The Refuge Permaculture Center
At Tara Farm and Nursery
Category: Seasons
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A Cozy Read:The Refuge Permaculture Newsletter
Did you receive your email copy of The Refuge Permaculture Newsletter yesterday? No? I would be very pleased to add you to my secure email list and send you a copy. “Enlightening” may be a bit hopeful on my part, but “informative”, “supportive”, “interesting” work just fine. Send an email to tarafarmandnursery@gmail.com with “Newsletter” in
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Soil Sutra 1: “…bird by bird, I have come to know the earth…” ~ Pablo Neruda
“I am here because you are here.” Every morning and any time I get too wrapped up in my head or with the human comedy and drama. Sometimes lie down right on the dirt in the garden. And I rest there for a few minutes. My agreement with the planet. Dirt, soil, earth first. Let’s
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Notes from the Kowshed…2025.05.28
…a sweet morning walk in the rain. But what about that rain?… …mindfulness … but not too full…
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Are You Among the Super Smart Earth-Life Folks?
Many, many of you have asked if you should “prune the dead raspberry canes” in your garden. Congratulations – no joke: If you have asked this question you are among the smartest ‘earth life’ folks out there! Why? When you saw the ‘dead’ canes you stopped because something didnt feel quite right about pruning them
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Special Order Plants: Just Breathe…. Elderberry for Heart and Respiration
From the rich, deep blue-black of the ripe berries to jam simmering on the stove…from full, lacy umbrellas of tiny, creamy white flowers steeped for tea, this native is so beautiful in texture and color and grows amazingly well even in the Wyoming salty clay soil. The Elderberry shrub is native to the entire northern
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Simplify Spring Activity: Mulch
Our part in garden life is to bring together the conditions necessary to maintain or improve the living beings there – plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, microbes, and us. When the plants are big enough, they provide their own winter blanket…falling leaves. Mulch: maintains soil moisture; insulates the earth above the roots from weather extremes;
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Closer and Closer: Seeds for Spring 2025 -Sainfoin
The raspberry patch is so packed full of plants that it is difficult to open the soil for restoration. And the grape vines have been producing so heavily the last few years it clearly is time to do something other than lay compost or mulch on top of the soil. Some research and some conversation
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Autumn Color and So Much More…
Love this Fragrant Sumac in a hedge, windbreak or mixed into a #foodforest for deep green summer leaves, pollinator and bird shelter, luscious fall colors, and holiday decoration of fuzzy dark red berry bunches through winter (winter bird food and shelter in dense branches as well.) These berries are also dried and ground as a
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Bean Harvest Sutra Three: The Kitchen Stove
1. Take a minute to remember someone long ago who made the whole house, any house, smell like home. This was done with simple, real, fresh cooking. I see my Grandma Church basting the Thanksgiving turkey. But we will be stuffing squash.2. Plan for a whole day of cooking. Plan the music or podcast or
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NEW SHORT COURSE for Fall 2024 Finding a Refuge in the Wind: What Is Permaculture & Dirt to Earth Natural Soil Improvement
The best start for your Spring garden is your Autumn work. Please join me on Saturday, October 19, 2024 from 10:00am to 2:00pm at Fort Caspar Museum Meeting Room Casper Wyoming, for two brief introductions to the nature-based garden practice of Permaculture. Drawing on my training and research, but more from my experience applying that
The Refuge Permaculture Center 