Permaculture is an ecological gardening practice that requires little water and maintenance once it is established. The idea behind permaculture is symbiosis - which, in ecology, means that different organisms live and thrive together. Permaculture is based on what we see in nature - it incorporates plants that grow well together and provide habitat to pollinating insects and other animals. The goal of it is to benefit people, the environment and wildlife, by providing food to the gardener and to wildlife (such as pollinating insects), while enriching the soil, air and water quality.
Permaculture makes use of companion planting. For example, planting the Three Sisters (squash, beans and corn) together because the beans fix nitrogen in the soil which is made available to the squash and corn, the corn provides a pole on which the beans can grow, and the squash leaves shade the ground preventing other competing plants to grow there. Pemaculture also incorporates the concept of agroforestry into the plot - i.e., growing trees alongside annual and perennial plants.
On a larger scale (and in more rural areas), permaculture may also include livestock, such as sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and/or cows. (The animals enrich the soil with nitrogen through their feces.)
Here are a few
links to Google Images depicting permaculture gardens:
3) this one has neat rows growing diverse edibles
Some additional websites you may want to check out are Jennifer and Tim's website for their farm, All Sorts Acre, and The Permaculture Institute's website.
Some additional websites you may want to check out are Jennifer and Tim's website for their farm, All Sorts Acre, and The Permaculture Institute's website.
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