Reddit mentions: The best holticulture by climate books

Sorry about the length of the post but this is information I wish someone had given me when I was starting. Hopefully it's not too basic.

I am by no means an expert but I can walk you through my trial and error period (which I am certainly not finished with) for terrariums. I don't know that I'll be able to help with the nepenthes though discussion in this thread indicates that humidity is key for those plants. I am seriously limited on space where I currently live so I've developed a setup that seems to work for my plants, though it's not ideal for all of them.

Initially I had been growing my plants on a windowsill but this summer I moved to a location that has proper shading over the windows (great for people, terrible for plants) so I needed to migrate to a terrarium. I started caring for plants in May so I didn't really know what I was doing. If you haven't already, I recommend purchasing The Savage Garden: Cultivation Carnivorous Plants by Peter D'Amato. It's a great introductory book with lots of useful information about growing and indoor/outdoor setups. You can find it on Amazon for a moderate price.

I ended up purchasing a 10 gallon aquarium from PetSmart or PetCo for something like 30 dollars. The box was damaged so I got it for cheaper than whatever it was listed for. Those come with a water heater for fish which you can place in a bottle of water inside the aquarium to increase humidity if needed. I then bought some Plexiglas and melted holes in it with a soldering iron for ventilation. I used that instead of the lid the aquarium came with so I could use more lights if I needed to. I mostly have sundews so I opted for a 2' t5 light set up which can get pretty toasty, but my sundews loved it and it got very humid inside. I use four of these lights for ~5000 lumen output. You would probably want to go with t8 lights as they operate at a lower temperature. Do not purchase lights branded as "growlights" as they are almost always more expensive than similar lights and will not last as long as something from Phillips or GE. Like UseUrLogic said, use lights with a color temperature of 6500 K or higher. I find that 6500 K is the easiest to find and work fine.

I do have two flytraps and they were not happy in the aquarium, but they were still growing. I imagine one of them would have died had I left them in such a humid environment for any longer. I then moved again and needed a new setup, since I didn't want to kill the traps. I'm now doing something like this but much more jerry-rigged. My plants seem to like it though. You might consider something like this as my flytraps love it too. I'm going to try taking them outside soon in an attempt to have them go through natural dormancy. I may just give in and try fridge dormancy though I have heard mixed results.

--------------------

I was bored so I looked up some information that may be useful to you when deciding what to do with your plants. Most of the is from The Savage Garden.

It behooves you to find out what your pings are, as different species can have radically different growth requirements. Consider posting images here or on the ICP forums if you can't ID them yourself. Here is what Peter says about pings in terrariums: "Forget temperate varieties here. some warm temperates do nicely, sich as P. lusitanica, P.caerulea, and P. primuliflora, but do best with cooler winters. Most of the Mexican species thrive under grow-lights, in a tank or not, at room temperature. Use the pot-and-saucer method to allow for drier winter conditions."

For the cephalotus he says "Excellent as a potted specimen year round in the unheated greenhouse-style terrarium. Colorful and vigorous under grow-lights." He also says it should be fine on a partly sunny windowsill in relatively high humidity and that you should mist it often.

The Nepenthes maxima (Highland Nep.) is apparently a good terrarium plant and easy to grow, though it likes good air circulation and misting at night. The truncata is a lowland variety and apparently will do well in a steamy terrarium. Both of these varieties will eventually outgrow all but very large terrariums.

The only plant you own that I have personal experience with, other than the flytraps, is D. Aliciae. Unfortunately I overfed mine shortly after getting it an it died back to the root. It's coming back now but it won't be as big as it was before for a least another two months. I've found that it's a pretty hardy little plant. It can handle temperatures of up to 95°F and down to ~40°F (though that's pushing it). I currently grow mine at ~85°F. It doesn't need much humidity at all (I was growing it in 50% and it's now doing quite well in about 35-40% rh) but growsundews.com recommends humidity over 60%.

Good luck with the plants!

TL;DR "UseUrLogic" is correct in that you will not be able to keep them all in the same terrarium. You may be able to start with all but the flytraps in but then I recommend migrating the pitchers to windowsills and misting often. Try to find out what the pings are. Maybe consider a setup similar to Bisnick's as it will accommodate your pitchers even when they are larger, though it will require a larger light setup.

EDIT: Units were incorrect.

I think an American pitcher would probably eat the most, but I don't think they will be as effective as you'd like. Carnivorous plants can be difficult to care for, but they are beautiful and enjoyable to own. If you decide to try, I recommend picking up the book Savage Garden, it will give you a good basis for understanding and caring for them, and California Carnivores is a reputable place to buy them.
I mentioned Sarracenia earlier, but since it will not really solve your problem (with just a couple of plants, at least), I would personally go with one of the many sundews available, since they are pretty AND you can watch the mechanism they employ to eat, though, depending on the flies you have, they may not be very attracted to the plant.

Good luck, and I hope it works out for you.

Sure. I'm no shill or anything, but here's some good starting places:

[Book: The Savage garden, by Peter D'Amato] (https://www.amazon.com/Savage-Garden-Cultivating-Carnivorous-Plants/dp/0898159156/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3AG6424FNV59DZW3H232). It wasn't my first VFT care book, but I think its one of the best out there. Teaches you enough about soil composition, water quality, and general good info to have about spotting pests and such.

TerraForums Venus Flytraps Forum. When I first got into the hobby, this place was very important to me. I got a lot of good help and advice. Someone even sent me free VFT so long as I paid S&H for them. A great group of folks. I don't interact there much anymore, but I still check in from time to time.

VFT are notorious for being easy to kill (which they are), but keeping them alive is actually painfully simple: De-chlorinated water with a mineral count of >100 PPM, (a gallon of distilled water is like, 50 cents), and as much light as you can get them. They can never have enough light. One or two bugs a month, and you'll have a very happy VFT.

There are some really awesome books out there:

The Savage Garden is always a great gift, but if he's an expert then he probably already has it. California Carnivores sells books signed by Peter (the author,) which could be fun.

Do you have an idea of what specific plants he's into (Nepenthes, sundews, Sarracenia)? If there's a specific type that he's passionate about, Stewart McPherson's books are incredibly detailed and beautiful (they're on Amazon too.)

Plants are a good way to go, but it's risky if you don't know what you're doing. If he's on any forums (Terraforums, etc) then he might have a "want list" posted. I know it's a stretch, but if you can find that then you're in great shape. If you happen to know of specific plants that he's after, PM me and I can try to help you source them.

Italian cypress are easy care trees and will help give your yard some privacy.

Olives and citrus also do well in your climate, although citrus will need watering and some have sharp thorns. Fruitless olives are best if you don't want fruit all over the yard.

Lavenders, santolinas, myrtles, box, euphorbias are all easy care shrubs. Rosemary and New Zealand flax also do well. Agapanthus and daffodils put on attractive seasonal displays.

You might want to go to your local library and check out some books about gardening in Mediterranean climates.

Like [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Mediterranean-Way-Waterwise-Drought-Tolerant/dp/0810956004/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0810956004&pd_rd_r=1c30bf26-af6e-11e8-b369-ffe841fc31b4&pd_rd_w=SjWsA&pd_rd_wg=RTzIz&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=SY3QVJM87AZDG3BQ08RK&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=SY3QVJM87AZDG3BQ08RK)

Las Pilitas Nursery also has a good selection of California natives if you want to add some to your landscape:

http://www.laspilitas.com/


The Sunset Western Garden Book is a good resource for California gardeners, available at your local library or used on Amazon.

I know its not exactly what your looking for but I might suggest picking up some reference texts on cold hardy cacti.

This and This

might be good places to find information. I have limited experience with cold climates, 90% of my plants are tropical or sub tropical, but I have read the second book in the past when borrowing it from a local library and it is quite informative on caring for cacti in wet climates. The first reference is older and I have not personally read it but it has good reviews and I have seen it cited several times in the past when researching plants for my own area, cooler winter with heavy rain, so it may be worth a read if you can find them.


Also, from what I find online it looks like you are located in Zone 8 - 9 depending on your location and distance from water. This is pretty close to my own climate area with the exception of rain fall. I can recommend you try growing Echinocereus spachianus, Echnopsis pachanoi, and as /u/GregTJ suggested Echinopsis terscheckii provided that your growing bed is sufficiently drained (maybe even a layer of grit or lava rock 12 or so inches down). If you looking for more barrel or clumping plants you might try Thelocactus tulensis, Gymnocalycium baldianum, and Echinocactus texensis which I have grown outside unprotected during the winter, however all of my plants are potted and drain freely when it rains here so I cannot comment on their habits when planted in the ground.

Try to get your hands on Edible Forest Gardens ( vol 1 and 2 ) by David Jacke and Eric Toensmeier. It's the premier work on Eastern North American ecological agroforestry.

Martin Crawford's work is also very applicable since he's in a humid zone 3-5 ish British climate. His book is an amazing resource.

The Bullock Brother's have done a lot of work in Cold climate permaculture but they're in Washinton so it's still more humid.

Great Plains ecology is an interesting biome though and I'm not sure there's been a lot of work done on food forestry in that particular climate. I know a fair amount of work has been done on perennial grasslands but it gets more complicated since you are dealing with elements of dryland design and cold climate design. Some tropical techniques for water retention aren't going to work since frost is going to be a factor. Probably the best technique would be to follow the ecology and design around coolees since that's where great plains deciduous forests tend to thrive.

It's definitely a challenge gardening in the desert and it's what I do for a living! Lots of trial and error still to this day and I've lived in the desert for 10 years now.

Here are some books that I have found very helpful:

Perennials for the Southwest

Native Plants for Southwest Landscapes

Arid Plants for Dry Regions

I used to work in a desert botanic garden nursery and these 3 books were our go to books for reference. Bear in mind that your area can get much colder than the low desert but all these books have plant temperature requirements.

But most importantly have fun getting to know the desert and after time you'll see what a magical place it is. If you have the time I recommend exploring the natural areas by hiking, camping or just doing a bit of road tripping. You'll get lots of inspiration and come to an understanding of how unique all the animals and plants are that have had to adapt to such harsh conditions. Winter is great time to explore. No bugs and all the snakes are sleeping! =)

Sure thing. We're just setting it up for the winter, as most of her plants do very well outside (Detroit). Are you looking at a year-round terrarium setup, or a place to maintain them across a cold/wet season?

She went through and sorted everything by light/temp/water needs and figured out that her cephalotus/sarracenia (potted pitchers), drosera(sundews), and most of her pinguicula (butterworts) will be ok with a similar temp range - so they are all going into the same tank. I've been voluntold that I'm building risers this weekend to make sure each one gets the right amount of light - from a 4' x 4 tube T5 light setup that rests on top of the tank, just like an aquarium. There is a waterproof heating pad under the tank, and a thermometer inside to keep tabs on temp.

The top easily comes off and a couple pieces of plexi keep humidity constant. Since they won't be naturally hunting inside the tank plants can be dropper feed a thinned out 16/16/16 (maybe 18/18/18 - I don't know these things) solution, or you can apparently get wingless fruit flies or freeze dried mealworms.

Her nephentes (hanging/tropical pitchers) are getting cycled between window rods and the big shelving unit for succulents/orchids.

These books are definitely worth checking out:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607744104/ (great wide overview)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1505891604/


TLDR:

• 4'x'2'x2' - 75gal tank (3 sided, removable mylar blanket)
  
• undertank heating pad
  
• 4' x 4 tube T5 light on top
  
• risers to create platforms at 12"/18"/24" from the light
  
  Hope this helps. If you have any questions, PM me and I'll direct you to the expert. All of my knowledge comes from whatever I need to order online or construct to support the habit.

1. Water is life. You want to keep as much water on your property as long as you can. Have you put in swales on contour or keylines to stop, spread, sink the water into the soil so the trees can benefit?
   
   
2. What is your soil like? Is it acidic or alkaline? Is it compacted? Eroded? Deficient in minerals? Is it more clay or loam or sandy? Have it tested. There are ways to improve the soil. If it's compacted, you can deep rip. If it's acidic, you can add lime and dolomite. If it's clay, adding gypsum will break up the clay. Pioneer trees can also help break up soil with their deep tap roots. Forests are usually alkaline while pastures are more acidic. Forests have more fungi where pastures have more bacteria. You can get a jump start on changing over the soil if you take some starch like rice to a forest, leave it on the ground for several days, collect it, and scatter it where you want the fungi to take over. There are things you can add to increase the soil microbes that are so beneficial: compost, compost tea, bio-fertilizers, and inoculates on seeds.
   
   
3. What do you want to accomplish with a forest? Are you wanting to use some of the trees as a wind block? Are you wanting to stop some of the soil erosion along the stream? Are you wanting food (fruit, nuts) or fodder for animals or fiber or timber for building or trees that bloom to feed bees or trees for coppice or trees for firewood or a mixture? If you know what you want, then you can consult some books and local permaculture groups for trees that will live in your site-specific conditions that provide the function you want.
   
   
4. For each tree, you'll want to plant multiple nitrogen-fixing support plants that you will sacrifice so that the desired tree has nutrients. Legume trees, shrubs, and ground covers add nitrogen to the soil that will feed the main trees. Over the course of several years, you'll chop and drop the nitrogen fixers several times. Besides adding nitrogen to the soil, they will also shade out grasses and other non-desirable plants until your trees are established. You can also mulch with straw to shade out pioneer plants you don't want. Timing is important. You want to plant at times that give the plants the best time to get established. You'll want to chop and drop the nitrogen-fixing support species when the rains come. You'll want to use the mulch and cover crops at the same time as you plant your trees to prevent weeds from taking over. You'll want to time when the trees produce food. You can plan some early crop, mid-season crop, and late crop varieties. Thinking about your timing carefully.
   
   Resources:
   
   
   Creating a Forest Garden by Mark Crawford.
   
   Edible Forest Gardens by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier
   
   Forest Gardening by Robert Hart
   
   
   

Time to rake out the white rocks and dispose of them. If you are satisfied with their appearance you can torch the weeds but the remains will still have to be removed by hand. Better to get rid of them and go with Mother Nature's idea: trees, shrubs and perennials surrounded by mulch.

You can read about the pros and cons of wood chip mulch here:

https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/wood-chips.pdf

It's a good time to invest in a book like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Southwest-Garden-Ornamental-Gardening/dp/1604695218/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502278815&sr=8-2&keywords=southwest+landscape+design+arizona


Or check out your local library. They might have useful reference books like these:

http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2765848/what-are-the-top-10-gardening-books-for-arizona

There are a couple different species you could potentially keep in a kitchen environment as long as you have appropriate conditions.

Your best bet is going to be to check out /r/savagegarden, read Barry Rice's Carnivorous Plant FAQ and if you start getting serious, purchase a copy of The Savage Garden which is probably the best book around for learning how to grow carnivorous plants.

In terms of species that will do well in that environment, you're probably going to want to look at the genus Drosera (Sundews) or maybe Nepenthes (Tropical Pitcher Plants).

The best Sundews for your purposes are going to be:

1. Drosera capensis - Cape Sundew
   
   
2. Drosera binata - Fork Leafed Sundew
   
   
3. Drosera spatulata - Spoon Leafed Sundew
   
   Those are all fairly easy to cultivate and as long as fairly appropriate conditions are provided, they will thrive.
   
   I'm not really certain of what Nepenthes would be best, as I don't really grow too many of them.
   
   For "around the house growing" you're going to have to keep two major factors in mind.
   
   
4. • Light - CPs require lots and lots of light to do really well, this can be provided by either a windowsill with direct light exposure for a decent part of the day, or by appropriate growlights, which can be used exclusively, or to supplement natural lighting.
     
     
5. • Water - Most CPs need Distilled or Deionized water to thrive, the other stuff destroys their roots and can kill the plant, so you need to either install a Reverse Osmosis filter, or just buy a jug or two of distilled water from your grocery store. You're also going to want to keep their humidity high, which can definitely be achieved in any kind of household environment.
     
     Last thing, don't worry about the black thumb, I have an extremely pronounced one, but CPs seem to be just about the only thing I can actually grow! They're pretty easy to grow once you get a hang of it!
     

Yay ! New CP people :)!


For water: Do not use Tap water. Use Distilled, Reverse Osmosis, or Rain water only.

​

Dormancy has been covered above. Where do you intend to keep your VFT? Inside / outside?


California Carnivores are a great resource for care tips :)
https://www.californiacarnivores.com/collections/venus-flytraps-dionaea-muscipula/products/dionaea-m-typical-deluxe-potted


Also a good resource is the CP bible
https://www.amazon.com/Savage-Garden-Revised-Cultivating-Carnivorous/dp/1607744104

Thanks for your interest, everyone!! First, some background information: I live in a desert (zone 8b), and this is for a community garden. Since it's a community garden, we have limits on what we can and can't install. A regular drip system with timer is not an option.

So, I did a ton of research, and read about olla pots for irrigation, and they seemed like a good idea. I also used this book from the library. Preliminary tests over the winter season were promising enough to expand the system.

Each plot in our garden is roughly 4'x8'. We used a total of six six-inch unglazed terra cotta pots for each plot. We glued the pots together in twos to equal three large ollas. The hardest work was digging and pick axing a trench that is deep enough and roughly twice the width of the pots.

From there, we used PVC to connect a five gallon bucket to each of the pots. Since the pots are unglazed, water will seep out from their entire surface area. The distance the water reaches away from the pots depends largely on how broken up the soil is.

Once all of the PVC glue is dry, we will recover the pots, and run water through the system. We have already tested one plot, and it seems like the water is reaching 3"-6" away from the pots, so we'll plant in that area.

The idea is to reduce evaporation and use less water. If it works, I'll post an update later in the season!!

ETA: The cost for each plot was about $15 for materials. We completed three plots on a Saturday morning with four volunteers.

Hey, I just saw your post. Welcome. Pulelehua covered things pretty well. If you're looking for books, i have a couple Hawaii specific ones.

This first one is a book only on native Hawaiian plants. It's very comprehensive, but also hard to find. I bought this year's ago, so I'm not sure where to find it anymore.

Growing Hawaii's Native Plants: A Simple Step-by-Step Approach for Every Species

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566477166/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_XpFmybZRH1JNC


This second book has info for vegetable gardening specifically in Hawaii. I haven't looked at it in a long while because my grandma has it (I gave it to her to borrow, but I think she thought it was a gift. I'd ask for it back, but it keeps her occupied, so I'd feel bad) so I don't remember exactly what was in it, but it's very good if you are just starting to garden because it covers growing conditions, pests, fertilizing, and seasons. There's an accompanying fruit book that's not as available. I might try find the fruit book soon.


Growing Vegetables in Hawai'i: A How-to Guide for the Gardener
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1573060801/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.sFmybTHRRZNP

Well, depends on the scope of what you're looking for. Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society put out a pretty comprehensive field guide but it's limited to cacti and succulents native to Arizona. Cactiguide has images and taxonomic notes, but it doesn't really have descriptions on how to care for the plants. This book is pretty comprehensive when it comes to Agaves. There are other books specific for different genera, which is why you'll find us plant enthusiasts have multiple books.

Awesome! That's a great variety. You shouldn't have any problem making hybrids if you get your initial crop to grow well; if I remember correctly, sarracenia easily hybridize naturally much of the time and can be artificially hybridized with a q-tip, transferring pollen from one plant to the stamens of another.

You ever check out this book? The savage Garden by Peter D. Amato was responsible for most of my obsession as a young 'un.

If you remember to, you should message me some pics of your crop when they sprout :). Fun geeking out on CPs again, it's not exactly the hobby I generally discuss with my friends/gf. It's a weird hobby, but it's just damned interesting, anyhow. Good luck!

Oh ok. There is info on micronutrients in my forest gardening book. Apparently most of the US has the right kind of geological history, meaning there is very little risk of those micronutrients being depleted (since plants need so little of them and the subsoil is still pretty young). Certain areas (like in the SE where I am) need more careful balancing of the ecosystem in order to not deplete them too quickly, and are more sensitive to ecological disturbances like clear cutting.

A proper ecosystem cycles these nutrients via dynamic accumulators. This family might have planted comfrey, for example. The comfrey uses it's deep-reaching roots to take in the micronutrients from the subsoil. It stores it in it's tissues which you can then harvest and add to your top soil.

This family in California are not exporting 100% of their produce, they are composting, planting dynamic accumulators, and growing on young subsoil. So they shouldn't have any problems with micronutrient depletion for centuries.

> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NDA0OSC

Just checked it out. If I were you, head to fiverr and get a new cover done. No offense but that one's a bit amateur.

Also, increase the size of your description. If you check mine out (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OEQ03SK) you can see it's pretty large which is good for longer tail keyword searches. You can also use HTML to have titles etc. This is your sales copy. It's the most important bit! Make me want to buy your book.

This book on carnivorous plants represents me pretty well, because I'm attracted to things that are beautiful, yet dark.

Also, I subsist completely on flies and raw meat.

I am not an expert but have been growing here for several years and can try to answer questions. But check out gardenweb, it's a great resource.

Gardening here is different than the rest of the country so you might want to pick up a book to learn about the unique soil. This one is old but it's what I've used.

What are the temps like there? You might be able to do winter gardening.

Just some link I found by googling for winter gardening. There are much better books on it like The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses. You can get greenhouses in the US for like $500.

If you are considering a forest garden, I would not recommend doing so without a proper design. I highly recommend these two books: http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Forest-Gardens-2-set/dp/1890132608

They will help you create the right design which will save you a ton of work/ resource usage in the long term.

Yes it has 5 reviews, and a good cover

last free give away I gave away 500 copies, got 6 sales the next day

link here
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NDA0OSC

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Do you mean how to plan for a long blooming season? A lot of us start with crocus and hellebores, then tulips, daffodils, and annuals from nurseries. By the time those are done, various summer blooming perennials are doing their thing. There are quite a few fall blooming flowers, like chrysanthemums and Japanese anemones. It’s helpful to have at least a few evergreens that look good year round. Here is a book about planting for fall.

> Do I put sand / bark / styrofoam / tiny rocks at the very bottom of the pot?

You dont have to put anything at the bottom of the pot. Personally I use rocks as a filter so I dont lose any medium through the drainage hole, but i've read you can use LFS and it'll do the same thing.

> Should I use an empty bottle inside the soil as a water reservoir or is a pipe with holes in it a better solution?

I've done both. With the bottle I can dump a lot of water very fast into the pot. I use it for my big pots. The pipe is okay but will quickly overflow and I still have to wait for the water to be absorbed into the soil before I can add more.

> After browsing this sub for a while, it seems to be the consensus to create a 33:66 to 50:50 mixture of sand:soil. Why is that a thing? Is it to make it easier for the water to spread throughout the pot?

There is a book called The Savage Garden where the author talks about different media mixes he has tried. For Sarracenia he recommends 80/20 peat to perlite. Perlite is porous so its full of air and will absorb water . The book also goes through other common mixes and states their benefits.

> Is the height of the pot an issue?

I dont think the height will be an issue. If youre worried about the amount of soil you'll need, you can put something in the bottom to fill up space. Ive heard people use Styrofoam to fill up space and reduce weight

> Will the water be able to spread to the middle from the bottom, or the bottom fill up with standing water that will eventually start to smell?

Peat moss is like a sponge and will keep itself moist all over as long there is water in the pot. I read a post from somebody who said they used new soil every 2 years because the plants started doing poorly and the water would start to smell bad at the bottom. I havent experienced any issues in my setups though.

Good tips. I have a bit of experience in your current study topic and if you feel like diving in deep I'd suggest Edible Forest Gardens by Dave Jacke. It's like the bible of permaculture in my opinion.

It actually won't be the first food forest of the nation. There are already plenty of food forests and forest gardens in america... they just arent public. For those interested in forest gardening, I recommend these books. This link also is a well done video detailing why forest gardens/ food forests are important for the future.

I know this may be the wrong sub to suggest this, but I had no lawn and xeriscaped when I lived in Phoenix. You live in the desert with low water resources. Embrace it, it can be more beautiful and is much more responsible there than a lawn.

Check out the Desert Botanical Garden for ideas. I had no cactus or lantana in my yard, choosing many varieties of drought resistant and endemic flowers and agave. This book and others like it will also get you started.

> Is there a guide anywhere to owning them?

You're lookin' for a guide, huh? Well, this book is one of the best ones out there. Not only is it a guide to venus flytraps, it's a guide to all kinds of other carnivorous plants too. You could check your local library to see if they have it, the library near me does.

Around the World In Eighty Plants is right up your alley. It's by a fellow in Norway (!) who trialed hundreds of perennial vegetables for hardiness, and wrote a book about his favorites. Since /u/BioCuriousDave is in Britain, he'd also probably find it useful.

If you are looking for examples, Sepp Holzer has lots of videos on youtube. Search "temperate permaculture" and you will find a lot of stuff on youtube.

http://tcpermaculture.com/site/ is a great temperate permaculture resource with guild lists and explanations of how permaculture can be used in a temperate climate.

The absolute BIBLE I rely on is this:
http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Forest-Gardens-2-set/dp/1890132608/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1368994131&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=eric+tonsmeijer

It's pricy and worth the hardcopy. But it's out there in torrents. It has an absolute ton of information on HOW to do permaculture in a temperate setting. I can't recommend this highly enough. If there is one thing you do, find this and read it!

Sure. I got a wild hair to grow cut flowers to sell a little over a year ago. So I joined an excellent FB group of professional florists and flower farmers, took a post harvest physiology class, and started reading everything I could about cut flower growing, harvest, and marketing.

I already had a pretty large home garden, about 35' x 35', so I switched over a portion of it to growing cut flower rather than vegetables.

I made a list of cut flowers that grow well in my climate and divided them into categories based on bloom season, purpose, and form. Other For example, zinnias bloom in summer, are a main flower in a bouquet, and have a disk shape. I'd also have something for foliage and maybe a spiky type of flower. With those three things, you can build a decent looking bouquet. Then I selected flowers to grow so I had as many niches filled at any given time through the season.

I picked up the book, Cool Flowers and learned about growing winter hardy flowers for early spring harvest. I seriously can't recommend that book highly enough. It's amazing for anyone who wants to grow flowers, regardless of your purpose.

Then I started using instagram to market myself. I found the attention of an event florist who likes purchasing locally, so I hook her up when she needs anything. I also market on Craigslist and Nextdoor, but those really don't provide much opportunity. Without question, marketing is the most difficult aspect of this. And I say that after getting up before 5am this morning to cut and arrange those bouquets you saw. I also have a very difficult time with pricing. I'm naturally pretty frugal, and it's hard to price these buckets and bouquets so that I make much of a profit. I tend to overprice quite a bit, but I'm working on that.

One other thing I should mention is it's very easy to underestimate how long it takes to cut and process a couple buckets of flowers. It is easily 2 hours of work to cut a couple buckets. Then you have to make time to arrange, etc.

If I were to recommend a few books, they would be:

1. Cool Flowers mentioned above
   
   
2. Specialty Cut Flowers: The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Woody Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers
   
   
3. The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers, 2nd Edition
   

I'm about six months in to five acre mature forest gardening in the Northwest. Any specific questions?

I can't stress this book enough, ESPECIALLY for your inquiry: Edible Forest Gardens.

I know they're expensive, but worth it. If you simply can't afford it and know of a way to exchange 15mb pdf files, I can hook you up!

This book might help you pick out plants, this book by Dirr might help you understand the plants in the book of lists a little better. You will still need to learn how to make a plant schedule and what size plants to pick out, theres some interesting information here. In general, small plants for civil jobs will be specified as 3 gallon or 5 gallon bucket sizes. 7 gal if you want it to be larger, and 15 gal if they need to be big fast, but i have never put anything bigger than a 5 gallon on my civil jobs.

With low covers and a small hoop house you can grow spinach all winter long.

I love this book https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Harvest-Handbook-Deep-Organic-Greenhouses/dp/1603580816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473282231&sr=8-1&keywords=eliot+coleman

Valid point re: squash. But for other veggies, I liked this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Harvest-Handbook-Deep-Organic-Greenhouses/dp/1603580816/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504882936&sr=1-5&keywords=winter+garden

I'd would plant a small edible forest garden. I like the ecological soundness, variety of produce and yield/upkeep factor of such systems.

Most carn. plants need a lot of water (tray method) and lots of light. Depending on your USDA zone you can keep them outside. I have flytraps, sarracenias and some sundews in my garden all year round. In winter they are not pretty but in summer they thrive.
Try to get a copy of this book the Savage Garden.
It has a much info. Lots of love for the plants and 'learn as you go' worked for me.

Because I'm an asshole.

Because every storm cloud ought to have a silver lining....

Brexit + XR

We all know that economic downturns are the fastest, surest way to reduce carbon emissions.

Everything seems to be claiming that a hard Brexit will cause an economic crisis in Britain. That may well spread.

So maybe Boris is giving XR exactly what they actually wanted. The economic downturn (or crash) that will reduce, perhaps drastically Britain's carbon emissions.

[Stay fed.] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=freeze+dried+vegetables&crid=1TW2FVNPOA3U3&sprefix=freeze+dried+veg%2Caps%2C244&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_16)

[However you can.] (https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Harvest-Handbook-Deep-Organic-Greenhouses/dp/1603580816)

The appendix in Vol. II of Edible Forest Gardens (2 volume set) by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier has a pretty extensive list. It's broken down by zone, size, function, moisture requirements, and a zillion other factors – including food and other uses.

You should check out the winter harvest handbook by Elliot Coleman. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1603580816/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502285786&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=winter+harvest+handbook&dpPl=1&dpID=614anb5TiKL&ref=plSrch

Also on the sides of your greenhouses. Put semi ridged plastic and the. Pile up hot pile composts then entire length of the house

http://www.amazon.com/The-Winter-Harvest-Handbook-Greenhouses/dp/1603580816/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376327754&sr=8-4&keywords=eliot+coleman

As a fellow producer myself, boy, do I have just the book for you. Covers everything you need to know, and is even more relevant now than ever.

Dave Jacke's book:
http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Forest-Gardens-2-set/dp/1890132608

Gaia's Garden:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603580298/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687542&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1890132608&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0DKFRRSMRZE5HP5F3XDB

UK Link

Winter Harvest Handbook
by Eliot Coleman

Edible forest gardens

Stink bugs are not their natural most common prey, but they wont be exempt from turning into snacks.
Give your plants time and those conditions described above. For the future: read Savage Garden, its a great source of information and will answer all your questions. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607744104/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Look into dormancy in the winter. You may need to add layers of protection, like wood chips over your plants if your winters are harsher than the ones they usually experience. You have time obviously to look into this.

There is no link to any book here. :(

Link - I hope

NoMoreNicksLeft... I always had the impression that you were one of the more informed crazy survival nuts around here.

You really ought to read this...

There are tons of farmer/homesteader/gardener memoirs. I think my mom alone probably has a zillion. Unfortunately I haven't read that many myself, but a few titles that I remember from her shelves include:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Enslaved by Ducks

The Egg and I

Hit by a Farm

Here's one that (amazingly enough) she doesn't have, but which is on my to-read list: http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lot-One-Tenth-Making-Edible/dp/1603583998/

On a more practical front, this guy may change your life ;)

http://www.amazon.com/Four-Season-Harvest-Organic-Vegetables-Edition/dp/1890132276/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Winter-Harvest-Handbook-Greenhouses/dp/1603580816/

ETA: Thought of a few more from mom's collection:

The Dirty Life

Rurally Screwed

The Bucolic Plague