The act of water harvesting is not a way of gardening, it is a way of life. The importance of water harvesting is simple…to create a sustainable way to use rain water. If created correctly, your water harvesting area could be used not only to house a beautiful garden, but for your showers, and even…
Mr. Chris Meuli came up with the brilliant idea of soil sponging. As stated in my earlier post, soil sponges are holes dug in the ground that are filled with organic material (such as paper, cardboard, wood chips, etc.). The purpose of the soil sponges are to absorb and slow down the flow of water…
In designing a curandera garden for our Desert Oasis Teaching Garden, the hardest part was probably deciding which plants i wanted to use. I wanted most if not all of the plants to have medicinal properties that a lot of students would find helpful, so I focused on the common ailments as I browsed Michael…
Curanderismo is the name for the conglomeration of techniques used in traditional Mexican healing. It originated in the native people of Mexico, most notably the Aztecs, Mayans, and Zapotecs, and when the Spanish arrived and colonized the land, the Spanish herbs and Catholic traditions fused with the already-present native methods of healing. Curanderismo includes massage, acupuncture, and…
(Photo by: Meygan) As I began the designing process, with a list of flowers, and a rough estimate of the space and shape for the garden, I had to pick specific places for each plant depending on the size of the plant, the amount of sun needed, and color. To get some ideas, I went…
-Meygan 🙂 Flower Sun Water Space (max. tall) Soil Year to Year Growth Native Bloom Period Scientific Name Small: Mexican Evening Primrose Full Low 10 inches SW adaptable Perennial Southwest Spring – Fall Oenothera speciosa Blanket Flower Full Medium 2 feet Average to dry Perennial USA* Summer Gaillardia Pincushion Cactus Full Low 8 inches SW…
After meeting with Leslie, our garden designer, I began to make a list of flowers and plants that are native to New Mexico and would appeal to the pollinators. Native plants require less or no fertilizers, pesticides, water (compared to invasive species), they are less invasive in habitats, the provide habitats for the wildlife, and…
The act of water harvesting is not a way of gardening, it is a way of life. The importance of water harvesting is simple…to create a sustainable way to use rain water. If created correctly, your water harvesting area could be used not only to house a beautiful garden, but for your showers, and even…
Pollinators of the Plant World Pollinators are a part of our existence on Earth. They are the carriers of plant life around the world and there are so many different kinds of pollinators. Pollinators, defined, are “agent[s] that pollinate flowers.” These agents collect pollen, nectar, and other small detriments from the plants to other flowers…
Chris Meuli is a physician, the grandson of a conservation rancher, and a lifelong resident of New Mexico. His inherited interest in in the land led him to permaculture literature in 1981. Mr. Meuli is a graduate of the 1992 design course in Eldorado, New Mexico. Mr. Chris Meuli came up with the brilliant idea…
Student Investigations in Agro-Ecology 