Wind is the biggest obstacle to growing a garden in modern times. In the Eastern Mediterranean, in areas close to reliable water sources, many people can't figure out why their gardens die. They water and water and water without realizing they are simply washing away nutrients in the soil. I have used a simple bamboo fence that allows some wind through but blocks the very strong winds. Thanks for reminding me about how much the wind helps us build up soil. I had forgotten that aspect. I place large stones at the base of my trees to prevent weeds, prevent water evaporation, and create water at night from condensation. There is always a build-up of organic matter in the small spaces between the rocks. Every year I have to clear the rocks away and lay them down again so the organic matter can reach the soil. It's natural composting at it's best! Thanks again for posting these videos.
Your discussion on the wall reminded me of my parent's back fence. They kept paying people to clean the huge piles of leaves they were letting accumulate over 10 years. I cried when I heard it. I told them, they just got rid of 10 year old compost and essentially threw it in the county dump and could have used the new soil to feed the grass they couldn't get to grow. There is such a wealth of information that 99% of people just have no idea is out there.
I have recently subscribed to your channel and have enjoyed all your informative ways of working with Nature. My land is created and ruled by Nature and I am not a slave to her, but like you, have spent an inordinate amount of time watching and learning from her. Your rendition to show others how to compliment nature rather than to work against her is inspirational and demonstrated by the successful application to achieve abundance in what you do. Thank you for sharing all your outcomes with us John.
Thank you very much Helen. You're comment is appreciated, I can assure you. Happy to be walking the path with such fine people as yourself. Many blessings my friend.
I stumbled upon your channel today and watched nearly all of the videos. Thank you so much for your work and love for our nature. We are living in the south of France and when we've found our farm, we want to grow a food Forrest. Luckily we have two family members who are into permaculture and a professional tree and plant grower. But I love to dive as much as possible into informations and knowledge and your channel is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much!
Hi, John, I totally agree with the comment below. Your contributions here are so helpful and great. Painfully I do not understand some of your details because of my little english. But the great idea which is behind, facing the nature and learning what´s behind and going on is the huge message. And very often my ego, is popping up and I forget about what I know already not do do. But theese moments become more and more seldom by chance. Many blessings from Germany
HEY THERE! Just found your channel today. I love permaculture practices and I have a food forest of my own in my backyard. I love the joy it brings me. For me it's a sense of sustainability and self worth, something I feel our world is loosing touch with. The feeling of growing and providing food for me and my family while also giving back to the land and helping nature do its work is so fulfilling. It gives me a sense of reason in life and helps ground me. I love my food forest. Its my happy place. I am so grateful to people like yourself for sharing your views and techniques with the world. I've learned so much from so many people online over the years. You have a beautiful food forest in the Mediterranean. That was the video that brought me to you (I've since watched almost all your other videos). What a paradise you have started there. Good for you, looks amazing. It must feel so good being there. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
Thank you for taking the time to reach out and share your thoughts. We're both quite fortunate to have an opportunity to develop land as we do. Yes, it's my happy place as well :)
Haha. Thanks for your kind comment. It makes me happy to hear when the videos are useful. This type of work is a great pleasure for me. All the best...
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I had became the Crazy woman in my village just by adapting he’s Bananas Circle 🤣🤣🤣 I’m enjoying my Craziness so bloody much 🤣🤣🤣🤣 !! He is one of my teachers in RU-vid university 😜😜😜
I watch and learn from all your videos as much as I can, your family is so lucky to have such a wise man designing their future security in the ways of a food forest. Thank you for creating this content!
This channel is a gem. Thumbs up to you! We get a lot of trade winds here and I had never considered fire as an issue. I'll be looking forward to future episodes.
Thanks very much! Good to hear from you. Yeah most people don't consider fire until it's too late, unfortunately. It's in those moments that we come back to understanding just how powerful and unpredictable Nature can be. Will work on that one soon I hope.
I liked your video. It was informative. I had not realized that wind fills in the recesses, but yes, that makes sense. I live in a windy area and looking for information on wind break ideas for the garden.
I liked it as you said and you got a new subscriber from Vietnam. Thanks for all the very helpful and practical videos that you've been generously sharing with us. I am new in permaculture and natural design and your videos help a lot. Thank you again!
I just found you!!! I'm sooooo excited! I'm building a permaculture community garden on my property!!! You are worth a bazillion in knowledge!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I'm soakin it up like a swale!!!
Please know of a certainty that your generous gift of all your vids are truly appreciated. I have only in the past two days been introd. to your work . I guess one gets the correct information when one is open/properly receptive to the value of it. Sincere thanks.
These are the right videos for me since I live in Malta and very close to Sicily.I am at a stage were bI am starting my new garden.So thank you for shareing you vast knowlege
i actually never hit the like nor dislike button of all videos i watch.. but you just hit me there.. you got me that feeling too. love your videos and i subscribe.
Only just found your videos. So much brillient information that even an ordinary person can understand and learn from. Based in Spain these are for me and my family a real gift...can now see things which have alluded us for a while. Thank you, and keep teaching please.
The Natural Farmer Sorry, I have not replied before - I missed your reply. Toni my son- his wife and myself are embarking on a wild project....catch a look at the basic webpage if you have a moment. www.naturesfootfall.org This is very basic as it is linked to a crodfunding we are about to do, but will give you an idea as to what we are doing. Will keep watching out for your videos --keep up the good work, and thanxs for sharing what you are doing. Lesley
I like very much yiur videos...they are very very instructive and illustrative!!....you are a good teacher!!....i wached all your videos and keep watching them depending on my needs on thst moment. Regards from noorth Morocco!
Great video. User friendly explanations. I have learned quite a lot and I am grateful for your time and your sharing of your experiences. Thank you so much. Greetings from subtropical Australia...
Love your vids Mate ! To be honest I’ve been a RU-vid since it started and rarely like , thumbs up or thumbs down a vid ! And most of the time I forget ! But for you ! No dramas
Your corn looks amazing! Glad to see growth from seed. Many great points in this video! Seems like windmills would be a great idea in that area. Been away that the internet for some time. It was great to see you continuing your work. YOU are a constant inspiration to MY work. I hope to aspire to be a natural farmer. Thank you.
Yes. Windmills are the seemingly obvious thing that no one here has yet taken advantage of. Funny how that works. We may have to give it a go soon with a windmill ourselves... Thanks for your very kind email. Any benefit that comes from any of these teachings will make me very happy indeed. Good to hear from you. Thanks for your generous comment. Many blessings! J
I've learned many useful things from your videos, but the constant through all of them is that I really need to find a hat as nice as yours! I'm always wearing some type of sun hat, but none of them are as "shade-providing" and comfortable as the one you're always wearing looks. Haha
Haha. Nice. Yes a good hat is hard to find. This one comes from Taos, New Mexico. I don't think it's made there, but that's where I bought it. The brand is Scala Hope that helps
Just found your videos today and LOVE them! Especially liked the one about making nitrogen fertilizer from manure. I've only watched four so far, but every one of them has plenty of useful information for gardeners who don't own tractors, etc. Please keep them coming. If you do decide to go for it (wind turbine), please video the choice and installation process. Thank you for your efforts to share very useful knowledge. I can see I will binging on your channel today.
love you as always Jagganath. your motivation is what provided me the impetus to do a free permaculture design, once the project is started i will always have it as a model.
I am blown away by the Wind episode. We just had a Cat 5 cyclone here in Fiji in February, not sure I can design for that. In fact it is hard to build a house for that. Another good video. Thanks
Haha. Thanks for the pun. I'm sad to hear that you were in Fiji when that hit. I have another friend who was there as well. She grows ginger. Not much can be done about those events, except to construct a basement for shelter on your land. All of the houses in the US, located in tornado alley, are build with basements.
Thank you for that, I decided to try to change things for Horses and Humans so teaching all about the Language of Horses requires something that gets people thinking, Like you to make real change in the world People just need to think and question and then follow their heart to a new beginning. I have been watching all your video's now for a week or two. so I am trying to get all the knowledge I can as My Wife and I have bought our own place and it has many challenges that we must overcome so its a very exciting time in the months to come. Stay Blessed and keep up the wonderful work you have been doing. Garry
... we have seasonal strong winds like yours, all trees must be staked and many grow bent. we coppice many to deal better with the winds. fires are of a grate concern. Your conditions now seem similar to our harsh spring. I am very much looking forward to your ways of sorting out the challenges of your setting. The stone wall behind you is a true masterpiece as if Andy Goldsworthy was there. Always 4 thumbs up with thanks for your lectures.
Haha. 4 thumbs up!! Thanks my friend. You're the first to mention that wall. Yes it truly is a masterpiece. Lucky the art is still practiced here. Amazing. Yeah we'll see how things pan out with the weather conditions here. My wife and I are looking seriously at a piece of land. That's when the real work will begin... Great to hear from you as always.
how can you stand the suspension of the land buying? I bet you already dreamed up and even sketched the design. With your wife, seems you are ready to stop searching ? take it from your older tumbling equal, it is actually so good to root, I never knew. Now, show and tell I beg.
Occupy the space between rocks, where the wind will drop debris and create soil. Dude ... love it! Thank you. Yup, I'm a stone's throw south of you; I can see you on a clear day, from our rooftop, and I totally 'get' you on the wind situation. Loving your observations. Keep it up bro. And Jai Ma ;)
Thanks Joe. Say hello to LA for me. I'm lucky to be in close contact with a number of locals now. Learning many things... Thanks for your nice comment.
l lived in Montebello Ca. ...l live in Ontario Canada ..awhile back l bought 27 acres in Prince Edward County ...l rent the land out to a farm there ..but l,m planning on having a snail farm one day ...and some nut trees ....my family is originally from Matera Italia .... your doing a great job...i know l learned alot listening to you
Ah. Ok. Cool. The image on your account through me. Sorry about that. Great! Thanks man. Yes, Italy is pretty wonderful. We feel very blessed. It's never too late to start farming. Doesn't feel like work to me. Great to hear from you...
Mr. Jagannath, if only I could click a thousand likes on every single video you post. I must say, I wait for your video upload every week :) . Keep up the great job and keep posting, please. Thanks.
Hey John, how high and deep would you recommend i make my swales(im on flat land, but also Mediterranean climate) in order to buffer the heavy winds? They're really strong, and I wanna prevent as much evaporatation as possible
Thanks for sharing John. You are doing good work. It's nice to see people in other parts of the world doing permaculture. I have a small foodforest in South Florida and am looking to expand soon. Greetings 💚💚💚
Hey! Would be very nice to hear your thoughts on Fire as you promised ;) I live in Greece, it's a similar climate, windy and lots of fire, and knowing some tricks to avoid disaster would be extremely helpful
I would love more info on how to figure out wind direction (I'm surrounded by trees and meadows and hills so sometimes wind seems from 2 or 3 different directions), how to build wind breaks or any other methods of protecting plants from wind.
Must be awfully dry with all that wind now, and it's so important to collect and keep that topsoil in place with all your great tips. In one Aussie study I read the wind blown fraction of soil contained 16 times as much nitrogen, and twice the cation exchange and water-holding capacity of the original soil it came from! Over on Skillcult's channel he had a video about a manure mat he created that improves water infiltration, I wonder if something could be made with pine needles in some kind of slurry that dries to hold them in a mat to helps prevent wind and water erosion.
Great information as always my friend. I'll check out Skillcult's video. Yes, I'm sure it can be made. But in fact that's the whole principle of creating healthy soil. When done it literally converts an entire field into a water infiltration mat. Worm presence obviously kicks this into high gear. Good stuff. Great to hear from you.
Another great subject, it's definitely Marmite, either love or hate it. I would like to calm it down a little from strong gusts to a gentle breeze so it's learning about what trees love the wind and grow well where it's very windy and border my land in places to protect crops and make it more pleasant for ourselves to live. We get a very hot wind like a 30 kilowatt hair dryer on full speed in your face in the summer that comes off the desert and in the winter an icy wind that comes off the Granada mountains to our west. I'm thinking if I can tame the extremes then it will be great. I've observed Mimosa trees down by the beach where it's very extreme and they seam to love it there so hopefully they will on my land. Top tip off an old local farmer for me was go into the dry river beds and see what grows there, it's natures free store. 😎😎 I've followed on Instagram ( permaculture_where_the_heartis ) and on Twitter ( @roygibbo ) also so see you around. 😎 Thanks for sharing Roy 😎😎😎
Hot/Cold/Gusty winds. What a difficult situation to deal with. My hat's off to you. You're on the edge man. But apparently the edge is most productive, once you figure it out. I look forward to seeing more of the things you come up with. Yes. the river bed is a free store for plants, not to mention rocks to build with! I hope to take advantage of this, if we ever get things signed to take over this land. Good to hear from you brother.
I watched again and I like it again as if I didn't watched 5 month ago . one thing I would like to ask you , I have been taking Dr Elaine Ingham approach to soil understanding , you think I should consider somebody's else approach ? or what ? thank you
I really enjoy ALL of your videos. Very enlightening and educational yet I never bother to hit the thumbs up. I did this time and I will with upcoming videos. On a side note, how do you make a living? And how do you afford to travel so much. Just curious. You seem to live the life and I hope that I when I get to be your age. You seem very grounded and patient and I value that.
I've worked most of my life as an architect. I've invested well and I hope to create a permaculture site and teach. Thanks for your compliments. It's been a long journey.... :)
Happy about another Video! :) we are moving to the Country side, we got a whole new property to design...so this is very interesting to me...thinking about the sun angle, water harvesting, wind, trees combined with beds? uhmmmm ...still alot to learn, any more aspects anyone??? much love from Bavaria/germany
Nice! What an opportunity! Definitely brush up on your knowledge of the Permaculture Designer's Manual before you start. It has a lot of great information on designing land. Also, as we hope to do, it's a good idea to just simply camp on the land for some time, in order to get to know it more intimately. Best of luck!
Hi, John Kaisner. I recently discovered your videos and appreciate them very much. I may have not seen enough videos to know more about you, but I am curious if you are making a living by transforming land in different climates for others or mainly working on property of your own or of family?
I work for people all over. As an architect, I used to only design the house. Now I design the house and the land as well. You can reach me at jknaturalfarmer@gmail.com if you like.
Observed early on that the trees do not allow for a wind turbine. I have yet to even find an area that is windswept. But, I am working on a 5-10 mph design that has been RESTING!
