permaculture - the plan
Self Sufficiency & Permaculture
The drawing to the left is the tiny little land package we're working with, two thirds of an acre. Popular wisdom says you need 7 acres to be self sufficient. I'm hoping that by combining permaculture guilds, aquaponics and bees, we can be self sufficient for food at least. Maybe even produce more than we need. With a bit of luck we'll be able to offset the cost of some of our other needs by selling our excess produce. We're nowhere near that yet, but our bees honey production is starting to contribute.
Permaculture
Modern agriculture relies on annual crops, re-seeded with modified seeds and fed with fertilisers and pesticides. Permaculture relies on a mutually interdependent ecosystem between symbiotic perennial plants that provide food year upon year with little interference.
There's a plethora of edible foods that planted together in an ecosystem will produce food year upon year. Little effort is require once its is established, but the selection of plants in a symbiotic planting arrangement 'guilds' is necessary.
Time
My permaculture planting is the least developed of my plans. This is largely because it relies on nature and establishing plants that work together.
Over the years I've planted trees and fruit bushes, but never considered it as permaculture. Now when I plant in the garden I look at food plants that will work together and comeback year after year. But you have to wait for the plants to establish to produce a yield. It's much less intensive than modern farming and far better for the environment. But you do have to wait for plants to establish.
So apple trees, pear trees, gooseberry bush, bay trees, rosemary bushes, fig trees that I've planted over the years are now established and are producing fruit. This year I've been planting lots of other perennial foods I can eat, but it won't be until next year I start seeing the benefits!
More to come on this!