Adopting permaculture practices for a better planet
Want to help make the world a better place? Start in your own garden.
Contra Costa Master Gardener Marion Woodward says by adopting permaculture practices, you improve your own yard, that of your neighborhood and community, and eventually the planet.
Permaculture — permanent agriculture — is defined as having something growing and something to harvest throughout the year. It is a way of thinking and acting about gardening that is sustainable and healthful to the Earth.
Here are some of Woodard’s tips on getting started:
• A true permaculture aims to create several levels — canopy trees (oaks, walnuts, coastal redwoods), subcanopies (fruit trees), shrub level (blueberries), herb level (basil, lavendar, rosemary), ground cover (native grasses or even weeds), subterranian (tubers, potatoes and microryza) and a level that connects earth with sky (vines) and where water meets land.
• There are three ethics to keep in mind at all times — take care of the Earth, take care of its people, and reinvest the surplus.
• One way to create permaculture is with an herb spiral, a planting structure that is 6 feet across and built in a spiral that rises from the ground to about 3 feet high.
• Tree guilds are another element. You choose a feature tree, perhaps a fruit tree, Woodard says, and then surround it with other plants that will support the tree and each other. You want nitrogen fixers, mulch plants, plants that will attract pollinators and a ground cover. The more the plants take care of each other, the less you have to do.
• Every plant in your garden should provide at least two functions. A fruit tree, for example, provides fruit, but it also gives the garden shade, habitat for wildlife and mulch.