Difference Between Organic Farming and Permaculture

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by soya, Jul 13, 2017.

  1. soya

    soya New Member

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    Same Goals, Different Energy Flows
    Yes, organic farming

    § seeks to nurture the farm and consumers

    § treasures soil health as the foundation for sustainable farming practices

    § promotes the use of natural fertilisers

    § makes good use of the natural carbon cycle so that waste from plants becomes the food (fertiliser) of another.

    § farmers may also integrate animals to help provide fertiliser and pest control

    Farming Can Be a Culture Of Design Thinking
    Permaculture is a Design Science. In Permaculture we look at how energy is captured, used and re-used in our efforts to feed, clothe, transport and educate our society. We optimise the use of natural energies, engage and empower people to meet their own needs and ensure that the waste is well used and re-used. Essentially, we search for a way to close the system. Around the world, permaculture designers have been retrofitting farms. Darren Doherty, Rosemary Morrow and Mark Shepard have become world leaders in permaculture farming. The biggest permaculture farm in the world is the Chikukwa project. Their work on farming has enabled farms to be more efficient, put less pressure on existing forests, built soil health, enriched conservation efforts, sent less waste downstream and improved the health of their consumers.

    Closed Cycle and Open Flow Production
    In a truly closed system (one in vacuum or in space), energy is not lost it is simply transferred from one being or element to another. In a permaculture system, (which can never be fully closed), the design aims for energy and resources to effectively reused as much as possible before it leaves the system.

    The main difference between permaculture and a farm is the energy cycle.
    A farm is an energy source. Whereas, a permaculture site creates an energy loop.


    The farms nutrients are shipped off to market forever and so there is constant need to regenerate the soil through good soil-building practices and importing resources. although the world desperately needs good farming practices, we also need permaculture systems where people can help produce what they need, where they live and can feed the waste back into their permaculture sites.

    Organic farming and permaculture complement one another. But culturally, they differ. In Permaculture we are compelled to consider the design above all else. A good permaculture design does a lot of the farm-work. We design to use natural energies (gravity) to move the water around, reduce water loss (windbreaks), gather and store nutrients (earthworks and strip farming), there are lots of strategies developed and well-tested. In permaculture the farmer is well-fed with a variety of produce grown right where she can reach it.

    Each permaculture farm design will look different* but in the design above we find:

    § The homestead is built on keyline surrounded by orchard and intensive gardens.

    § Windrows and bunding lie on contour to trap silt and water

    § Barns are on contour for ease of input & output transport

    § there are camping grounds for alternative revenue sources and entertainment

    § Native species provide animal habitat and bush tucker as a potential income stream

    § Flood tolerant food and fodder plants edge the river

    § Animals are given some self determination being able to move to high during floods and into shade in the heat and into bogs and emergency access to rivers during fire

    § Windbreaks swales and row plantings on contour reduce erosion and shelter the stock.

    § Fodder and medicinal plants are grown for variety of pasture

    § Riparian zone includes chinampas in slow flowing shallows

    § Steep slopes and ridges are reforested to reduce erosion and rebuild native habitat they can provide another incomes stream with careful management.

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    Bryant RedHawk likes this.
  2. Melissa Ott

    Melissa Ott New Member

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    Interesting, thanks for sharing. Another difference I've noticed is that organic farming isn't necessarily polycultural and regenerative. It can be, but huge organic monocrop farms are still considered organic even though they are monocrops and aren't really doing anything to support an agro-ecosystem. They just aren't using chemicals like the other players in Big Ag. I think the intersection of permaculture and regenerative organic farming is where we need to be heading if we want to feed local communities and restore the climate and natural ecosystems.
     

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