Permaculture definitely values flexibility. If a plant isn’t doing well in one place, then move it somewhere else. If something was built poorly, learn from it, and fix it. Stubbornness and intractability are not virtues in the permie mindset. However, permies are careful in how they do things. A permie spends a lot of time observing and thinking. It is not reactionary. The only way to make positive changes is with thoughtful consideration before doing them. Many permies have a spot on their property that they use for this purpose, to slow down, observe, and think. You may notice something important you may have missed otherwise. The phrase for this principle is, “Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be.” A permie needs to know where they are going, what the goals are, and what it takes to get there. Let’s say you are on a boat out in the middle of the ocean. You need to know three very important things. First, you need to know where you came from. Secondly, you need to know why are out there in the first place. What needs to change? What is so important about this journey? Lastly, you need to know where you are going. People who make mistakes are usually missing one of these vital components. It is easy on the permaculture journey to forget why you are working and what you are working towards. If you are someone who loses sight of your goal easily, then print out your design and hang it up where you can look at it frequently. Let it inspire you. It will remind you of your vision. What is your vision? In other words, what is your mission statement? When you get caught up in life, and you forget, have your mission statement to refer back to. It will keep you grounded so you can look forward.
It is easy to look at a mess of weeds, broken fences, or simple nothingness and be discouraged. Surely, I am not judging you when I say that. People like Joel Salatin are considered permie visionaries because they were able to see what they wanted to create, how they eventually wanted it, and not forget that sight. Polyface has accomplished huge things in the world of sustainable agriculture. You may be thinking, well, I’m not a Joel Salatin and I don’t own Polyface. There is no reason what you can’t be like Joel Salatin and create a Polyface. Even if you live in a suburb in the middle of Dallas. For a permie, you might as well dream big. It may take you twenty years to get there, but that is okay. Be creative. Thoughtfully respond to challenges and changes. It has rained in my part of Texas more in the past year than in the past 10-15 years. I have an inundation of water I will probably never have again, but I need to work with it now, so I am creatively responding to changes. I never thought I would have too much water in central Texas, but I do now. I am building catchment ponds and swale systems I never considered two years ago. Stuff happens. Work with it. A permie must be creative and flexible. You never know what nature might throw at you. The phrase for this is, “Don’t think you are on the right track just because it’s a well-beaten path.” Permaculture values crazy ideas and experiments. Done properly, permaculture can be a scientific endeavor where people test their ideas, no matter how strange or unusual. Who knows? Your idea may be just the right answer for someone’s situation. Have a problem? How can you use it as a benefit? On an ecological standpoint, the marginal place between two systems is the most diverse and special. The edge between a forest and a field support more species than both systems combined. It doesn’t just support forest species or field species. It also has species particular to the edge that do not exist elsewhere. Why do permies make everything wavy instead of straight? Because waves maximize edge and edge equals cool stuff. Don’t build a round pond. Make a pond shaped like an amoeba with lots of different depths. It can support so much more and you will be able to plant so much more in the same amount of space. You will hear permies talk about the edge for days. They will say how straight lines rarely exist in nature. Some others will try to make everything round and wavy just because it maximizes edge, even if it decreases functionality. There is a happy medium to maintain between having as much edge as possible while still being functional. My garden uses boxy raised beds, typical of a Southern Living magazine. But that is not permie, you say. It is not wavy and edgy! This is true. However, my native soil is so heavy, and it has rained so much, that if I do not have raised beds I won’t be able to grow anything soon enough to feed myself. That is all well and good, you say, but why have beds in straight lines? Because making round beds with the material I have to use is cost prohibitive. I can make round, wavy beds, or something reminiscent of a Mandala. Mandala gardens are very popular. I have chosen not to do that in my intensive fenced-in garden. It goes against my permie grain to do it, but it is the best decision for my needs. Everything outside the garden is as textbook permie as could be.
My point is that the purpose of your permaculture system is to FEED YOU. Ecological principles such as maximizing edge and valuing the marginal areas of life must peacefully coexist with your need to eat, not become tyrants. The edge is a tool. Use your tools as best as you can. The edge is extremely valuable. It is almost always the most productive area of your system. Use it wherever you can, but don’t let this principle work you. You are supposed to work the principle. If a part of a design does not work for you or your client, then it doesn’t work for you or your client. The principles are a textbook. In your life as a permie, you eventually have to get outside the textbook and begin to do what you need done. This is such an important aspect of permaculture that it would be difficult to overstate. Permaculture is ecological and an ecosystem runs and breathes based on its level of diversity. One of the hallmarks of a climax community, an ecosystem that has finished succession, is a high level of permanent diversity in plant and animal species. We see this in old growth forests such as the forests surrounding Arlington National Cemetery. The system is able to exist because it has many specialized species and niches. Think of a large corporation. It has hundreds of different jobs filled by thousands of people. The jobs are the niches and the people are the species. A business cannot be expected to survive with only janitors and accountants, but that is what modern agriculture is trying to do with its monoculture system. When you have thousands of acres filled with one species, let’s say wheat or corn, it should be no surprise that if an outbreak occurs, it would destroy everything. There is only one species to kill, one group of identical accountants in a business of just accountants. You see how this could be a problem. That is how famines are born. But when there is a diverse system, the different members support and protect one another. Even if there is an outbreak, it only kills a small set of species, not all of them. ![]() Do not put your eggs in one basket. Just like in the stock market, diversity reduces risk. Your comfrey may die, but your chamomile and borage still remain. Hornworms may annihilate all of your tomatoes, but if you have squash, peppers, and asparagus, you will still eat that day. Back to the climax community. There are levels to a mature system and this is what the food forest concept is based off of. Feel free to read up on that, but in short it is a design that mimics a climax forest to support fruit tree production. There are species that attract pollinators, shade the ground, compete against grass, and other niches to sustain the growth and health of the tree. The tree gives physical support, a deep percolating root system, leaf matter for mulch, and protection from the elements such as heavy winds or rain. Take out one element and the system is not as strong. Diversity is necessary to the proper wellbeing and continuance of an ecosystem. Permaculture seeks to create an ecosystem. You cannot do so without a diverse population of plants and animals. Even if you don’t have chickens or goats, nematodes, insects, and small birds can account for all that you need to make your system thrive. The small things make up most species on the planet anyway. The microbial flora in the soil alone can number ten billion per tablespoon with hundreds of species we cannot even culture in laboratories yet. Every new species brings something different. Of course, diversity for diversity’s sake does not make any sense either. What plants you use have to go together and that takes study and experimentation. That is what the permaculture guild is all about. Species have to match your climate and environment. I would love to grow elderberries, but my soil is just way too alkaline and heavy. It makes more sense to invest in adaptable native species. Then again, sometimes it is fun to just throw something out there and see how it does. Once your system’s diversity is maintained (think climax) then you have the freedom to really have fun. You may find that you possess a special microclimate that allows a new species to thrive. Diversity takes advantage of the unique aspects of your property and your needs. Monocultures are delicate and extremely risky (not to mention boring). Protect your investment, time, and food security with a diverse system that is able to support itself. ![]() It is easy to be overwhelmed by the possibilities and tasks of a permaculture garden, especially if you have several acres or a large farm. It can seem impossible to bring a complicated plan into fruition. However, the plan can, and should be, slow by design. Small systems are easier and faster to maintain than big ones. This is common sense. Large systems can often be broken down into smaller pieces that build upon one another. Often this can be the only feasible way to finish a large, intensive design. For example, I have 3.6 acres of blackland. The plan is to plant about a hundred fruit bearing trees, install a swale system, integrate the stockpond with native water plants, get chickens with their own system of runs, goats, a greenhouse, a fenced in garden (because of the goats), windbreaks between the septic sprayers and the rest of the property, and a myriad other things including an extensive food forest. Would I be crazy to install this all at once even if I had the money? Absolutely. I can’t possibly take care of all of that by myself. I can’t care for the chickens properly until their run system is established and able to feed them. Same thing with the goats, except on a much larger scale. I can’t afford to do all this if I can’t eat, so the garden takes high priority. Then if I build the greenhouse, I can buy seeds to grow many of the plants I want instead of buying plants, which saves a ton of money. Building the swales helps water the trees. The garden will take effort, but once it is established, it will not take as much of my energy. The food forest and perennial plants will take a lot of time and money to install, but after a couple years, they will largely grow themselves. Start small and slow. Be patient. Do not overwhelm yourself with too much. Know your limits, know your desires, and stay within what you are capable of. In the future, I want to consider having a small group of meat rabbits. Will I actually get them? That completely depends on what I have to sacrifice at the time to include them. The benefits must outweigh the cost. We have limited time and energy to give. If we want to include something new, that means something else will have a corresponding sacrifice. It may take you twenty years to realize your permaculture vision. And that is perfectly all right. Self-sufficiency is a myth, because no one should try to do everything themselves and exist without the support of a community. Such people try to segregate themselves from the world. This defies the basic human need for relationship and community. The proverb “many hands make light work” applies. A robust, connected group is not only makes work faster and easier, it makes life so much more worth living. We were designed for relationship and we should not shun or ignore the communal aspect of life.
This applies to permaculture in a myriad of ways. We should seek to integrate with the community with our food, our methods, and our love of people. Building bridges takes a lot more time and effort than not building one at all, but once you have one it is much easier to cross a river. Bridges allow free exchange of knowledge and resources. The current monoculture represents a world without bridges. There are no helper plants to aid them. There are no repellant plants to keep destructive bugs away, or aromatic plants to encourage necessary pollinators. They are islands in an empty sea, completely segregated. Permaculture tries to create a flowing and integrated ecosystem where the whole is so much, much greater than the sum of its parts. The plants support each other and together, have a yield far surpassing anything they could have accomplished alone. In this way, permaculture wants to make bridges and communities, both with people and plants. This may not be as obvious as some of the previous principles, but from a designer’s point of view, it makes complete sense. To wit, don’t get bogged down in the details of decorating the house before you have a house or know which room is the kitchen.
Nature uses many different patterns that can shed light on permaculture design: the spiral, hexagon, branching, keyhole, overbeck jet, and flowform to name a few. We can use these patterns to aerate water, distribute nutrients, and create an energetic flow through the design. The proverb “can’t see the forest for the trees” tells us that in any part of life, we can’t let ourselves get distracted by the little things. You’ll end up missing something, I guarantee it. Whenever I design a house floor plan (it’s a hobby), I usually forget about where to put the washer and dryer. That’s a pretty important part of family logistics, but I get distracted by where to put the couch and dining table. You don’t want to be like me designing houses. Just saying. First put down those essential things, and the other smaller things will fall into place. This comes as rather self-explanatory. It not only means the obvious, “produce no waste,” but also that any waste you have means you have a lost opportunity. Pollution is energy and opportunity wasted and waste is…well, wasteful. Food scraps can be given to pigs, chickens, or worms, all of which turn “waste” into a useable resource. Practically anything can be composted, so organic matter shouldn’t be an issue. Worms in particular have become popular for converting waste. Many people are experimenting with composting toilets that employ worms to increase sanitation and again, turn waste into an opportunity. Animal manure is composted and spread throughout the garden for nutrients and biomass. A permaculturist tries to find an opportunity in every situation. A pond full of algae means excess energy. That means you can grow a host of water plants and some fish. What was once wasteful is now useful. This goes back to catching and storing energy. Pollution means you are not catching, storing, and using all of the energy available to you, and that is simply unwise. It’s like throwing away money. Or at the very least not making as much as you could be if you thought a little bit harder. There is a group building houses out of plastic bottles filled with unrecyclable waste, like batteries. They can’t break down the batteries, but they can use them for something else. One of the biggest potential sources of waste for the permaculturist is actually having too much food. Nature likes growing stuff, and a permaculture gardener often finds the kitchen overflowing with vegetables, fruit, and milk. Many getting into permaculture do not find themselves as willing to spend days and weeks putting that food up for the future. They didn’t expect to can, dehydrate, pickle, and preserve hundreds of pounds of food and still have more to do. It can be overwhelming. Things go bad left and right. Even the neighbors can get overwhelmed with summer squash and tomatoes.
This is where the people care and fair share ethics come into play. You have too much? There are plenty who do not. There are food banks, shelters, churches, and charities that need what you can provide. This should not be disagreeable. It should be an honor to give of what we have been blessed with. There should be no waste in the permaculture life. ![]() Anything that continues to give is better than something that only gives once. This is common sense and such things should be valued. Horses often come to mind when you think of a renewable resource that is also a service. The old Depression saying of “reuse, recycle, or do without” exemplifies this concept of getting out of the consumerism rat race. Necessity is the mother of invention and you will be surprised with the things you can achieve with what you already have. An ugly sweater can be unraveled and knitted into a coat for winter goat babies or a pair of mittens. There has been a resurgence of recycling and creative upcycling with the derision of consumer culture and the fact most of us don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on unnecessary things. It requires a change in mindset. With permaculture, this comes in the form of perennial plants instead of annuals, and food forests that provide food over the entire season. Many medicinal plants are perennials. Such practices allow us to get out of the consumer cycle and be less dependent on non-renewable, less sustainable resources. Plowing creates a nutrient flush that plants can use and grow quickly. Once. But it swiftly depletes soil so it has to be artificially renewed with chemical fertilizers. You pay for speed and the excessive nutrient use with soil strength, fertility, and your own money because you have an added cost you wouldn’t have had if you didn’t plow. A more renewable option, such as intercropping with legumes, is not as environmentally or monetarily expensive. Physics and experience tell us that every action has a complete and opposite reaction. If you want everything now, you will pay for it. Excessive control comes at an equally excessive cost. Permaculture values those things that give over time and are not quickly exhausted. It saves time, money, and peace of mind knowing that you will not be suddenly bereft. ![]() This principle has to do with living wisely and within reasonable boundaries. Self-regulation is not a common thing in our society anymore. We indulge in every kind of excess, whether it is food, materialism, sex, or personality. The regulated person is becoming a thing of the past, scornfully regarded as Victorian or Puritanical. We scoff at the limits of society, philosophy, and culture. I only ask a person to consider why the fence was there in the first place before tearing it down. Fences don’t only keep you in. They also keep other things out. Think about that. The proverb for this principle is a Biblical one. “The sins of the fathers are visited on the children to the seventh generation.” Permaculture isn’t applying this proverb philosophically, but economically. Our children and our children’s children suffer when we indulge in excess and do inappropriate things with our lives and with the earth. Some things need to be discouraged and punished because they are dangerous. What damages the system damages us, and sometimes the damage can be so difficult to fix. Sometimes the damage is irrevocable. We need to be careful about what we do, because the consequences of our decisions are not always quick and obvious. Negative feedback can be a slow beast. Therefore, we must be wise with our knowledge and our actions. We must also be willing to accept feedback, whatever it is. In this way, permaculture strives for pragmatism and objectivity as we learn what should be done and shouldn’t. “When your needs are simple, it doesn’t require much time or work to meet them.” – Mark Boyle ![]() “You can’t work on an empty stomach” is this principle’s accompanying proverb. Permaculture realizes that while all of this ecological theory is well and good, is doesn’t help much if you starve. I love that pragmatism. It forces the person to get out of the library and put it into practice. Permaculture is not the field of the sitter. It is the field of the walker and the digger and the harvester. You have to do it. However, some people have taken “obtaining a yield” possibly too far. Many people have criticized large enterprise people like Joel Salatin for making too much money, sacrificing permaculture for profit, and the like, or permaculture designers for charging too much money for their services. I personally think most of these people have misunderstood this principle. There is nothing wrong with making money. There is nothing wrong with keeping yourself to the standard of other professionals when it comes to how much you charge. If you asked Joel Salatin and any designer worth the name, they would say they charge what they do to make enough money to continue to do what they do. You can’t expect a designer to offer his services for free or next to nothing. He wouldn’t be able to eat enough to give his services in the first place. You obtain a yield in whatever form because we live in a world where you need food, housing, clothing, and transportation. You also need some extra money in case your car dies or you get tuberculosis. Permaculture is not idealistic enough to demand its adherents forget about reality. A person has needs and those needs much be bought or bartered for. Now, some people are rightly concerned about a person abusing permaculture to obtain an abnormally high yield so they can become wealthy and live the good life in Aruba. Personally, I would go to Germany, but that’s just me. There is truth to this concern. We see it everywhere in business and in families. I honestly don’t think many permaculture people are at risk for this, but we must always remember why we obtain a yield. It isn’t just for us, and it shouldn’t be. The three permaculture ethics are earth care, people care, and fair share. When we have surplus, we should give of what we have. We are not islands in an endless sea. We are part of families, communities, counties, states, and countries. A permaculturist should never hoard. We should desire to give what we have been blessed with in order to be a blessing. That can come in the form of food, knowledge, physical aid, and items we need to live. I am a sucker for a good homemade soap. Obtain a yield so you can live and so can your community. That is this principle. |
Rebecca Burrow
I am a Christian permie designer trying to spread the word about Christian land stewardship through permaculture. I like goats a lot. Maaaaaaaah. Archives
September 2016
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Burrow Permaculture Consulting | Permie Blog |