Permaculture Garden Philosophy
Permaculture concepts seem to be creeping
into the world of gardening so this is a
summary of some of the basic ideas.
Characteristic Rational
-------------- ---------
Rich soil built mostly Reduced tilling and surface
from surface mulch. mulching mimics nature and
requires less work
Diversity of plant and Increased diversity means
animal life. This includes increased yield and less niches
the concept of stacking. for unwanted plants.
Beneficial relationships Increased plant health and
between plants and animals fewer niches for unwanted plants
Emphasis on perennials Perennials require less work and
occur frequently in nature.
Closed cycles are allowed Fewer inputs of materials from
and encouraged. This increases the outside are needed. The
interaction between the soil, fertilizer and mulch is produced
plants, animals, and humans. locally. This reduces work and cost.
It sounds good, but how does in work in practice? I've found
that it sometimes takes lots of work setting things up and does
require knowledge. The chemical gardening and farming methods
can be successful with little thinking. For a farmer in todays
economy these ideas appear risky and difficult because few have
the time to experiment. For someone like myself they are the cats
meow. So, yes they work if one is willing to dig deep enough.
I've also found that it is almost never "right" the first time
and is never perfect. We "humans" are part of the cycles and
can't just ignore the garden. For some reason this last point
isn't found often in Permaculture literature. One gets the
impressing a good design has a high probability of succeeding. I
would turn that around and say a good ongoing relationship has a
good chance of succeeding. We are part of the design.
jeff
