Felted slippers (finally!)

Posted on 2022-11-16 11:38:00+01:00 in blog • Written by Arno Peters

Two weeks ago I finally managed to complete the felted slippers we started almost four years ago at the Permacultuur Festival (2019) in Belgium. Even though they came out a bit rough, they are quite comfortable to wear. We found them to work exceptionally well in plastic clogs.

Yesterday I …


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Pseudo olives

Posted on 2022-11-03 11:25:00+01:00 in recipes • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with experiment, harvest, recipe, season: summer

Ina found an interesting video on YouTube a while ago that talked about turning the cherries from Cornus mas (European cornel / gele kornoeille) into something resembling olives.

We have discovered three Cornus mas in the park nearby. This year the trees had a mast year. Naturally we decided to try …


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Contemplation on money

Posted on 2022-09-07 02:54:00+02:00 in contemplation • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with contemplation, money, global economy

Let's start with some basic questions:

  • What is money?
  • What does it represent?
  • Why is a bank note in my wallet different from a candy wrapper? They're both colored pieces of paper and yet we treat them differently.

What is money?

In today's culture, there is the understanding that if …


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Apple Vinegar

Posted on 2022-08-19 09:55:00+02:00 in recipes • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with experiment, harvest, recipe, season: summer

This month I made another batch of apple vinegar. I had harvested a few apples from my mother's front yard. They had fallen down and were brown and desseccated in the middle. The tree had rejected them as viable seeds because of this. The outer part was still usable to …


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Sheepskin with felted back

Posted on 2022-08-04 16:48:00+02:00 in blog • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with experiment, season: summer, felting, wool

We did an experiment with felting a back to a recently shaved fleece. The wool came from a Ouessant sheep. Below is a photo series on how we created a sheepskin without having to kill a sheep.

Preparing the fleece

The fleece we started with; fully detached from the sheep.

We mostly followed …


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Harvesting Nettle Seeds

Posted on 2022-07-26 11:31:00+02:00 in blog • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with experiment, season: summer

Let's start with a question I get every time I say that I collect nettle seeds: "Why?" Well, for sowing, of course! ;-) ... and other uses. So, why would you want to collect nettle seeds? Here are a few reasons (Source):

  • nettles are a source of minerals: they contain iron, calcium …

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PASTE survey for the backyard (2022)

Posted on 2022-06-07 20:00:00+02:00 in surveys • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with permaculture, survey, backyard, site information, PASTE, DAFOR(N)

This survey is for a revision of the design for the backyard.

The extra information for each plant is derived from the following sources:

Plants

DAFOR(N)

Dominant

  • Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca (mirabelle plum / mirabel)
    • only …

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Human body energy requirement

Posted on 2022-06-02 21:24:00+02:00 in blog • Written by Arno Peters

Recently I got asked about about creating a garden with the specific aim of keeping starvation at bay. I came to the conclusion you need crops that contain at least sufficient calories to keep you going. So starchy, sugary, oily or protein rich.

Check out the table on the Potato …


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PASTE survey allotment garden (2022)

Posted on 2022-05-20 21:00:00+02:00 in surveys • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with permaculture, survey, PASTE, garden design, Eindhoven, season: summer

Starting from 2018-09-01, Ina and I have rented an allotment at an association nearby. This survey lists the different species discovered in May 2022. For comparison, last year ago I did the same thing.

This list is part of the ongoing design for the allotment garden.

Plants

  • Achillea millefolium (common …

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Journal of work in Proeftuin Meerhoven in 2021

Posted on 2022-01-08 20:52:00+01:00 in blog • Written by Arno Peters • Tagged with survey, practical, season: spring, season: summer, season: fall, season: winter

Since mid 2017 I have been involved with gardening at the Proeftuin Meerhoven in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. This is a community garden maintained by volunteers in the neighborhood adjoining ours. We use the space with approval from the local council. The harvest from this garden has supplemented our lunches and …


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