i would love to have some inspiration since im making this "permaculture" project and i love to have some more information to put some leftover dots on i's. i think that other people would like this to so come on show that pictures that you can find, and if you have interesting links i would love to see them (because now i only used dutch info pages).
i have tons of permaculture links and such. heres a few good ones: http://permaculturevisions.com/ http://www.churchofdeepecology.org/permaculture.htm http://www.permacultureplanet.com/ http://www.permacultureplanet.com/ http://www3.telus.net/permaculture/ gardener, try this one- http://www.spiralseed.co.uk/permaculture/ and some pics: an herb spiral- flow form- garden with amaranth- cob structure- id love to hear more about your project :] im big into permaculture and am trying to live my life that way as much as i can. it just makes so much sense. btw, i am an established hip forums member, i just (for certain... reasons) decided to make a new account hehe
thanks scatteredleaves!! it's for a community that is in a beginning fase, and i thougt that i could offer some help since they were asking for it so im still in the drawing fase but more info on permaculture is not really bad i think, since i think it is a great way of natural gardening...
So after reading your link, what I come up with is gardening in harmony with the earth cycles? Is that right? Isn't that what most reasonable gardeners do anyway?
well, no. permaculture is applied to gardening, but also to every aspect of life. its about designing productive systems for the land, and its about community, and responsible developement, and land managment, and giving back to the land and the community... pretty much everything. its really more of a "lifestyle ethic". thats about as good as i can explain... i agree that it is common sense. but how many people do you know who live their life in a purely sustainable way? surely that is the only way, according to common sense? the few people who do would certainly do so without this concept of permaculture, but having the term, the culture, the community, network, support of permaculture is a great way to help people become sustainable and give back to the earth.
somehow the firts question is right. with permaculture you also think about growing food in a most efficient natural way. just making the place that there is free for it, can be turned in a somehow more original natural garden/space. and i think much garden gardeners work like this principle, but not much growing food en garden gardeners for the dutch speaking among us: http://permacultuurnederland.org/ (with a free downloadable course)
Smart gardeners and farmers have been doing this for years with low till, hedgerow planting, crop rotation, integrated pest management. They realize that some pests both insect and weed play symbiotic roles in maintaining the earth. Besides it's less work in the long run. I hate it when new labels are applied and promoted to things and ways of living that already exists. It smacks of turning things into a trend or fad. Sustainability does that include your tech, and fashion also? Are we all to be making our own clothes and shoes, building our own computers and tvs, etc.? Or is this all about building naturalized gardens? Are we to shun the use of petroleum based plastic pots and flats, plastic drip line? Wait are we only supposed to plant where there is naturally occuring water?
I have visited a few “Permaculture” farms most were in Costa Rica where wealthy gringos bought land and designed Permaculture gardens. When you read about it sounds cool and awesome but the ones I went to were far from self-sufficient. I think the biggest down fall of them was they took these big ideas to a place they knew nothing about and thought they could grow better and more efficient then the locals. But in reality the locals have tried many crops over thousands of years and developed ones that work and methods to grow them that work. So the gringos have a bunch of half assed experiments and end up buying most of their food from the locals down the road. But they still promote the whole “Premaculture” theme and give classes and workshops to naive gringos. I think if someone really wants to know how to survive off of agriculture just go find locals already doing it and stay with them a year. They are probably using the same crops and methods that have been handed down for generations and they probably work better then a collage students’ idea on paper. But I was impressed with the money a “Permaculture” farm can generate in a less developed country through classes and workshops, it is crazy!! go price some and then look up the average yearly income for that country.
well on this way some things of an old way of farming is in the spotlights again, and can be used by people who didnt now how to do that kind of way...
does anyone know a good list, or can give me a list of plants that grow good together? thanks Nananie
Sure! I'm sure I will miss all sorts of them, but here's what I've saved on my computer: Tomatoes grow well with carrots, peppers, basil, parsley, onions & nasty-urtiums... but do NOT do well near potatoes, fennel, dill or cabbage. Strawberries grow well near lettuce & onions. Pumpkins (and other squashes) grow well with corn, beans & radishes. Onions (also garlic & leeks) grow well with tomatoes & brassicas but not near beans or peas. Carrots grow well with tomatoes, onions & lettuce, but not dill or radishes. And beans will grow well with corn, pumpkins, lettuce, carrots, brassicas, radishes, strawberries & cucumbers - but not near tomatoes, peppers, or onions. Everywhere I looked, I found suggestions for planting chrysanthemums, marigolds & nasturtiums throughout the garden to help repel nematodes & all sorts of other "bad" insects. If you google "companion planting" you will find TONS of lists. Adding the name of a fruit, veggie or herb you're specifically interested in really helps. Good luck! love, mom
