ABC acres, llc Now Hiring: FARM MANAGER ABC acres, a Permaculture Farmstead in Hamilton, Montana, is currently reviewing applications, along with letters of introduction, for the hiring of a new Farm Manager to commence employment February 2017. Those interested for consideration in the Farm Manager position are asked to submit all correspondence via email to [email protected] . We will be [...]
Last week, I mentioned that this time of year offers less physical work with its accompanying busy hands, allowing for more contemplative and planning endeavors instead. Well, I was wrong! The expectations for the week were quickly buried under the falling snow, and the resulting unseen tasks associated with it. All the snow that made for a lovely white Christmas also [...]
"Permaculture gives us a toolkit for moving from a culture of fear and scarcity to one of love and abundance." -Toby Hemenway The winter solstice, with its corresponding shortest length of daylight and longest period of night came and went this week, marking the official first day of winter by calendar. However, our winter began a couple weeks prior, for [...]
While we took a bit of a hiatus from blogging due to numerous projects demanding our attention, we will now be restarting with a slightly different format. Instead of our more straight educationally-minded blog articles of times past, we will be doing somewhat of a, "week in review," giving readers a glimpse into the happenings here at ABC acres, which [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLUz3bYrGWA We do not believe in lazy, pampered livestock here at ABC acres. We care for our animals, to be sure, while at the same time managing them in a way where the relational benefits are not merely one-way. From our cattle moving daily into their new paddocks to our pigs rotating through and tilling the ground for us to [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6epzwAVMao In our regenerative, permaculture designed system, we have planted a great number and diversity of plants for a variety of purposes and functions on this in-process Permaculture Farmstead here at ABC acres. One such plant being comfrey, which is nearly a must-have for any permaculture property for its many uses and benefits. Comfrey dynamically accumulates minerals from the subsoil [...]
https://youtu.be/V3ODn-0yKMM Trash, garbage, waste, junk… what do these words mean to you? It is a rather ambiguous word, as they say, ‘One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure’. In Permaculture circles, we are taught to observe our surroundings, looking for opportunity to aid in growth by inserting thoughtful design to create vitality and abundance. It goes without saying that in [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ09veTuMd8 I have discovered few flavors finer than ripe Montana huckleberries fresh off the bush when the little juicy gems are in season here in, “The Treasure State.” The experience is further enriched by the fact that huckleberries grow out in the wild, and one must seek them out, keeping in rhythm with the seasons, and capturing the opportunity to [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L431y2PY17I "Everything gardens," is a principle that Bill Mollison shares in Permaculture: A Designer's Manual. It speaks to the inevitability of all things having an impact on the land through their respective processes of living and dying on this earth. While many of mankind have become increasingly disconnected from the natural world and how their decisions interact with and affect [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-2j5dk1MJc It has been said that, “a weed is a plant out of place.” Standard practice is to spray these plants with herbicides, which have all manner of negative impacts to both the environment and human health. In permaculture, we tend to value plants typically thought of as weeds for their ecological benefits and their oftentimes nutritional and/or medicinal virtues [...]
