Can you create a food forest in a fire prone area without risking your home?

I’ve been fascinated by permaculture since I first learned of it about 10 years ago from a friend. Specifically, the idea of building a diverse and permanent food forest that will become stable and maintain itself over time is what initially drew me in all those years ago.

For those that don’t already know what permaculture is, I’ve provided the definition below as coined by Bill Mollison. 

Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.

I’ve been practicing permaculture in earnest since July of 2020, when the same friend loaned me his book called Gaia’s Garden written by Toby Hemenway. Shortly after finishing the book I decided to start with zone 1 and build myself a small kitchen garden on my deck, just outside my door. I knew enough to know that I didn’t know much, so I focused on getting the raised garden beds up and producing before I ventured out into any of the other permaculture design ideas that I had swirling around in my head. I chose to use metal watering troughs as raised garden beds and connected them to a drip watering system to keep my new plant babies hydrated. 

When the kitchen garden was up and running I started to think about where I would create my food forest. I live on a highly sloped 2.5 acres and was struggling to determine the best place for the new nursery trees, so I decided to find a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) that would help me gain the knowledge that I was seeking. 

In January 2021 I enrolled in Geoff Lawton’s online PDC. It took me more than a year and a half to get through all of the course material and create my final design exercise (FDE). The FDE was a permaculture design on the property of our choosing (I chose my own property) that included the completion of a 52 page property detail form and 11 maps.

During my PDC, the River Fire (Aug. 2021) came within miles of my home in Grass Valley and I realized just how critical it was for me to take fire into account in my final design*. I chose to keep the downhill slope (southeast) fairly sparse with two swales to keep things hydrated and a succulent border as a fire break. Upslope (north) I chose another succulent border as a fire break with a dam at the top of the drainage to supply fire sprinklers. In August of 2022, I finally received my Permaculture Design Certificate!   

*My sector and final design maps for reference 

I was so excited to get started building my food forest and implement the rest of my design plan. I fenced in a couple of the trees that I had already planted months ago on the northwest corner of my property in anticipation of planting the other 6 layers of my food forest.

Watch Geoff Lawton’s video on the 7 different layers of a food forest and how valuable they are to the future of humanity.

Just one month later, my neighboring County endured their largest wildfire in history, so firescaping and my duty to keep defensible space around my forested home was top of mind. I chose to attend a lunch time workshop on firescaping, taught by Master Gardener Kevin Marini, to learn how I could better protect my home. 

Kevin stressed the importance of removing fire ladders by keeping tall trees trimmed up 6 feet and removing shrubs and other vegetation below trees. The longer he talked the more anxious I became because I felt like he was essentially saying that a food forest was a fire hazard. My food forest dreams were crushed! 

After a few days of sulking I decided to do some more research and find an answer to the question, how can I create a food forest in a fire prone area without risking my home? Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. 

After joining a few local permaculture Facebook groups and asking them my question, I received a few answers. First I was pointed towards this YouTube video created by Andrew Millison called Permaculture Design for Wildfire Defense. He stressed the importance of assessing the property for fire danger to begin with so that you will know where your fire sector is located and therefore where fire breaks should be located. 

In the video he also discusses only having tall large leafed trees for shade and food production near the home, but with no vegetation below them to remove the risk of a fire ladder. He then talks about elements that could be placed in the fire sector and used as fire breaks. 

He didn’t specifically mention food forests, but he did say that having an irrigated orchard in the fire sector could provide a good fire break. Unfortunately, I wasn’t overly satisfied with that answer because it still sounds like a permaculture food forest isn’t possible due to the ladder fuel potential.

The second answer I received came from a local company called Practical Permaculture. Their suggestion was to spread out the levels of the food forest horizontally, which would allow for better maintenance. They also stated that not every design technique is appropriate for every climate. From that I understood that a food forest may not be the best idea for my fire prone area.

The third piece of information I considered was a YouTube video created by Geoff Lawton called How to Make Your Property Fire Resistant with Permaculture Design. He detailed five different strategies: 

1. Capture ALL of your rainwater
2. Create head pressure
3. Maintain open areas
4. Infiltrate water into your soil and use hard surface runoff  
5. Plant fire-resistant species   

The video doesn’t discuss food forests specifically, but he does mention that the well hydrated swale areas, where I believe his food forest is located, are helpful in saving a property from an advancing bush fire.

I will continue my research on this topic because I dream of having a thriving food forest on my property some day. In the meantime this is the plan that I have come up with: 

1. Dig swales and plant some well spaced nursery trees in the non fire sector area of my property
2. New swale area will be outside of the 100 foot defensible space buffer
3. Keep swales watered during the summer months so that the vegetation doesn’t dry out and create fuel
4. Maintain the swale area so that fuel doesn’t build up
5. Plant out planned succulent borders as a fire break
6. Build the planned pond to capture water runoff and provide water for fire fighting efforts

I’d love to hear from other experts in the local area who have also thought about this topic and have some ideas on how we can make food forests work for us. I’ve created a group for discussions like this called the Earth Warriors within a larger community called The Warrior’s Network. I invite you to join me there to meet other like minded people and discuss ways that we can all be more beneficial humans. If we all focus on solutions together there is nothing that we can’t accomplish. 

Cynthia Soszka

Cynthia Soszka is committed to finding solutions for the global environmental issues we’re all facing today. She’s currently focused on permaculture as a solution, and is always searching for new ways to become a more beneficial human. 

She graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Environmental Resource Science and worked as a biologist for many years before coming in out of the field and working for her local government. 

She’s been practicing permaculture since July of 2020 and recently received her Permaculture Design Certificate from Geoff Lawton’s online PDC in August of 2022. She’s also the creator of The Warrior’s Network and has owned her own business since 2017 where she goes by the Serenity Warrior Mama. If you’re interested in becoming a more beneficial human, please visit the Earth Warriors group and check out her free 7-Day Beneficial Human Workshop.   

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Earth Warriors Group

The Warrior’s Network

Let’s get real… How Sustainable Is Our Community?

The State of our Food, Water, Shelter, Energy and Fire in the Sierra Foothills

*Before we finish writing SEG’s “Local Sustainable Guide” and the “How Sustainble Is Our Community?” articles we would love to hear what you think.

Your ideas may influence what we write in our 8 page insert for The Union’s special section called Going Green. 

The idea:

Write a 1-2 page state of the community address, talking about categories like food and water and how we are “doing” when we look at them from the lens of sustainability. 

For us, Sustainability means, meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This involves decreasing pollution, using more renewable resources and preserving our natural world. 

Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we will discuss first, the foundation of our physiological needs (food, water, shelter, waste disposal), then climbing up a level to security and shelter to include fire and energy.

Creating a written eco-report card on our community’s basic needs.

Where: We will base our report in the region of the Northern Sierra Foothills.

How your thoughts can be heard:

Answer or comment to the question of “How are we doing?” for any of the below numbered sub-categories.

Use the lens of – Is it sustainable, eco-minded, environmentally friendly and to what level? Is the resource polluted and/or what direction is it going? 

Directions: In 2-3 sentences, 1 sub category at a time, how would you describe each subcategory below in our NW Sierra Foothills? You can respond by filling the text area below and clicking submit.

How environmentally sustainable is our local:

A. Food

1. Vegetables
2. Fruits & Berries
3. Meat, Pork & Poultry
4. Eggs & Milk

*key ideas – is it organic, grass fed and finished, regenerative, polluting, available?

B. Water

1. Rivers & Lakes (4-5 sentences, Yuba, American, Bear Rivers & the Deer and other major creeks)
2. Tap water
3. NID irrigation water
4. Well water
5. Snow & Rain

*key ideas – can we drink it, is there enough, is it polluted,what are we doing to clean it?

C. Fire & Shelter

1. Fire resiliency in our housing stock and housing locations
2. The use of Building Techniques like cob, ceramic, straw bail, +
3. Human caused fires and encampments
4. For profit utilities (PG&E) vs proper maintenance of infrastructure
5. Home fire protection and hardening in general
6. Fire protection methods in terms of sustainability (controlled burns, fire retardants, +)
7. Surrounding forest being cleared properly

key ideas – are we on the right track for fire protection, what can we do, are we hurting the environment in our practices and lifestyles?

D. Energy

1. Adoption of sustainable energy
2. Power outage preparation
3. Rising costs of centralized energy (PG&E)

key ideas – what percent of energy is sustainable, are we getting better or worse, what is sustainable energy (read here) ?

E. Waste

1. Disposal (where, how, amount per person)
2. Recycling
3. Human Waste
4. Composting

* key ideas – how much waste do we create per capita, is that sustainable, are we actually recycling or thinking we are, what can we do better?

E. Infrastructure & The Future

1. Support for sustainability
2. Education for sustainability
3. Fire protection and (or vs) the environment

*key ideas – what support and organizations are out there, are they effective, how is our education on helping the environment, what is the general feeling and direction we are going?

Try to think of the levels of each. How clean is the Water? How organic is the Food? How sustainable is our housing and security knowing fire is one of our biggest issues? How sustainable is the energy we use? Are we teaching the future how to help the planet? Are we providing support sustainability from organizations, private and public sectors.

Example: 

A1:  Vegetables

In the Northern Sierra Foothills small farmers are producing a good amount of organic food and making it available in farmers markets and some local supermarkets but there are quite a few super markets and farmers market stalls that sell not so sustainably produced vegetables and conventional produce all over town. Compared to other regions, we have quite a few small farmers, CSA’s and offer support for small sustainable farmers that have shown that we can try to feed ourselves when things hit the fan. Can we feed our whole population locally? I don’t think we are there yet but I feel like we are doing pretty good and growing in the right direction.

A2: Fruits, Berries

How much fruit and berries are available organically is hard to say, I know they grow locally in some small farms, and on micro-farms, but I feel we still need to be supplemented by out of town growers but there are pockets of fruits and berries to share in our local communities. I think we could do better and I would love it if we thought creatively about planting more fruit trees even in public areas to heighten food security. Fruit Trees = Food Security except in winter months where hoop houses and greenhouses would really help and in opinion we can have more of. When food was getting scarce in the early stages of Covid, I felt we got lucky that it was the beginning of harvest season for early crops.  

Side Note:

Gleaning programs like the one that Sierra Harvest stewards are amazing ways that our community gets fresh local food in the hands of our unfortunate and we are lucky also to have food banks that offer some produce and some organic food. 

How would you word the above section differently or what would you add?

A3: Meat, Pork and Poultry

Can you help me write this section? Or any other section above?

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Please send us your thoughts here, by filling out this form:

This article was written by our very own SEG Superstar Staff Author, Mandy Meier. 

No Dig Gardening 

Hello Plant lovers. I am extremely passionate about Gardening. When I am not working at SEG, I am reading seed catalogues, seeding for the coming season, and watching over my many plant babies. As a Grass Valley resident, I was very frustrated with the hard and dry clay that is native here. This is when I discovered the no dig gardening method. After three years of no dig gardening, I am often surprised that more people do not know about this wonderful technique.  

What is No Dig Gardening?

No Dig, or no till gardening is just what the name describes: not disturbing the soil with digging or tilling. The practices of no dig gardening are centered around organic solutions that promote the health of the many tiny organisms and insects which create thriving, alive, rich soil conditions.  

No Dig Gardening Method Practices Are:  

1. No tilling or digging the soil
2. Weed blocking under each bed 
3. Beds built with layers of material 
4. Planting into compost 
5. Topping beds with Compost, annually/seasonally 
6. Topping beds with organic matter 
7. Organic feed/ fertilizers only  
8. Organic Pest control, (if needed) 

I immediately saw the benefits of this practice in my own yard as my native soil was transforming.  

What happened to my native soil beneath the beds and why should you consider ditching the rototiller? 

Benefits of No Dig Gardening 

• Organic fertilizers and manual pest control efforts do less damage to the soil and soil inhabitants. 
• Soil left undisturbed by till or shovel contains billions of life forms which make up one of the most diverse microbial ecosystems 
• A healthy microbial ecosystem lessens plant stressors including pests and drought 
• Weed blocking beneath the beds decreases future disturbances to the ecosystem 
• Compost is rich in nutrients and organic materials that feed bacteria and insects needed for the health of the microbial ecosystem 
• Topping / mulching with organic matter protects the surface of the soil from heat and retains water 

No Dig really does mean less work overall.

The Garden requires less watering as the soil structure is not torn and dug repeatedly, resulting in good water drainage and retention. There are less weeds to pull as the weeds have been blocked from the start. A healthy microbial ecosystem also contributes to greater harvests with less loss due to pests and disease 

Learn from the Pros:

Charles Dowding: ‘No dig compared to dig’ YouTube Video

– 

No dig gardening might sound drastic; While you do not need to throw away all your shovels, you can retire your rototiller.

You can also use other methods of gardening that are gentle to the soil and its natural hosts. You can plant, for example, by pushing into the soil to create a space for the new plant and then adding more compost to secure the plant rather than digging soil from the bed to make the space. 

More from the pros:  

Morag Gamble: ‘How to Make a No Dig Garden’ You Tube Video

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Joe Lamp’l: ‘Understanding the Soil Food Web’

Article and Podcast: www.joegardener.com/podcast/understanding-the-soil-food-web/ 

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Overall, No Dig gardening equals less work, greater harvests, and a chance to leave the soil in a much healthier state than found.

This is my definition of a win; will you join me in the no dig revolution?

In the next newsletter, I am excited to share how my family built our most recent no dig garden. We will also show how we made it deer proof!   

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This article was written by guest-author Kenneth Scherer, founder of KOrganics, based in North San Juan, CA.

Creating Life In Your Soil With Fermentation

Various Fermented Juices

Now that you have your bio char, what can be done with it? In an article written by C.Tabor of the  Biocharcoalition.org, it was discussed why it’s important, and the many ways to procure this valuable mineral.  I will be discussing various methods and practices involving what can and cannot be done with your biochar, regarding soil fertility, and the concept of adding increased mycology to the soil, for all kinds of growth and remediation applications. 

One of the best usages for char in the garden is to inoculate it. To inoculate bio char, the easiest ways are to utilize waste streams such as compost, manure, leaf mold or fermented mediums.

The goal is to assist in adding life by generating the building blocks required for increased long–term storage of plant nutrients, utilizing carbon to increase root systems. 

Mycelium underworld

Anybody anywhere can begin this practice with something as simple as throwing a rotten banana on top of biochar, or letting it soak in compost teas or placing it in compost. As decomposition occurs due to bacteria and fungi, it will release compounds to then be incorporated into the char. Utilizing food scrapes or organic residues with biochar, over a period, will lock in nutrients to then be used later.  Since biochar, created at a high pyrolysis temperature, is pure empty space with a negative charge structure, nutrients, bacteria and fungi will occupy these spaces depending on their PH, anions and cations.

Anions and cations in plants, oh my! But why do we care?

By utilizing water which has two hydrogen (+) and one oxygen (-) we can then incorporate nutrients into the biochar. Therefore, fermenting materials in H2O, can extract compounds to then be delivered into the char that roots will surround. It’s important to inoculate biochar if you wish to add this mineral by direct burial. If one does not, you can experience wilt once transplanting into newly established garden beds, as it will be competing for nutrients to fill the carbon motel. Once filled, bio char is ready to work. 

The best time to apply biochar was yesterday. If you missed your chance, today can be that day. Certain areas that are drought stricken should be adding as much as they can. The USDA recommends 1-10 tons per acre, or at least 1 ½ inch layer, scattered on the surface. There are many experiments going on right now to find the best application ratios biased on climate. Some of these studies are looking to control erosion and water flows.  

Adding biochar to fermented base

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2 days after adding biochar to fermented base; Mycelium

At KOrganics, we apply this knowledge to generate ultra-potent mediums, that will then soak into the char. Our building blocks involve organic inputs such as bug frass, microbial concentrates, fermented materials and mineral spring water. We have studied synergistic effects that increase bioactivity of our raw ingredients, utilizing fermented juices such as tomato for its chitin degrading compounds.  

IMO BOX (Indigenous Microorganisms) for local microbial collection

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Paulownia Leaf Fermenting in liquid

This insures the best possible outcome for nutrient density, storage capacities, as well as pathogenic scrubbing mycology via anaerobic bacteria, such as lactobacillus.  By using anthropoids in fermentation with chitinoclastic compounds, we can build our soil to feed the rhizosphere, and generate mycelium to assist in nutrient exchange rates, increased mycology, and water retention abilities.

What is Bug Frass?!

Demonstration of Bug frass fermentation blend microbiology

MAKE YOUR OWN!

How to make your own Lactobacillus

(college of tropical agriculture and human resources)

Homemade Lactobacillus Culture

How to make Fermented Extracts (FPJ, FFJ, FLJ)

(college of tropical agriculture and human resources)

Korean Farming Acronym’s 

• FPJ – Fermented Plant Juice
• FFJ – Fermented Fruit Juice
• FLJ – Fermented Leaf Juice
• LAB – Lactobacillus 

Fermented Tomato Extract

KOrganics Fermented Tomato is quite simple to generate:

1. Take 6 Pounds of fresh grown or organic tomatoes.
2. Squish in a 5-gallon, food safe plastic bucket, with 27 ounces of brown sugar
3. Cover with lid or place into mason jars, or a jar with valve on the bottom usually works best.
4. Let sit until complete separation of liquid, and tomato pulp as seen above.
5. After 5 or 7 days, strain liquid into mason jar.

Tip: recommence fermentation material into a smaller vessel or throw pulp into compost. 

6. Add ½ brown sugar when begins to smell acidic, or over saturate the medium with sugar for long term storage. Store in a cool dark place and keep lid semi tight but not completely secured.

Since we are now heading into the spring season and growing is on our minds, it’s important to start adding these mediums into the soil. The steps I conduct are as follows:

1. Generate Biochar
2. Generate a LAB solution (click link above, takes 5-7 days utilizing rice wash and milk)
3. To create a Germination soil blend, Mix 6 OZ of LAB with 1 pound of biochar (preferably fine grain char) and 3 pounds of sterilized soil for the germination mix. TIP: you can also generate a spinach ferment to assist in germination add 6 oz to sterilized soil, SEE FPJ guide above
4. When plants are germinating, now is a good time to generate the soil amendment for your garden and for transplants. For measurement’s sake, we will use a 5-gallon bucket in the example below.

How to Create Soil Amendment for your Garden and for transplants.

1. Ferment mediums of the ½ cup Tomato Juice Extract, ½ gallon LAB serum, ½ gallon of mineral water, with 1 pound of manure and/or with bug frass, and when using both manures a 50:50. Wait 2-3 days and stir once a day in vortex fashion, without agitation. KEEP A LID ON THE BUCKET

TIP: You can use this first step fermented liquid as a top dress feed through the vegetative cycle. Dilute the mediums during various times of the season progresses. Apply this mix as early as seedlings become strong and established. Our recommendations for dilution throughout the season are      

1-4 weeks 1 part of mixture from step one above to  : 100 water??

4-8 weeks 1:5

8-16 weeks 1:2

16-20 weeks 1:50

20-24 weeks 1:500

24-28 weeks 1:1000

28-32 weeks – Cease application                

2. Utilize the biochar you generated and fill the five-gallon bucket with 1/2 volume of biochar.

TIP: Fine grade char works best by increasing its surface area.

3. Add fermented liquid to the biochar in the 5 gallon bucket
4. Mix Biochar and fermented medium until completely blended, let sit for one to three days, KEEP A LID ON THE BUCKET.

Starting at 3:51

Video: Above is a visual of a similar process, although it’s not exactly in the same order as the steps above it will give you a good idea of what to look for. 

5. After fermentation of biochar with our 1^st fermented medium, you can store in an animal feed style breathable bag. We usually twist the bags and place a rubber band around the twist to keep it tight, since we are storing this medium; but it can be used right away.
6. When we are planning on storing the inoculated char, let sit on top of the 5-gallon bucket to capture any juices after twisting the bag, as there will be some moisture that leaks out. This liquid can be diluted at 1:20 Ratio to be used as a top dress feed solution, great for no till.
7. If planning on using right after fermentation you can apply to soil by blending immediately.
8. We blend our inoculated medium at a 1:10 Ratio for transplant soil in potted or raised beds.
9. If using soil beds; build bed, add char at the 1:10 ratio, water soil beds in after construction, and let settle for 1 to 2 weeks, then transplant. You can also top feed the solution if using pulverized char, by soaking the char in more water making a slurry to then be applied to the sides or in-between pre-established plants via top dressing, agitate to suspend during application when using a pulverized wet application technique. 
10. Continue applying fermented liquids utilizing the ratios below and apply different ferments at different stages of plant development. I usually stop using frass or manure teas when the plant begins to show fruiting flowers as periodic applications of fermented mixtures of manures, and or frass, during vegetative cycles, will be stored and ready in root exudates to perform at optimal rates.
11. When flowering and or fruiting begins, switch to bloom stimulating compound teas, such as the banana ferment (listed below w/instructions and application rates), paulownia, apricot, plum, and spinach. You can also generate your own Cal–Mag solution.
12. To make cal-mag solution and for application ratios; click here
13. Towards the end of the fruiting stage, we halt all applications, and at this point we should have achieved a high brix rating, to obtain plants that resist pests, diseases, and powdery mildew.

TIP: You can generate foliar applications of these mediums which require heavy dilution at 1:1000 ratios, and further steps. You can obtain more of this type of information with a consultation by contacting us through our website or by phone.

Fermented Banana Extract

KOrganics Fermented Banana Ferment for flowering stage:  

1. Whole bananas work best, and left-over peels can be used to.
2. Gather 7 pounds of whole bananas and/or peels, cut into rounds, or chop peels into squares.
3. Mix 1 ½ pound of brown sugar aggressively, in a 5-gallon food safe bucket
4. Place mushy bananas into mason jars, leaving 1/3 of space on top for fermentation and separation 5. Screw lid on jars semi-tight
5. Wait for liquid and pulp to separate, takes 4 to 7 days
6. Use strainer and gather liquid on the bottom, then place into clean mason jars, semi-tighten lids.

Top dress Application FPJ:

1:500 during vegetative states, apply when watering.

1:700 or 1:000 during fruiting season, switch to Banana Ferment, apply during watering.

Top Dress Application Lactobacillus Serum (LAB):

1:50 for depleted or harsh soil, recommended to be used in tandem with biochar.

1:250 dilution for new bed preparation. 

1:500 for seedling and transplants. 

1:1000 during vegetative states, apply during watering.

1:2500 during fruiting or flowering.

TIP: Liquids should never have a foul smell to them. Fermented plant, fruit, and leaves should smell a bit alcoholic after they have undergone proper fermentation. Always keep ferments at a temperature of 60 to 90 degrees. If hotter, they may ferment to quick in my personal observation. LAB cultures should smell good, like cheese with a semi-sweetness to it. If it smells rank, you can compost the medium and try again.

Various Fermented Juices

TIP : When making fermented plant, leaf or fruit juice, one is not required to add half and half sugar to weight ratio of the material. Utilizing sugar assist’s extraction of chlorophyll and other plant compounds. Use the 50/50 sugar/plant ratio, only if planning on storing for a year or greater. The longer the liquid ferments the more bioactive it becomes. This also applies to the lactobacillus serum. 

For instance, Manda, a fermented food company in Japan, generates a 3–year extract that showcase’s this knowledge. 

When KOrganics creates FFJ (Fermented Fruit Juice) we add about 20-30% volume of sugar or 30/70 (plant / fruit / leaf) ratio. We then feed our ferments once a month, 5-10% sugar per volume. 

For example: 32 oz of liquid ferment will need 1/4 to  ½ cup of sugar per feeding.

Committing to this method will generate hungry and scavenging microbes, that work quickly once applied to soil. Sugar is expensive so we want to keep this expense minimal.   

When we feed the ferments sugar, it serves as a food source for the microbes living in the liquid, and to slow down the consumption of plant compounds locked within it, which isn’t always a bad thing if it does occur. If medium does turn acidic make sure to dilute 1:1000 before usage.  If you want long term storage, it’s best to saturate or utilize a species with a high glucose content. Brown or dark sugars will also produce a humic substance on the bottom from these fermentations, and some utilize molasses, of which I discovered isn’t very cheap and not cost effective for low-cost inputs. 

Also, certain ferments such as fruits or plant leaves, already come loaded with glucose, and therefore are not required to add excessive sugars, just a small amount goes a long way! It’s best to research each plant you ferment, to disclose the amount of pre-existing sugar that exists within the leaf, fruit, or plant. Utilizing research journals is an invaluable resource when undertaking these types of processes, or a quick google search. Therefore, KOrganics utilizes the paulownia tree.  It contains 23% of its net leaf weight as glucose. 2030% is what we are aiming for. The only other ingredient to begin the fermentation process is water. LOW-COST, high returns.

(Collecting Paulownia Leaves) www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gxiWPmwUPM

Fermentation of other mediums then give us the compounds to then utilize biochar to grow indigenous fungi and bacteria by means of capture. Capturing native species requires a bit of time and patience. 

Captured Airborne Yeast, fungi, and bacteria in wheat germ

The air we breathe and the ground we walk, is teaming with biology unique to the area each of us are dwelling within. Sour Dough can be used as an example, and certain mediums that are high in starches and carbohydrates, have an ability to capture these airborne and ground dwelling species, we then incorporate into the bio-char. KOrganics experiments with various methods and techniques from all over the globe.

We have learned that plants and trees growing in our vicinity, are best suited for this type of application via fermentation. At Bobs Biomass in Chowchilla, CA, we primarily utilize green material of the paulownia tree, which in itself is a carbon sequestering powerhouse, packed full of nutrients, proteins, microbes and fats, to load our biochar to amend San Joaquin Valley soil.

How to utilize the paulownia tree for microbial fermentation and various other usages

Another way to apply biochar is to just top dress an area you wish to regenerate or boost carbon values. Simply throwing biochar on the surface of the ground, without tilling, shanking, or ripping, will gradually work its way in the soil at a slow pace, utilizing gravity and natural moisture. Once spread, biochar will begin to inoculate itself just by being apart of the biome it surrounds and store up nutrients, and lock in harmful pollutants. When applied by this manner, the application won’t need to be soaked in a fertilized or fermented mix and will help alleviate soil compaction issues, while enhancing water retainment abilities over time. This type of application can be very effective for heavy machinery that operate in crop production fields.

Top dressing biochar works wonders

Our website: KOFrass.com, has accumulated the information regarding these alchemical reactions, and how biochar assists our efforts in this manner. By supplying a permanent home for these compounds, we can enrich the soil medium for decades. We are committed and have generated a warehouse that produces large volumes of bug frass, so others can obtain this biopolymer of great potential. We use this biopolymer because of its high value in chitin. Chitin is a primary budling block for the growth of mycelium, and cellular life. Frass also comes loaded with its own microbiology and nutrient density we unleash into the biochar. 

How to Biochar

A lot of what KOrganics does was acquired by studying and practicing JADAM “Korean Natural Farming” resources. Master Cho graciously supplied his knowledge that I highly recommend, to fully comprehend how these practices work, and to begin a journey not many are aware of. 

Korean Natural Farming Bible

Soil is an anaerobic environment, that many western farmers see as a bad thing. KOrganics goals are to restore a strong anaerobic culture to assist cleaning pollution, and to restore the hydraulics of our soil cycle. Teaming with life so small, it hardly gets noticed. Living in a disconnected and convenient age, has generated a separation of the basic principles of the seat we occupy.  Soil incompetence has generated a state of shock from a lack in knowledge.  Many beings comprehend these properties and many more are unaware. 

To add life, is to add sustenance by means of nourishment. We must embrace and encourage the soil, wherever our feet connect to the ground. As a species, we can tackle this monumental task, to become sustainable, to build a better future for those to come. During the decades of our agriculture pursuits of the modern age, soil has been mismanaged and misunderstood. The Latin word for soil is solium (“seat, chair; throne”). It is the seat of our existence on earth, and it’s our passion at KOrganics, that drives us to feed soil what it needs. 

3-year soil building no synthetics

Our company and constituents are open to all forms of communication, especially when it comes to innovation and collaboration. We are easy to reach. If you wish to learn more, please visit our forum. It’s free to sign up and can open discussions, or critique. We invite you to what we are trying to accomplish. Also, feel free to reach us at support@kofrass.com, or give us a call, or visit our YouTube channel. We offer consultations and engage in free public seminars, located in the Nevada City area in California, as well as neighboring communities. We also offer our products via our online store, if you wish to begin your own fermentations, and highly suggest starting your own fermentation projects today. Also, as a member of the biocharcoaliton.org, compels me to continue educating others on the multifaced usages of biochar. 

Focusing on a constructive path towards regeneration, our philosophy on plant biology is at the cutting edge of research, development, and sustainability. We understand we all share space and by spreading critical knowledge of how best to incorporate biochar, with or without fermented mediums, is something we want to see grow, like mycelium. 

KOrganics Mycelium induced Biochar

How to remove wildfire smoke from your home in California

*Republished from 2020

We’ve had a lot of smoke in our air from California wildfires recently. Smoke, like ozone and other air pollutants, can cause severe health problems. To know just how unhealthy the air is there are measurements made as well as forecasts and reports available to tell you just how bad the air actually is.

You can see the current air quality and AQI by following these links:

• www.aqicn.org/city/california/nevada/grass-valley-litton-building/
  • using Air Quality Index – AQI
• www.iqair.com/us/usa/california/grass-valley
  • using Air Quality Index – AQI
• www.mobile.arb.ca.gov/breathewell/grassvalley
  • using (μg/m³) of inhalable particles and ppb of ozone

Sometimes a bad air day is described as having a high ozone level, that’s especially common during the summer months in the Sierra Foothills. But when it comes to wildfires you’ll see the pollution level listed as PM2.5 and AQI (Air Quality Index). PM stands for “Particulate Matter”, small particles that can cause severe health problems if they get into your lungs, especially for certain groups. The 2.5 stands for the size of the particles in microns. A micron-sized particle is very very small, about 30 times smaller than a human hair. A PM2.5 day means the air has a high concentration of particulates that are 2.5 microns or smaller. About 90% of the smoke from wildfires is in that range, with most between 0.4 and 0.7.

Simply put –

When AQI is over 100 and…

If you are retrofitting your HVAC buy a MERV 13 or above square/rectangle filter insert. Or above an FPR 10 or an MPR of 1500 (be careful though, read why below).

If you are purifying a room, or office buy a HEPA rated purifier unit, not just a filter/ionizer.

If you are going to DYI, read part 2.

We rely on air filters in our home’s heating and air conditioning systems to capture dust, but are they effective at removing wildfire smoke? The answer is generally no, unless you have a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor) filter. But most systems have filters that only capture the larger dust particles, PM2.5 particles are much smaller. To filter smoke you’ll need a filter with a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Rating Value) of 13 to 16. Sometimes filters will have an FPR (Filter Performance Rating) or an MPR (Microparticle Performance Rating) instead. If that’s the case an FPR 10 or an MPR of 1500 is roughly comparable to a MERV 13.

A few words of caution. The higher the level of filtration the more difficult it is for your system’s fan to push air through the system. That can increase the energy use of your system, and less airflow means less cooling. As a result I’d suggest you use a less restrictive filter most of the time, keeping the smoke-filter ones on hand for smokey days. And even regular filters get gummed up over time, so it’s a good idea to check in on them regularly, comparing the used one to a new one to gauge about when to replace it.

*Some HVAC systems are not strong enough for a MERV 13 or higher filter and could cause expensive problems to your system. Consult a HVAC professional when changing your filter.

SEG Note: If you were thinking of getting a battery backup or generator installed by us, you will want to make sure you have power to the purifier wherever it will be plugged in. Aka, consider your air purifier as a critical backed up load.  Running your HVAC (air conditioner) on a battery or generator could deplete it’s power/gas quickly, therefore considering a stand alone, plugin HEPA filter that uses less energy would be a smart option in power outage situations and PSPS’s.

Read  – Part 2, HEPA Filters, DYI Air Purifiers, Effectiveness of House Plants and more on AQI and PM2.5 >>

 🐝 Save the Bees! 🐝

No bees. No food.

The honeybee holds ecological, economic and social importance. Bees contribute largely to the vital ecosystem service of pollination to our planet. Pollinators, like the honeybee, assist with keeping our agriculture alive and our ecosystem intact. Bee pollination promotes sustainable development by providing food security, biodiversity and many other benefits. 

Many of our crops would not exist if not pollinated by these precious and vital creatures. It is important for people to know where their food comes from, and be educated on the beneficiary qualities of bees and their products. Bees help to create sustainable food, self-reliance and food security within communities, and beekeepers play a large role in facilitating the process. 

However, the extensive decline in honeybees is dangerous at its present rate and if we do not make efforts now for change, it will be detrimental to our lives as we know it.

What’s currently happening with the bees?

We know that millions of bees are dying off at an alarming rate. The cause is Colony Collapse Disorder also known as CCD. CCD is the phenomenon of most worker bees disappearing from their hive and leaving their queen behind. Much research has been done about the cause of CCD. The most widely agreed upon reason is neonicotinoids. Or ‘neonics’ for short, are a family of pesticides which are in use in agriculture. 

Neonics bring down bees’ immunity and attack their nervous system, this causes the bees to be more defenseless against infections brought in by other insects to their hives. With their nervous system affected, we are seeing a large number fly away from the hive and not return because the sense of direction is essentially gone for them.

What’s Next?

If they die, they are taking us with them…

Government: 

The EPA has introduced a bill to ban these Bee-killing pesticides. This is a good start, but there is still a lot of work to do. 

You:

There are several ways you can help!

• Join the BAN-wagon: https://environmentamerica.webaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=19719&_ga=2.149082805.281111394.1522847163-93293442.1522847163
• Tell Amazon to Save the Bees: https://environmentamerica.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=43926&_ga=2.63330351.141849639.1620663092-1180232111.1617397089 
• Plant your own bee-friendly garden and avoid the use of pesticides!

• Support & Buy Local
  • Honey, fruits, vegetables, and Nuts!
    • Honey: www.sacramentobeekeeper.com 
    • Farmers Markets: https://www.farmtofork.com/taste-and-tour/farmers-markets/
  • Eat at Farm to Table Restaurants:
    • https://m.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Farm+To+Table&find_loc=Sacramento%2C+CA

More ways to help:

Beekeeping is a great way to help save the bees! 

Beekeeper holding a frame of honeycomb

What is beekeeping?

Keeping bees is a form of maintaining livestock.  This includes monitoring the hive for diseases and parasites.  Additionally, this entails protecting the bees from pests and the elements of nature.

During hive inspections, we need to assess the health of the queen and the overall health of the hive by ensuring that they have an adequate food supply.  If they do not, we can supplement them with pollen substitutes and syrup with beneficial enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.

We use organic compounds such as Oxalic Acid and Formic Acid to combat parasites such as Varroa mites.  We maintain the woodware and keep boxes in good shape to keep out the wind and rain.  The more work we can do for the bees, the more they can do for us by giving them less of a workload in housekeeping and more time focused on foraging and caring for developing young bees.

How is beekeeping sustainable?

Beekeeping itself is sustainable due to the fact that honeybees are the only altruistic animal by nature.  They don’t need to consume or kill anything to survive.  In fact they do the opposite, in the process of foraging for nectar and pollen the honeybees pollinate millions upon millions of flowers creating the next generation of plants that help feed us and clean our air.  

Beekeeping is also sustainable by the sheer amount of swarms that are cast each year by healthy established hives.  As beekeepers we are able to relocate swarms from locations where they might not survive to an apiary where we can monitor and care for them.  This allows us to maintain more hives going into winter which we can use to replace any hives lost during winter.

Sustainable beekeepers are attentive and active in maintaining hive health while mirroring their natural cycle of life. Bees make optimal use of their resources in their local area and environment.  Makes sense that we reciprocate that in caring for them.

Using locally adapted bees will have a much better performance than imported bees, as the local bees are acclimated to the local weather and pest/disease pressure.  

Why is beekeeping important?

Honey bees account for a massive amount of food that humans and other animals consume; fruit, flowers, nuts, and vegetables.

Commercial beekeepers transport hives all over the country to pollinate farms, orchards, and greenhouses to produce food that we rely on.   If the honey bees die, we will not have access to enough healthy food and would be reliant on grains, roots, and wind pollinated plants. 

We would be stuck eating corn, wheat, and rice based diets.

Biodiversity among plants is important for their survival to overcome an ever changing landscape, and without honeybees a large portion of the plants would begin to decline leading to loss of food and habitat for animals, as well as erosion control for hillsides and naturally graded areas.  

Bees and plants are codependent on each other.  They need flowers for food, and the plants need the bees to be able to pass on genes to create the next generation. 

Why should you Beekeep?

Beekeeping is rewarding and sustainable.  It also allows you to make a big impact on the world around you.  The honey can be used in culinary applications to replace synthetic sweeteners.  The honey can also be used in cosmetics and salves.

It is a very therapeutic practice watching, listening, and smelling the bees to understand what they are doing at any particular time.  

If you have a vegetable garden you will see an increase in pollination, which means more food to go on your table. 

Growing your own food is like printing your own money. 

Every flower on the squash plant is one squash you won’t need to purchase at the grocery store or farmers market.  Honey is also a commodity which can be sold, traded, or stored to make bread, put in tea/coffee, or cheese plates.  Honey is non-perishable and will never go bad if stored airtight.  

In closing, beekeeping is very rewarding and it is a highly sustainable practice if  we learn to march to the bees cadence. The thing about sustainability is, you have to sustain it.  This means the bees rely on you as much as you do on them. Like any relationship, the best part is when both parties are happy.  

About the contributors:

Bee Marie

BEE is an environmental artist. Making music to save the bees and create a platform to speak about environmental issues, solutions and sustainability. She has a degree in Environmental Studies & Sustainability and an apprenticeship with Blake Dacy in beekeeping. 

Listen Here: www.youtube.com/thebeemusic1?sub_confirmation=1 

Blake Dacy

Blake Dacy is the founder and lead beekeeper of Sacramento Beekeeper. He is a Sacramento native who loves educating the community about honey bees and their role in our crops and health. He has extensive knowledge and expertise in beekeeping and agricultural practices.  Proudly serving the greater Sacramento Area, Sierra Foothills, and surrounding areas for beehive removals, swarm rescues, honey sales, and beekeeping education. 

Please visit www.sacramentobeekeeper.com 

Intern Liz Journal #2: Are We an Invasive Species?

Hello! Intern Liz is back for journal #2 :D! In this article, I figured I’d tap into my life and ideas a little more. If you missed #1, here’s a link: Meet Intern Liz.

All my life I’ve been fascinated by the sciences, I love observing the world around us, and then questioning it. This week, I want to show you why I think it’s important to question things.

In my apartment complex we have lots of trees (woohoo), but I noticed something off about one of our pine tree groups. Some trees had  a lot of brown on their tops. Some people might think, “Oh ok, the trees are just dying, it’s natural.” But after everything I have been learning in Sierra College, I could not be satisfied with a statement so simple. I asked myself, “WHY are these pine trees dying?”.

With my interest peaked, I stared and examined them, until I noticed that the brown wasn’t just on one of the trees, it looked like it was spreading from tree to tree. One tree had more brown than the others, and the brown on the tree next to it had it in the spot where they touched. I considered why it could look like this; was it just a coincidence, or was something causing this? I finally concluded that maybe these trees have a disease that they’re spreading, a disease that is completely changing these trees’ lives.

After doing some research, I found that this is caused by the Western Pine Beetle. Even though it is not a disease, it is still something that often gets overlooked when we see a dying tree. The beetle was greatly affects these trees.

 *My image on top, on bottom an image from UCANR

This concept reminded me of what I’m noticing about our planet as a whole.

I think we are acting like an invasive species to our Earth, but it’s not getting noticed.

Our planet is like those pine trees; dying because of one single species. I see that, like the Western Pine Beetle, we are taking out forests patch by patch. I think we are invading into places where we don’t belong.  

I feel like we continue to take and take and take, but not give back enough. Don’t get me wrong, there ARE many who do give back, but I don’t think we’re matching what we take. I don’t think there’s enough of us giving back.

I found that what I like to do is ask why something is the way it is, then ask what can I do to try and help. What small change can I make? One of my favorite statements that I’ve heard is, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito”. For me, I view my journal posts as one of the things I can do to can make a difference, help spark and idea in someone else to look at what are doing a little deeper. :)

I understand that my journals will not be seen by the entire world, nor even the entire state, or even an entire county! But I am happy knowing that even one person can read this and possibly gain insight, fresh ideas and thoughts.

I hope my journals can be like that first light bulb in the picture above; ready to spread new light. This is one of my small ways that I think can help our planet, one of my pieces to the overall puzzle.

What are some pieces you can add to the puzzle?

Here’s what I encourage my friends to do:

• Support and promote clean energy solutions like solar
• Encourage the purchase of energy efficient appliances
• Walk to places that are under a 5 minute drive
• Reuse/ repurpose items
• Save water by turning it off as you clean dishes, scrub hands, or brush teeth
• Self sustain by gardening or raising your own livestock (like chickens)
• Composting
• Most of all, to take a few minutes out of your day to learn ways and to give back

In conclusion, thank you for reading my insights on a question that comes up often in my thoughts. Are we, as humans an invasive species?  Are we like the pine beetle taking until there is none left?

While I ponder this question I will try and put my piece of the puzzle into place by spreading views and ideas, from my point of view. 

Again I ask, what are some pieces you can add to the puzzle?

Follow us on our Socials and subscribe to our newsletter to read my next journal entry where I will share some more thoughts on what I have been thinking about and learning at my time as a student intern at SEG.