Sometimes getting started on something is the hardest part, it certainly was for me getting around to finally writing something. Now that the so-called pen is on the paper, what comes next is likely to feel somewhat like a whirlwind on my end, but hopefully not on yours. I hope that what follows will help you get started and help you crush on a whole new level.
Before we can really get into some of the details, we ought to start out with a simple definition of permaculture. It’s a wonderful combination of amusing and inspiring when someone finds out that I am a Certified Permaculture Designer and comes up to me to say, “I just planted my first permaculture!”. Sometimes their excitement just can’t be contained (and for good reason) and I just can’t bring myself to tell them that what they told me makes no sense, so I usually just share in their excitement. Let’s not let that happen to you. By all means get excited, but do it with correct definitions. The word “Permaculture” is often defined as a combination of “permanent” and “agriculture” and while that’s close, it’s actually not quite the whole story. It’s really more like a combination of “permanent” and “culture”. It just so happens that often the easiest and most visible application is as it relates to agriculture. At its core, permaculture is a design language. It is a lens that we view and solve problems through. Ethics are at the core of permaculture and the tools we use to solve these problems are based upon patterns observed in nature. In essence, it is a way of thinking and designing systems to meet all of our needs as people living in this realm in perpetuity using ways that are not extraction based, but regenerative and therefore highly resilient and hopefully as permanent as anything can be. Systems and solutions that are Integrated and often times multidisciplinary, not singular and stand-alone. The three core ethics of Permaculture are:
1) Earth Care
2) People Care
3) Return of Surplus
These three ethics stem from the prime directive of Permaculture, which is the thought that in this life, we cannot rely on extraction based systems that value neither people nor the creation as a whole and that the only ethical thing to do is to provide for our own needs and the needs of our families. Something that many people in this and other communities really understand. Everything we do within the framework of Permaculture must look to those three ethics and if it does not uphold those, then our design needs work. So, for example, let’s say you decide to plant a garden. Does the way in which you plant and manage your garden meet these ethics? If you prepare your garden by spraying roundup to kill the grass, fertilize with miracle-gro, spray chemical pesticides, and burn all the garden residues – I’d say that’s a miss on 3 of 3. Let’s instead say that you use light blocking tarps or heavy mulch to kill the grass, manage the garden organically, and compost all your garden residues-Now we just hit 3 of 3. We can of course do better, but all of the things done in the second example are life affirming, not life destroying. That’s the kind of thinking we need.
I guess there’s one other critical part of permaculture that is really present in everything and that is the connections between systems. That’s really what we are identifying and implementing when we look for patterns in nature. It is my belief that those patterns were made by God and there can be no better guide than what the Creator has set before us.
The systems and patterns can be very simple, or very complex. Often times the more complex the system, the more stable it is because we have a plethora of redundancies. We already gave one example of a simple system, Plant a garden organically, compost everything you don’t eat. But that’s not many connections, and remember, as practitioners of permaculture, we are in the connection business. So, what if we add chickens? Chickens can turn the compost for us, get part of their feed from finding bugs in the compost, and add their manure so the compost is more fertile. If we got really crazy, chickens could also prepare our garden beds for planting. If we were to go absolutely bonkers we could add pigs to till the garden, chickens to level it back out and clean up after the pigs (who both eat the garden surplus, thus decreasing our need to buy food), the chicken and pig manure enriches the soil, we add guineas walking in and around the garden for bug control, have ducks around the perimeter eating bugs that would find their way to the garden, set up duck bathing pools around the garden perimeter so we can use the water from their bathing pools to water and fertilize the gardens (all in one shot), add certain plants to be used specifically for mulch and rabbit food (who have an area where their manure is collected for fertilizer), meat from these rabbits is used for people food and to feed the dogs that guard the sheep, which graze the grass in the orchard and fertilize it, which surrounds the garden providing a wind break and extra compost materials, more chicken food, and more pig food. See all the connections? Do you see how the needs of the system are being provided by the system? The nature mimicry? Rabbits garden, sheep fertilize, pigs dig, chickens scratch. They all eat. They have the chance to all exhibit these innate behaviors, each with inputs and outputs. We simply observed and designed. Returning to the 3 ethics:
- Earth care – Are the plants, animals, and soil taken care of? Yes, Animals are able to express their innate and unique behaviors. They are fed varied diets. Soil is protected with mulch and enriched with manure and compost. Pests are kept in check by animal and insect predators, therefore pesticides aren’t needed or used. (Note that I said, “Kept in check”. There will be some pests in the garden, that’s why they can be used as guinea food for example.)
- People care – The people work less because the animals are doing a lot of the work. Sure, you have to move them around, but compare that to all the individual tasks you now have to do less of like mowing, weeding, turning the compost, tilling, picking bugs, spraying plants, etc. Not to mention the enjoyment of working with each part of the system and the extreme health that will likely result from eating such high-quality food. (You will still have to weed, especially as you just get started. Sorry, But if managed well, weeding should be less and less each year.)
- Return of surplus – Compost is created and used. Manure is incorporated into the system whether as a compost addition, directly applying to the ground (as in the case of the sheep), or used to make liquid fertilizer (as in the case of the ducks). Nothing goes to waste. This system will yield more than we humans can possibly consume and so the excess goes back into the system and is used to further sustain it.
Another example of a permaculture practice that might be easier for many people to implement is the creation of plant guilds. I realize many people don’t have room for pigs, sheep, large orchards, and the like, but we all have room for plant guilds. This can be as simple as companion planting in the garden. Perhaps this is planting a nitrogen fixing plant like a green bean next to or before a nitrogen using plant like corn. Perhaps this is using the famous “three sisters” guild which is pole beans, corn, and squash. The beans provide nitrogen, the corn gives the beans a place to grow, and the squash shades out weeds that would compete with the corn. This could also be as complex as a perennial polyculture under our fruit trees. “Say what Mr. Permie Bear? What is a perennial polyculture? I thought we were done with terms and definitions, then you throw this at me? How dare you?”. A perennial polyculture is just a collection of plants that come back year after year that provide things like nutrients and mulch for our fruit trees, provide habitat and food for beneficial insects, and food/medicine for us. For example, we could plant an apple tree. Say 6 feet off the tree trunk (not a firm number), in the drip line of the tree, we could plant a ring of comfrey and daffodils. This will provide mulch and block grass roots from coming in. Under the tree we can plant lemon balm, yarrow, and mint for teas, medicine, and flowers for pollinators. We can then plant garlic and thyme for cooking and keeping away certain insects. Maybe we’ll even throw in a currant bush for some more fruit and some Dutch white clover to keep out other weeds and provide nitrogen. The amount of plants you can cram in under a fruit tree is amazing! When we create plant guilds, what we are doing is stacking functions and also more fully utilizing our growing space by taking advantage of different layers (stacking layers). The stacking of functions is using that same space or system to achieve several different results such as food, medicine, pollinator support, and even beauty. Here’s what stacking layers looks like in this simplified example: in the same space required for just a tree, by stacking layers we are using the tree layer (apple), shrub layer (currant), herbaceous layer (comfrey), ground-cover layer (clover), and even the root/bulb layer (garlic).
When establishing plant guilds, it’s important to know that some plants are neutral towards each other, some help each other, and some are antagonistic. Each of these behaviors can have its place in our designs so it’s important to research relationships between plants based on what you are trying to accomplish, whether that’s to help something grow or even to try and stop something from growing.
Now that we have covered some of the specific aspects of plant guilds, we’ll take a step back and look at the system as a whole and once again, we can compare this to the three core ethics and see we are on solid ground.
It is truly remarkable that with proper design, we can solve or avoid many problems and create systems and gardens that are much more productive than they would be if left to their own devices. We can truly be stewards. There is a saying in the permaculture circles which is “the problem is the solution”. One of my favorite examples of this kind of thinking is attributed to Bill Mollison, the co-founder of Permaculture. When someone was complaining about all the slugs eating their crops, he replied “You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficit.” In this case, the excess slugs were the solution to growing ducks for meat and eggs without having to buy feed.
So, get started by looking around you. What do you see in God’s design that is working well? What connections do you see? What connections can you make in your Beartaria? Find outputs that can be used as inputs. Are you hitting the mark on the core ethics or do you need to redesign some things? The absolute, most important thing is to try. There is no “one right way” so don’t let the fear of not knowing get in your way. With ethics at our core, it’s hard to go wrong. Get out there and discover what works for you. In a word, Crush.
Bio-
Mr. Permie Bear is a former commercial banker turned Missouri farmer. He, his wife, and their 4 children operate Piney Creek Farm in the Missouri Ozark’s and specialize in pasture raised meats and raw milk. He is also co-founder of Grateful Harvest Seed Company. His goal is to create a fully integrated permaculture farm which teaches and shows people what can be accomplished with permaculture on whatever scale they choose to engage, backyard to large farm. In his down time…. Oh wait, there is no down time.
