The Verge Blog
Composting the Easy Way: Six Tips for No-Sweat Success
Work is a Failure in Design – it’s a motto I use again and again, and it’s especially true when you look at composting. The common problems that gardeners struggle with are usually red flags, signalling problems in design. Let’s take a look at some of the ways a little strategic planning can [...]
Three Simple Steps to Overcome Permaculture Design Overwhelm
(A Quick Summary of Rob Avis’ in-depth article on Mainframe Design, published in Permaculture Magazine) When you’re face to face with your new property, how can you set priorities in beginning your permaculture design? What’s most important, and how do you determine what comes next? These [...]
How to Build an Epic Permaculture garden
Imagine a garden where every plant, insect, and drop of water plays a vital role in a vibrant ecosystem. This is the heart of an epic permaculture garden, a space that transcends traditional gardening to become a symphony of nature. Here, you’re not just a gardener; you’re an [...]
Verge Permaculture Merges with 5th World to Enhance Sustainability Education & Regenerative Agriculture Solutions
Verge Permaculture, a leading provider of practical and useful educational courses for permaculture design and sustainability, has announced its merger with 5th World, a renowned consulting firm specializing in land regeneration, renewable energy greenhouse design, and construction, and [...]
How Rainwater Cisterns Filter Water
One of the fascinating concepts in biology is the microbial infallibility hypothesis. In his 1951 textbook, British microbiologist Ernest Gale put forward a hypothesis which stated: “If there is energy to be gained from a compound, a microorganism will figure out how to extract it and [...]
Why Build a Permaculture Property Part I
If there was ever a time to add Permaculture to your property, it is now: whether you plan to buy a new piece, rural or urban, and transform it, or to redesign the property you have. The last three years have begun to show the follies of globalization, just-in-time shipping and inventory [...]
Why Build a Permaculture Property, Part II – Energy
In my last post, we saw how a century-long trend of hyper-specialization has led us to where we are today, which has come with many benefits and tradeoffs. One of those tradeoffs is a false sense of security. In this post and the next, we will look at some of the many hidden risks in […]
Why Build a Permaculture Property Part III – Food, Water, Waste, & Shelter
In my last post, we looked at the hidden risks in one crucial system of human civilization – energy – and how those risks could undermine the entire house of cards within a decade or two. In this post, we’ll be looking at four of the other critical systems of our society – food, [...]
Building Our Permaculture Chicken Tractor
By Kate Fulmore Happy, healthy chickens, cows, and sheep – flavorful, nutritious eggs – fertile soil – with benefits like these, we’ve wanted to adopt Joel Salatin’s amazing methods for pasture-raised eggs for a while now. And we’ve just completed the construction of our [...]
Rob Avis appearing on Jill Winger’s – Old Fashioned on Purpose podcast
When the Problem Becomes the Solution When Jill invited Rob to come on the podcast, she thought they would be talking about food forests and garden design. Little did she know they would be diving into: guilt around existence, how to use problems as a roadmap to solutions, and strategies for [...]
Preparing for Extreme Winters with Intensive Straw Mulching
When your farm is located, like ours, in a zone 3B spot challenged by wind, drought, erosion, and cold, protecting the soil and collecting water become major concerns. And so we’ve settled on the intensive hay-mulching method developed by Ruth Stout, and the experiment is paying off! We’ve [...]
Using Google Earth Pro for Your Permaculture Design
During my second semester of grade 11, I had the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and finish off that semester of school there. I didn’t have much of a choice on where I’d end up staying, but was given an address for the location of the family that was to be hosting me. It […]
The Green Dreamer Podcast: Regeneration as a Real Path Forward
Rob Avis recently had the chance to chat with Kamea Chayne from Green Dreamer Podcast about the poor condition of our soils and the solutions to address this problem, how we can eat a truly sustainable diet, and the importance of regenerative agriculture. If you’re interested, here’s an [...]
Good Life Revival Podcast: Rainwater Harvesting for Adaptive Habitats
How did Verge Permaculture begin? What is the order of operations in permaculture design if you want to prevent flooding and water scarcity ? How does a rainwater harvesting system mimic the workings of the human gut microbiome? And why is it possible to meet local water code requirements and [...]
How Permaculture Changed My Life, by Jen Nobel
Welcome to “How Permaculture Changed My Life”, our blog series featuring personal stories from Verge grads speaking on how permaculture shaped their careers and their lives. This time we’re featuring Jen Nobel, founder of Northbound Bloom Ecological Land Design in Timmins, Ontario: I [...]
We Just Signed A Book Deal!
We are thrilled to announce that we just signed another book deal with New Society Publishers, "Building Your Adaptive Habitat".
How our process helped this graduate see his property in a whole new light
My name is Ian Griebel, and I operate a 2,300 acre ranch with my wife Dana Blume and my two wild little boys Cohen and Fynn. I’m the third generation farming this land, but have only been doing it for the past six years. Previously I lived in Edmonton and pursued a carpentry career. Some […]
Christina Goodvin: PINA 2018/2019 NatureWise Design Contest Finalist
Some exciting news from Verge grad Christina Goodvin (Check out her profile HERE)—She was just selected as a finalist in the Permaculture Institute of North America’s (PINA) 2019 design contest, which carries a grand prize of $5,000. We’re super proud of Christina—she’s the only Canadian [...]
How a Resilient Home Addresses Global Risks
This week, I want to go over a case study in rainwater harvesting design. This example is special to me because it’s about how we partnered with my mother-in-law to transform her property into a permaculture oasis. Let's roll back to the mid-2000’s. After traveling for almost four years [...]