Most native peoples practiced permaculture. When the Europeans came to new land, unless they saw monocultures of waving grain they didn't 'see' gardens. Permaculture gardens look just like forests, and for good reason: permaculture is mostly made up of plants that grow for at least three years. So when these techniques -- heavily based on forestry and observations of natural rhythms -- are properly applied, the European's eyes could not recognize them as gardens. They just thought that the natural forest was unusually productive.
There are indications of Permaculture cropping (limestone alters soil PH, good for certain types of food crops and we can see that from orbit as reflected in leaf canopy color) in most of the lost cities of prehistoric mezoamerica. There are many indications of continual management by indigenous peoples -- don't even get me started on Terra Preta -- from all over the world in all kinds of environments.
So Annual Cropping comes to the colonies (pick a continent) with the Europeans and stomps out native ideas of permaculture. At this time, the fields were sown by hand by walking across them, sometimes behind a type of animal drawing a plow.
Then in the 20th century Annual Cropping got mechanized. Not only were there bare furrows where one walked, the field would be half-bare because the mechanical contraptions need space for their wheels.
That's Annual Cropping -- modern Agribusiness. It's even practiced on forests and fruit/nut trees. You know when you drive down a road and look into an orchard and the rows of trees open up to your line of sight? Yeah, even permanent orchards are subject to row farming.
Permaculture was re-discovered by a busy Austrian in the 1960's. Then beleaguered farmers and gardeners of Australia needed a way to keep their topsoil in place, moist, and fertile so picked up the idea and ran with it. It is becoming more refined through judicious applications of science and collaboration. I had only been exposed to gardening in rows through Annual Cropping, so Permaculture was a revolution to the way I thought about growing food. It will definetly be in the upcoming trials!
Fun Fact for this post: Condensing 100 sq ft of row-planted Annual Crops down into beds reduces weeding, fertilizing and land use by 60%.
Permaculture was re-discovered by a busy Austrian in the 1960's. Then beleaguered farmers and gardeners of Australia needed a way to keep their topsoil in place, moist, and fertile so picked up the idea and ran with it. It is becoming more refined through judicious applications of science and collaboration. I had only been exposed to gardening in rows through Annual Cropping, so Permaculture was a revolution to the way I thought about growing food. It will definetly be in the upcoming trials!
Fun Fact for this post: Condensing 100 sq ft of row-planted Annual Crops down into beds reduces weeding, fertilizing and land use by 60%.
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2 comments:
Hi Plot! I've enjoyed reading, and admire the detail and frequency of your posts. I'd have petered out quickly. Anyway I'm wondering how you have come to know so much about Permaculture and gardening in general. Are you mostly self-taught?
Hi, Khadi! Thank you so much for the compliments.
Yep, mostly self-taught, though I have taken a few classes here and there. One of the trials I'm planning is finding the best classes and courses. And (this is kind of embarassing) I find that one of the best ways to make myself fall happily asleep is a couple of pages from a large garden reference book.
My mom gardens every year, and taught me. We get together and put up strawberry jam, applebutter, and pickles all the time. She is the source of the dirt under my fingernails.
Hey, let me know if you want to read anything in particular and thankies again.
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