February 24, 2022 at 11:41 a.m.
Permaculture works with nature rather than trying to control it
Classes part of Nicolet Outdoor Adventure Series
Permaculture works with nature rather than trying to control it
Permaculture, Heavey said, is defined as "a method where you design your life to work with Mother Nature instead of trying to control her." Wikipedia defines permaculture as "an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems." It uses a set of design principles created using whole-systems thinking. It is short for "permanent agriculture." Permaculture is not just about the landscape, but also about culture. It involves consciously designed landscapes using nature to provide all material and nonmaterial needs. Permaculture blossomed in the 1970s and then essentially went away.
"At at time in our world where we are facing so many problems, permaculture is a solution to so many of those problems," Heavey said.
A publication called Limits to Growth looked at what resources are available and, based on projected growth of human populations, what that looked like in the long term. These researchers found, some time after the year 2000, industrial output would decrease, food would decrease, pollution would increase and resources would markedly decrease. Heavey said this basically meant the feeling was our lifestyles were unsustainable in a Western concept world. This called for a shift in the way people think about resources, she said. Working with nature, seeing organisms for all of their functions and things such as a no-till philosophy are all part of permaculture, she said.
In today's society, most of the food supply is heavily dependent on oil. Permaculture looks at ways to limit oil and gas use while also regenerating the land. Heavey spoke about the food crisis in Cuba with the fall of USSR. The USSR provided much of the food and resources for Cuba at that time. People were starving, she said, and the country was thrown into a food and economic crisis. With necessity being the mother of invention, the country turned to permaculture as a solution. In doing so, they were able to provide the all of the food and resources the people of the country needed.
Permaculture, Heavey said, starts with small and slow solutions. This means starting small, and starting local. One person, starting in their backyard, can make an impact, she told the attendees of the recent class. Making the most impact for the least amount of change is one of the cornerstones of permaculture.
Heavey also spoke about the differences between organic agriculture and permaculture. One of the differences is the use of different types of plants. With annual plants, she said, they are put into the ground, they grow and go to seed after one year. Perennials, though, have a longer life over many years. Permaculture looks at using things such as trees as crops. Even things such as annual wheat grass versus perennial wheat grass can make a difference.
"There is room for organic in permaculture," Heavey said. "There is room for whatever you want in permaculture. It just inspires us to think a little bit bigger." Organic gardening also includes a good deal of bar ground, which does not exist in permaculture. Heavey said permaculture is not just a landscape, but a way of life as well as a way of economically surviving and thriving within local communities. She called it a long term sustainable solution.
Permaculture relies on bringing in animals for fertilizer, too, rather than bringing in those nutrients from other sources.
She spoke about planting guilds. One of the most common to gardeners in the Northwoods is the Three Sisters, which have been used historically by Native gardeners. Corn, beans and squash are all planted together and benefit each other. The corn gives the beans a trellis on which to climb. The bean tendrils help to stabilize the corn. The large leaves of the squash prevent weeds from growing. Fruit tree guilds are popular as well. It is essentially building a mini ecosystem where all parts work together to benefit one another.
One of the design principles of permaculture is to mimic nature. Both Heavey and Haasl spoke about creating gardens such as an herb swirl. Unlike traditional gardens, planted in perfectly straight rows, the swirl, which is a shape that occurs commonly in nature, allows plants to compliment each other and also allows for more to be planted in the same small area. These types of plantings also provide edges, which provides habitat for beneficial insects, birds and other animals. Permaculture provides a better yield by following the laws of nature, Haasl said. It relies on integrating rather than segregating, as in the case of the herb swirl garden, Each element in the garden has multiple functions. We may only think of the food provided, but plants also provide services to each other and to the mini ecosystem in which they are growing.
Haasl also looked at other permaculture considerations. When looking at a landscape, some things could not be changed, he said. Other things could be changed with a good deal of effort and still others could be fairly easily changed. Climate, solar aspects, weather, rain fall and topography, he said are permanent. We cannot change the angle of the sun, for instance, or dry areas versus wet areas in a landscape, for the most part. With effort, structure locations, roads, grades and the paths water takes can be changed on the landscape. On the other hand, soil, plants and microclimates are more easily changed.
Part of permaculture is the design. Looking at these obstacles and opportunities is the first consideration, Haasl said. These landscape elements all need to be taken into consideration when moving to a permaculture mindset.
Heavey and Haasl are currently teaching the four-part series of classes on permaculture, but there is also a Permaculture Design Course, which is a 40-hour deep dive into all aspects of permaculture. There is also a homesteading club in Rhinelander, with some of those members also working with permaculture. Haasl is one of those members. Another resource for those looking to learn more about permaculture is the Permies website permies.com
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.