Permaculture? What is that?
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Permaculture is short for “permanent agriculture.” Some people also call it “ecological agriculture.” It is a system of growing food using nature’s governing principles of ecology, which is simply the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment. Basically, permaculture seeks to grow things like nature grows things. It is a system of ecological mimicry. A permie works with nature as a guiding principle rather than something to be fought against and defeated. Observation is much more highly valued than thoughtless labor and treating everything as an integrated, functional system rather than a single product monoculture.
I like to say that it is a way of growing the most amount of food in the least amount of space for the least amount of work, because that is the result. Ecology works whether you live in a New York apartment for a 500-acre farm in Nebraska.
Ecology and smart design alleviates drought, increases soil mass and fertility, encourages thoughtful use of the land, and best of all, grows great tasting stuff. Permaculture does this by imitating natural systems. Forests do not have insect problems, fertility issues, or need tilling. They work perfectly well by themselves. The goal is to create a place with the stability and resilience of our natural ecosystems.
I am a permie because it works and takes a lot less effort. We have a saying that if you have a lot of slugs, you do not have a slug problem. You have a duck deficiency. Turning a problem into a creative solution is paramount to the concept of thoughtful observation. Does water run underneath your house like a river when it rains? Divert the water to your plants with swales and use the rest to raise fish in a natural no-pump pond. The pond will attract frogs, lizards, birds, and insects that maintain the strength of the ecological system.
The only thing permaculture really demands of a person is the desire to do things ethically. Anyone can learn permaculture as a design system. Not everyone will actually do it or care about why it matters. Permaculture only asks that you what you can do, you will do.
Even choosing a native tree over an exotic is a permaculture decision. Catching rainwater in swales or a rain barrel instead of letting it go into a storm drain is a permaculture decision. Don't just mulch underneath a tree. Mulch a tree with plants that support it by attracting pollinators, feeding it, or keeping the grass at bay. You'll see that the nature God designed kind of has this whole thing put together. Attract predatory insects with the right plants and you won't have to spray for caterpillars or beetles. If you want a lawn, why stop at grass? Grow a mix of native grasses with purple prairie clover, Illinois bundleflower, and...gasp...dandelions. You will have a lot more songbirds.
Permaculture is about a different set of priorities from conventional landscape design. It isn't just about appearance. A permaculture designer doesn't plant a flower just for its own sake, or because it's pretty and has a sculptural quality. A permaculture designer's requirements are more strenuous than that. A permaculture designer asks what benefit the flower has, because it's going to be taking up space that another plant might use better. Does the flower feed anything? Attract or repel anything? What function does it serve? Ideally, everything should fulfill several functions.
Ecology and smart design alleviates drought, increases soil mass and fertility, encourages thoughtful use of the land, and best of all, grows great tasting stuff. Permaculture does this by imitating natural systems. Forests do not have insect problems, fertility issues, or need tilling. They work perfectly well by themselves. The goal is to create a place with the stability and resilience of our natural ecosystems.
I am a permie because it works and takes a lot less effort. We have a saying that if you have a lot of slugs, you do not have a slug problem. You have a duck deficiency. Turning a problem into a creative solution is paramount to the concept of thoughtful observation. Does water run underneath your house like a river when it rains? Divert the water to your plants with swales and use the rest to raise fish in a natural no-pump pond. The pond will attract frogs, lizards, birds, and insects that maintain the strength of the ecological system.
The only thing permaculture really demands of a person is the desire to do things ethically. Anyone can learn permaculture as a design system. Not everyone will actually do it or care about why it matters. Permaculture only asks that you what you can do, you will do.
Even choosing a native tree over an exotic is a permaculture decision. Catching rainwater in swales or a rain barrel instead of letting it go into a storm drain is a permaculture decision. Don't just mulch underneath a tree. Mulch a tree with plants that support it by attracting pollinators, feeding it, or keeping the grass at bay. You'll see that the nature God designed kind of has this whole thing put together. Attract predatory insects with the right plants and you won't have to spray for caterpillars or beetles. If you want a lawn, why stop at grass? Grow a mix of native grasses with purple prairie clover, Illinois bundleflower, and...gasp...dandelions. You will have a lot more songbirds.
Permaculture is about a different set of priorities from conventional landscape design. It isn't just about appearance. A permaculture designer doesn't plant a flower just for its own sake, or because it's pretty and has a sculptural quality. A permaculture designer's requirements are more strenuous than that. A permaculture designer asks what benefit the flower has, because it's going to be taking up space that another plant might use better. Does the flower feed anything? Attract or repel anything? What function does it serve? Ideally, everything should fulfill several functions.
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Twelve Permaculture Principles (David Holmgren):
- Observe and Interact
- Catch and Store Energy
- Obtain a yield
- Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback
- Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
- Produce No Waste
- Design From Patterns to Details
- Integrate Rather Than Segregate
- Use Small and Slow Solutions
- Use and Value Diversity
- Use Edges and Value the Marginal
- Creatively Use and Respond to Change
Importance of Native Plants to Permaculture:
I design using 80-100% plants that are native to Bell County. This reduces maintenance and water use, provides habitat for native critters, and forms the foundation of a sustainable landscape. Native animals need native plants. Only native plants can create the ecology necessary for our birds, pollinators, and others to live. Monarch butterflies only lay eggs on milkweed species (Asclepias ssp.). Non-native tropical milkweed encourages the presence of parasitic mites on the caterpillars that cause them to decline and die once they pupate. Native milkweed species such as A. asperula and A. tuberosa are healthy and critical to Monarch survival. Permaculture doesn't just design places to grow food. It designs ecosystems. It reduces work by allowing nature to do the work that nature is designed to do: fix things. Nature wants to work. It wants to work so desperately that it covers any patch of open ground with whatever it can. For the common St. Augustine lawn, this often includes dandelions and various other "weeds" like Shepherd's Purse, which is actually a great medicinal herb. |
Many people switching to organic gardening complain about the pest outbreaks they have, so they go back to chemicals to fix it. This actually makes things worse. Spraying for bugs upsets the balance. It is actually good to have a few bugs. They attract the predatory insects that will eat them. When a person sprays, it kills everything, including the beneficial ones, leaving the plants open and defenseless against the next onslaught we all know is coming. The second attack is worse than the first, so the person sprays more, and more, and more. Why all this work in the first place? If we let nature do its thing, we wouldn't have to go through all that toil.
Encouraging beneficial insects and animals is a key component to a successful ecosystem. There are many plants that do this function, especially those of the Asteraceae and Apiaceae families (daises and carrots). You can plant these around your trees and more delicate plants to protect them. Having a small water feature encourages dragonflies, birds, frogs, and lizards that will integrate into the system and bring it back into a state of balance. Even just having a pile of rocks or a fallen log creates habitat for lizards and specialized insects. People are now creating "insect hotels" for solitary bees and predatory wasps because they recognize the importance of these creatures in the ecosystem, where once they saw a nuisance. Native plants attract pollinators and ecologists have brought a lot of attention to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This is a wonderful thing and everyone should include a host of native pollinator-loving plants such as passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), Mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea), and Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora). |
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Examples of Permaculture Design:
The Food Forest is one of the pinnacle permaculture concepts. It is a perennial, self-sustaining, and low-maintenance system of layered plants designed to provide year-round food sources. My logo is a loose representation of a food forest. You can design a perennial food system without thoughtful plant choices and good layering. Once installed, a food forest only gets better over time.
Permaculture utilizes all sorts of livestock and birds in its systems. Animal products are a great asset and facilitate general maintenance. Ducks and geese are particularly suited to orchards as they mow, eat insects, and fertilize the trees. Waste from chickens, rabbits, and livestock become fantastic compost for the garden and enhance soil fertility. Livestock are rotated through a series of pastures to mimic migrational habits and reduce worm infestations, as well as stimulating plant growth.
Only water is more important than healthy soil, and that is only because you can’t have healthy soil without water. Soil is alive. It must be made and it is to that endeavor that a permie puts the bulk of their time. Good soil is the backbone upon which everything else rests. There is more fresh water in the soil than all of the freshwater lakes and rivers on earth. A tablespoon of soil has 10 billion microorganisms in it. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, insects, and worms form mutualistic relationships with plants and team up to create this system to which no other compares. Nitrogen-fixing plants such as peas, beans, and clover wouldn't be able to do a thing without the Rhizobium bacteria living on their roots. There is no soil without microbes.
Permaculture spends a lot of time studying water and water conservation. Water is the single most important to food production and is a critical element of life. Water should never be allowed to run off your property if you can help it. Runoff is an unused resource you could be using to grow something. For the urban permie, using rain barrels is a great option, but you could also funnel the water directly to your plants by way of swales and mulch pits. If you can, a natural pond is one of the best things you can do. Ponds should have 25-50% native plant cover to eliminate algal blooms, remove the need for a pump or filter, and support various forms of life such as fish, dragonflies, and frogs.
Swales are the quintessential thing when people think of permaculture. It is a bermed ditch built on the contour of the land to intercept, store, and sink water. Trees and plants on the downslope berm take advantage of the longer-lasting water supply and are drought resistant. The trees also shade the swale and reduce evaporation. Not all projects use swales, but where they can be used, they are a great addition to the permie toolbox.
Texas can never have enough trees. If you do nothing else, plant a tree. Trees alleviate drought and through a process of condensation and humidity, produce rain. The farther inland, the more important trees are to rainfall levels, until trees could result in the production of 80-100% of rainfall in an area. They shield, conserve, and make soil. They reduce weather extremes through evaporation off their leaves, making it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Trees moderate wind and sun through their canopy, reducing soil evaporation, and conserving groundwater. Native trees support insects, birds, lizards, and mammals, as well as produce lumber, food, and shade for our use.
The Food Forest is one of the pinnacle permaculture concepts. It is a perennial, self-sustaining, and low-maintenance system of layered plants designed to provide year-round food sources. My logo is a loose representation of a food forest. You can design a perennial food system without thoughtful plant choices and good layering. Once installed, a food forest only gets better over time.
Permaculture utilizes all sorts of livestock and birds in its systems. Animal products are a great asset and facilitate general maintenance. Ducks and geese are particularly suited to orchards as they mow, eat insects, and fertilize the trees. Waste from chickens, rabbits, and livestock become fantastic compost for the garden and enhance soil fertility. Livestock are rotated through a series of pastures to mimic migrational habits and reduce worm infestations, as well as stimulating plant growth.
Only water is more important than healthy soil, and that is only because you can’t have healthy soil without water. Soil is alive. It must be made and it is to that endeavor that a permie puts the bulk of their time. Good soil is the backbone upon which everything else rests. There is more fresh water in the soil than all of the freshwater lakes and rivers on earth. A tablespoon of soil has 10 billion microorganisms in it. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, insects, and worms form mutualistic relationships with plants and team up to create this system to which no other compares. Nitrogen-fixing plants such as peas, beans, and clover wouldn't be able to do a thing without the Rhizobium bacteria living on their roots. There is no soil without microbes.
Permaculture spends a lot of time studying water and water conservation. Water is the single most important to food production and is a critical element of life. Water should never be allowed to run off your property if you can help it. Runoff is an unused resource you could be using to grow something. For the urban permie, using rain barrels is a great option, but you could also funnel the water directly to your plants by way of swales and mulch pits. If you can, a natural pond is one of the best things you can do. Ponds should have 25-50% native plant cover to eliminate algal blooms, remove the need for a pump or filter, and support various forms of life such as fish, dragonflies, and frogs.
Swales are the quintessential thing when people think of permaculture. It is a bermed ditch built on the contour of the land to intercept, store, and sink water. Trees and plants on the downslope berm take advantage of the longer-lasting water supply and are drought resistant. The trees also shade the swale and reduce evaporation. Not all projects use swales, but where they can be used, they are a great addition to the permie toolbox.
Texas can never have enough trees. If you do nothing else, plant a tree. Trees alleviate drought and through a process of condensation and humidity, produce rain. The farther inland, the more important trees are to rainfall levels, until trees could result in the production of 80-100% of rainfall in an area. They shield, conserve, and make soil. They reduce weather extremes through evaporation off their leaves, making it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Trees moderate wind and sun through their canopy, reducing soil evaporation, and conserving groundwater. Native trees support insects, birds, lizards, and mammals, as well as produce lumber, food, and shade for our use.