Permaculture - what is the idea?
The term "permaculture" (from the English Permaculture - permanent agriculture) is translated as "sustainable agriculture" and defines a systematic approach in the design of agricultural lands. For experienced gardeners, a permaculture plot can look strange. In nature there are no straight lines, bare soil and monocultures, therefore in permaculture there are no usual straight beds filled with plants of the same species.
The beds are twisted in a spiral, vegetables grow intermingled with flowers, and weeds are transformed from hated enemies into plants that protect the soil.
Permaculture is a design system that deals with plants, animals, buildings and infrastructure (this includes water, energy and communications). The task of permaculture is to develop such systems that would be economically viable and expedient from an ecological point of view. This means that they must provide for themselves, not deplete and not pollute the environment: so they can exist for a very long time.
Permaculture includes philosophy, practice, ethics and economics. Everything is based on common sense and the laws of nature: if you go against them and stubbornly plant heat-loving plants in a cold climate, you will only waste energy and strength. The ethics of permaculture speaks about the values of any life, not only that which is useful for humans.
The founders of permaculture
Japanese farmer, microbiologist and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka, Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer and Australian scientists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren are the most significant names in the creation and popularization of permaculture.
Masanobu Fukuoka, in his book The One Straw Revolution, published in 1975, described the philosophy of permaculture as cooperation with Nature, not struggle against it. "This is a long and thoughtful observation and taking into account the natural functioning inherent in plants and animals, and not long and mindless physical labor," it says.
Sepp Holzer
"A man who has lost touch with Nature is a disaster" (Sepp Holzer)
Sepp Holzer's permaculture is also living in harmony with nature. In his address to the reader, the farmer writes: “You will always have an advantage and a huge success if you manage your opportunities correctly. We need to benefit from the soil, not exploit it. Diversity, not uniformity, sustains an ecosystem. Nature is perfect. There is nothing to improve it. Your task is to lead, not to fight."
Site planning is the basis of the basics
The main tool of permaculture is the functional organization of space - permadesign. The ability to identify and establish connections between all elements of the environment will be the key to the harmonious development of a specific area. This approach to land design will increase the efficiency of territory maintenance, reduce labor costs and increase productivity in general.
Agriculture must be "natural"
Permaculture does not use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth regulators and stimulators, genetically modified seeds, or feed additives for animals.
Permaculture includes all the principles of natural farming, but at the same time is a broader concept. It is not a set of specific methods of growing plants, it is rather a way of thinking.
The basis of permaculture is the acceptance of natural rationality. Any natural element affects the system as a whole. The terms "weed", "pest", "disease", etc., which are familiar to traditional agriculture, are not acceptable in permaculture. And if we do not see the expediency of their existence for the natural community and for ourselves personally, this does not mean that it does not exist at all.
What do perms look like?
- Soil protected by plants, not deep plowing and constant weeding.
- Mixed plantings instead of monocultures.
- Biological protection of plants (other plants, birds, predatory insects) instead of pesticides.
- Using the existing relief and natural forms instead of processing the plot and rectilinear beds.
- Use of local resistant species and varieties.
- Energy-efficient planning and use of renewable energy sources.
Principles of permaculture
Not competition, but cooperation. Inside the system, connections are built so that the elements do not compete, but help each other. For example, for plants that can be competitors, you create such conditions that each has its own niche. If one plant shades another, plant one nearby that needs shade.
Place potatoes, beans and marigolds on the same bed. These plants will help each other: marigolds and beans will scare away the Colorado potato beetle. At the same time, you do not destroy beetles, but at the same time other insects, you do not pollute water and land, you do not poison yourself with pesticides - and as a result you get a larger harvest than if only potatoes or only beans grew on the bed - the plants cooperate.
Another important principle is that each element has many functions, and each function is provided by several elements. For example, if your site needs water, its source can be a pond, groundwater, and rainwater. The pond stabilizes the temperature, provides water and makes the environment diverse. Water attracts birds and dragonflies (dragonflies), which eat pests in the garden, and increases plant diversity. The ecosystem balances: the more disparate elements, the more stable it is. This is the goal of permaculture - to make a balanced ecosystem that will work without human intervention. Permaculture is for the lazy. There is less physical work at the expense of mental work.
