Permaculture

While doing an organic gardening internship last year, I became interested in permaculture. For those of you not familiar with what permaculture is, here is how Wikipedia describes it:

Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, environmental design, construction and Integrated Water Resources Management that develops sustainable architecture, regenerative and self-maintained habitat and agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems. The term permaculture (as a systematic method) was first coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978. The word permaculture originally referred to "permanent agriculture"  but was expanded to stand also for "permanent culture," as it was seen that social aspects were integral to a truly sustainable system as inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka's natural farming philosophy.

"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system." - Bill Mollison

I read as many books as I could find on the subject and found it to be fascinating in its’ simplicity of following nature’s patterns but at times complex in its’ application to the land. The core values of permaculture are:

 

Care for the earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply. This is the first principle, because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish.

Care for the people: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence.

Return of surplus: Reinvesting surpluses back into the system to provide for the first two ethics. This includes returning waste back into the system to recycle into usefulness.

Once I returned from my internship, I wanted to know more about permaculture practices and be able to incorporate them into our land. Coincidentally, I stumbled on an e-mail about the Permaculture Design Institute’s annual on-line permaculture design course. I signed up and over the course of three months, we did the weekly on-line lessons. At the end of the course, in order to get a certification in permaculture design, you have to design a project using the principles learned. We put together a plan for our farm, designed in stages over a ten year period, and submitted it. In July I got an e-mail that our project had “passed” and our certificate was in the mail to us. It is a very intense learning experience but if you have an interest in permaculture and taking your land to a state of fertility like it’s never seen, then I encourage you to read more about permaculture and perhaps take a PDC.

The first aspect of permaculture that we’re incorporating into our farm is the use of swales and non-compacted mounds. The usual train of thought, when thinking of water drainage, on one’s land, is to get it to exit by use of ditches, etc. With permaculture, you want to use every drop of water before it exits the property. You want the soakage so that your water table is regenerated and your soil is moist and resistant to drought. By using a swale on contour (“ditch” that is level across the lay of the land with a flat bottom in the swale), you capture the water run-off and soak it into the non-compacted mound next to it. This slow soakage allows trees, vegetables, etc. that are planted on the mound to receive a continual source of hydration and provides optimum growth potential. Using a non-compacted mound, the roots of whatever is planted is able to grow a deep root system and anchor itself into the mound.

The location, where our aquaponic greenhouse will sit, is directly over an existing drainage ditch. With the excavating of the site, drainage will need to be moved to the topside of the area to move water away from the buildings. We made an A frame level and then used it to mark where the swale will go, at the base of the hillside. By using the A frame level, the water in the swale will be at level and not want to run off the hillside. Rainfall will fill the swale and then soak, within 2-3 days (at most) into the mound. Once the dirt has formed the mound, we will seed it with a “nitrogen fixer” seed, specifically New Zealand white clover. This clover will put nitrogen into the soil and make a fertile planting area for whatever comes next. The hair-like root system of the clover will hold the dirt, on the mound, and keep it from eroding away in future rain storms or blow away from wind erosion. Since it is a perennial plant, it will come back year after year with a 6-8” tall plant and flowers that the bees love. We’ll use the old hay, laying in the field, to lightly mulch the seed once we’ve sown it. The neat thing about swales is that you can direct this water, using spillways.  Remember that it’s about winding the water through every possible use and resource before it exits the land. Water is far too precious to let it go….make use of it !

Today the excavator moved his bulldozer onto the site so it shouldn’t be long before work begins. Excited to get started….

LiveJournal Tags: Permacultre Design Institute,permaculture,farming,internship,earthworks,swale,mound,New Zealand white clover,excavation,A-frame level,aquaponic greenhouse