Learn What Permaculture Means, & How You You Can Use It To Grow a More Sustainable Garden

Many people refer to sustainable gardening as “permaculture,” but they’re not always exactly the same thing. Permaculture doesn’t just refer to gardening – it is a whole paradigm of sustainable food production, in harmony with the natural ways of the earth. Permaculture means looking at growing plants in a holistic way, in relationship with everything else in the environment. And permaculture gardening has a specific methodology that is usually used.

Here are some excerpts from a helpful article to help understand the differences:

How to Get Started in Permaculture Gardening

To truly effectively make the transition to permaculture gardening, you’re going to need to do a lot of research and learning. Yes, this means some added upfront work, but the long-term payoff is a simple, sustainable system that requires much less time, energy, or resources from you. Using the principles above, here are some ideas to get you started.

The basis for growing food crops begins with much more than just roto-tilling a patch and hurling some seeds at it. First, the thought process begins with actual property selection; if you don’t already have a piece of ground, the assessment of a potential garden and food forest is important.

Solar orientation is going to be your first consideration in permaculture gardening. South-facing land will get the most exposure to sun; north getting the least. Knowing the length of day for your region and what you wish to grow (or whether you’re going to be considering the placement of solar panels on your property) will determine what you can do with the property you have.

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Making things do more than one thing, and using sustainable methods of growing crops, are crucial parts of permaculture gardening. Water should be used at least twice: salvaging it from rainstorms, then directing it to wash clothes, or for showering, and from there to your garden is a way of squeezing as much use as possible from it.

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Composting and worm farming make your kitchen scraps and garden debris do more than one thing: from garbage, you can get black gold to make your garden even more productive. Get started on your home composting system now so it’ll be ready when you need it.

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Vegetable gardens are a an important part of permaculture gardening too. Whether these are raised beds with a chicken tractor moving around them, a berm and swale arrangement, or a spiral garden, the biggest factor is a diverse selection of different types of plants.

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Stacking, or growing several crops that all play well together in the same bed is a smart way to utilize limited growing space; as well as providing support, shade and shelter for each other, they also help protect each other from pests.

Companion planting is a way of placing crops that complement and protect each other close together. The pests of one crop will be confused by the scent and shape of the other, which will prevent them getting a foothold.

Animals that are commonly raised in permaculture gardens are chickens, especially Bantam breeds or heirloom types which are pest control, manure production and egg and meat producers all at the same time.

Fish, such as tilapia can be raised in tanks or ponds, and rabbits are raised in hutches placed above the water of fish tanks so their waste and scraps go into the water, which is then siphoned off to use as fertilizer.

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The management of all these interconnecting systems means that you as the orchestra leader will have to be on your toes. Once each part of the puzzle is integrated into the whole picture, your goal is to keep it finely balanced and working well together. Adding compost when needed, keeping an eye on pests and monitoring crops, protecting your garden and animals from wildlife predation and planting and harvesting crops is all in a days work. In concert with nature, your harmonious garden will burgeon with life.

Check Out the Full Article at Sustainable Baby Steps.com…