Wantonamara = Mara ? LOL...Yep. I am highly questionable. I am also very bad with remembering names in real life and not very organized like y'all with your list. Whoa , I am impressed . I usually callpeople by their handles because I never know who is sensitive about having their name displayed online. I have irritated a fiend by posting her by his name and he did not like it so I go by that rule usually unless it has been in common usage.

Bon, In your case with the open top container, I would put fish in the tank. Even if gold fish is all you can afford, they will take care of the mosquito larvae. Bird poop, that's a good thing. Soap may be hard to rinse out, but I think it can be done. If your water could run through a tank of sand on it's way to the garden, I would think it would remove most things. I think most things coming off the roof are going to end up in the ground anyway, so short of lead, it probably isn't going to matter. While I wouldn't like roof particles in my garden beds, in the long run it probably isn't going to hurt the soil. After all, it came from the earth originally. This is a quote from an article written by Geoff Lawton who teaches and designs restoration projects all over the world. The Bill Mollison that he speaks of is "the King" of permaculture, and wrote the book that has become the permaculture 'Bible'. Here is the quote: "We also looked at the spraying of oil residues and oil waste products over sand dunes which is a system proposed by Bill Mollison in the first Gulf War in Kuwait, where oil wells that were destroyed and were causing a lot of pollution across the landscape. These oil residues and surplus oil waste products can be used to spray sand dunes after they have been seeded to rehabilitation species and pioneer sand dune stabilisation species." I am not suggesting that it would be safe for food, but in the long term it was removed from the earth and returned to the earth so I wouldn't be concerned about what falls off the roof onto the ground, but I wouldn't want it directly on my food plants unless it was run through a filtering area first.

Thanks so much, everyone. I'm really impressed with the quality of advice you've given me. I'm not sure how to respond to each person individually in this forum. I don't see a reply to after each post, only this follow-up. So thanks to each of you individually. Certainly a lot to think about. I suspected that the fruit tree idea was pie in the sky thinking. (I was already making pies with the fruit before I even planted the trees.) My sister-in-law said the same thing about the one good harvest every three years in OK. That’s too bad. Dawn, your extensive feedback is extremely appreciated. Love the joke. Why does everything I want to do happen to be something I'll probably lose money doing? I have downloaded some things from OSU in the past. Perhaps what I need to do this August is not to plant anything but just get some experts out like the Land Doctors (thx LCDollar) or people from OSU to give me a clear direction. The land has historically had a lot of water. There is a creek that runs through it. My dad said that somebody from the State came out at one point and told him that a lot of it is wetlands. I think he was not allowed to put a pond on it for that reason, and that may limit my options. There are one or two wells out there that seem to be quite full. It’s been in my mother’s family for close to 100 years now. My parents took it over so that they could see it stay together, but it’s becoming more of a liability than anything, especially as they get older. I’m going to be researching permaculture for sure. There’s a place in Oregon that offers courses in permaculture, so I may do something like that. I’ll also look into things like indoor Tilapia farming, worm farming, chickens, rabbits, cattle, pigs, etc. You-pick farming. Anything I can think of that might make it possible for me to live on (and off of) the land! Again, thanks for the help and the welcome. Randy

March 16-27, 2015 At Kashi Ashram, 11155 Roseland Road, Sebastian FL 32958 Cost, includes 3 meals a day and yoga $1300- camping $1550- dorm $1700- semi private room $1900- private room & private bath You can also come for one day or two day intensives. Details of the course are below (food included, no certificate included) 1-day intensive � $135 2-day intensive � $260 (camping included) A permaculture design course (PDC) is an internationally recognized curriculum, teaching people around the world methods of environmental stewardship and community-based self-reliance. The permaculture philosophy teaches a system of co-habitation between people and the earth, advocating a healthy future for both. The course teaches people to employ the earth�s regenerative ecosystems services without exploiting and depleting its finite natural resources. Meet the Instructors Eric Phillips is a permaculture instructor and previous renewable energy professional for 12 years. After his initial PDC and water harvesting education in Arizona he traveled to Austrailia to study under world renowned permaculture instructor Geoff Lawton. There he spent over 2 months at Zaytuna Farm where he took a second full PDC, a course in Urban Permaculture and went on to earn his Teacher Training Certificate. For the past two years, Eric has enjoyed teaching and working with Sustainable Kashi year round. His passions are food forests, tropical fruit trees and sustainable communities. Soo Se Cho is a certified permaculturalist that grew up on Kashi. He has a deep connection to the land and community. He is a year round educator, farmer, and co-founder of Sustainable Kashi. He is passionate about finding local resources to build systems that will feed the generations to come. Peter Turner is a Florida native who grew up in Indian River County. He holds a bachelors degree from the University of North Florida in history and he obtained his PDC from Koreen Brennan. . Before co-founding Sustainable Kashi, Peter worked as a chef and a high school teacher. Growing up in the Boy Scouts, Peter spent every weekend outside. He considers himself an avid outdoorsman and enjoys doing everything from fishing hiking kayaking and scuba diving.Whether giving a lecture or a form to work his enthusiasm pervades all he does! TESTIMONIALS FROM Previous PDC "If you are tired of life in the fast lane, and want to slow down and be in an incredibly beautiful and scenic outdoor setting, Kashi is the place to visit. learn what life can be like when you are surrounded by kindness, generosity, and caring people. Working with earth and caring for its needs in a beautiful setting is what Sustainable Kashi can offer as it seeks to educate people on a better way to grow food and care for the earth" - Susan K. " Kashi is a lovely welcoming place to visit. The grounds, woodlands, and gardens vibrate with spirit. The meals served were healthy, delicious, and provided adequate variety over the course of my 12 day stay." -Adina L. " I had a most wonderful stay at Sustainable Kashi these past 2 weeks. What a Gem! So peaceful, so rejuvenating, so friendly. A sanctuary of serenity has been created by Ma, its spiritual leader for 35 years. I had the chance to be part of a permaculture class here given by Koreen, and I want to thoroughly recommend this experience to anyone who values what nature gives us." -JP To get more information or reserve your space please visit out website http://www.sustainablekashi.com Find us on facebook! Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Permaculture Design Course