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Permaculture - Sustainable Gardening

By: Rose Hillbrand

Read More About Cultivation & gardening

Permaculture, or permanent agriculture combined with permanent culture, came about as a response to problems concerning traditional farming methods, the erosion of loam, overuse of water sources, as well as a fracture within the natural cycle of our environment, along with other things. Permaculture is a way for humans to learn from the natural world in developing biological, workable, edible ecosystems. The aim should be to understand what is learned from the natural world and then put it to work as a part of your own landscape, whether you maintain a small yard or plenty of land.

Permaculture calls for looking at the entire system and the way each component relates to the other elements. It is usually about finding and then fixing the weak links or problems in a very sustainable manner without using fossil fuels. Variety and minimal input are vital in sustainable gardening.

Permanent agriculture, or sustainable gardening, makes use of a zone concept. The greater amount of work that an area involves, the closer to your house that zone ought to be located. For example, Zone 1 is closest to the home and should be herbs or veggies which tend to be harvested most frequently. The zone that is furthest away, depending on the dimensions of the area you are working with, can be fruit trees or other plants that require a smaller amount of maintanence.

If you happen to have a look at a forest, you'll note the "stacking" effected by nature. This can be consciously mirrored by humans. The stacking begins with tall fruit trees which is the canopy, to smaller trees, to bushes, to herbs, then root vegetables, and last of all right down to ground cover plants such as strawberries. By observing nature, it is easy to create guilds, which are combinations within the stacking method which work efficiently together. As an example, Native Americans planted a guild of corn, squash, and beans.

Permaculture additionally asks plants and trees to offer more than one role. For example, an apple tree provides:

* shade for more tender, shade-loving plants,
* shade for its roots, meaning less irrigation will be required,
* a resting or nesting site used by birds, which in return fertilize the soil,
* fruit for humans as well as animals to eat,
* dried leaves that drop to the ground and decompose, helping to fertilize the soil,
* kindling for fire

You might want to give some serious consideration to tearing up your inefficient water-consuming lawn to grow food intended for human and/or wildlife consumption. Traditional ways of gardening are usually fairly labor-intensive and may require chemical fertilizers to maintain them. When a sustainable garden landscape gets going and starts to support itself it will become a far less time-consuming way to garden. And it sets the plants up with a much more natural way of nourishing themselves. Following permaculture methods is also an easy method to complete the ecosystem loop and become more sustainable.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

For more tips, resources, and info on sustainable gardening, you may visit www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html. You can also find more articles and information on our blog at newholisticliving.wordpress.com/ - Just click the "Sustainable Gardening" topic.

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