Permaculture! The Basics

Permaculture! The Basics

About a month ago, I made the long drive from Boulder, C0 to New Orleans, LA. During the trip, MapQuest directed me through the heart of Kansas, 450 miles all on one highway. I must have seen 225 cornfields-for all you math majors out there, that’s a cornfield every 2 miles! Amazingly, seeing nothing but cornfields for 7 hours did not lull me to sleep. Actually, I was intrigued. I began thinking about the way we produce our food. Is this the only way to structure agriculture? Planting one crop over thousands of acres? The answer is no, and in the following paragraphs, I will introduce you to an amazing alternative called permaculture.

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, permaculture is defined as “an agricultural system or method that seeks to integrate human activity with natural surroundings so as to create highly efficient self-sustaining ecosystems.” In more basic terms, permaculture is the philosophy of working with, rather than against nature.

Developed in the 1970’s by an Australian ecologist named Bill Mollison, permaculture was Mollison’s solution to the extensive ecosystem destruction he witnessed during his studies. According to Mollison, the cause of this destruction was primarily due to an agriculture practice called monoculture. As you may have guessed from its name, monoculture refers to the planting of only one crop, usually over an extensive area of land. Think cornfields in Nebraska or soy in the South. Because only one crop is used, the monoculture method completely eliminates the natural biodiversity of a healthy ecosystem, forcing farmers to utilize massive amounts of energy and chemical inputs to maintain their product, which then pollute soil, water, and air. After many years of this practice, soil becomes void of needed nutrients, forcing farmers to turn to chemical fertilizers, which then runs off into waterways and disrupts more natural ecosystems.

Mollison saw this destructive cycle, and permaculture was his answer. Essentially, permaculture attempts to mimic a natural and self-sustaining ecosystem. Think of a large rainforest or even a national park. It is a polyculture, meaning it consists of numerous plant types with different functions, all working together to mimic natural biodiversity. If constructed successfully, a permaculture should be waste-free, as everything is naturally cycled back into the ecosystem and used again by the systems inhabitants. The techniques and tactics involved in creating a permaculture vary depending on locations, however, if it is done right, a permaculture effectively transforms its users from dependent consumers into responsible producers.

At this point, you may be asking yourself: “Well this sounds wonderful, but how can I create such an elaborate ecosystem?” The answer is far simpler then you might expect, as it revolves around 3 key aspects:

1. Good soil, which can be attained through a process called sheet mulching.

2. Companion Planting, the practice of planting various plant types with different but complementary functions that increase the health or productivity of nearby plants.

3. Permaculture zones, a planting method that coordinates with the plants difficulty to maintain, i.e. difficult plants close to the house and easy plants farther from the house.

If all of these 3 aspects are carried out effectively, your permaculture will not only produce wonderful goodies, it will also act as a self-sustaining, healthy eco-system that naturally supplies produce in a waste- and chemical-free manner.

Kyle Oblinger, Green Light New Orleans Intern