Tag Archives: permaculture

January- A Time for Rest and Reflection

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January- A Time for Rest and Reflection

©2013-2014 Danylo Kosovych and Organic Edible Gardens LLC

The shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is December 21st , the winter solstice. From the advent of the solar calendar, cultures have been holding celebrations on this day in association with their religious beliefs. At this time of the year all of the season’s agricultural work would have been finished and the days were dark and cold. People were indoors and free of the bulk of their chores. If you make your living as a landscaper like I do then the agricultural ebb and flow of the seasons still largely applies. In reference to the suburban garden, the plants are in dormancy and the ground is frozen, now is a good time to rest, relax and reflect.

While snow will have to be removed from paved surfaces like the driveway, walkways and streets, it can be left alone on planted surfaces. Plants with marginal cold hardiness should have been mulched and protected from frost before the onset of winter. Late winter is the best time of the year for dormant pruning but not until February or March. The year’s gardening work is finished. Take some time off.

Many companies have realized that giving their employees time off of work can actually increase productivity and quality of work when their employees return. This is especially true in reference to creativity. Progressive companies like Google are known to give employees an entire month off in an effort to boost creativity. As a result of this policy they have produced some of their most creative innovations. Removing yourself from direct mental and physical engagement with your work allows you to return to your work refreshed and with a new perspective. Simply being able to rest and refresh the mind and body will lead to improved results when one returns. A change of scenery and a break from the ordinary routine can produce insights previously not thought of.

If you kept records of your garden now is a good time to look them over and think about the next year. Walk the garden in winter and take note of the structure of trees and shrubs as they are bare of leaves. Pay attention to the garden beds and pathways, their layout is easier to see without all the vegetative growth of the summer. But most importantly take a load off. Read a book next to the fire. Go on vacation. Meet with family and friends. Drink, eat and be Merry!

Rainwater-Harvesting Earthworks

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©2013 Jonathan Storvick and Organic Edible Gardens LLC

“Swales” and other rainwater-harvesting earthworks are an integral part of the sustainable landscape.  Harvesting rainwater is by no means a new concept – humans have been capturing and storing rainwater for at least 6000 years, probably longer.  From the cisterns of ancient Rome to today’s ubiquitous 55-gallon rain barrels, people have utilized the free and precious resource of rainwater for every water need from irrigation to bathing and drinking.  Yet the use of tanks, cisterns and barrels can only be a small part of any sustainable water strategy.

This is because catchment itself is only part of the need. First, there is the simple matter of quantity – more water falls from the sky than we can possibly capture and use for our needs.  For example, a 1-inch rainstorm falling on a 1000 square-foot roof generates more than 600 gallons of water – enough to fill a 55-gallon rain barrel almost 11 times.  We could simply build a 600-gallon cistern to hold all of that water, but what if it rains 2 inches? Or 10 inches over a week-long storm?  Where is that water going?  And do we really need to hold on to 600 gallons?  For what use?  This also does not take into account the water that is falling on the rest of the yard.

Second, there is the issue of rainwater that flows over the landscape.  Professionals and organizations are fond of referring to this issue as “stormwater management” – this water is a nuisance that must be diverted and shunted out to the nearest river as quickly as possible.  We could not possibly disagree more with this stance.  Stormwater flow is indeed a serious issue, as Colorado residents could tell you after the recent devastating floods in that state.  However, a responsible stormwater management policy, combined with rainwater harvesting (viewing rainwater as a precious resource), would help to both collect and conserve water, as well as prevent flooding, erosion, and property damage.

Rainwater-harvesting earthworks are a key component of such a strategy.  These earthworks include “swales,” terraces, rain gardens, and check dams.  The term “swale” can be somewhat confusing – landscape and stormwater professionals use the term to denote a vegetated ditch that transports water.  Permaculturists and rainwater harvesters use the word to describe a ditch dug on contour (running along an equal point of elevation crossways along a slope) with a berm placed on the downhill side of the ditch.  When stormwater runs over the landscape, it is caught in these swales, and is allowed to slowly sink into the soil.  Rainwater harvesting expert Brad Lancaster uses the term berm n’ basin to avoid confusion.

The catchphrase for both rainwater harvesting and stormwater management is “Slow, Spread, and Sink.”  The idea is to slow the flow of water over the landscape, spread the water out evenly (instead of having it rush down one spot creating gullies), and sink it into the ground.  Swales are an incredibly useful technique to accomplish this.  The swale slows the flow of water by stopping it along a single point of elevation.  It spreads the water, since it is a long ditch – much like a bathtub, even though water flows in from one point, the entire tub is filled with water.  By stopping the water in one spot, it enables the water to sink into the ground.

Rainwater-Harvesting Earthworks - Swale Digging

Carving out swales for a recent project in Purcellville, VA

Permaculturists are often fond of saying that the cheapest place to store water is in the soil.  Indeed, it costs much less to dig a swale than it does to purchase and install a large-capacity water tank – plus with just a tank, you still have to deal with the problem of water runoff from the tank’s overflow.  In addition to capturing stormwater, swales serve many other important functions.  By planting the swale berm with trees and shrubs (preferably fruiting plants, but hey, we’re biased), you can increase the amount of available water in the soil to your plants.  This increased water supply boosts growth and fruit set.  Ben Falk of Whole Systems Design has discovered, over 10+ years of experimenting on his farm in Vermont, that trees and shrubs planted on swales often exhibit twice as much growth as the same species planted nearby on flat ground.  Over time, the increased amount of water infiltrated into the soil can also regenerate aquifers and revive springs downslope, creating even more of a water resource for people, plants, and wildlife.

Rainwater-Harvesting Earthworks - Swale Chickens

Even the chickens love swales.

Of course, swales are only one tool in the rainwater harvesting kit, and may not be useful for all yards or properties.  A detailed study of climate, soils, property size and other factors is the best way to determine which techniques are best for any particular situation.  Usually a combination of various techniques, appropriately sited, are the best way to go.  As seen in the pictures above, we recently installed a network of both diversion and infiltration swales as part of a permaculture landscape in Loudoun County.  We’re excited to see how these earthworks solve drainage and erosion problems and provide free irrigation to the gardens.  We’ll post more information over time as these systems develop and grow!

References:

Bane, P. (2012). The permaculture handbook: Garden farming for town and country.  Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Falk, B. (2013).  The resilient farm and homestead: An innovative permaculture and whole systems design approach.  White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.

Kinkade-Levario, H. (2007). Design for water: Rainwater harvesting, stormwater catchment, and alternate water reuse.  Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Lancaster, B. (2009). Rainwater harvesting for drylands and beyond, volume 1: Guiding principles to welcome rain into your life and landscape.  Tucson, AZ: Rainsource Press.

Lancaster, B. (2008). Rainwater harvesting for drylands and beyond, volume 2: Water-harvesting earthworks.  Tucson, AZ: Rainsource Press.

Permaculture Paradise

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Permaculture Paradise

 

This was a really fun project – edible forest gardens, mandala gardens, meditation area, plants for the chickens, and TONS of beautiful, pollinator-attracting flowers everywhere. These were really fun clients to work with, very committed to regenerating the land, being good stewards, and growing their own healthy food in abundance.  This will truly be a permaculture paradise!

Species Profile: Sea Buckthorn

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For a while now, we’ve wanted to start profiling certain plant species here on our site.  There are a few reasons for this:  First, a lot of these plants are unfamiliar to American gardeners (outside of  some permaculture circles, that is!), and they definitely deserve a bit more popularity for several reasons.  Second, we want to show that functional plants (edible, medicinal, etc.) can serve very powerful aesthetic purposes in the landscape as well.  We hope that you will enjoy these profiles as we post them, and that you gain an appreciation of these amazing plants!

 

Sea Buckthorn

 

Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a large shrub in the Elaeagnaceae family that is native to Europe and Asia – it can be found from Britain to Japan, Norway to the Himalayas.  In the wild, Sea Buckthorn is typically found near the coast (hence the ‘Sea’ in its common name), growing out of cliffs and sand dunes.  What is interesting is that by evolving to grow in these harsh conditions (sandy alkaline soils, exposure to salt, etc.), it basically has the ability to grow in nearly any soil and any conditions you can throw at it (wet, dry, near roads where they put down salt in the winter, etc.), which is great for gardeners in many different kinds of growing areas.

 

Sea Buckthorn

 

One of the reasons that Sea Buckthorn can survive in so many different kinds of conditions is that it, like other members of the Elaeagnaceae family, is what is called a nitrogen fixer.  Basically, this plant forms associations with soil microorganisms (in this case, a genus of actinomycetes called Frankia) .  The plant absorbs atmospheric nitrogen, which is not readily used by plants, and transfers it to its roots, where it is “processed” by the microorganisms (in exchange for plant sugars and nutrients) into a form of nitrogen which IS available for uptake by plant roots.  What this means, is that the plant provides its own fertilizer.  This fertilizer is available for use by other plants, too – when its roots die back (which happens naturally or can be encouraged by coppicing, as described below), or when it drops its leaves in the fall, the nitrogen concentrated in these tissues remains in the soil, available for uptake by any nearby plant.  Having these nitrogen fixing plants in the garden can reduce or eliminate the need for external inputs of nitrogen and other elements commonly found in fertilizers.

 

Sea Buckthorn

 

Aside from providing a good amount of fertility to the garden, Sea Buckthorn can serve many other functions in the garden.  It makes a great hedge for keeping out unwanted intruders (human, deer or otherwise) – it does have thorns, so avoid placing near paths or where children play.  It is a very beautiful plant – silvery gray-green, almost needle-like foliage gives it a very Mediterranean-like appearance.  When it bears fruit in the fall, the plant is literally COVERED with brilliant orange berries – very much like Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), a common shrub in eastern American gardens.  We’ll talk more about the fruit below.  Sea Buckthorn can get to be 10-20 feet tall if left to its own devices, but can be kept reasonably small by coppicing (cutting it to just above ground level in the winter when it has gone dormant) every few years.  It is an excellent plant for holding together soil and preventing erosion.

 

Sea Buckthorn

 

Sea Buckthorn fruit is not very good fresh – the berries are very tart and astringent, but they make an incredible juice when steamed or pressed and then sweetened.  They are incredibly nutritious, too – incredibly high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A, antioxidants, and healthy fatty acids.  Jams, jellies and wines made from Sea Buckthorn are delicious.  The fruit yields an edible oil which can be used for cooking, and is also used to make an inexpensive and easily produced biodiesel fuel.  Other uses of the plant include medicines, cosmetics, charcoal, wood fuel, and yellow dye.

 

Sea Buckthorn

 

To conclude, Sea Buckthorn is an incredibly beautiful, useful, multifunctional plant that we think deserves more of a place in our gardens and landscapes.  Stay tuned for more useful plant species profiles, there’s a whole world to cover!

Quick and Dirty Herb Spiral

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On May 5, in celebration of International Permaculture Day, we participated in an organic gardening & raw food demonstration at a local resident’s home.  Our contribution was an herb spiral demonstration.

An herb spiral is a well known permaculture technique for growing herbs in a very small space.  Essentially what this does is take about 30 linear feet of growing space, and condenses it into a mound approximately 6 feet in diameter and 2-3 feet high.  This allows for easy access to the plants from all sides without having to reach more than 3 feet from any side.

It also allows for the creation of microclimates – creating small spaces with slightly different growing conditions that are ideal for different plants.  Plants that require more sun are placed on the top and south-facing aspects of the mound, while plants that like a little less sun are placed on the north side.  Since the mound is watered from the top, and the water will run down the mound, plants that prefer less water are placed near the top of the spiral while those that like a little more water are placed near the bottom where they receive more water.

Herb spirals can be as simple or as complex as your desire warrants – they can be anything from a mound of soil with stones or bricks outlining the spiral, to spiral-shaped dry-stack stone walls filled with soil.  Our purpose in building this particular herb spiral was to illustrate what anyone can do with a minimum of materials and effort – in this case we used bricks, pavers, and mulch that the resident already had onsite, the only outside inputs were about a cubic yard of topsoil, the plants, and some alfalfa meal for an organic fertilizer.

First, we marked the circular outline of the herb spiral bed, and dug out a small trench to sink in the landscape pavers for a border.

Herb Spiral

 

We then covered the interior of the circle with cardboard to act as a grass and weed barrier – the cardboard will smother the existing grass and prevent it from growing up into the herb spiral.  Over a few months, the cardboard will decompose and add organic matter to the soil.

Herb Spiral

 

Next, we filled the interior of the circle with topsoil to create the spiral mound.

Herb Spiral

 

Herb Spiral

 

Once the mound was shaped, we used found bricks from the site to shape the spiral.

Herb Spiral

 

Herb Spiral

 

From there it was a simple matter of putting in the plants – in this case, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, lavender and chives – and adding a bit of alfalfa meal as a slow-decomposing organic fertilizer.

Herb Spiral

 

Add mulch and water the plants, and voila – you have an herb spiral.  The whole process took about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Herb Spiral

It was a great opportunity to show people how simple, inexpensive, and effective permaculture techniques can be.  We had a lot of fun and look forward to giving more demonstrations in the future!

Herb Spiral

Lawn Care the Ecological Way

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©2012 by Jon Storvick and Organic Edible Gardens, LLC

Lawn Care the Ecological Way

Lawns are a hotly contested subject these days.  Lawns have become the major defining feature of the American landscape.  Yet, it wasn’t always this way.  Up until the development of the suburbs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the lawn was the sole province of the extremely wealthy, who could afford to spare the land for non-utilitarian purposes (e.g. food production).  Lawns have become synonymous with home ownership, but there is a hidden cost to our obsession with the “living carpets” that surround our homes.

“The American Lawn uses more resources than any other agricultural industry in the world.  It uses more phosphates than India, and puts on more poisons than any other form of agriculture… A house with two cars, a dog, and a lawn uses more resources and energy than a village of 2000 Africans….  The lawn and its shrubbery is a forcing of nature and landscape into a salute to wealth and power, and has no other purpose or function.”  – Bill Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture, p. 111

Americans dump fertilizers and pesticides on their lawns in tremendous amounts.  Since lawns do not  infiltrate water very efficiently, most of these toxic chemicals run off into nearby storm drains and make their way into local watersheds where they poison ecosystems, animals, and humans.  We will not give you statistics here, they are readily available with a brief Internet search.  It suffices to say that lawns have a very large and very destructive impact on the environment.

An argument often put forward is to eliminate the lawn entirely in favor of lower-input landscapes, food forests, etc.  While we certainly approve of these ideas, they are not the only option.  Lawns do have their appropriate uses and functions, and we believe that they can indeed have a role to play in the sustainable landscape.  As permaculturist Paul Wheaton says, “I think I have heard ‘grow food not lawns’ about a thousand times. I wish to advocate that the lawn is where children play, and where we put chairs to enjoy nature, and the place for yard sales. From a permaculture perspective I prefer ‘grow food in your lawns’: there are lots of edibles that would thrive there and tolerate the occasional mowing.”

While the edible lawn is somewhat beyond the scope of this article, we do wish to make clear that lawns in general can be sustainable and organically maintained.  We’re going to tell you a little bit about how we do it here at OEG.

Lawn Care the Ecological Way

Grasses are plants too, and the ‘Right Plant Right Place’ mantra applies to the lawn as well.  Most commercial seed mixes are based on a ‘one size fits all’ attitude, and species/cultivars of grasses in these mixes are rarely if ever tailored to site conditions – soil type and pH, climatic conditions, etc.  Whether starting a new lawn from scratch or overseeding an existing lawn, it is important to select species and cultivars of grasses that are appropriate to the site.  We use a mixture of several different grass species and cultivars, including tall fescues, American Buffalograss, Perennial Ryegrass, and Zoysia – all cultivars specifically selected for local site conditions, drought tolerance, and root patterns which partition the resources in the soil more effectively than monocultures.  We also include small amounts of selected species of broadleaf plants in our lawn mix which do not interrupt the appearance of the lawn when mowed, and further utilize the soil resources, keeping water and nutrients in the soil where they belong.  Seeding at the proper time of year ensures establishment with minimal resource inputs.

Weed control is a major issue with lawns in general, we’ve mentioned that lawn pesticides (including herbicides) are a major source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere.  The organic/ecological approach to weed control is quite a bit different than you might expect.  It isn’t simply a matter of replacing toxic chemicals with slightly less toxic chemicals which come from “natural” sources.  We try to understand the ecology of both weed species and of the lawn ecosystem as a whole, and design our strategies accordingly.  Our lawn seed mix effectively partitions the resources in the soil, leaving no niches where weeds are free to grow. When weeds do appear, we remove them with either heat sterilization (destroying plant cells and preventing photosynthesis) or with hand removal where appropriate.  We then seed the weed-free patches with our custom seed mix to immediately take advantage of the open niches.  As a pre-emergent solution, we use an application of organic corn gluten meal in the early Spring, which prevents weed seeds from germinating, and has the great side effect of acting as an organic, slow-release nitrogen fertilizer for the lawn.

Fertilizing is another issue.  We’ve already mentioned the use of corn gluten meal as both a pre-emergent weed control and as a nitrogen fertilizer.  Other than that, there is really no need to fertilize the lawn, unless soil tests reveal severe deficiencies of other nutrients such as phosphorus or potassium, all of which can be remedied by the use of slow-release organic materials which break down naturally at the soil level.  Topdressing the lawn with good, biologically-active compost in the fall also adds nutrients organically.

Cultural practices are important, too.  Mowing is not a one-size-fits-all practice, either.  Frequency of mowing should change with the growing  season of the grasses, as should mowing height.  In the Spring, when growth is lush and quick, more mowings at a lower height may be desirous, while less frequent mowings at a greater height are preferable in the summer, when growth is less vigorous and water needs are higher.  Mowing higher in the summer allows the plants to grow deeper and more extensive root systems, which lessens the need for irrigation.  Speaking of water, we think a well-designed and planted lawn should not have to be irrigated by anything other than rainwater, except in drought conditions.  Healthy and biologically-active soil and proper plant selection should eliminate or significantly reduce watering needs.

Our region is known for its plethora of lawn pests and diseases, as well.  From an ecological standpoint, it is plants that are already stressed that are more susceptible to pest and disease infestation.  By keeping grasses healthy, we can significantly prevent most occurrences of pest and disease problems.  For problems that continue beyond acceptable thresholds, there are organic chemical solutions that can be used as a last resort.

To summarize, it is possible to keep lawns as an integral part of a sustainable landscape, and through proper study and technique, to care for them in an ecological and organic matter.  It really boils down to viewing grass as we do other plants in an ecosystem – healthy soil, proper plant selection, and growing in polycultures helps keep plants healthy and flourishing.  For advice on growing your lawn organically, shoot us an email or give us a ring at 571-282-1724!

 

Gardening in Polycultures

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©2012 by Jon Storvick and Organic Edible Gardens, LLC

I’ve been doing lots of reading of late, especially in the field of agroecology. Agroecology attempts to view farming through the lens of ecological thought, viewing farm fields and so on as ecosystems. Much of this information is very similar to what we find in the permaculture literature, though agroecology is much more academically and scientifically based. One of the key elements of both approaches is the idea of growing in polycultures.

Gardening in Polycultures

This is a healthy polyculture.

A polyculture can be defined as growing multiple species of plants together in a stand or patch. This stands in contrast to monoculture (growing a single plant species in a stand), which is the way we typically grow plants. A lawn is a monoculture. A corn field is a monoculture. A row of lettuces is a monoculture. The problem with monocultures is that they are unnatural – you simply don’t see stands of single species of plants growing anywhere in nature. The reason for this is pretty simple – groups of single plant species are highly vulnerable to pests, diseases, and other problems. A monoculture in nature would be decimated pretty quickly and would not survive.

Gardening in Polycultures

This is a sterile monoculture.

Ecosystems are systems, obviously. They are networks of multiple species of plants (polycultures), animals, microscopic organisms, and other elements. While there is a food chain – life must eat, after all – generally no particular element suffers too much. Overall, the system is stable. This is why gardening in polycultures is a pretty good idea – we are lessening the possibility of our desired plants being overtaken by insects, diseases or competition from weeds.

Here are some of the benefits of growing in polycultures:

Decreased pest and disease problems– Including different plant species can confuse pest insects, leading them to ignore our crops. Since disease organisms also generally infect a single plant species, by including “buffer plants” between crop plants we block the vectors of infection. By including various flowering plants, we can attract beneficial insect predators that prey upon pests.

Increases in yields – While the yield of a single crop may be less than in a monoculture stand, if we include multiple crop species in our polycultures we can obtain total higher yields per square foot.

Decreased competition from “weeds” – By filling ecological niches in our gardens, we leave no room or resources available for undesired plants.

Increased plant health – By looking at how different plant species interact, we can design polycultures where each plant has a positive effect on the other (this is sort of an ecological version of “companion planting”). By including soil-building plants like nitrogen fixers (plants which form a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants) and dynamic accumulators (plants which “mine” nutrients from the subsoil and concentrate them in their tissues, making them available at the surface), we can create healthy soil for our plants. By choosing plants which have similar water requirements and complementary root patterns, we can effectively partition the available plant resources (soil, water, nutrients) so that each niche is filled and no plant needs to compete with its neighbor.

This is, of course, a very basic and incomplete treatment of the subject. For those that are interested in learning more about polycultures and how to design them, I strongly recommend you read both volumes of Edible Forest Gardens by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier. For a consultation on designing a polyculture that is right for your yard, call us at 571-282-1724 today!