What is Permaculture?

Part 2

What is permaculture, and how does it relate to home gardening and the backyard cultivation of perennial edibles?

The word permaculture is the joining of three words with many implications: permanent, agriculture, and culture. Some of the founders of permaculture have defined it as a “tool kit” for creating sustainable human food productions systems, and when viewed with a wider lens, for creating sustainable human culture as well.

“Permaculture” as a method and concept, began developing in the 1900s, primarily in the 1970s and later as a response to the rapidly spreading industrial agricultural model, with all of its attending pitfalls. Some of the founding fathers of permaculture are Bill Mollison, David Holmgren and Masanobu Fukuoka. The written works of these people are filled with excellent practical, philosophical and creative information.

What set permaculture apart from modern agriculture, in the 70s (and today), was the recognition and development of the concept that the primary failure of the modern agricultural paradigm is that it does not abide by the underlying processes observed in nature, and so tends toward system collapse…while permacultural principles are designed to mimic and augment natural systems, in order to achieve stability, and sustainability.

Consider the relative stability realized in a functioning native prairie ecosystem, or in an old growth forest. Consider also the fertility and productivity of these naturally designed systems. This mimicry of a biodiverse and mutually supportive natural system is what sustainable growers practicing permaculture seek to achieve.

To illustrate this concept, consider one permacultural design technique: the “food forest,” or a carefully selected group of plant species that are self-perpetuating, mutually supporting, perennially surviving, and food productive, all at the same time. This concept is akin to the concept of “companion planting” in home gardening.

A small food forest, plant community, or “guild” of perennial species in a backyard may be as simple as a ground cover of strawberries, a middle or shrub story of raspberries, and an upper story of apples, planted in close proximity to each other.

Many functions are achieved with this simple guild, aside from the fruit itself. The plants create shade, and in doing so moderate the conditions for the soil. Amphibians find shelter in this shady, moist environment, and eat slugs! Garden snakes move into the protective cover and help control rodent populations. The leaves shed from above each fall create a mulch, duff, or food for the soil web and earthworms, which increases soil fertility and water retention capacity.

The blossoms provide nectar for native pollinating insects, and honeybees, which produce honey. The brambles provide cover and nesting sites for songbirds. The leaves of the raspberry are medicinal. The apple is a winter storage food. Any fallen fruits are food for foraging poultry.

Still, other functions remain, and this guild can be expanded to include perennial culinary and medicinal herbs, pollinator perennials, and whatever else the gardener cares to experiment with. So the unproductivity and waste of energy associated with a sod lawn, becomes a grove of regenerating edibles, and biodiversity (and something really fun to learn about and devote time to) returns to the backyard!

The perennials in the guild anchor the system, provide a multitude of benefits and fulfill many functions, while also producing food. Perennial fruits, roots and herbs can be integrated with annual garden beds as well, so that annual vegetables and herbs can be grown alongside the permanent plantings.

So, how does the average urban/suburban homeowner distill this broad philosophy and work ethic into something usable for a city sized lot?

First, by observation and assessment of the site (your yard) for resources and limitations, and then evaluating these factors. Secondly, a design (for your yard) is created in response to the observations and site assessment. Next, the ground is broken for your plantings and to accommodate your plan, and lastly, there is on-going maintenance. This means assuring your plantings are kept from becoming weedy during establishment, given adequate moisture, seasonal pruning and soil amending, and other related tasks.

In Part 3 of this blog series, we’ll provide more details on some of these steps, and how the average homeowner can begin their own permacultural design process.

For more info, contact Allison and Seann Rooney at rooneymontana@imt.ne or call 406-578-2144.

Did you miss Part 1?

Part One The Rooneys of Cloud Nine Farm are offering 33 different varieties of fruit trees, berry plants, asparagus and rhubarb roots, and edible native species that are hardy to Zone 3 or 4. Order yours for 2010 today!