 National Gardening Month might have been in April, but for Western New Yorkers, gardening gets rolling around Memorial Day. So on Grow, we’ve picked June as our official gardening month, and to kick off the month I did some research on permaculture gardening. If you’re a gardener, I hope you’ll give permaculture a try and share your experience below. You can also send your pictures of gardens to info@growwny.org.
Many gardeners are known for being resourceful in their gardens. They reuse, recycle and repurpose without a second thought, but in reality they are practicing parts of permaculture gardening. Permaculture is a design system which began during the 1970s oil crisis, a reaction to food insecurity and the desire for self-reliance. Combining attitude and practical application, it encompasses anything from recycling, reusing and regenerating, to simply observing. It uses techniques and practices that combine the best of wildlife gardening, edible landscaping, and native plant cultivation into a low-maintenance, self-contained and productive ecosystem. When applied to gardening, permaculture suggests that not only can we grow food almost anywhere, from fruit shrubs in patio pots to vines on fences, but we can get higher yields with less effort by copying nature. In contrast to modern agricultural methods, a natural growing system sustains a continuous cycle, with dead plants becoming mulch for new growth. Permaculture gardening seeks to recreate this cycle, turning food waste into valuable compost and replacing pesticides with natural predators and natural competition. According to co-founder Bill Mollison, it is about working with nature, not against it. |
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