast
pretty foggy
peppers not really working
one of the things we do with our trees
clients that hardly have any water
water catch
inflitration
try to get all of our trees
dry farmed if we can
water them for the first 3 years
use thick mulch
plant them somewhere winter rains can infiltrate around them
that opens up our water budget
use that budget for a new system
dead trees that can’t handle being dry farmed
self selected out
the way you dry farm a tree
you water very infrequently
water very deep
train them so their roots will go down really far
slow process take them off
really hot summer gonna give some water
if they look stressed
after a few years
building the top soil
focusing on concentrating rain and surface water flow
water holding capacity in winter
infrequent but really deep water
many species of trees
moderate success
first planted them
time to train them to get their roots to down farther
try to retrain them
watering frequency
ease them into a new pattern
change pattern too fast
used to sleeping
adjustment
successionally what you would do is each year
water them even less frequently then that
once every two weeks
once a month
train them by slowly
more time in between
want the trees to be healthy and thriving
five them more water
start in the spring time
move into
when you have more moisture available already
try to get to once a month of 20 gallons
might be a solution
sprinklers are the
generally want to do sprinkle
the other thing
we do in more dryland situation
burry a pipe at the base of the tree at planting
2-3” in diameter
maybe some gravel
it gets the water down into the deep roots
surface area
can absorb a ton of water
help the water get deep
drip system
water for an hour straight on one tree once a month
deep watering that way
train the tree
these things called ova pots?
same idea
clay pot
burry next to your pot
water slowly leaks out of the pot over time
little bit of water over time
keeps are moist day after day
dry land technique
reduces evaporation
in a clay pot
sun and wind won’t evaporate so fast
filled it
next to plant
slow drip
Which activity is your least favorite activity to do in the garden?
trapping gophers…
What is your favorite activity to do in the garden?
what I would call chop and drop
come out
our garden is
perennail vegetables and frruit and nuts
biomass plants
soil building endeavor
cutting back the biomass plants
placeing them back down on the ground as mulch
perennial system in a food type of set up
one of my favorite
harvesting biomass
know that I am feeding the soil
try not to bring in mulch and compost from off site
grow all of my gardens biomass
Well you get another amazing harvest if you let it go to seed
genearrly want to cut it down when it’s still flowering
might consider cutting down a portion of it
leave cover crops
espeically 30% save the seed
the other 70%
what your style is
want to achieve
don’t pull it up
cut it at the base
take that material and broad fork it in
double dig if you do that
some people will compost that and prep it for the next round of seeds
cut it at the base
lay it on the site
mulch on top of that
other biomass
straw
chop and drop
nitrogen fixers
when you lay it on the ground if you don’t cover it
don’t
oxygen
integrate it into the soil
tillage into the mix
releases carbon
depending on what your goals are for that bed in that area
lay it on the ground
put a little straw or leaves
wet it down so it holds mositure
cut it and leave it then
put a mulch on top of it
like a lot of organic matter
like thick mulch
will do awesome that situation
chop and drop
saves you on labor
not carrying it around
leave everything where I cut it
love that idea of keeping nutrients
What is the best gardening advice you have ever received?
don’t over think it
avoid paralysis by analysis
two camps of gardener folks
really into the science
everything based off of scientific data
people that go and experiment
read and learned from scientists and stuff
my approach
constantly experiment
keep putting things int he ground
growing stuff
composting
a lot of experiments
draw dropping
so green and abundant
happy
its my mad scientist going for it
issue people think they are going to mess up
afraid I was going to do it wrong
five different methods of prepping my bed so i didn’t do it
just let all that stuff just compost in my mind
just start planting
start composting
you’ll learn what’s right for you
energy you have
never learn any of that from a book
hands in the ground
best advice
people
never put your orange peels in your worm bin
research about that
separate my compost in different buckets
practically everything for the last twenty years
just insane
amazing
that’s it
don’t get peralysis by analysis
go ahead and try it
natural environment
something doesn’t work this year
so what
learning experience
act of getting out there and doing it
one of the things that I tell all of my students is
the best information you are going to get
about your garden is being in your garden
listening to the pattern
having a hard time
they’re giving you a message
follow your intuition
don’t let anyone tell you don’t do something
this is what’s calling me
go for it
I don’t think there is any better skill a gardener can learn
listen to the garden
best skill to cultivate
more that you can operate
A favorite tool that you like to use? If you had to move and could only take one tool with you what would it be.
The rogue hoe
that is
it’s a company
brand
it’s a special kind of hoe
there’s a couple of them that are my favorites
I could describe it
it’s pretty small
comes down a point
more like a little scarifier
like a triangle
exacly
what I love about these hoes
they are so sturdy
over the years
I have used so many different hoes
rattlying
retaching the head
middle of hard work
deal with your tool
never had an issue
20 years of using these rogue hoes
never had a head get loose
angle of hoe
just right with bad of hoe
ergonamic use
nothing beats that
triangle head
seed prep tool
scarify little depressions in my seed bed
can plant 100s of seeds of bed
with that hoe
many years of use
one of my mentors taught me on that
When I was young
Tai chi of tool use
never gone
went back
how you center your
when you use the hoe you want to have your knees bent
back straight
as you bring the hoe into motion
align your breathing and movement
all of the power that goes into the hoe
coming from hip
kind of center of gravity
if you perfect this technique you can work
A favorite recipe you like to cook from the garden?
OK, so my favorite on my moms side my mom is from Argentia
goes back generations in Argentina, grandfather was born in Italy
my mom perfected is our family
putenesca sauce
spicy italian sauce
tomatoes
onions
peppers
capers
what call a foggest – august can be all fog
northern
waiting for a week of sun to ripen
this has been the smokiest summer I have lived in CA
never had a summer as smoky as this one
always had a fire season
starts in Sept goes through Oct
fire season started in June
we went to the Sierra Nevadas
smoke the whole way
central valley CA
lake tahoe
beauty of the lake
couldn’t see any mountains this year
changed the climate here
summer down
blocks
A favorite internet resource?
I would say
for folks who are interested in an amazing plant data base
we design a lot of perennial edible systems
perennial trees
vegetables and edibles
data base
probably one of the best in the world
plants for a future
what is so great about that site
function
ecological function that the plants provide
growth type
nitrogen fixer
mulch producer
insects it might attract
based on
human need
provide some sort of ecological function
Erik olsen.com
permaculture skills center
permaculture artisans
myself and Brock Dolman
water wizard
Jesse Savo
Blue Barrel Systems
rain water systems all over the world
in person program
in CA
literally build systems
not just conceptual
3rd year running
we live in an extended bought
vital information
home owner and gardener
water abundance
we will put a tool in Bill’s hand
he can
some celebrities
totally into permaculture and ecological design
wataerharvesting
free webinars
permaculture skill center
free design webinar
2 hours
how to do a professional ecological design
students are folks who want to make a career
to do for their life
build for their family
best and most successful
professional designer
service clients
cities
counties
non-profits
private clients
juicy projects
be your career
free webinar you can opt-in for at the Permaculture
eco-landscape mastery design school
give people all of the tools necessary to run your own ecological design
how to run consultations
professional design process
build community
a lot of this work is
inspiring people and bringing people together
how to do that in a professional
every month we have global experts
live coaching calls
one on one coaching
amazing journey
almost a year since we launched
people can sign up any time
immediate access
all the
access forever
working with for almost a whole year now
getting design projects working with schools and churches
provide for their needs
Right now it’s set up as a one time payment
payment plans and scholarships
lifetime access
maybe move to a subscription
one time payment
you become a member
maintain it like this for now
first year students
from a business model point of view the subscription thing
they only have to pay a month
long term point of view
IDK which way I like better
$997 for the whole course
typical course
50% off scholarship
take a number of scholarships a month
twice a year we have a 100% scholarship
equity and inclusion scholarship
discount the course $200/ offer a 100% no charge
people from all over the world
diversity and community in there
real leaders in their community
lot of different options
always like to work with people to make things work
access to people who are going to use the material
finding a way to work
that’s the thing
basically taking the model that I have developed over the last 15 years
estimation templates
that has cost us 10s of thousands of dollars to
live coaching
life time access
for $1000 in one year if you follow the system we provide
could easily make 6 figures in the first year….
if you are ready to do the work…
when you start working with people and social systems
natural systems thinking
same we use in the garden
really fulfilling and engaging to do this work professionally
connecting people to the earth
providing them with access to healthy food
that curse is very specific to people who want to do this as professional
regenrative ag course
penny livingston startk
director of the regenerative
30 years around the world
smaller much more accessible program
teach folks all about
agriculutral tree systems
look for that
hopefully gonna launch that this fall
amazing teachers
amazing stories and knowledge
takes a bit of literacy
people realize that
professional designer
not landscpae architecture
just designing patios and arbors and stuff
plenty of clients over the years
designing a commercial organic farm
organic homestead gardens
people are really moving back to the land
don’t know what to do
where do I put my orchard
vegetable garden
as organic gardeners
professionalize that c
can do all the fun stuff
through that process
paid to do it
much more consistent
A favorite reading material-book, mag, blog/website etc you can recommend?
right now the book that I am starting to devour
carbon farming solution by Erik
a book about ag solutions to sequester atmospheric carbon
it is amazing
he has the science back it up
inspiring
open on my dining room table
devour
average
technical enough and cited enough that you can feel the authority but written
Final question-
if there was one change you would like to see to create a greener world what would it be? For example is there a charity or organization your passionate about or a project you would like to see put into action. What do you feel is the most crucial issue facing our planet in regards to the environment either in your local area or on a national or global scale?
global warming
we are seeing the results both from an environmental and a social caastrophe
would be a huge WAKE UP call
global
CAL Fire
leadership came out
we are on the front lines of Climate change
my community that got hit
literally climate refugees
homes burn tot he ground can’t live here anymore
serious situation we are facing
economy
culture
means of production
new regenerative economy
eco landscape mastery school
one of the clear issues we face
we need to move into an economy focused on restoring
catching water
sequestering carbon
globacl economy
extractive
destructive
restorative economy
built on taking care of our systems
big gap there
access to create careers to regenerating the
not enough for organic gardening to be a hobby anymore
find time
find way to make this relevant to the mass population
economy comes into play
roundup glyphosate
schools
cities
streets
20+ years
finally the science comes out
this does cause cancer
tested every wine
had traces of glyphosate in it
round up even organic wine
calling it out all these years
chickens came out to climate
focus on solutions
bring people to the table
this is happening
across cultural divides
doesn’t matter
i don’t care
that’s whats so beautiful about a garden
healthy access to food
revel in the beauty
things o
solutions
podcast
unify people around food
interface on any cultural institution
built a whole water harvesting
turing the whole school into a huge edible garden
fits into al the curriculum standards
make these connections
they’re the future
the world they are inheriting
How do we connect with you?
Permaculture Skills Center.org
chat box you can click I get those messages
people can send me an email
check out the website
let us know if you have any questions or inspiration.
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Mike's Green Garden 