Help on Tele2, tariffs, questions

Permaculture on 6 acres sounds a little strange, as if the scope is not the same, and the words are suspicious. However, recently in all spheres of life we ​​are surrounded by quite a lot of words borrowed from foreign terminology. They do not bypass the "garden" theme. Thus, such a concept as “permaculture” has already become firmly established. But not all gardeners and gardeners have an idea of ​​what it is, and, most importantly, how to put it into practice, on their 6 acres.

Is permaculture possible on 6 acres?

The word permaculture comes from two roots - permanent, which in this particular version means "permanent", and culture, applicable to agriculture. Based on this, we can say with confidence that permaculture is a system of agricultural management based on the constancy of its functioning, on its self-sufficiency, and most importantly, on ecological principles.

So what is permaculture?

An important feature of its existence is that it relies on careful design and planning. In order for this system to work, it is necessary to link all its components and components with each other in such a way that one can say about the natural and uninterrupted functioning. In this case, the element of chemical exposure, as well as the percentage of human intervention, are reduced to zero.

The following principles of permaculture can be distinguished:

• A competent project (permadesign) that takes into account absolutely all the features of the components and establishes the “correct” connections between them to increase the efficiency of functioning and reduce labor costs.
• Harmony. Permaculture is based on the harmonious management of agriculture, on the consent of man and nature. Here, man “helps” nature, and does not correct it and does not fight it.
• Variety of flora and fauna. The more plant / insect / bird species present in the system, the better: this is how they complement each other in their life activity. It is with this diversity that all sorts of symbiotic relationships arise, allowing species to solve each other's problems, excluding humans from this process.
• Environmental friendliness. Permaculture is based on natural relationships, based on the natural impact of all its parts on each other. Thus, with the good operation of the system, it becomes completely unnecessary to interfere in the processes, helping it with “chemistry” (fertilizers, insecticides, top dressing).
• Self-regulation of the system. It is expressed in the minimum presence and participation of a person. In fact, his participation is necessary here only at the very beginning - when designing, when it is necessary to take into account all the features of the surrounding world, having developed the optimal number of components, building a scheme for the interaction of flora and fauna. Further, a person becomes only an observer, and a controller.
• No waste. All the "results" of life are used with benefit in the future, i.e. such a system of agriculture recycles its own waste. (By the way, we already talked about kitchen waste. Many others can also be used wisely).
• Energy saving. In permaculture, energy is carefully conserved, the site, plantings, buildings are arranged so that there is no unnecessary waste of energy.
• Closure of the system. Permaculture is a closed project that does not require outside intervention, the system itself provides for almost all of its needs.
• System stability. When designing, you need to understand that the built system of agriculture must function for a long time.
• The economic component is obtaining a plentiful environmentally friendly harvest with minimization of costs. This, perhaps, is the result and goal of the entire organization of permaculture.

Of course, one must understand that the creation of such a project is advisable only on large areas, where each component occupies a rather large space, only in this case it is possible to fulfill all the principles and obtain the desired result - economic profit and an environmentally friendly product. But! The device of permaculture in small spaces also has a place to be. And quite successfully the application of certain methods and principles takes place precisely on 6 acres.

How to reproduce the principles of permaculture on your site?

Yes, it will be quite difficult to reproduce the permaculture system in a summer cottage. But even if it is established, it will not be possible to achieve complete autonomy of the system. But in any case, it’s worth trying to do this, because in return we will get an environmentally friendly, plentiful harvest, with the least labor costs for ourselves.

The first thing to do is to carefully analyze your 6 acres: terrain, climate, wind rose, soil, water supply, etc. The second is to determine the composition of the flora and fauna that will be present on the site. The third is to think over the connections between all the components of the system.

So, let's begin:

1. Site design: where what is located (plantings, buildings, reservoirs, etc.) This is the basis where all components are linked to each other. As an example, place ducks under a mulberry tree so that the ducks peck at the falling crop, and pass a stream through their aviary and direct runoff water there so that the stream feeds the plantings with bird droppings.

2. Landing location. Landings should be located in such a way as to minimize the cost of their care, cultivation, harvesting. For example, we will place the most moisture-loving plants as close as possible to the reservoir, those that need less water - further away, etc. We will plant sun-loving crops on hillocks, we will leave unpretentious crops in the shade, and we will place those who are afraid of the winds near the fence.
3. Ancillary buildings, garages, sheds, gazebos are built on the site only from natural, improvised materials. They also play their important role on the site - they protect some plants from the wind / scorching sun, and the water flowing down the roof into specially placed barrels goes on to irrigate the garden.
4. Relief. Great attention should be paid to the terrain. Use all natural hills and depressions with the greatest return - especially in terms of providing the site with moisture (for example, water flowing from a slope to a certain part of the site, which no longer needs to be watered after that). Such reliefs can be created independently, only without the use of heavy equipment and plastic / concrete as reinforcing components.
5. Biodiversity. The largest number of crops used on the site form a healthy eco-system, significantly bringing it closer to natural interaction. Each culture has certain properties, making its contribution to the functioning. In addition, it is the diversity of species that creates beauty and diversity on the site. Yes, yes, we are again returning to the topic of arranging a forest garden, this is logical after all. When laying a garden, try to make a fruit guildso that various plants not only help each other with food, but also scare away pests, and also give shelter to entomophages.
6. Building symbiotic relationships. Down with the established ideas about the strict division of the site. In permaculture, all plants are adjacent to each other based on the "benefit" they bring to each other. So, for example, we will “frame” fruitful beds with flower plantings - to attract pollinating insects. Here is an example from our garden: a bed 8 m long and 1 m wide. Indeterminate tomatoes are planted behind, then a row of beets, and in front - early cabbage interspersed with undersized zinnia. When the cabbage "left" on the table, there was a solid beauty:
   
7. Wasteless production. It is necessary to establish a waste-free production process. Grass and weeds are used as natural fertilizer for crops, and are not thrown out the gate. For compost, food residues, textiles are used, and ash and organic matter are used for soil mulching. And if chickens are bred on the site, then their droppings are perfect as fertilizers. Thus, an uninterrupted recycling cycle takes place.
8. Environmental friendliness. If it is already decided to reproduce the principles of permaculture on the site, then we exclude all chemistry and fertilizers that are not natural. For pest control, only folk remedies are used, as well as “correct” plantings. For example, by surrounding potato plantings with a double row of beans, you can get rid of the Colorado potato beetle. Plants with bactericidal properties should be actively used, which in themselves will repel pests and improve the air. Crop rotation plays a big role here, which establishes order - biological and agrochemical, the soil is provided with all the necessary replenishable elements, and then you no longer need to apply an infinite amount of fertilizer - the site itself is fertilized with plant mulch and loosened by obsolete roots.
9. Minimization of labor costs. It is achieved by the absence of loosening, weeding and digging of the soil, instead, the soil is “loosened” just by grass and even mowed weeds.
10. Maximum useful use of the site. Still, we have a few acres, and we need to get a good harvest. For this, such types of beds are most often used as snail, pyramid, raised ridge, Rosum's bed. Such an organization helps to save space, which means that you can increase the variety of landings. And dense rows of plants allow them to better interact with each other.

And here is another video by Jeff Lawton about permaculture, which is built not even on 6, but on 5 acres in a cold climate (Canada):

And, of course, we listen to nature. This is a very important factor - to be able to see and hear nature. She herself will tell you how to use the area most rationally, where and what to plant, how to arrange the elements with the greatest benefit. Watch nature - only in this way you will understand what is good for it, only in this way you can interact with it, arranging your own permaculture on 6 acres.

Sepp Holzer is a man of legend. He is the brightest representative of the agrarian direction, which was called "permaculture" - permanent, that is, natural, agriculture. Today they say so: not just permaculture, but Sepp Holzer's permaculture. An Austrian farmer is confident that so-called permaculture can feed the entire planet. You need quite a bit for this: do not interfere with Nature.

For a long time, Sepp Holzer was called a rebellious farmer in his homeland in Austria, and what he does is wild agriculture. For abandoning the traditional norms of farming and experiments, he was forced to pay fines, moreover, he was threatened with prison. Now Holzer's know-how - the creation of land ridges, crater gardens, the construction of reservoirs - is admired by many specialists and amateurs.

Sepp Holzer's secret is simple. He observes nature and tries to live according to its laws. As a boy, Sepp grew various plants on his father's farm. Then he called all his acquaintances to his garden and gladly shared his discoveries with them. Roughly the same thing is happening today. Only now, not the guys from the schoolyard come to Holzer - professional farmers from all over the world go to him. Holzer's farm is located in the mountains, at an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level. There are harsh climatic conditions, for which his estate in the Krameterhof is called Austrian Siberia. Even in July-August, Holzer's lands can be covered with snow, but at the same time, plums, apricots ripen in it, kiwi and grapes perfectly bear fruit.

“Everyone comes to me and looks: what can grow on these steep slopes with bad weather and without fertilizer? Sepp Holzer says with a smile. - And when they see a variety of exotic plants, they generally lose the power of speech. Someone from a Russian group that recently came to me asked: “How is it that you have the most beautiful rhododendrons that can be in nature, right up to the very top of the Alps, and they don’t grow in our suburbs?” They also ask: “Why do you have such long ponds on the slopes - 80–100 meters each, how can water linger in these depressions, and besides, without a film? We can’t save water even on the plain…” Then I begin to explain to them that this is a normal natural process, that nature itself will do everything, it’s only important to stop interfering with it.”

Sepp Holzer Manor Krameterhof

Three agricultural paths

Sepp Holzer: “Permaculture can feed at least three times the population that lives on the globe today. You just need to agree on this with nature.”

When in 1998 an Austrian student assessed the economic performance of Sepp Holzer's Krameterhof farm in his thesis, the tax office immediately visited the farm. We carried out a complete audit of the farm, revised the baseline performance indicators, which are usually set every 10-15 years. As a result, the regulatory authorities almost tenfold increased the amount from which taxes were previously calculated - from 24 thousand Austrian shillings per year to 200 thousand.

When asked why his farm was ten times more efficient than the average farm, Sepp Holzer replied that it was all about permaculture.

Today, when people talk about agriculture, they usually mean industrial and traditional areas. As you know, in industrial agriculture for the rapid growth of plants, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified organisms, as well as heavy agricultural machinery are used. Thanks to this, farmers get high yields and profits, but chemicals are harmful to the environment, and fruits and vegetables grown with their help are often tasteless.

The traditional, or biological, type of farming is characterized by closeness to nature, the complete rejection of chemical means of protection and plant nutrition, and the use of crop rotation. Its main advantage is obtaining healthy products, the disadvantage is low yield and high labor costs.

Permaculture offers a new type of agricultural business based on the relationships that exist in natural ecosystems. From traditional agriculture, permaculture took the rejection of chemical fertilizers, and from industrial - large agricultural machinery.

Sepp Holzer calculates his costs, and, according to him, they are much more modest than in industrial and conventional agriculture. “Firstly, I have less labor costs, which affects pay,” he explains. - Secondly, I do not waste time growing plants - they help each other. Thirdly, the quality of my products is higher, because I do not need to fight weeds - everything is regulated by nature, and I try not to interfere with it.

The main difference between permaculture and industrial and traditional agriculture is respect for all living beings. When trying to change the world around them, permaculture adherents always think about how their decision will affect other participants in the ecosystem.

“Use your brain to go with nature, not against it,” Holzer teaches. - Do not try to fight weeds, as such a fight is extremely harmful to agriculture. You need to think: can you take responsibility if you change something? My secret: put yourself in the place of a pig, a sunflower, an earthworm, and also the person who is in front of you. Would you feel good about it? If yes, then you are doing everything right. If not, guess what's wrong."

Sepp Holzer at the Krameterhof

Theory of mixed landings

Sepp Holzer: “Be curious. Sow a lot of seeds and watch what happens. What grows well is in place here.

In modern agriculture, it is customary to grow one type of cultivated plants in the fields. Such monoculture of crops, according to Holzer, only brings harm: plants develop and bear fruit at the same time, require the same nutrients, which makes them compete with each other. Holzer goes the other way, promoting mixed plantings. He is sure that when different types of plants live side by side, a symbiosis arises between them. Representatives of different species require different nutrients, moreover, they feed each other - the soil is fertilized by fallen leaves, dead parts of the roots.

Sepp Holzer talks about his estate in Austria. He, like his parents, grows cereals. But along with them, Holzer grows fruit trees, shrubs, vegetables, and flowers. “Many people think that cereals are a monoculture, which is not true,” he says. - On my site they get along well with other plants. When I harvest grains with a combine, I leave 10 centimeters of stems so as not to damage other plants during harvesting - radishes, lettuce, carrots.

Holzer is sure that a narrow specialization for an entrepreneur in the agro-industrial complex is too risky, not only in biological, but also in economic terms. In his youth, he tried to find some specific niche in order to deal only with it. One of his hobbies was the cultivation of mushrooms - the Austrian produced, processed and even sold them to other countries. But one day, sales of mushrooms plummeted, and he almost went bankrupt. According to Holzer, multilateralism, on the contrary, creates confidence in today and tomorrow.

Mixed planting at the Krameterhof

Landscape change

Sepp Holzer: “Land is the biggest capital in the world. When properly used, the land will always bring wealth.

Competent formation of the landscape can give an increase in the yield of cultivated plants - this is another postulate of the doctrine of permaculture. Holzer's favorite landscape elements are land ridges (high rolling or flat) and crater gardens. The peculiarity of both is in the form: different plants are planted one above the other in steps, due to which not only the sown area increases, but also different microclimate zones are created.

The land ridge is made in the form of an embankment approximately 1.5 meters high. It is ideal for humid regions where there is a lot of rainfall - the earth dries out faster on it than on the plain. Light-loving plants such as sunflower grow well on the top floor. Fruit trees are also planted there, but not apple trees, in which the roots spread along the ground, but with deep roots, like cherries, such trees will protect the plants planted below from the wind. Any vegetables are planted in the middle of the ridge. And at its foot, where a lot of moisture is collected, there are cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, watermelons.

The crater garden is built on the same principle as the land ridge, only it goes into the depths. For the arrangement of such a garden, the lowest place on the site is chosen, where aboveground and groundwater can collect. The crater garden, very suitable for dry places where additional moisture is needed, increases the cultivated area, protects plants from the wind, creates a heat trap and is ideal for moisture-loving vegetables. In winter, the plants in such a garden are protected from wind and frost.

Crater garden in Belarus built according to the method of Sepp Holzer

water lock

Sepp Holzer: “Water is the most important thing on Earth. There is no life without water. Everywhere in the world there is enough water, even in the desert. You just need to learn how to find it and use it correctly.

Restoring water balance is Sepp Holzer's favorite topic. Holzer is against mechanized irrigation systems and explains that while there are not enough springs and groundwater everywhere, there are many ways to attract water to your site. The simplest is to collect rainwater from the surface into recesses for water accumulation, and then direct it to water the plants. An even better option is to create a reservoir on your own, where such water will accumulate.

“In the Moscow region, on average, 550–650 millimeters of precipitation falls annually,” says Holzer. - It's six thousand cubic meters. What happens to this water? It flows into ravines, carrying away the top fertile layer of soil. Soil erosion begins, which increases due to wind. Add bright sun here. Cracks appear on the ground, plants dry out, and there is a danger of fires. Who is to blame - nature or the owner of the site? Of course, a person. Try to retain the water available on your site, and you will save yourself a lot of problems later.

It is important to choose the right location for the future reservoir. Each owner knows all the heights and depressions of his site, so he can easily determine where the precipitation water will eventually drain. If the site is on a plain, then Holzer advises to observe the plants. For example, alder usually grows where there is groundwater. So, next to it and other moisture-loving plants, you can safely arrange a pond.

An Austrian farmer proposes to create reservoirs, excluding from the construction process the film, concrete and other materials that are usually used to retain moisture. “I don’t want to disrupt the water cycle in nature, so I suggest filling the water tank in a natural way. In the future, such a pond will not only promote the growth of plants - it will be possible to breed fish, crayfish, waterfowl in it, ”he explains.

In his ponds, Holzer retains water exclusively with the help of natural materials. “Water is always looking for a loophole to seep through, so you have to find that bottleneck and seal it. To begin with, free the place of the future pond from what passes water - sand, small stones. Then dig a ditch two to three meters deep and fill the bottom with more dense material, compact it with an excavator. If you make a good lock, then the water will not flow down the sides either.”

Sepp Holzer watches the construction of a dam at one of the permaculture workshops in the Moscow region

shaman trail

Sepp Holzer: “Russia has vast territories and the best soils in the world, but you do not know how to use them correctly. Otherwise, you would have overtaken the West long ago.”

Interest in permaculture is great and constantly growing all over the world - from owners of large farms, small farmers working in the field of biological production of agricultural products, as well as from those who strive to be closer to nature. An Austrian farmer holds seminars around the world, and they are a success.

Of course, Holzer takes money for his seminars, and makes good money on it. However, seminars in Russia are cheaper than in European countries. Holzer's interest in our country did not arise by chance. One day, about ten years ago, he came to the council of elders of the leaders and shamans of Indian tribes in North America. At the meeting it was about the changing world, about its fate. And what was discussed there had a rather strong influence on Holzer's worldview. “I can’t tell you specifically what the shamans were talking about, since I was obliged to keep a secret, but it was then that I began to be interested in Russia. Unfortunately, I heard a lot of terrible things about Russia that I did not want to believe, so I began to study your country,” recalls the Austrian farmer.

Today, Holzer has a more positive opinion: he is sure that Russia can be not only a country of oil and gas, its future lies with the agricultural sector. “The wealth of your country does not lie in minerals, but in vast areas of high-quality fertile land where a wide variety of crops can be cultivated,” he said. - In addition, the relative conditions in Russia are better than in other countries. For each person you have 8 hectares of land. No country in the world can offer this to its citizens. But I am extremely surprised by the attitude of the Russians themselves to the land: I am often told that it is unattractive to engage in agriculture. Such a statement is fundamentally wrong, and by my example I want to prove the opposite.

Not everyone needs to prove the attractiveness of agriculture in our country. The Sepp Holzer Permaculture Center already exists in Russia, which popularizes Sepp's ideas and helps him hold his seminars here. Seminar participants can be divided into two conditional types. The former dream of moving or have already moved with their families from the city to the countryside. Their goal is to get closer to nature, to establish tribal settlements; or they just love nature and want to live in harmony with it. The second type is entrepreneurs, and they are in the majority. Some also want to build a family estate, raise their children and grandchildren in it. But in addition to the spiritual component, these people are also concerned about the material side of the issue, the practice of life.

“It is very difficult to find pure products, the only guarantee of quality is the products that he grew himself,” says Anatoly from Samara, who once trained as an astronaut, but has always worked in private business. Recently, Anatoly accidentally discovered the idea of ​​permaculture and realized that this is exactly what he had been looking for for a long time. Now, together with his family, he chooses the land on which he will grow vegetables. In the future, he plans to engage in private counseling.

The stories of the rest of the participants are very different - and similar at the same time. Musician Vladimir from the Kaliningrad region dreams of moving his family to the land, and then founding a company that will help everyone to get settled in the countryside. Renaldo from the Ulyanovsk region has been studying the principles of building settlements for a whole year, and now he plans to create a brand under which residents of family estates will be able to sell surplus products grown. Gleb from the Krasnodar Territory has been managing a tourism enterprise for ten years - he has an aqua farm with trout and carps, now he is building a mini-hotel in the forest, and he is going to apply his knowledge of permaculture there.

Holzer says that he has many successful projects in Russia - in its central part, in the south and in Siberia. “Recently, I started collaborating with the Tomsk Agrarian University: this is a large-scale project, but our experience can be useful to everyone,” says Sepp. - We planted medicinal herbs in a box that was installed on a tree, it turned out to be like a nest. The plants began to climb up the trunk of the tree. I think landscape designers and those involved in the garden can use our idea. But the most important thing, to summarize, is that a similar own garden, with which you can be treated, can be created by every city dweller. A balcony is perfect for this, and if there is none, then a box with plants can be fixed on the outer wall or do as we did: install a green pharmacy on a tree.

The Austrian farmer has few unsuccessful projects. “I would not like to discuss them,” says Holzer, “because, first of all, I explain the failure not by my mistakes, but by the fact that the projects were not given enough attention. People need to understand that it's impossible to do a permaculture project once for an A and then forget about it. Nature is a living organism that is constantly evolving and does not allow us to rest. Therefore, you need to work hard, analyze your mistakes and correct them.”

Intuition and self-organization

Holzer himself is ready to work on mistakes all the time: his main goal is to correct the mistakes of the past with the help of the laws of nature and the principles of permaculture, to prevent new natural disasters. Such a philosophy, of course, cannot but resonate with caring people, and, having learned about permaculture, many of them begin to actively follow the teachings.

However, for the most part, people are skeptical about what Holzer proposes. Representatives of the Russian agrarian business interviewed by us say that they are impressed by Holzer's ideas. But, they note, the practice of permaculture is only suitable for creating small niche farm projects or for amateur gardeners. Despite the declared scale that Holzer dreams of, it is difficult to apply his principles to large farms, and therefore permaculture cannot become the main one for agriculture and compete with industrial and traditional farming.

There are several reasons for this. In general, agricultural producers are concerned about the unpredictability of managing “according to Holzer”. The agricultural business is generally high-risk: it is very difficult to calculate the annual harvest. If you follow the principles of permaculture and rely only on the mood of nature in everything, then it will be even more difficult to predict the economic results of future activities. The implementation of innovative permaculture projects costs a lot of money, so if the outcome is unsuccessful (what kind of demand from nature), farms can go bankrupt.

A number of our respondents are confused by the fact that Sepp Holzer is an Austrian peasant, his experience is limited to the area where he grew up. At Holzer's farm in the mountains, the temperature is constantly changing, the sun is shining brightly, and snow can fall in summer. And the knowledge on which agriculture is based on his farm is not universal and cannot be extended to other territories.

Much depends on the human factor. A large farm built according to the principles of permaculture should be headed by the same high-class specialist, who has a subtle feeling of nature and knows its laws, like Sepp Holzer. Unfortunately, there are few such people. In order for them to appear, you need to go through the entire path of Holzer from the very beginning. It is important that a person, in addition to logic, has a good intuition. Many techniques need to be specially learned, and not only from nature. This requires communication with like-minded people. Who will take the responsibility to follow the principles of permaculture, to be a teacher? Now there is such a guru - Sepp Holzer. But if it does not exist, then permaculture itself is in danger of disappearing.

Another question: how to motivate hired personnel who will work at a large agricultural enterprise, so that ordinary workers follow nature in the same way as farm managers? Permaculture appeals to many because of its simplicity. Indeed, in nature everything grows by itself, it would be nice to learn not to interfere with this. But not everyone can do such a teaching - high self-organization, enthusiasm, patience are needed. This is the highest stage in the development of agriculture, which can be reached only independently and consciously. And Sepp Holzer's "intellectual farming", despite all the popularization, by and large, remains piecework. Although very tempting.

I have loved Nature since childhood, my father often took me fishing with him from an early age, and from the age of 9 I could not imagine myself without Nature, without the water surface of lakes and rivers. As soon as any opportunity presented itself, I went fishing with friends or my father, to the forest for mushrooms, for berries, to pick pine nuts or cranberries in the swamp. It probably would have continued like this… I didn’t realize, and didn’t even think about the fact that I only take Nature’s generous gifts, but I don’t give anything in return.

About 8 years ago, my worldview changed dramatically. This was due to the fact that I read Vladimir Megre's books "Ringing Cedars of Russia", which described a very colorful and inspiring image of the Garden of Eden and life in harmony with Nature. It said that you can create do it yourself living space from plants, trees and animals that will protect you, give you their love in the form of healthy food, fresh air, the rustle of leaves, flowers with their enticing beauty and aroma, the chirping of birds, clean water ... And for this you need to choose yourself at least one hectare of land and equip a family homestead on it. This image sunk into my soul so deeply that I began to look for ways to bring it to life.

I began to look at the ground differently. I developed an interest in farming, gardening, gardening. Just about the same time, the parents purchased a small summer cottage of 6 acres, which was bare sandy land on which grass did not even grow. In this area, I subsequently began to practice "working with the earth and on the ground."

Now a house, a shed, a woodshed have been built on this site, paths and a greenhouse have been made. A small pond was dug out, in which aquatic and semi-aquatic plants were planted (pods, water lilies, watercress, cattail, marsh iris, etc.). About 20 apple trees were planted from seeds, as well as berry bushes (honeysuckle, currant, gooseberry, raspberry), garden beds were equipped. A forest corner was made, fenced with a wicker fence, in which rowan, wild rose, ferns, lilies of the valley, etc. grow. A flower bed was made in the form of a stone spiral ...

So, I began to study all kinds of materials, ranging from books on gardening and farming to material found on the Internet. Initially, I came to the conclusion that organic farming is the best thing to start practicing. But later I found a more "global" and efficient farming system, its name is . And organic farming, in my opinion, is only a small part of this comprehensive concept.

So what is Permaculture?

The founders of this trend are Australian explorer and naturalist Bill Mollison, Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer and Japanese microbiologist Masanobu Fukuoka. I was fortunate enough to meet Sepp Holzer personally, in 2011 I was a participant in his semi-annual seminar held in the Tomsk region.

So, Permaculture - what to plant with what(from English. permaculture-permanentagriculture- “Permanent agriculture”) is the design and creation of sustainable ecosystems, based on a deep observation of natural processes and relationships, taking into account all possible parameters - the presence of nearby water (both in open water bodies and occurrence in the thickness of the earth), terrain , the nature of the soil, weather conditions, the orientation of the site relative to the cardinal points, etc. In other words, we can say that Permoculture is work in harmony with Nature, in harmony with its rhythms, and not against it. Without the use of chemicals, digging the earth, weed control, and without planting monocultures.

Why still permaculture, and not organic farming?

Again, in my opinion, organic farming is set of tools – to improve soil fertility, increase the quality and quantity of crops, agricultural techniques for cultivating the land, which are effective when used in small summer cottages or garden plots , and are not sufficient for use on large areas from 1 hectare. The disadvantage of small land plots is that it is almost impossible to create an efficient economy on them, because then it requires more effort to maintain it. You have to constantly bring in various materials from outside - a fertile layer (manure, compost, soddy land, sapropel), mulch (hay, straw, leaf litter, sawdust, etc.), building materials, organize an irrigation system that requires large funds for implementation and operation, etc.

In contrast to the above, permaculture – this creation of a unifying self-functioning system , which takes into account all the elements in the arrangement of the economy on earth - the environment (forest, reservoir, swamp, field, river, hills, lowlands, etc.), placement of houses and outbuildings, water balance, energy sources (sun, wind, water, earth), animals, insects, birds, plant symbioses and much more. And this system also includes the possibility of applying organic farming methods. The concept of permaculture carries another very important component - attitude towards all living things with respect and love .

Improves productivity in permaculture with a new generation of environmentally friendly fertilizer:

“Imagine yourself in the place of another - plants, animals, and also a person - and ask yourself the question, would you feel good in his place. If the earthworm is doing well, then the earth is healthy. Also, the plant and the animal feel great if they can live in a suitable biotope and in freedom. You will always have an advantage and a huge success if you manage the opportunities correctly. Soil is to be used, not exploited. Diversity, not uniformity, sustains an ecosystem. Your job in Creation is to manage, not fight. Nature is perfect. There is nothing to improve in it. If you still decide to do this, then it will be self-deception. Nature is perfect, only we humans make mistakes. They instill fear in you. Get rid of it, because fear is the worst companion in life. You benefit most from the respectful treatment of creation and living beings.”

And permaculture methods are applicable to both large and small plots of land.

Now I would also like to consider some of the advantages of a large land plot, say from 1 hectare, which are as follows:

• The opportunity to have a large enough variety vegetation to create a closed self-regulating ecosystem- trees, shrubs, herbs. Which perform many functions, for example, deciduous trees give a large amount of leaf litter, which, when rotting, turns into a fertile layer. Birds also nest on trees and shrubs, which eat a large number of harmful insects. In symbiosis with trees, mushrooms begin to grow, which also improve the composition of the soil, and they can still be eaten.
• Possibility to create water balance. For example, by digging a pond on the site, a lot of positive effects are achieved. Water, as you know, is Life, all living things need water. The reservoir saturates the territory of the earth adjacent to it with moisture, thereby improving the conditions for the growth of most useful plants and trees. Also, the reservoir plays the role of heat storage and smoothing out sudden temperature changes. During the day, water absorbs solar heat, and at night it releases it into the environment. Moreover, in addition to this, the reservoir improves the microclimate by increasing the humidity of the air during evaporation. Not to mention that the pond can contain fish, crayfish, eye-catching water lilies and other interesting aquatic and semi-aquatic plants. Frogs will definitely start up in it, which will greatly reduce the number of mosquitoes and slugs, and other unwanted guests of the garden and vegetable garden. Yes, and just a pond - it's very beautiful;
• It is possible to choose a place for the house, build a gazebo, a greenhouse exactly where you want, and where they will really be harmonious and effective, without worrying that you will shade your neighbor's garden. Or install a bath without fear that the house of a neighbor in the country is very close, which can get burning sparks from the pipe and bring to a fire;
• The ability to make an "eternal" fence in the form of a hedge of thorny and ornamental shrubs and trees;
• The opportunity to provide yourself with healthy, environmentally friendly food, and in sufficient quantities, which is almost impossible to do in a summer cottage.

And this is just a small list of opportunities that give ownership of a large plot of land (from 1 hectare) and knowledge of such a “subject” as.

Usmanov Anton, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

Permaculture videos (films)

Permaculture forest garden: 23 years of prosperity

A wonderful film about an amazing family from New Zealand who 23 years ago took an abandoned piece of land (with stones and garbage) and turned it into a Forest Garden!

Now they have their own piece of Paradise, which they can admire, be inspired by… and create the same one for themselves! Now Robin and Robert have 480 species of plants, 80 types of apple trees, 60 varieties of gooseberries, a forest stream with fish, a variety of birds and insects, an abundance of herbs and an indescribable atmosphere of life!

What do you wish! Get inspired))

Permaculture in the garden Video

On the one hand, we conquer nature, on the other hand, it does not really obey us. We have vegetables and fruits all year round, but they taste like cotton wool. We can transform any landscape, but for some reason after that it turns into a desert, and pesticides, which were supposed to destroy all pests, destroy the harvesters themselves at the same time. If it’s already becoming daily for you, it’s time to move on to the next level. We tell you what permaculture is and why the main skills of a permaculture gardener are laziness, observation and reflection. By the way, it is applicable not only for the garden!

How did it all start?

It all started with a man named Bill Mollison. He spent his youth in his native small village in Tasmania, having worked as a forester, miller and hunter, and then worked as a biologist in different parts of Australia and taught at the University of Tasmania.

What he observed during his work, he did not like at all: forests, fish and algae disappeared off the coast, crops fell, despite the chemicals used. In the pursuit of overproduction, man has reached the limit of those resources that seemed inexhaustible to him. Bill Mollison wondered why existing systems deplete the land - while traditional cultures around the world exist for a long time on the same site without depleting it.

permaculture- the answer to the very question, is it possible to combine nature and civilization. Yes, it is possible - and for this you do not need to return to primitive life.

Bill Mollison and his colleague David Holmgren decided to study how these traditional cultures work and put it into practice. From this generalized experience emerged the concept of permaculture - permanent farming, permanent agriculture, a design system based on environmentally sound models.

Later, in the 1990s, Sepp Holzer became famous - in Russia, it is his permaculture that is mostly known. The difference between him and Bill Mollison is about the same as between a therapist and a surgeon. Sepp Holzer is a surgeon, he himself creates the landscape that he needs. In Belarus, among those who follow the principles of permaculture, most adherents of Bill Mollison.

Irina Sukhiy, then the chairman of the public association "Ecodom", was at his seminar in 1994 - she brought this idea to Belarus. After that, Ecodom held seminars for those wishing to learn permaculture design and created a team of permaculture designers and trainers. Below is about permaculture by Bill Mollison.

What is permaculture?

How to explain what jazz is? One musician responded, "Jazz is what everyone knows is jazz." It's the same with permaculture. This is an approach that has its own integrity, and it shows. It considers not only the elements, but also the connections between them, the entire system as a whole. It is not possible to create a show plot with a permaculture bed. It's the opposite of permaculture: take an element, put it in an empty space and say it's permaculture. Permaculture is a systematic approach, and it is impossible to break it down into parts.

For experienced gardeners, a permaculture site can look odd. In nature, there are no straight lines, bare soil and monocultures, so permaculture does not have the usual straight beds filled with plants of the same species. Beds twist into spirals, vegetables grow interspersed with flowers, and weeds turn from hated enemies into plants that protect the soil.

Permaculture is a design system that deals with plants, animals, buildings and infrastructure (this includes water, energy and communications). The goal of permaculture is to develop systems that are both economically viable and environmentally sound. This means that they must provide for themselves, not deplete or pollute the environment: in this way they can exist for a very long time.

Permaculture includes philosophy, practice, ethics and economics. Everything is based on common sense and the laws of nature: if you go against them and stubbornly plant heat-loving plants in a cold climate, you will only waste your energy and strength. The ethics of permaculture speaks of the value of any life, not just the one that is useful to a person.

What do permaplots look like?

Plant-protected soil rather than deep plowing and constant weeding

Mixed plantings instead of monocultures

Biological protection of plants (other plants, birds, predatory insects) instead of pesticides

Using existing terrain and natural forms instead of reworking the site and straight beds

Use of local resistant species and varieties

Energy efficient planning and use of renewable energy sources

Principles of Permacultural Thinking

Learn from nature

Cooperation instead of struggle

Minimum effort - maximum result

Turn obstacles into helpers

Harvest is not limited by the size and quality of the plot

Start small

To take responsibility

How to start applying the principles of permaculture?

Invest in surveillance

First you need to spend time observing and studying. If this is a site, the observation should last a year to cover all seasons. You need to understand how the sun moves, how the snow melts, where the wind blows from. This is for people who have time, but this time, as if lost at the beginning, will be returned by the efficiency of the system. This is your investment.

Then analyze your needs and opportunities - and try to combine them. It is important not just to come with the conviction that you need something and try to reshape everything to suit it. It is important to make a stable system. This includes the recycling of resources, and savings, and the fact that we not only take energy, but also return it.

Plants cooperate

Another important principle is not competition, but cooperation. Inside the communication systems are built so that the elements do not compete, but help each other. For example, for plants that can be competitors, you create such conditions that each has its own niche. If a plant is shaded, plant one nearby that needs shade.

Plant potatoes, beans and marigolds in the same bed. These plants will help each other: marigolds and beans will scare away the Colorado potato beetle. At the same time, you do not kill beetles and at the same time other insects, do not pollute water and land, do not poison yourself with pesticides - and as a result you get a larger crop than if only potatoes or only beans grew in the garden - plants cooperate.

This is for the lazy

Another important principle is that each element has many functions, and each function is provided by several elements. For example, if your property needs water, it could come from a pond, groundwater, and rainwater. The pond stabilizes the temperature, provides water and diversifies the environment. The water attracts birds and dragonflies that eat pests in the garden, and increases the variety of plants so that the pests cannot destroy them all. The ecosystem balances: the more heterogeneous elements, the more stable it is. This is the goal of permaculture - to make a balanced ecosystem that will work without human intervention. Permaculture is for the lazy. There is less physical work at the expense of mental work.

Slow decisions

Permaculture recognizes slow decisions. If the trees in your garden are sick, you can spray them with chemicals, or you can give them up altogether and cut them down. The slow fix is ​​to see where the root of the problem lies and how it relates to other elements around. You may have to do nothing for a while and just watch what happens. Plant other plants nearby. Attract birds of prey or insects. This solution will not work instantly, but the results will be long-term.

Spiral garden and patterns

Visually, permaculture has its own recognizable features, such as a spiral garden. It allows you to create different zones for different plants on a small plot of land. Usually there is a small reservoir below, and a bed spirals from it. Below it is humid, on the one hand shade, on the other - the sun and dry. You can plant plants so that each one finds its place and grows with minimal human intervention, so that they do not even need to be watered.

Another famous feature is patterns. Patterns are patterns, repeating patterns that are found in everything. They can be visual or auditory. All nature is permeated with them, they are repeated at different levels. The simplest example is the same branching of a riverbed, human veins, roads, tree branches, lightning. These are processes that have something in common. Patterns are used in planning and design: they are ready-made templates. It can be a snail pattern that compactly combines borders, a branching pattern, or networks.

Where to study permaculture?

In almost all countries there are organizations that promote permaculture: look for thematic communities in Sweden, the UK, the USA. Often you can come to permaculture specialists for practice and see how everything is arranged in their farm. You can also find seminars in neighboring countries - Ukraine, Russia and Poland. In Belarus, contact the environmental institution "Agro-Eco-Culture": they regularly hold educational events for farmers and summer residents and provide advice on request. There are also online trainings: for example, the Swedish-British permaculture "star" Richard Perkins teaches a special course. Start on January 12th.

Visual www.ridgedalepermaculture.com