Permaculture Soil Management

Check out these videos which cover the basics of soil management. Topics covered include soil texture, soil structure, soil organic matter, cover crops, mulches, and compost.

Part 1 http://youtu.be/OGkHIF9lTYw

Part 2 http://youtu.be/zhEcc7NZjz0

Part 2.5 http://youtu.be/IRahA4nMkdw

Part 3 http://youtu.be/BT72ujSHOv4

Part 4 http://youtu.be/tHIip2oJbvU


Resources

Teaming with microbes: The organic gardeners guide to the soil food web. Revised Edition. by. Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis.

The Holistic Orchard: Tree fruits and vegetables the biological way. by Michael Phillips.

The Humanure Handbook: A guide to composting human manure. by Joseph Jenkins.

Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological design and practice for temperate climate permaculture. by. Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier

Biogas Basics

Biogas Basics

Brian Luedtke

With fermentation technology known about for hundreds, if not thousands of years, we are just now recognizing the potential of biogas. “Enough biogas could be generated in Wisconsin to power about one-third of the state.” said Erik Singsaas, Director of Research for the Wisconsin Institute of Sustainable Technology and associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. In comparison 60 percent of Wisconsin's electricity currently comes from coal shipped in from out of state. The remaining 40 percent is made up by nuclear power, natural gas and renewable energies like hydro-electric, wind, solar and biomass gasification.

What is biogas?

Biogas is the result of the conversion of waste products in an oxygen lacking (anaerobic) environment to a gas comprised mainly of carbon dioxide and methane with small, varying amounts of water vapor, hydrogen sulfide and possibly ammonia. This process is commonly referred to as anaerobic digestion. Biogas is very similar to natural gas in that methane is a major component of both.

The use of Biogas decreases greenhouse gas emissions by capturing and combusting methane, releasing carbon dioxide instead. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, methane is roughly 21 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Across the U.S., commercial waste diversion through anaerobic digestion and composting is becoming a popular practice (catching up with other countries like India, China and parts of Central America and Africa). As an example, San Jose, California will have source-separated organic waste collection which runs on self-produced energy from biogas and sells a finished product, compost and electricity, while collecting a tipping fee. This is the first large scale green energy and municipal solid waste compost facility of its kind in the United States. Several municipalities around the country and world are considering, if not already planning or building, this type of system; renewable energy from organics recycling.

Biogas can be used in several ways.

1. Electricity

A Bloom Energy Server® is a 100 kilo Watt fuel cell which turns natural gas or biogas into electricity through a combustion free electro-chemical process. The energy Servers® are about the size of one parking space and can be linked in series, that is, connected together to reach a desired output.

Biogas can also be combusted in slightly modified internal combustion engines to generate electricity and heat. The latter can be used to heat air for offices and warehouses or water for greenhouse and dwelling type applications. In fact, the Stevens Point wastewater facility combusted methane generated in their anaerobic digester for electricity generation from the 1940's to the 1960's.

2. Fuel

Fair Oaks Farms of Fair Oaks, Indiana has rolled out a fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) powered milk tanker trucks. The trucks will run on biogas created at the Fair Oaks Dairy anaerobic digester which is capable of processing manure from 10,500 cows. Their switch alone will reduce their diesel fuel consumption by more than 1.5 million gallons per year.

3. Fertilizer

Aside from producing biogas, anaerobic digestion results in a liquid, known as supernatant, and a sludge. The liquid is often used as a fertilizer, while the sludge is commonly composted or dried and pellitized, or both, then used as a soil amendment or potting mix.

Wisconsin and biogas, a story of destiny

Wisconsin, host of the 11^th Annual Biocycle Conference on renewable Energy, is among the leaders in the biogas realm. Anaerobic digesters are appearing at feedlots and dairies across the state. Even Ben Brancel, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, has voiced support for biogas and an increase in renewable energy production in the state.

Biogas is not something that is simply casually passed or played off as a squeaky chair, shoe or weird new shampoo. Biogas is a real fuel, created by responsibly managing real waste. Whether whey from cheese production, manure from cattle, brewery mash or food scraps, the end product is locally usable and producible with environmental benefits at all scales.

Four words worth understanding

Words like sustainability and diversity can only mean so much when their definitions are often different between two people. How can we be sustainable if we do not understand and agree upon what sustainability really is?

Sustainability

Sustainability in its simplest form is the ability to sustain. Sustain means to preserve, remain, stand-fast, hold position, or maintain current conditions. So really, sustainability is the ability to self-maintain. From that perspective sustainability can not stand alone, it must describe something else.

Proponents of sustainability have decided that society, at present, is not sustainable. Insisting that instead of being conquerers we should be caretakers. As conquers of Earth humans will perish. But as caretakers of Earth the human race can continue into the future. To be a caretaker we must first be sustainable. However, what that actually entails is often overlooked.

Sustainable measures may include the buying up of forest and prime croplands in Central and South America and Africa for production of bioenergy crops. This displaces thousands of indigenous peoples who lose their homes and ways of life to profit-seeking foreign investors while decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels.

Is this a good thing? Is the benefit of mass producing cheap bioenergy crops worth more than the destruction of self-sustainable communities?

Compare that sustainable quagmire with this one. Often people decide to ride their bike or walk places when they could have taken their automobile. What they do not realize is that because they are using their automobile less, it incurs less wear and tear and uses less gas than normal. Leading to fewer trips to the gas station and mechanic. This pulls money and jobs out of the community as less money is spent and fewer workers are needed to satisfy demand. Of course, by not driving that automobile greenhouse gas emissions are reduced as well as vehicle related expenses and doctor office visits (because of the health benefits of regular exercise and car related incidents).

While global, local and environmental sustainability are benefited, global and local economic sustainability are negatively affected. The person making the decision to walk instead of drive improves their economic sustainability. Their decision affects more than just them. Thus, it is paramount to understand the context when discussing or making decisions about the sustainability of anything, anywhere or anyone.

Diversity

Diversity, like Will Ferrel says in the movie Anchorman, may have been an “Old, old wooden ship.” but the word and concept likely came from elsewhere. Diversity is often used in the field of ecology where it is a measure of both evenness (the distribution of populations relative to each other. ex. For five apples and seven oranges, apples make up 42 percent of the total population and oranges 58 percent, therefore the evenness is fairly uniform) and richness (the total number of players. ex. For the apple-orange scenario the richness would be two).

A community with lots of primary producers (the 99 percent) and a few dominating individuals (the 1 percent) is not diverse. A community of many individuals distributed along the entire hierarchy (a greater than two class system) is diverse. The more diverse a situation the more resistant it is to change and failure.

The term diversity is also used in business. Just like in nature, the greater the diversity of investments (placement of eggs), the more eggs in different baskets, the less likely all the eggs will be destroyed by the collapse of one basket.

Permaculture

Permaculture is a word less widely known and understood than sustainability or diversity. The word comes from the combination of permanent and agriculture, which is what it means. One should view permaculture as a system with minimum inputs and non-degrative outputs. A system which assimilates and recycles wastes and serves multiple purposes. This system does not require intensive (cost and labor) up keep and continuously improves. Permaculture is a business model and a way of life. In permaculture the system does the work while one simply enjoys the benefits. Permaculture is attainable at any size and scale.

Tomorrow

What is today but tomorrows yesterday? If we are always passing something off saying we will do it tomorrow nothing will ever happen because tomorrow does not exist without today. Today will soon be over and tomorrow will be today. Do not treat tomorrow as though it is the untouchable future, instead treat tomorrow as you would today: embrace it, love it and live in it.

Four Words

Separately these words sustainability, diversity, permaculture and tomorrow are all concepts. When put together, used properly and integrated into our daily lives they mean a whole lot more. Sustainability means taking care of our environment through sound social and economical practices. Diversity means bolstering a wide array of distributed yet sustainable populations, ideas and practices. Permaculture is sustainable agriculture which utilizes diversity to produce food, fuel and fiber for the inhabitants of tomorrow. Tomorrow does not exist without today. We must act today for those of tomorrow. These words, when applied, transform us from conquerers of Earth to caretakers of our planet.