Plant Propagation, DIY Natural Rooting Hormones

Plant propagation is easy with garden cuttings and natural plant hormones!

We've found propagating plants from cuttings to be much easier than we first thought years ago when starting out with our nursery.  Importantly, propagating plants with natural rooting hormones avoids exposure to industrial made, potentially toxic chemicals too.

Over the years we can also honestly say there is no significant difference with respect to rooting success between natural rooting methods and synthetic powders.

Our favorite rooting method involves; a clean mason glass jar, clean water and a sunlight filled windowsill.  That's all!

DIY Plant Propagation for survival garden with water, windowsill mason jars and plants

Right now our basil plant cuttings are rooting in two to three days max.

The plant rooting process in nature begins when a stem or small branch is damaged or broken.  Most plants contain a number of different hormones that influence root production, one of the most common being a substance called IBA, or indole-3-butyric acid.

When IBA is present, damaged plant cells begin a process called callusing to seal over the open vascular components of the plant to prevent viral and bacterial invasions.

Once a callus forms then the callused cells begin to form microroots.

With respect to at home rooting projects there are two principals to remember.  The first is the process of keeping the cut area of the stem free from rotting infection.   The second is providing hormones, like IBA, to the cutting to encourage callus and subsequent microroot growth. 

As mentioned, we have found the easiest rooting method is to allow the plant's natural callus formation process to occur in a jar of or under a mist of water.  Ensuring the plant cutting receives adequate hydration while calluses form is essential to cutting survival.  

One of the very best cutting hydration methods is periodic leaf misting.

Our larger greenhouse propagation system worked best with a two minute mist every twenty minutes.

Some propagation experts like to add a variety of 'natural' substances (some of which contain IBA) to enhance callus and root production.  These readily available materials include:

• Apple cider vinegar, a few drops diluted with lots of water,
• Cinnamon powder from the kitchen spice rack,
• Aloe gel straight from the plant,
• Willow tree bark tea or diluted alcohol extract,
• Raw honey, and
• Crushed aspirin tablets.

Frankly I've found all one needs to successfully root just about any plant is water.

Water in a jar works fine for many plants.  The best method as mentioned above though is periodic leaf misting.

If you choose leaf misting, consider placing damp, clean sand in a sterilized seedling tray.  Place your cuttings in the sand and under the misting heads.  Set your misting timer to come on for a minute or so every twenty to thirty minutes.  You will end up with so many plants!

Florida permaculture plant propagation, potting up rooted basil

Rooting your own plants ensures quality growth.  You control what substances are applied to during and after the rooting process.  This can be especially important for food crops.

The beauty of plant propagation is exponential.  Buying plants from the home improvement store can be expensive, and the quality may be questionable at times.

Rooting skills are important to the survival or homestead and permaculture gardener.  I suggest the importance of understanding rooting principals is directly related to the hands on experience with rooting.  Both successes and failures teach us much.

If you think rooting cuttings may be a skill you are interested in acquiring I'd suggest starting with a basil plant from your local Publix.  Take a pair of scissors and cut off (cut the stem at a forty five degree angle) all the six to eight inch branches you can harvest from the plant.  Fill a clean mason jar half to three quarters full of water and place the cut stems (cuttings) into the jar.  Place the jar with water and cuttings into a sunny windowsill and mist the leaves two or three times a day.  

Plant propagation skills are important to the survival gardener.  Plant propagation skills provide resources, commerce, security and so much more.

Before you know it your jar will be filled with roots and the plants ready for transplanting.

A DIY, Low Cost $300 House with Plant, Water, Food & Commerce Integration

DIY Low Cost Housing Integrated with Plants, Water Collection and Chickens

We were asked to create a DIY, low cost residence that would cost less than $300.  My final design for the $300 home is based on years of work in developing a low cost, lightweight and affordable living roof and wall system to feed the Urban Core, clean stormwater and restore biodiversity to the cities.

800 SF DIY Low Cost Plant/Water/Food/Commerce Integrated Home

The end result is a place one can be proud of, 75 square meters overall in total, about 800 SF.  

Cost Breakdown

The front living area is approximately 500 sf, the greenhouse/shower area is 200 sf and the poultry house is 100sf.

Overhead Three Room View

The frame contains 4 sections of 2 fencing pipe placed 12 in the ground with a small amount of concrete. 1 electrical conduit is placed in the top open end of the pipe and bent in an arch until the opposite end slides into the opposing anchor pipe.  

Integration of Food Production Into the Home

Once the arches are up, galvanized fencing is attached to the frame creating a skin covering.  

Energy Efficiency of the $300 House

The roof is covered with a heavy duty tarp that can be rolled up for ventilation. 

Water Reuse Component of the $300 House

The living area, greenhouse and poultry house are separated by walls with a fencing skin also.

Front View of $300 House

Rainwater is collected in a gutter that runs along a knee-wall and stored in an underground cistern.  Water is pumped via hand pump to a solar shower bag that feeds the sink also. 

Greenhouse, Bath & Coop Placement

Drain water flows to irrigate the plants in the greenhouse and then water the poultry.

$300 House Integrated with Plants, Water & Food for Shelter, Commerce and Community

Living roofs and living permaculture walls line both sides of the home, creating privacy and delivering much needed food.  The green roofs are soilless and based on an extreme lightweight design (see photos).

Note:  My email is now kssonger@gmail.com.  The old address kevin@metroverde no longer exists.

Florida Survival Garden Haberno, Banana Pepper and Basil Jelly

Florida Permaculture Garden is full of ripe habanero peppers.

Florida Permaculture Garden's habanero, chili, jalapeño & banana pepper's & spicy globe basil

Wondering what to do with the hot, hot, hot produce we made hot and banana pepper jelly with the bountiful harvest.

Spicy globe basil leaves were added for a touch of summer taste.

The jelly batch turned out to be one of the tastiest, most delicious permaculture garden foods we've yet ended up with.

The hot and spicy globe basil - banana pepper jelly will go well with fish, turkey and any meat dish, be tasty on a bagel or with whole wheat crackers and cream cheese and as a salad accompaniment. 

Spicy globe basil adds summer taste to permaculture jelly!

And I thought the way too hot peppers would make the jelly inedible.  Instead, the spice level was just right, even for Judy who is ultra sensitive to hot foods.

Last night's first batch of the summer will definitely not be the last.

Here is the permaculture hot banana pepper & habanero jelly recipe:

Pick a colander full of bot hot and banana peppers - be sure to use gloves as these may be HOT!

Florida Permaculture Jelly:  Step One: Slice Open Hot Peppers

Deseed.

Florida Permaculture Jelly:  Step Two: Deseed hot peppers

Rinse three times in colander.

Florida Permaculture Jelly:  Step Three: Rinse hot peppers

Chop in food processor into small chunks.  Do not over process.  The pepper chunks should be about the size of a large grain of rice.

Florida Permaculture Jelly:  Step Four: Boil vinegar, peppers and sugar

Rinse chopped peppers again.

Place chopped peppers into a large sauce pan.  Add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar for every 3 half pint jars of the jelly you wish to make.

Bring slowly to a boil.

Just before the pepper and vinegar mixture reach boil, add 3 cups sugar for each 3 half pint jars of the jelly you wish to make.

Gently boil for three minutes, stirring constantly.

Turn heat off and immediately add one pouch pectin or Sure-Jell for each 3 half pint jars of the jelly you are making.

Stir until the pectin is dissolved.

Add several small basil leaves to each half pint jelly jar.

Spoon several large spoonfuls of the chopped peppers into each half pint jelly jar.

Florida Permaculture Jelly:  Step Five: Pour into Jelly Jars

Ladle the hot jelly liquid into cleaned and warm jelly jars.  Cap and let cool and seal.

Enjoy some of the best hot pepper and basil jelly you've ever put into your mouth!

Florida Permaculture Jelly:  Step Five: Pour into Jelly Jars

Note:  The combination of cider vinegar and hot peppers may cause a burning sensation in your eyes!  be sure to open your windows, provide adequate ventilation or wear a dust mask while cooking!

Rooftop Gardens, Lightweight DIY Designs for Preppers & Homesteaders

Green roofs, Florida Rooftop Gardens on Sloped Roof

People used to tell me that it was impossible to successfully design a lightweight DIY system for sloped residential roofs.

Here in Florida the challenge can be exponentially complicated due to the influence of tropical weather systems and unpredictable rainfall patterns.

After years of testing  can say with certainty that DIY lightweight rooftop gardens can be successfully constructed for placement over asphalt shingles.

I love the line, "you build it and they will come".  Wildlife seek out green areas in the urban core.  Here two mourning doves are enjoying a visit to the rooftop garden.  Vertical green creates balanced wildlife ecosystematics.  Balanced ecosystematics leads to healthy pest control, good biodiversity and native plant seed distribution.

As a prepper survivalist I also enjoy the camouflage beauty plants offer from aerial perspectives.  Covering dwellings have been long associated with human communities.  From grass covered homes in Scandinavia to Everglades Chikee huts, plants have long provided insulation, camo and beauty for endemic peoples.  My DNA recognizes the house-plant association from generations ago and I smile.

Know no boundaries.  Listening to others say 'impossible' is a waste of time.  Your imagination and the plants you grow are a powerful combination of food, fiber, shelter and medicine.

Rooftop Veggie Garden, DIY and Inexpensive

DIY Rooftop Garden

Rooftop gardens are a viable option many urban core designers overlook.

Sometimes too, the cost to have a green roof company install a building top growing system is so darn expensive that the idea is prohibitive.

Very briefly I'm going to show you how I've built shallow, lightweight growing systems over the years that have grown significant amounts of produce.

Surprisingly, these DIY garden green roof systems can be built for a very low cost with locally available materials from home improvement stores.

Since I live in Florida they've been designed with tropical winds in mind. I've even had a system tested at the University of Florida's hurricane winds simulator and it passed 130 mph gusts!

Step one: Think safety.  Follow all safety rules for fall prevention.  Fall prevention is the most important step of all.  There is no other step near as important as safety.  You must use fall protection equipment when working on a ladder or on a roof.

Step two:  Make your design a manageable size.  To start a rooftop garden one should think about practicality.  Your garden will need to be tended to, watered, weeded, fertilized and such.  Better too start too small than too big.  I like three feet by five feet for a good perimeter size.  Also make sure your roof is strong enough to hold the garden.  Calculate the volume of the garden size and assume it is filled with water. (Water weighs about 63 pounds per cubic foot. Calculate the cubic foot volume of your garden and ask your architect or engineer friend if your roof will hold the weight.)  For rule of thumb on my outbuildings I assume if I can walk safely on the roof then the roof will hold up the small, lightweight garden, but don't follow my guidelines.  Make sure you know your roof is capable of holding up the garden's weight.  For example, a five foot by three foot by 1 1/2 inch deep garden will contain 1.875 cubic feet in volume.  1.875 cubic feet x 63 pounds per cubic feet is approximately 120 pounds of weight when the garden is fully saturated with water.  It's not as complicated as it sounds.

Step three: Tell yourself 'I can do this!'  You can.  It's simple and easy.  Just remember to be safe first and foremost of all.

Step four:  Find a piece of pond or pool liner sized to fit under the perimeter of your rooftop garden to be.  Cut the liner material to the dimensions of your garden perimeter.  Make sure your rooftop shingles are clean.  Position the liner in a rooftop area away from ongoing pedestrian activity underneath in the event the garden slides off your roof due to inadequate attachment.  I've never experienced this type of failure but think it is a good disclaimer to add.

Step five: Attach the liner to your roof area.  I use wood glue, the non-flammable type.  Lol, probably many are laughing at this point.  That's okay.  But it has worked well for me over the years.  You could easily use roofing nails but I just don't like penetrations into the rooftop.  Allow glue to dry.  Shingles contain a lot of high friction surface area.  Once the garden is planted the weight of the soil media and plants, along with the glue have always held my gardens in place.  I use good glue too.

Step six: Cut out aluminum or plastic drip edging (1 1/2" or so width) two pieces for the sides and a piece for the top and another piece for the bottom to the sizes for your garden perimeter.  Drill about five 1/4" holes in vertical side of the bottom drip edge piece to allow for drainage and then glue all four perimeter drip edge garden sides to the now glued in liner.  Allow to dry.  There!  Your rooftop garden frame is constructed and in place.

Step seven: Purchase a small roll of bird netting, cut to fit the inside of the rooftop garden box now on the roof.  Spot glue to the liner and drip edge sides.  This will serve as a root anchor for the plants and help keep the soil media in place.  I like to double or triple lay the netting.  Allow glue to dry.

Step eight:  Today I prefer inorganic growing medium because it lasts longer than organic growing medium and more generally meets ASTM fire resistance requirements.  Today I'd probably just use sand but in the past I've used potting soil and a variety of mixtures from around the nursery.  If you are really into a professional green roof soil media then look up UCF's 'Black and Gold' planting media designed to clean stormwater and grow fabulous plants.  Whatever soil media you choose, add it now to the rooftop garden bu covering the installed bird netting with a one inch layer of the chosen soil media (again, today I'd just use sand).  Gently wet the soil media with a light spray of water.

Step nine: Relax.  I've found veggie plants prefer a horizontal root architecture, meaning their roots tend to grow sideways rather than deep.  Horizontal root architecture allows for more afternoon 1/2" afternoon rainfall event water uptake.  Horizontal root architecture also provides for good plant stability in the wind.  Take with a grain of salt those who say plants don't do well in shallow soils.

Step ten:  Plant your veggies!  Water them in and watch them grow.  Harvest and eat soon!

I'd suggest starting on an outbuilding, perhaps a shed for your first attempt before you attempt this on your home.  Remember fall prevention safety is first and foremost important.  There are many reasons not to build a rooftop garden.  But if you don't then you will have never experienced the amazing taste of sunshine filled rooftop grown veggies!

More about the dew catcher in another post and remember, safety first!

Urban Greenery & Food Infill, City Sustainability

Urban sustainability, Health food store parking lot garden, Ever'man, Pensacola

Even if all you have is just a tiny urban square foot garden, the act of planting veggies can offer so many benefits to you, your local community and the earth.

I always encourage people to plant natives, wildflowers and food in whatever free unpaved ground they can find.

Urban sustainability, US 90, Pensacola kale garden

Small ten foot wide gardens adjacent parking lots and roads can provide significant benefit to local ecosystems.  Tiny gardens offer communal and foraging habitat to both local and migratory critters and wildlife.  These critters and wildlife play an important part in natural pest control measures.  I've seen anoles consume bug after unwanted bug.  

Tiny plantings are especially important in urban concrete jungle settings.

Small plantings contribute to cleaner stormwater by filtering rain and trapping trash, keeping waterways free of debris.

Compact gardens do their part in moderating urban heat island effect, sequestering carbon, taking in CO2 and filling our urban air with fresh oxygen.

As these two plantings have caught my eye, tiny urban landscapes create a sense of place and beauty.

Not to mention education, awareness, biodiversity, seed harvest, pollinators and climate change, the above reasons are just a few of the many for planting wildflowers, food plants and natives in urban infill areas.

Nature Art Therapy: Pocosin Muddle Puddle, Green Tree Frogs & Big Dipper Worship

Florida Nature Art Therapy by Kevin

Sundews, Rudbeckia, water snake and the big dipper reflection in the puddle.  A tree frog's fascination.

Nature and art are amazing healing therapies.

Most Important Urban Garden Plants, Bidens alba and Bidens pilosa

Bidens alba and Bidens pilosa, top ten survival garden plants

I’ve added Bidens alba to my top ten prepper plant and survival garden must have plant list.  Bidens alba is commonly known as beggar’s tick and Spanish needles.  

Bidens pilosa is another ‘beggar tick’ and closely related cousin to B. alba.  Some botanists do not differentiate the two as separate species and granted, both can hybridize.  B. alba’s native range is generally thought to be north america while B. pilosa has been considered a native of Central and South America.

Beggar tick is easily recognized by it’s yellow disc flowers with five or so white to white-lavender ray petals.  Each plant usually produces up to 10,000 long, dark and narrow barbed seeds.  The seeds are notorious for sticking to pants, socks and clothing, and in quantities almost impossible to remove without considerable effort.

Beggar tick is considered an obnoxious weed  by many in the agriculture industry because it is so easily spread by birds and also due to its allelopathic phytochemical properties which discourage other species from growing nearby, thereby potentially reducing agriculture yields.

Despite the disdain from farmers, endemic peoples have and still do today use Bidens spp. as both a food and medicinal resource.

Fresh, younger leaves of the plant are a significant food source for many cultures.  In most traditions Bidens leaves are parboiled until tender and then eaten as a potherb.  Some consume the leaves raw, a native addition to salad greenery.  I’ve tried the leaves raw and didn’t particularly care for the taste and texture.

We’ve tried to feed Bidens to the chickens but like me, the wildflower is not the hen’s first choice.

So why do I place this weedy wildflower on the top ten survival garden list?  

Probably because my perspective is that the successful survival garden is only successful when thought of not as a stand alone entity but as a small part of a complex set of physical, biological, geological and environmental factors existing across a balcony, patio, yard or farm.

So while Bidens alba and B. pilosa may not be that tasty to me, and they are such a nuisance on my green roofs, living walls, in containers and across the garden, the fact is that Bidens plants are always there on the roof or in the containers and across our gardens and always blooming.  Without serious plant poisons and herbicides, one can not rid themselves of Bidens.

When I say ‘always blooming’ I truly mean ‘always blooming.  No matter the time of day, month or year there is a Bidens alba or B. pilosa blooming somewhere in our survival garden.  Of all the flowers we plant, the only bloom that persists day in and day out is beggar tick.

Flowers are key to fruit and veggie production and plant reproduction.  Because Bidens is always blooming there will always be pollinators in our survival garden.  Year-round pollination provides year-round vegetables and fruits, depending of course on the climate.

Yet even year-round pollination is only a small piece of the overall complex garden productivity puzzle and reason Bidens is on my top ten list.

Flowers indicate pollinators.  Pollinators indicate produce.  Pollinators also indicate anoles, birds and other predators found in a healthy ecosystem.  A healthy ecosystem indicates a level of pest control around the site.  More birds indicates fewer pest insects, roaches, termites and unwanted bugs.  

Because Bidens is blooming, there are fewer pest organisms in our survival garden.

Because Bidens is blooming, the sense of place created by flower’s colors, textures and reflection is always there, across our yard.

Because Bidens is blooming, photosynthesis is always occurring in our survival garden.  And since the plant is there, if we were to ever be truly starving, we’d have our handy supply of potherbs.

The total ecosystem support Bidens provides is exponentially complex.  Without this weedy plant in our garden the overall biodiversity and complexity would significantly diminish.

I still haven’t welcomed Bidens with open arms into my life.  But I am appreciating the plant more and more, especially when it is the only flower blooming during the coldest months.  And when the earliest spring bee lands and feeds then heads over to our flowering cilantro I am thankful, for we will have plenty of coriander soon.  Because Bidens is blooming, our survival garden is alive and well.

Chickee Architecture, A Lightweight Green Roof & Saw Palmetto Siding

Framing in a lightweight DIY Green Roof for Prepper Homestead

Native materials can be sustainable when harvested with consideration. Saw palmetto grows like crazy here in Florida and across the southeastern US. 

Saw palmetto clad utility shed based on native 'Chickee' architecture 

I've always been fascinated with the fronds as building materials ever since I was a youngster growing up at the edge of the everglades where native Floridians would roof their chickee houses with palm and palmetto fronds. 

Here is a utility/feed storage shed I built with a cheapo diy green roof and saw palmetto clad walls. The night blooming moonflower has taken over (as most morning glories do eventually) on the lightweight green roof. 

I like the nature colors and texture and of course as an outdoors soul, love the camoflauge effect. #architecture #sustainability #nativeplants #prepper #homestead #permaculture

DIY Worm Compost, Better Than Black Gold

DIY Red Wiggler Worm Bin

Red wiggler worm bins are easily DIY constructed using recycled materials.  

Here we've dug out a 4' x 5' hole approximately one foot deep and lined the bottom with two layers of heavy duty black window screen.

Once the window screen was pressed flat I used a bag of regular mortar from the home improvement store to lay a 2" pad for the concrete block perimeter, then laid one row of regular concrete block, mortaring in the sides and filling the block holes.

While the mortar was drying we constructed an 'angled' frame for the top lid and built the lid itself from scrap lumber and used roofing tin.  A set of heavy duty galvanized hinges were purchased from the local hardware store.

DIY Red Wiggler Worn Bin with Lid Closed

We then mortared the top lid frame onto the concrete block and let the mortar dry before attaching the hinges and lid.

A friend (Ashley) gifted us with our first batch of red wigglers, we added compost and the rest is history.  Today we have all the black gold compost one would ever need for a garden, total cost about $50.

Easy Grow Ginger in an Earth Box, Survival Garden

Ginger for Anti-inflammatory diet.  Earth box grown & organic.

Planted a couple small hands of ginger roots month ago in an earth box. Ginger has sprouted & growing fast! This root is highly anti inflammatory & good for stomach.  Ginger can be grown on your balcony,  patio, roof or in your yard.  Ginger, Zingaber officinale, is a top survival plant and one everyone should have on their homestead.  #prepper #permaculture #ginger #food #garden #spices #anti-inflammatory 

Homestead Garden Cash Crop Fruit and Citrus Trees, No Depreciation

Citrus Trees, A Prepper's Survival Garden Investment

Unlike most objects found in a survival garden homestead, fruit and citrus trees do not depreciate in value over time.  In fact the opposite is true.  A fifty dollar investment into a producing fruit tree will payback an amount many times greater than if the initial fifty dollars had been invested in a top preforming stock market trade.

Survival and prepper landscapes can be designed to pay back dividends.  

We have a large pear tree in our backyard, probably between fifty and sixty years in age.  Each year we harvest bushels of sweet juicy pears from the tree.  Bought at the market these organic pears would cost us hundreds of dollars.

And fruit trees are not just limited to those with a yard.  Today, the nursery industry has available cultivars that even do well and produce in containers, perfect for the apartment balcony or patio.  Container grown fruit and citrus trees can be moved indoors during seasonal weather changes they are not normally adapted to.

This week I ran across an ad on Craigslist for "Citrus Tree Sale".  We drove to the address and the seller had healthy looking citrus trees in five gallon containers for a reasonable price so we purchased three; a grapefruit, a satsuma orange and a Myers lemon.

Ruby red grapefruit planting underway

When we arrived back at the urban homestead I immediately planted the citrus.  First I dug an appropriate sized hole, about the same depth as the height of the root ball and then about six inches wider than the root ball width.  After carefully removing the tree from its pot I gently loosened most all the root tips so as to encourage proper root architecture and prevent root circling.

Loosening root tips encourages healthy growth and prevents root circling

After placing the citrus in their planting holes and backfilling the dirt around them I gave them a good watering.  Fortunately the next day we had about three inches of rain.

The importance of investing in fruit and citrus cannot be over emphasized.  Most plants will pay you back many times their initial investment over the years.

Food and fruit from on site sources that can be traded in commerce, is an important component of a successful survival plan.

Whether you have a small balcony or large plot, planting fruit and citrus trees is one of the best investments you can do with your permaculture or prepper capital.

Green Roofs, Permaculture and Prepper Plants Top Ten List, Aloe vera

Aloe is one of our top ten urban core survival garden plants; grows great on Florida green roofs too!

Aloe is one of our top ten urban core survival & pandemic garden plants. We keep aloe close to the back door. For healing burns, cuts, sores or bug bites there is no better plant.

Aloe loves growing in containers and will do well planted directly in the ground too.  One of the reasons I like to plant aloe in containers is that as aloe fills the pot with roots, new plants - or pups - will begin appearing in the container.

As a container plant, aloe is perfect for patios and balconies.

For green roofs, aloe has worked very well for me.  Aloe is a CAM based photosynthesis plant so it will survive in dry or wind swept rooftop quadrants.  I like to use aloe as garden perimeter windbreak plants.

Medicinally, aloe's history as a healing plant is well documented throughout the ages.  

If you don't have aloe growing in your survival garden its time to acquire one now!