Hi everyone
surprising what you can find on the web, take a look at one person search
to understand and show how Permaculture works for him. this is his site
specific observations, trials and growth , a catalogue of picture
each
of us has a learning to share and mistakes to learn by
wes
http://www.csi-net.net/tomar/slidshow/slidshow.htm
Virtual Permaculture Slide
Show
This is hopefully the beginning of a continuing
effort to communicate some basic knowledge about a new approach to
sustainable living on our planet with its diminishing resources and
increasing population. I tend to think that nearly everyone has this
dilemma and seemingly insurmountable problem in the back of their mind to
maul over and become depressed about. It may certainly contribute to the
overwhelming problems of self-destructive and sociopathic behaviors
rampant in our society and world.
Permaculture is a way of life, a "think globally, act locally"
philosophy that optimistically states that we all have resources we need
to live productive and fullfilling lives if we look around us at what
nature and the creator has provided. These include inexhaustible and
nonpolluting solar energy and millions of species of plants which have
untold and unknown uses many of which are known in traditional cultures
and by modern science, and the ability of plants and animals species to
function in an ecosystem synergistically such that the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts. This concept is pretty much ignored today by
science, which seeks to isolate in order to study-something which isn't
realistic in the real world. The relatively new science of ecology is the
most notable exception. Finally, Permaculture places our species homo
sapiens back into the ecosystem from whence we came and to where we
belong.
The word "permaculture", a contraction of permanent agriculture
was originally coined by Bill Mollison of Australia who developed its
core principles. Its highly recommended if not essential to read any of
his books. Since he and others first described permaculture in the late
1970's the movement has spread world wide with literally thousands of
individuals and groups practicing it. There is a strong presence on the
internet of permaculture groups world wide.
In ecology and its practical application, permaculture, the
interconnectedness of components can be graphically approximated.
Which ecosystems in nature are most productive? One answer you hear most
often is rain forests. Very little time and money has been used for the
development of the rain forest model to become food producing. You can
bet the benefits to the planet and especially to the inhabitants of those
areas would be enormous. A lesser known fact is that temperate wetlands
can be equally productive, in terms of photsynthesis and CO2
fixation(remember that decadent rock band: CO2 and the greenhouse
effect). Two components of ecosystems that are areas of increased
productivity is edge where interface occurs such as forest edge
and water edge. The other area of interest is using the 3rd and 4th
dimension, so to speak, when we speak of the multistory aspect of forests
both above and below the ground that can utilize all energy, nutrient and
water imputs most effectively, and the ability of plants to succeed other
plants in succession where certain species produce optimal conditions for
more specialized species.
In most places in Michigan, any area if let alone will develop into a
stable climax forest, such as a beech-maple-yellow birch, or oak-hickory
depending on moisture availability and location. Nature can do the job of
reforestation well but doesn't use varieties and species that we can use
and it takes too long-probably several lifetimes(it would be interesting
to conjecture about a planet where the intelligent lifeform lived longer
than trees-they wouldn't be wasting their time messing with weed species
like corn, wheat, tomatoes, etc, when they can use plants who don't have
to grow a new supporting structure every year.)
So permaculture needs to start with nurseries. Anyone can grow trees from
seed. Usually you just stick the acorn or whatever in the ground and
voila.
This is one of my first attempts at tree propagation back in 1983.
Many of these honeylocusts(an animal forage producer), american
persimmons(generally hardy here) and bur oaks(produces quantities of
large acorns) are presently growing on my farm. I can't say that they are
producing bumper crops(basically nothing yet) but the potential is
there.