Permaculture
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Mistletoe: Parasite or Partner?
The relationship between mistletoe and its host tree cannot be described in a single word. Parasite or partner? Science hasn't given a definitive answer — but what we observe in nature suggests this relationship is far more complex than we think.
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Pawnee Pecan: The First Trial in Sakarya and a Long Wait Ahead
Has anyone planted pecan in Sakarya? I'm trying. 5 Pawnee trees, 1 Choctaw pollinator, 2 years old, no flowers yet. Let's find out together what this newly-discovered fruit in Turkey will do in Sakarya's climate.
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Batumi Autumn Olive: Red Clusters Over the Pond and Harvest Until December
One of the first plants to thrive in the hardest conditions in the garden. With berry-flavored fruit that stays on the branch until late December, nitrogen-fixing roots that improve the soil, and berries that attract birds all winter — Batumi autumn olive is the garden's quiet hero.
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Kurpfalz Medlar: The Low-Tannin German Variety and the Codling Moth Problem
Four years growing it, now finally fruiting. Kurpfalz medlar barely needs bletting — but codling moth takes most of the crop. The honest reality of growing medlar in Sakarya.
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Queen Palm: The Tropical Beauty I Brought from the Mediterranean to Sakarya
I bought this Queen Palm from a nursery on the Mediterranean coast two years ago. It spends summers showing off in the garden and winters in my greenhouse. The price of tropical beauty in Sakarya.
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Halhalı Olive: The First Fruit After 4 Years
Four years of waiting, no fruit. This year, two tiny purple olives appeared on the branches. The honest truth about growing Halhalı olive in Sakarya: don't expect a harvest, but do expect beauty.
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My Wild Garden Bed: Cardoon, Pampas Grass and a Lemon Finally in the Ground
After 3 years in a pot, the lemon finally went into the ground this spring. Surrounded by cardoon and pampas grass in a wild garden bed. This is the story of this year's most dramatic corner of the garden.
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Aloe arborescens: Can It Overwinter in Sakarya?
I collected Aloe arborescens cuttings from a roadside in Kaş and rooted them. Now the real question: can they survive winter outdoors in Sakarya? A field experiment begins.
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Black Kale: The Winter Vegetable That Feeds the Table All Season
Black kale grown from saved seed, harvested all winter long. It gets sweeter after frost, and makes the best stuffed cabbage leaves.
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Luffa: How to Grow Your Own Natural Bath Sponge
From garden to bathroom: grow your own luffa and make a natural bath sponge. The fully biodegradable alternative to plastic sponges, and surprisingly easy to produce.
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Jerusalem Artichoke: The Most Effortless and Delicious Plant of Autumn
While the last yellow flowers of autumn bloom, delicious tubers are ripening underground. Jerusalem artichoke is one of the most effortless plants in our garden — once planted, it renews itself for years. We use it both cooked and pickled.
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Air Layering: The Propagation Method I Learned from an Accident
A trimmer accident that stripped the bark of my pomegranate led me to discover air layering. By summer's end, beautiful roots had formed. I now use this method every year on jujube, magnolia and silk tree.
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Halina Jujube: The Easiest Fruit Tree I Added to My Garden
One of the first fruit trees I added to my garden, the Halina jujube exceeded all my expectations. Easy to care for and perfectly suited to the Sakarya climate.
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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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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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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.
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Vaki and Viki: From House Mascots to the Garden's Breeding Pair
Vaki and Viki came to our home in June and were our house mascots for a while, but they grew so fast that we had to move them from the house to the garden. Now, as a pair we believe to be one female and one male, we've reached the stage of planning to collect their eggs and raise ducklings.
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A Paradise in 500 Square Meters: Permaculture's Three Numbers and the Third Ethic
I want to share a vision I teach in my courses: a small garden can feed an entire family, a tiny fraction of the world's land could feed everyone, and we could leave the rest to Gaia - if only we take Bill Mollison's third ethic seriously.
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Is the Dutch Farming Miracle Real, or Just Dependence Wearing a New Face
Lately everyone tells the same story: a tiny country, a giant agricultural export, glass greenhouses, robots, artificial intelligence. But we're always shown the storefront. I wanted to look at what's standing behind the glass.
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Artichoke: A Perennial That's Both Beautiful and Nourishing, Refusing to Give Up Even in Drought
The artichoke is one of those rare plants that offers both visual beauty and real nutrition in the garden, and on top of that, it's a perennial. It struggled a bit in this summer's drought, but came back with fresh new shoots in autumn.
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Electroculture: I Have a Copper Antenna Too, But Let's Check the Science First
After seeing an Instagram post claiming a copper wire antenna makes plants grow 30-40% faster, I dug into both the history and the current scientific evidence on electroculture. I also have an honest plan for the copper wire I already own.
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Casuarina Equisetifolia: A Windbreak Tree Growing Patiently in the Garden
Native to Australia and looking like a pine with its needle-like branchlets despite having no relation to pines at all, Casuarina equisetifolia is growing slowly but steadily in the garden, and it brings real value to a permaculture system.
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Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth: A Trailing Beauty That Self-Seeds Every Year
The story of a self-seeding amaranth variety with long, trailing velvet tassels that returns every year on its own - identity, permaculture value, and how to grow it.
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Honeysuckle: The Bee-Loved Fragrant Vine
A guide to honeysuckle, prized for its fragrant flowers and its benefit to bees - identity, permaculture value, and how to grow it.
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Self-Heal (Prunella Vulgaris): A Small but Versatile Garden Plant
Self-heal, botanically Prunella vulgaris, is a small plant spreading on its own in my garden, notable both as a ground cover and for its traditional uses.
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Soapwort: A Natural Cleaning Plant That Foams with Water
Soapwort is a plant that genuinely foams when mixed with water, traditionally used as a natural alternative to soap. We planted it in our garden both for its looks and for this use.
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Amaranth (Black Cockscomb): A Plant That Grows on Its Own
Amaranth now grows on its own in our garden, no planting needed. Its flowers are stunning and the seeds are technically edible, though we haven't tried them ourselves. What we love most is that it keeps coming back with zero intervention.
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My English-Style Naturalistic Planting: A Dry Garden Experiment
In one corner of my garden I'm trying an English-style naturalistic planting approach, working only with perennials and planting nothing new. Right now it's in its dry-season phase.
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Oleander: It Bloomed Despite the Bad Soil
This oleander barely survived for years in the worst soil in my garden. This year the plants above it started casting shade, and it finally bloomed properly.
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Atriplex halimus: Sea Purslane, PFAF's Forgotten Plant
It entered my list from the PFAF system and I understood why later. Atriplex halimus is edible, drought-resistant, salt-tolerant and soil-improving. One of permaculture's forgotten treasures.
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Lespedeza thunbergii: The Nitrogen Master That Drapes the Slope Like a Bridal Veil
Every year it resurges from the base, covering the entire slope with pink flowers by late August. Lespedeza thunbergii is both a feast for the eyes and a gift to the soil.
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Chrysopogon zizanioides (Vetiver): The Fragrant Grass That Holds the Soil
I planted it on slopes to prevent soil erosion. But vetiver is not just an erosion solution, it is also highly valuable for its medicinal and aromatic properties.
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Egyptian Walking Onions: The Forever Onion of Your Garden
Plant once, harvest forever. Egyptian walking onions are self-propagating perennials that practically take care of themselves.
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Improve Your Soil with Jerusalem Artichoke
Plant it once and benefit for years — it improves your soil and enriches your table.
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