Permaculture · Sustainable Living · Circular Farming
Touching the soil
changes everything.
For 10 years I've been transforming my garden with permaculture. Honest notes on rare seeds, cuttings and circular living.
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Casimiroa Edulis: A Tropical Tree Surviving 4 Years in Sakarya
Also known as White Sapote, Casimiroa edulis has been in our garden for 4 years. It takes some winter damage each year but bounces back every spring. We haven't seen fruit yet — but we're waiting patiently.
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Pampas Grass: My Garden's Majestic but Invasive Guest
The pampas grass I added for landscaping puts on a spectacular show every autumn with its massive feathery plumes. But I should be clear: this plant is invasive and aggressive. I'm growing it until the other plants establish, then I'll decide what to do.
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What Is Reuben Blackberry? Taste, Harvest Season, and Growing Guide
I first mistook this blackberry's name for a raspberry cultivar, but research showed it's actually a patented blackberry developed by the University of Arkansas. Thanks to its primocane trait, it fruits on a new cane every year.
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Is Kousa Dogwood Fruit Edible? Taste, Seeds, and Ornamental Value
I planted Cornus kousa after finding it listed as an edible plant on PFAF, and got my first fruit this year. It turned out very seedy - but its ornamental value in the garden is beyond question. Origin, taste, care, and cold hardiness, all here.
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What Is Myrtle (Murt)? Growing, Uses, and Harvest Time
I planted this fragrant Mediterranean shrub in my garden. From its origin to my experience in Sakarya, from fruit taste to cold hardiness - everything you need to know about myrtle.
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Che Fruit Has Ripened: The First Harvest of the Bumpy Pink Fruit
The fruit on our che tree (Maclura tricuspidata) ripened this year, and we started picking and eating it. It tastes somewhere between mulberry and fig, with a sweet, juicy interior hiding under that bumpy red skin.
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Eryngium Yuccifolium 'Magical Silver Globe': The Drought-Tolerant Perennial I Brought From Sweden
This plant I found and brought back from a nursery in Sweden is Eryngium yuccifolium 'Magical Silver Globe' - a multi-purpose perennial with silvery, globe-shaped flower heads. Its deep taproot lets it stay standing even through drought.
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Chinese Yam: The Vine's Real Identity - Not Apios, But a Cinnamon-Scented Yam
I initially mistook this vine for Apios, but its real identity turned out to be Chinese Yam (Dioscorea polystachya). The bead-like growths in the photo aren't dug from soil - they're aerial bulbils forming at the leaf axils. It's an interesting edible plant, but one that also needs careful handling.
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Pawpaw: Our Kentucky Champion Gave Its First Ripe Fruit - A Flavor Between Banana, Pineapple, and Pudding
We ate ripe fruit from our pawpaw tree for the first time this year - the cultivar is Kentucky Champion. The flavor was genuinely striking, something between banana, pineapple, and pudding. Researching why such a good fruit isn't in supermarkets turned up an interesting story.
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Black Madeira Fig: Its First Fruit, But It Couldn't Ripen This Year
Our Black Madeira fig tree gave its first fruit this year, but it couldn't ripen because of rainy, cool weather. Researching the cultivar helped me understand why - it wants a late, warm season. We'll see if it delivers next year.
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130 Kilograms of Rain: A Diary of the Record Day We Lived Through in Sakarya
It hasn't stopped raining in Sakarya for the past three days, and on September 29th, 133.6 kilograms of rain per square meter broke a record that had stood since 1999. In this diary entry I'm sharing both the numbers and what an extreme weather event like this stirs up in me as a gardener.
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Giant Elephant Garlic: Not True Garlic, But the Garden's Giant Star
These massive cloves coming out of our garden are elephant garlic. Botanically it's actually closer to leek than true garlic, and that's exactly why its flavor is so much milder and sweeter.
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Chandler Walnut: A Trendy Cultivar That Turned Into a Big Disappointment in Our Region
We had a big disappointment with Chandler walnut. Once the trendy cultivar of its era, Chandler is now planted everywhere, but in our region it keeps getting sick and there's almost no harvest - anthracnose, stink bugs, and humidity are all working against it.
Read more"Keep the cycle, the future is in your hands."
— HE-QA Garden
Permaculture for me is not just a gardening technique — it's a life philosophy. To repair the soil, keep the cycle and leave a richer nature for future generations. Every seed is a trust, every cutting a hope.
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Letters from the Garden
Seasonal planting calendars, rare plant introductions and permaculture tips. Once a week.