Permaculture

So, you want to get started re-growing the ecosystem, but do not know where to start? We provide for you here a simple guide to beginning permaculture. Answer the questions and principles listed below and you will be well on your way to a living "food forest" right in your backyard! The principles listed here are applicable to land of any kind, and can even be practiced in microcosm, as in a balcony or window garden.

### **Permaculture Guidelines:**

1. **Understand your local environment:**
	1. *USDA zones*: Broad zones of habitability for any given plant
	2. *Climate*: Aggregate of weather across multiple seasons
	3. *Microclimates*: Specific conditions within a small area of land
	4. *Current ecosystem to maintain*: first, do no harm to your land
	5. *Temperature*: minimum, maximum, days of frost
	6. *Water flow*: existing water presence, direction, pooling, etc.
	7. *Air flow*: existing wind, air pressure, oxygen-CO2, etc.
	8. *Soil quality*: microbes, pH, clay/sand content, other organisms, etc.
	9. *Daylight quality*: amount, duration, locations higher/lower
2. **Plant only those plants which grow well in that environment**:
	1. *Plant lifespan*: annual vs perennial, growth vs blooming periods
	2. *Plant light/water/nutrient/air needs*: which microclimate specifically supports that plant as it grows?
	3. *Companion planting*: going beyond simple matching, but which plants grow well as an ecosystem?
3. **Plant for re-growth and regeneration - for the long-term, not the short-term**:
	1. *Insect partnership*: plants which attract insects aid permaculture stability
	2. *Microbe partnership*: a variety of plants and healthy soil will naturally maintain a healthy soil biome of microbes
	3. *Wildlife partnership*:
		1. Creatures of all sizes will naturally gravitate towards permaculture - that is totally fine!
		2. A regenerative system will naturally resist and regrow after threats from wildlife
	4. *Soil partnership*: soil regrowth is key to undoing the damage done by past land development
4. **Use only organic components, ideally from your permaculture ecosystem**:
	1. *Compost*: origin, age, contents, level of amendment.
	2. *Mulch*: origin, age, mixture?
	3. *Fertilizers*: contents, dosage, frequency.
5. **Permaculture ecosystems are naturally regenerative, cyclical, and recirculating**:
	1. *Water circulation*: water capture, distribution, irrigation
	2. *Living systems*:
		1. Microbes: sequester and break down nutrients from macromolecules.
		2. Fungi: break down detritus and decay, often partnering directly with plants, otherwise producing CO2.
		3. Plants: convert CO2 and light to sugars, partner with fungi to obtain nutrients and produce proteins, produce O2 for animals to breathe.
		4. Animals: convert plant proteins to animal proteins, use plant sugars to create animal sugars and fats, inhale plant-made O2 and exhale plant-feeding CO2.
		5. Humans: consume plant and animal nutrients, inhale O2, exhale CO2, assume stewardship of permaculture creation.
6. **The Future holds nearly infinite possibilities**:
	1. *What is your plan for*: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 30 years, 100 years? These plans all need to be in harmony with one another.
	2. *When can you “step back” and let the permaculture be*: depending on the pitfalls of the local environment, this can happen anytime after the first 2 years. Check the following criteria:
		1. Amount of plants re-planted per year - should be very few.
		2. Amount of irrigation, amendments, and nutrients added - limited.
		3. Levels of each organism type - microbes, fungi, insects, plants, and animals - high levels of each.
	3. *Maintenance*: how to keep the ecosystem regenerating on an ongoing basis.
		1. Preventing damage means knowing what is and is not good for your permaculture ecosystem.
		2. Being a permaculture steward is rewarding work, but it is work. Expect to walk the land to inspect it regularly, even when not harvesting!
		3. Everything matters - from the smallest microorganism to the people and animals that live on the land.