Local : The New Face of Food and Farming in America (9780062267641) by Gayeton Douglas
Author:Gayeton, Douglas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
PERMACULTURE
I stand in a respectably sized vegetable garden set in a small clearing between two stands of oaks. A smattering of fruit trees rises in the background. Some cauliflower and Swiss chard are at my left. Artichokes shoot purple flowers into the air a few feet away. My feet rest on a bed of loosely strewn straw that provides cover for rows of fruiting seascape strawberries.
Penny Livingston, a farmer and an educator in Bolinas, California, stands in the same spot, witnessing an entirely different scene. Bird migrations, deer movement, and even raccoons passing along the creek’s steep banks define WILDLIFE CORRIDORS all around—and above us. These must be carefully preserved. Willows, native currants, and hazelnut trees line the creek. These create natural RIPARIAN BUFFERS, earthen barriers that hold the farm’s vital soil nutrients—especially nitrogen—in the ground instead of them leaching into nearby waterways. Curves gently cut into the soil create contoured SWALES. These capture rainwater, redirecting it into the ground, where it can be utilized by nearby plant roots. Finally, FOOD FORESTS (multilayered gardens) allow some crops to be planted above—and below—one another. These carefully considered design principles, each inspired by lessons learned from the natural world, are examples of PERMACULTURE.
While biodynamics provides farmers with a vaguely spiritual framework coupled with rigorous practices codified by DEMETER CERTIFICATION, permaculture is more observational and free-form; instead of rules to follow, it offers a lens to look through. In the natural world, a meadow maintains its equilibrium because all its inhabitants do their part. Bees pollinate. Birds control insect populations and help spread seeds. Plants draw carbon into the soil, then decompose to provide GREEN MANURE nutrients for others. The meadow thrives because its “participants” do their share. Nature preaches balance.
“One of the questions we ask in permaculture is, ‘How does nature do it?’” Livingston explains. She’s a seasoned permaculturalist who spends most of the year traveling the globe, showing farmers how to work with what they have, and to see both their land and ultimately themselves differently. “We look at nature’s operating principles, then try to humbly mimic them in our human design,” she continues. “We use gravity, the sun, and the landscape’s natural flow. We move domestic animals like chickens, goats, horses, or cows around this landscape to keep and maintain meadows. If you do all this right you can actually build soil and sequester carbon in the process.”
Livingston shows me recirculating ponds. Dry creek beds brought back to life. Structures built from cob, a local mud transformed into pliable architectural clay. Outdoor showers that open onto meadows of chamomile grass. Nature is clearly trying to tell her something; not only is she listening, she’s taking notes.
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