By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
I was writing regularly about permaculture in North Carolina. Categories I listed the post not only because I no longer had time to spend in the garden, but also because I accomplished a goal: I began studying and writing about permaculture. 2012President Obama’s Jackpot: Part 1Because I wanted to know if we could grow enough food. 1/4 Acre I wanted to create a piece of land that could be used to grow our own food using permaculture principles. The answer was yes, but to truly live that way I would need to not only grow vegetables, but also can, pickle, dry and preserve them to eat through the winter and spring. That was a daunting task, so I I became just a gardener.Even something as simple as sowing wildflower seeds along the roadside is a wonderful, and sadly abandoned, pleasure that I highly recommend to anyone. (The introduction to permaculture is Sheet mulch; July might be too late to start, but you could definitely start next spring.
You may be wondering, what is permaculture? Wikipedia Here I issue a challenge (1).
Permaculture has been criticized for being poorly defined and unscientific.
All true — at least in the past! — but I think the Nature article is a good rebuttal to both points. To show that “permaculture” has appeared in the OED, here’s a quick tentative definition:
Permaculture
translate
Noun. l20.
(Origin: from perma(nent adjective + culture noun))
Ecology. Development of complete and self-sustaining agro-ecosystems.
( View agriculture as a terrible mistake Some may disagree with this definition, but as Nature shows, it’s just semantics.
In this short post (sorry, I made it short because I want to get going quickly!), I will summarize the main points from the Nature article, then introduce some permaculture projects ( Sheet mulch) and conclude.
Permaculture Nature
The following is an article from Nature magazine:Permaculture boosts carbon stocks, soil quality and biodiversity in Central Europe“To get the definition out of the way, the author describes permaculture (and contrasts it with agroecology, a similar discipline with which I am less familiar) as follows:
As a result, it is not possible to establish fixed, general guidelines as is the case with organic agriculture. Instead, both agroecology and permaculture are based on a set of principles or elements that emphasize a set of favorable agricultural practices. There is a large overlap between the principles of these two approaches, among which are: 18,19. Thereby, both permaculture and agroecology aim to establish regenerative agriculture from an environmental health perspective. 18,19 Furthermore, agroecology also focuses on social values, responsible governance, and solidarity economy, while permaculture emphasizes the conscious design of such agro-ecosystems.
And the result (Materials and methods here):
The results of this study highlight that permaculture in Central Europe can achieve higher carbon stocks, soil quality and biodiversity compared to mainstream agriculture. Soil carbon stocks in the first 30 cm of topsoil on permaculture plots were comparable to an average German grassland while producing cereals, vegetables and fruits. … In contrast, average net carbon losses have been observed in mainstream industrial agriculture in the past and are predicted for the future. …
We also found higher total nitrogen contents in permaculture sites. On the one hand, higher nitrogen contents increase plant productivity, but on the other hand, they increase the risk of gas losses, such as nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions into the atmosphere and nitrates leaching into groundwater. The risk of nitrogen losses is considered low on permaculture farms, as they use minimal or no tillage, permanent soil cover and no inorganic nitrogen fertilizers…
In the permaculture plots, plant-extractable soil concentrations of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, boron and zinc were higher than in conventionally fertilized control soils, which can be explained by higher organic matter inputs…
High inputs of organic matter and minimal or no tillage are believed to be responsible for lower soil bulk density48,49 and higher earthworm populations and diversity in permaculture sites. Soil bulk density is an important soil quality indicator for plant root penetration, aeration and infiltration, which also determines erosion potential. Increased earthworm populations decrease soil bulk density and vice versa.
(Note Sheet mulch keeps earthworms happy.) as Franklin Roosevelt He said, “A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” So let’s not do that! For more information on North Carolina soil, here, here, hereand here.
Conclusion:
In this study, we observed significant increases in soil carbon stocks, soil quality, and biodiversity through the use of permaculture. These results suggest that permaculture can contribute to the transformation of agriculture that is urgently needed to mitigate the negative impacts on various Earth system processes, including climate change, biogeochemical nitrogen and phosphorus flows, biosphere integrity, land system change, and soil degradation. Our results suggest that permaculture is an effective tool to promote sustainable agriculture (Sustainable Development Goal SDG 2), ensure sustainable production patterns (SDG 12), combat climate change (SDG 13), and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss (SDG 15). While there are many scientific achievements on greener practices, such as agroforestry, crop-livestock integration, and promoting semi-natural habitats, a key capability of permaculture is to select, combine, and tailor precise practices to specific land and farmer conditions to create synergistic, regenerative, and resilient agro-ecosystems. We believe this is the missing link between scientific knowledge and practice. Therefore, we propose to promote the education of farmers and expert consultants in permaculture design and related practices, and in the redesign of agricultural systems according to permaculture principles.
The Phys.org summary is more to the point:Permaculture proves to be a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture“:
Given the challenges of climate change and species extinction, this type of agriculture has proven to be a real alternative to traditional cultivation, combining environmental protection with high yields.
So let’s look at permaculture on a smaller scale: your own yard, a mowed lawn, a community garden, whatever.
Permaculture projects you can do
From Homes & Gardens:Permaculture Gardening Projects – 3 Easy DIY Tasks You Can Do in a WeekendTheir definitions are as follows:
Permaculture and organic gardening practices focus on working with nature instead of against it and are considered to be a holistic approach to gardening. Simply put, this involves growing a variety of edible and ornamental crops, caring for the soil, and protecting wildlife. Here are some easy and quick tasks you can do over the weekend that will help enrich your backyard in the coming months.
(It’s missing the theoretical aspect of “mimicking the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems,” but I think that falls under the heading of “working with nature, not against nature.”) They suggest rainwater tanks (Not legal in all states):
Rainwater collection should be a priority for every homeowner. If you’re planning a weekend permaculture gardening project and don’t have a rainwater tank, why not consider installing one? Installation is quick and easy, and it can help you conserve water and reduce surface water runoff in your garden.
A rainwater tank is a sustainable way of collecting rainwater, usually installed next to a garden shed or conservatory, and allows the water to flow through the drain and be stored. This stored water can be used in warmer months, reducing your tap water usage.
Rainwater harvesting is an important part of the permaculture philosophy. This quick and practical solution helps reduce water usage and promote sustainability in your backyard by reusing rainwater.
Again, the “holistic” (hmm) aspect is missing. (This is a permaculture project. Focus on the water) Serious permaculture projects will involve more thought about water than storing it in barrels, but you have to start somewhere. (I add this because I keep reading about floods and droughts in the paper, and I think having a water reserve is a useful buffer, especially if you can trickle the water into your flower beds as needed.)
From the Permaculture Institute Sydney:Basic design techniques and plant selection for growing firebreaks(A California reader might chime in about the Australian bushfires.) This is a big project, so I’ll just cover one or two easy parts.
Food forests and vegetable gardens are largely fire resistant; they are usually moist and the plant types are not fire-prone. Putting these elements between you and the fire front, combined with other firebreaks and strategies, can go a long way in protecting your property.
and:
Strategically placed earth mounds near your home allow quick, safe access to your roof to fight fires and embers. Roofs are hot spots during a fire and climbing ladders would be dangerous. Earth mounds also protect your home and other buildings and keep them cool.
Conclusion
Permaculture has been quietly growing while I’ve been ignoring it. 3 million permaculturists worldwidePermaculture Ethical or spiritual practices The ratio of Zoroastrians (2.6 million) to Shintoists (4 million) is equal in 140 countries. That’s an amazing number! And permaculture is Normalizedand the concept extends beyond agriculture.
The burgeoning “blue economy” is no panacea: fish farms can pollute water; mangroves are often cut down to make way for shrimp farms; today’s solutions may become tomorrow’s problems; we cannot simply switch from one environmental use to another.
As a way to combine agriculture with healthy ecosystems. What if the same thing could be done with water?
So probably Progress is being madeAway from the spotlight:
The photo below will naturally remind you of the gardens at Giverny where Monet painted his famous water lilies. A Permaculturalist View of Giverny (The whole piece is thought-provoking):
Being invited to be an “extraordinary speaker” at the NGV’s Monet’s garden exhibition gave me the opportunity to talk about this tricky role of aesthetics in permaculture…. (According to its founder Bill Mollison, (per)maculture was about growing useful plants, as opposed to the “useless plants” of ornamental horticulture. Monet was not the subject of Morrisonian scorn, but I think he could have been…. Even the roses that Morrison denounced as useless ornamentals are in fact a source of perfume, culinary delights, medicinal rose hips and also delicious goat fodder. So there may be a compromise between Monet’s aesthetics and permaculture’s ecological rationalism, for these seeming opposites always carry the seeds of the other.)
And dialectics and With aesthetics storming into left field, here is my conclusion, if not my conclusion: gardening is, of course, one way to “stay safe outside”…huh?
Note
(1) Wikipedia There is also a great book outlining the history of permaculture by Franklin Hiram King. The Fortieth Century Peasant: Or, Persistent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan..
