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Permaculture
Permaculture is a farming and gardening movement developed by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s. It has since spread around the world. The word itself stands for "permanent agriculture" as well as "permanent culture".
Permaculture espouses organic growing methods - that is, using natural fertiliser and pesticides and organic techniques instead of using fertiliser and pesticides containing chemicals. But permaculture also involves some principles that differentiate it from ordinary organic garden maintenance.
Fundamental concepts of permaculture gardening include:
• grow food in your garden: to reduce the amount of fuel needed to transport food and the amount of land cleared for farming;
• a garden should mimic a natural ecosystem: that is, with a wide variety of plants growing together as an integrated ecological community;
• watch carefully: close observation of the natural patterns of your garden through the changing seasons will help you achieve better results with less effort, as you learn how your garden works. Some permaculture teachers even recommend you spend a year observing your garden before starting to develop it.
An “edible forest”
The permaculture ideal is based on a forest, with different horizontal layers. Trees form a canopy with shrubs underneath them, then flowering plants, climbers, ground cover and root plants below that.
Healthy soil
Different plants draw out different nutrients from the soil as they grow, then put back these nutrients when they die and decompose. When an area is planted year after year with a single plant species, as is often the case in conventional farming, the soil can become unbalanced, drained of the nutrients that species of plant needs. By maintaining a variety of plants in your garden and rotating what you plant from year to year and season to season, you can ensure the soil remains healthy and is not drained of any particular nutrient.
Interconnected ecosystems
Permaculture is about making your garden an interconnected ecosystem, rather than just considering each plant in isolation. Everything in your garden should benefit other elements of the garden. For instance,
• dead leaves will decompose, returning nutrients to the soil.
• chicken droppings will provide natural fertiliser.
• a canopy of trees will provide shade that suits appropriate shade plants.
• one plant may repel bugs that might otherwise eat other nearby plants. Planting such plants next to one another is called “companion planting”. Extending this principle, permaculture experts have identified “permaculture guilds” – groups of plants, animals and micro-organisms that grow well together.
• a good permaculture garden will contain plants and features to attract pollinators such as bees and birds.
Other permaculture principles
• plant local: use local plants suited to the soil and climate found in your area.
• quality not quantity: the long-term health of the soil and the sustainability of your garden’s ecosystem are paramount, and more important than achieving big crops from any particular plants.
• organise your garden for easy access: plants you use a lot, such as kitchen herbs, or plants that require a lot of attention, should be grown close to the house. Plants that require less attention can be furthest from the house.
• create edges: permaculturists regard border zones, where different types of ecosystems meet, as very productive. Permaculture design often aims to create edge zones between different systems, such as a pond with uneven (and hence longer) shore, or a border between open and wooded areas.
• use perennial plants and trees that don't have to be replanted every year.
• animals should also be integrated into, and useful to, the garden. For example, chickens can control pests and weeds and provide manure as fertiliser, as well as laying eggs.
• recycle everything: there is no “waste” in a permaculture garden. Dead plants or fallen leaves and branches decompose back into the soil to provide nutrients. Any animal droppings should provide fertiliser. And so on – things normally regarded as waste become useful inputs.
Take a permaculture course
If you are interested in learning how to create a permaculture garden, many permaculture groups and adult education institutes around Australia run regular permaculture courses and workshops.
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