Permasystems

06/07/2026

What's my favorite thing to eat right now in the garden...radish seed pods! So yummy no matter the variety, prolific, easy to grow (just throw sow and then leave to self seed the following year), super low water, thrives in harsh climates and poor soil (plus helps build healthy soil), ALL parts of plant are edible, their flowers make pollinators happy, the list goes on....

05/12/2026

Dream come true - growing bananas! One of my favorite fruits to eat yet least favorite to buy at the store. Now we have then growing in Ramona, CA - backcountry San Diego County - a place that gets very hot, pretty cold, doesn't get much rainfall and is super dry much of the year. Yet here we have Goldfinger bananas looking pretty happy and setting fruit.

They haven't received any munciple water or even well water, just rainwater stored in tanks and gravity dripped, oh and it's my favorite place to p*e. Time will tell how they'll do in extreme heat and cold...

I planted them in a tight group to hopefully boost the thermal battery power of water held within the plants and some support plants like lemongrass, Mexican sunflower, sweet potato, beans and comfry to hopefully set them up for success. When the hot summer sun is beating down they should get some shade from a Tipu tree that can also be chopped and dropped to add nitrogen. In winter, placement will invite the sun into the plant party.

A compost pile sites tightly in the middle surrounded by tons of mulch to stop evaporation and keep the soil cool.

Lots of pups are coming up and hopefully the next fruit set will have more bananas on it. More suppprt plants incoming too.

02/27/2026

For more information, check out our website: https://catchingh2o.com/pumps-for-rainwater-and-greywater-systems/

01/25/2026

The USA alone spends billions of dollars managing human "waste". In a lot of places and a lot of cases our p**p can be turned into a safe and valuable RESOURCE.

Atulya does a great job breaking down a simple and safe composting toliet system.

How to make a composting toilet, why to, plus many questions answered: Is urine separation necessary? Can you use with a bidet? Is it hygenic? And more. Step...

09/08/2025

Go Brad!!

Home gardeners and landscapers in the U.S. Southwest and beyond are turning more to collected rainwater.

01/09/2025

Happy new year! I haven't been on here much but wanted to finally share some updates. An arm injury knocked me down big time for the whole year - no manual labor - which is REALLY hard for me. I pivoted to more consulting and landed a dream gig designing, building, and coordinating a new community garden at the library in my hometown of Ramona. This Intergenerational Garden in a public space was a huge learning experience and so much fun. What an amazing community we have.

This is just the beginning - the seeds have been planted, metaphorically (still waiting for rain to plant real seeds), and exciting things are ahead ready to grow!

12/06/2024

Now that cob building is part of the IRC, CRI is advancing for adoption at the state level across the US. You can help us this to broaden local access to accessible, permitted cob building.

Each US state has a different process and review cadence for adopting the model code of the IRC to become the building code in that region. CRI board members Sasha Rabine, Anthony Dente, and Rebecca Kennedy are spearheading this effort in California and Texas. Local adoption of the IRC appendices is necessary for simple permitting with cob in these areas and access to these building standards without custom engineering or special exemptions made.

The local adoption will be a slow process as each state or county is up for renewal. You can help move this process forward in your town or state!
- If you are building with cob, connecting your local building officials to the IRC cob appendix may sp*ed up your permitting and raise their awareness of the research that has been done, even if it isn’t yet adopted in the state formally.
- If you are interested in reaching out to building officials in your area to advocate for adoption of the appendix, reach out and we can connect you with meeting times or officials to contact.
- If you want to accelerate this work, you can donate and help us bring code adoption to as many people as possible.
- Share cob resources and CRI updates as we see local adoption taking place! Building our community awareness will bring even more people into this effort.

Your contributions will be used to pay for labor of research, proposal development, and outreach, as well as sponsor necessary travel to attend hearings.

08/28/2024

06/28/2024

My favorite species of snake - slithering through our garden. The rosy boa is so kind and gentle - we can all learn a lesson from them. One of the slowest moving snakes, they have beautiful energy. I hadn't seen one in many years, excited it was so close to home.

04/11/2024

Have you taken your PDC and are still wondering, “What’s next?” This course will guide you step-by-step toward designing a profession that cultivates your permaculture education into a thriving regenerative enterprise. Redesign your future the permaculture way! Regeneration Nation Costa Rica p...

04/01/2024

Great opportunity coming up to learn how to install a rainwater harvesting system with a fantastic teacher!