Permaculture
From HUG Wiki
Contents |
Definitions and Philosophy
- Permaculture Overview
- Wikipedia article on permaculture
- Permaculture Principles
- Why permaculture?
A good article on the importance of doing horticulture rather than agriculture [1]
- Should we be using the word permaculture in this context, or should we have a more inclusive, yet specifically plant-growing term, something like "lasting horticulture" since we also will probably incorporate other growing methods more similar to John Jeavons' biointensive. Permaculture could be used more accurately, perhaps, to describe the design methodology for the entire community.
A good article on biointensive, by its founder, John Jeavons [2]
HUG goals and objectives
The Hunt Utilities Group campus is guided by a set of common sense principles that are also shared by the design methodology of Permaculture. Permaculture principles can be used to design every aspect of human settlement, from food production to community organization. In this section of the HUG wiki, we will focus on the food production aspect of our endeavors, and relate them to the principles of Bill Mollison's permaculture.
- water from all sources is conserved and utilized as many times as possible before returning to the underground water table
- healthy soil is the basis of food production, and to this end we are trying to speed up the natural systems to recreate and even enhance the healthy soil ecology that existed before the human disturbances that occurred here.
- We will try to produce as much of our own food needs as possible, and to the extent we can, we will do it by creating perennial polycultures based on the native plant ecosystems that exist in our region.
- We will enhance our ability to support ourselves year-round by incorporating greenhouse spaces in our buildings, and creating microclimates that extend our growing season outdoors.
Resources and information about Permaculture
An online library of books relating to soils and health http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/01aglibwelcome.html
John Weaver's original 1926 tome on root growth of plants and how they are affected by various soil conditions http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010139fieldcroproots/010139toc.html
Permaculture in the ARC project
Old Main permaculture project
stay tuned for a map of the design
Waterworks
- Collection from impervious surfaces
- Old Main Roof water
- Old Main Rear Parking lot water
- Shop west parking lot and roof and heat pump water
- Sunset Pond, southwest corner of Old Main
- one inch of rain falling on the roof of Old Main will add 3.5 inches of water to the pond
- Roadside pond (we need a better name!)
- water from west parking and roof of shop goes under the road through a culvert to the south side of the road
- Swales
Sources for drip irrigation
- The helpful guy that had just the right stuff and good answers... Berry Hill Irrigation http://www.berryhilldrip.com/
- The bigger store with lots of options, but didn't have the answers I needed... The Drip Store http://www.dripirrigation.com/
How about a general philosophy using this order of priorities...
- Water manually as needed.
- Change landscaping to enhance natural irrigation.
- Add irrigation plumbing
- Ground covers and shade suppliers to decrease evaporation and cycle water
Earthworks
- Sand removal for Shop building, to enhance slope and contours of old main landscape
- Level swales on contour, to take water from ponds
- Berms of topsoil and amendments
- vehicle trails, walking paths
- Between-berm slopes for annual vegetable gardens
Soil Building strategies
- Amendments
- compost
- compost tea
- humates
- mineral supplements
- mulches to feed soil biology
- living mulch cover crops
- straw for annual vegetable areas
- plantings to accelerate soil building
- nitrogen-fixers
Plantings
- food production
- fruit and nut trees
- berry bushes
- ground cover of medicinal and edible herbs
- nitrogen fixers
- pollinator attractors
- Annual vegetable beds
- food production
- intensively planted beds of companion crops
- green manures
- within vegetables
- areas that are not in production
