In nature, it’s at the edges that the most productive stuff happens: the transition between forest and field, marsh and river.”
One way to do that is by adding scalloped borders to walkways and plant beds, and creating gently curving ponds. A straight line has the shortest amount of edge, so it’s the least akin to anything found in nature, and the least productive, especially if growing food is a goal.
Which raises another key “permie” value. Permaculture landscapes support life and give something back—unlike conventional yards that often demand more than they give. In other words, every plant on the property has a role in an ecosystem that must include the residents of the house. That means people-ready food: hardy perennial fruit trees and vegetables (such as asparagus, garlic, kale, and rhubarb), herbs, medicinals, and tall or bushy plants for privacy screens. Not all plants are edible, of course. Some are intended to build and revitalize soils or attract beneficial insects, birds, or other creatures. Beauty isn’t the primary goal, simply an inevitable result.
“One thing people need to understand is that a permaculture landscape might not look impressive for the first three to six years,” says Fernandes. “It’s not like an ornamental landscape where the landscapers come and plop plants in holes the day the house is finished. But when those permaculture plantings mature, it’s a Garden of Eden—a unique experience like nothing most people have ever seen.”
“With this type of land planning,” she adds, “most of the hard work is done up front. After that, it’s close to self maintaining.”
Experiments in permaculture have achieved astounding results, which seem to bear out much of the ecological science of the practice. For example, Australian permaculture expert Geoff Lawton has been demonstrating that even desert landscapes can be made fruitful by applying certain ground preparation and planting techniques.
But people who have converted their residential lots need little convincing. How much edible stuff can a half-acre city lot really produce? A family in Pasadena, Calif., says it’s producing more than 6,000 lbs. of food a year on just one-tenth of an acre—a figure that includes poultry and eggs—using permaculture along with other strategies. A more realistic goal for committed gardeners might be 600 to 1,000 lbs. annually on a half-acre lot.
Permaculturists in urban areas are not waiting around for city officials to figure out the benefits of urban farming. For example, the San Francisco permaculture group calculated how much food could be grown on the city’s unpaved, permeable areas—a total of about 9,000 acres, not including rooftops or parking lots. Based on the Pasadena project just mentioned, they came up with a rather zealous estimate of 70,000 lbs. per acre. They then factored in average calorie consumption for a human to estimate that the city could produce enough food to feed 78,408 people per year. San Francisco’s current population: about 800,000.
The group’s conclusion: Even permaculture doesn’t have the potential to feed a modern city from within the city limits—unless major infrastructure dismantling takes place. But the alternative—total dependence on remote food sources, offers nothing but bad news. And most people will choose hope over helplessness.
Positive Energy
This may be permaculture’s most important attribute: its promise of an abundant future, where people can survive whatever changes are coming. It’s a system that’s open to all, that offers security through local collaboration, not guns and private gates. To that end, Fernandes says, it’s time to take resilience to the next level.
IS PERMACULTURE RIGHT FOR YOU?
The permaculture design process begins at the earliest stages—before siting the home if possible—with questions for the people who will live on the site.
> Tenure. How long do you intend to live in this location?
> Food. Do you cook? Do you prefer fresh local food? Are you willing to invest some of your own time into securing it?
> Self-sufficiency. Are you interested in having a better than average level of resilience?
> Interaction. How do you see yourself connecting with outdoor space? Are you interested in reducing the level of yard maintenance and harvesting food instead of mowing lawns?
More Information
> Collected Permaculture Articles
http://permaculture-media-down-load.blogspot.com
> Pasadena Home Garden Project
http://urban-homestead.org/
> Portland Permaculture
www.portland-mainepermaculture.com
> Permaculture Research Institute of Australia
http://permaculture.org.au/
> San Francisco permaculture group
www. permaculture-sf. org
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