Permaculture Principles: Observe and Interact and Creatively Use and Respond to Change
View this post on Hive: Permaculture Principles: Observe and Interact and Creatively Use and Respond to Change
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It sounds so easy to observe and act, but I find I often jump into what I want rather than what is needed.
I have wasted money on plants requiring shade at amounts, different water drainage, different soil needs, etc.
Sometimes it's best to listen to mother nature rather than implement my desires!
Thanks for the post.
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I know... we can't force nature to go our ways. All we can do is prepare a way she is most like going to take, with the things we actually want as a built-in consequence. If there is barely any shade on your property, the shade loving plants won't thrive. But if you insist on them, better create some shade first. It's also worth keeping in mind how our modern culture has trained us to take the opposite approach: if you throw enough money and energy at it, you an force anything you want. Unfortunately, even if that works, it's only superficial, while creating many underlying problems.
Excellent article and food for thought. I have some farmland that I'll be properly putting into production in a couple of years time - at the moment it's a case of just maintaining it. Of course, I have been observing but not to quite this level of detail which perhaps I should if I want to start of with success.
Lots of great info here, and will make sure I try and utilise some of it over coming months!
The nice thing about having a piece of property is that you can always do a bit of observation here and there, and develop a feel for the land, which can give you ideas and inspirations. Then, when you go out to gather data in active observation (measurements) you can combine them into a good design.
This is a great series on permaculture. Many people jump in without putting thought and planning into what they are doing. Then they wonder why it is failing. We have been observing, planning and living on our homestead for six years and every day we learn something new...
And then there is the other extreme of folks who spend months or even years on their property without even moving a single rock. You have to engage gently with your surrounding to get to know it. Then you will get a feel for the kind of changes that will benefit everyone.
So true...
Nice post
Years ago, I learned at an ECHO conference (https://www.echonet.org/) that sustainable agriculture needed to be integrated. For example, rabid folks, for decades, have claimed that cattle are a waste of the land. That's a high stack of bovine manure. Kine and even more goats can graze on rocky lands. Regardless, they maintain the health of prairie lands which would need a substantial movement of organic materials and work to convert into intense vegetable production. By moving chickens (via tractors) into the lastly grazed areas, the land heals quicker. Such pairie lands are a vital part of a macro-eco-system. These lands then facilitate the possibility of maximizing of nearby crop production.
I agree, it's usually not the species that causes harm (including us evil humans), but the way they are kept. One such great example happened at the farm in Nicaragua I was volunteering, where the owner was talking about getting oil-palm trees and all the hippy volunteers literally cried out: "Noooo! What a horrible tree." Until the guy explained that he wanted a tree for each family in the community, so they can locally make their own cooking oil, not a huge plantation. Generalizations are generally to be avoided.
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Its always a joy to see someone posting about Permaculture. Great informative post.
Thank you, I'll try to keep the practice going.
It sounds like a lot of patience is necessary in this process..I'm sure you've had a load of self-training in that department!! =D
Oh, you know it, hehehe! I like to train every chance I get. Mexico is a great trainer for that, so is trading crypto-coins, and playing around with linux...
hehe yes...bitcoin is on a boom with a lot of red everywhere else..guess it's a good time to start buying other alts =D
Very informative post, thanks. I have a long way to go not even got any lan yet. But guess I could start observing potential areas :)
Neither do I... but that doesn't keep me from observing what- and wherever I can. :-)
Indeed very true :)
We spent more than a year observing our land before moving forward with crafting it. My favorite was looking at it during torrential downpours to see where the water ran. Great post!
Oh I know, running around in the rainstorm like crazy, planting little flags all over the place. It can be a lot of fun... How big is your property, and what are you doing on it?