Why Permaculture?

Why We Stagger; that Bio-diverse Swagger

As budding & practicing Permaculture Designers we innately value diversity. Why? Well, firstly, it embraces the ethics of Earth Care, People Care & Fair Share! To value diversity is to have a profound love for all of the elements that make up our Planet Earth and the ethics and values we have derived and in doing so to respect and honour each process that contributes to the holistic well being of our world. Through watching ‘Spreading the Wealth by Staggering the Harvest’, we are shown a physical practice of the principle of ‘Valuing Diversity’ in Hamilton, MT in the USA. From this simple introduction we can already tell that the practice of staggering harvests is deeply (and almost whimsically) reflects the essence of permaculture practices.

‘Succession planting’ or, as it is otherwise known, inter-cropping, is a long held practice in many traditions around the word. In the works of Masanobu Fukuoka’s ‘One Straw Revolution’ he shows us how to regenerate land and simultaneously reap multiple benefits from his crop variety of clover, barley and rice. The essence of this methodology was expertly shown by the team at ABC Acres through the use of their ‘food hedge’, the ‘fedge’, where the same principle of succession was applied.

The food hedge and Fukuoka’s planting techniques both demonstrate the beautiful support system that certain crop varieties can offer each other. Ultimately this practice allows for a maximised harvest and less waste production. How? When one variety has fruited and reached its seasonal end, the next variety flourishes and your system is kept in a successive (and delicious!) flow! ABC acres Grant Shadden advises that: “When you diversify you spread out the risk…[and create a] resiliency against potential loss”. So not only can you reap greater harvests but you can also naturally support and strengthen your crops.

Besides variety of food production, why else do we stagger our crops in Permaculture practices? Through the regenerative of process of planting multiple plant varieties we are actively rebuilding the top-soil and contributing to the micro-climate of our environment. Through planting the well known ‘Three Sisters’ (Corn, Beans & Squash) for instance we attract a variety of birds, insects and even larger mammalian life. In South Africa, it is never too late to learn how to chase baboons away from your rainbow corn! Indeed, you can integrate methodologies and slowly move chickens through your orchard by using a variety of mobile-fencing so that they can scratch, turn-up and fertilise your soil whilst being well fed and doing a thorough and vital job!

Ultimately, by applying these methods of diversification in the style of let’s say a Food Forest, you would be able to walk through your Orchard as if you were strolling down the aisles of a shopping mall. Except this time, it would be entirely seasonal.

Intercropping, staggering, succession-planting etc, are all methods of creating cascading abundance throughout the year. It may take a while for your system to flourish and produce continuously, however once you have created a solid foundation on which your garden can be enriched through variety, natural processes will soon take hold and your micro-climate will begin to adapt, flourish and fruit.

Check out more videos here for information on how to design and implement abundant Permaculture Orchards:

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