Why is permaculture necessary?

Today agriculture is carried out with deep plowing of fields, the use of pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. These auxiliary substances cause a short-term positive effect, and in the long term, they are completely destructive and unsuitable for agriculture. Such methods lead to soil erosion, which also affects climate change.

And permaculture is the main assistant in solving these problems.

What is permaculture?

Permaculture is a way of sustainable design that helps grow food, build homes, and create communities with minimal environmental impact. This is a way of thinking, a philosophy based on three ethical principles:

Caring for the Earth is anything that helps preserve the planet's biodiversity and reduces our carbon footprint, whether it's organic farming or shopping in bulk.

Caring for people in meeting the needs of mankind for food, housing, education, employment, and healthy social relationships. It is important to remember that caring for the world around you begins with taking care of yourself when you have time to rest and listen to your body.

Fair distribution - humanity has only one Earth, and its resources should be disposed of in a balanced way with all living beings, so that future generations will have enough of them. If freshwater from rivers is used to make new jeans, then it must be returned as pure as it was. If you take and do not replenish, this is already exploitation, not respect.

How can a city dweller practice permaculture at home?

Nature has no waste - everything must disappear somewhere, be reused for something, therefore there should be no garbage in our life. Start to lead a conscious lifestyle: do not buy unnecessary, share food, old things, sort waste.

Permaculture helps to provide humanity with food and at the same time does not destroy, but even renews ecosystems. And one way to get into permaculture is to start growing food at home. Part of the diet from the store can be collected on your windowsill. Everything that is sold in hypermarkets was cut a week ago, and there will be the freshest food on the windowsill.

What can be grown at home?

You can grow almost anything on the windowsill: tomatoes, cucumbers, legumes, all kinds of greens, potatoes with sweet potatoes, and even trees - however, they will eventually have to be transplanted outside. If you have a balcony or loggia, get ready to invite friends to the harvest.

“Starting with simple onions and garlic, this spicy herb is ready to grow all year round under almost any conditions: even if you put an onion in a glass of water, it will delight you with a green feather. There are whole sets of universal herbs for year-round cultivation. Lettuce, spinach, chard (beet leaf without a root), and various microgreens can also grow at any time of the year. The rest of the plants will still need additional lighting.

If you do not know what and when to plant, find a sowing calendar on the Internet and use this data.

What to plant seeds in?

Long plastic or ceramic flower pots are perfect for a window sill and will hold a lot of lettuce and microgreens. On the balcony, if it is insulated, you can place deeper installations up to 40 cm and grow sweet potatoes.

It is not recommended to use peat pots - they do not retain moisture well, which is why the soil dries out quickly. But if you are a true homebody freelancer with an office in the kitchen, then watering and spraying the seeds three times a day may not be a problem for you.

Where to get soil?

Universal potting soil can be purchased at any garden store. Preheat it at home in the oven to 200 degrees - so you get a neutral substrate without chemical additives. Any purchased land retains moisture quite poorly, and it needs to be mulched - for this, use seed husks or crushed cones and remember that the lack of good soil should not stop you from practicing permaculture.

Clay soil is rich in minerals and retains moisture remarkably, but has a high density, so it must be mixed with calcined store substrate or sand, which will make it looser.

How to care for seeds?

We prepared the soil, poured the seeds - we move on. To create a greenhouse effect, we cover the crops with a film or a delivery package that accidentally appeared in your house. You can make several holes for air in it or just open it so that there is no debate. This will create an evenly humid climate and speed up seed growth. After a week, the polyethylene installation can be removed (and recycled, of course).

And how to water?

It is impossible to water future sprouts with tap water - it must be defended for at least 24 hours so that the bleach disappears.

If you brew herbal teas at home, their leftovers can also be sent to seedlings: the tea leaves contain minerals and esters that plants need.

But the best soil fertilizer that nothing can replace is organic waste compost. Try setting up a vermicomposter at home, keep worms as pets, and you'll see how a lush mane of dill can grow from a ponytail with a root. Thanks to such an active biological additive, your crop will begin to grow much faster.

Don't grow singles!

Don't let your seeds get bored - plant friends for them. In one pot, you can grow a whole mix of vegetables, herbs, and herbs. But not everyone will pass the selection: there are two principles by which neighbors are chosen.

Niche principle - who grows how?

Each plant has its life strategy. Someone forms a root crop, someone occupies the middle tier and stretches out, someone, like an umbrella, needs a lot of space on top, and there are plastic plants that can bend and reach for the light. Based on all these parameters, they make up mixtures for planting.

“In permaculture, there is a classic combination of “Three Sisters” - this is a composition of corn, beans, and pumpkin. Corn has a deep taproot that grows into the ground. Along its trunk, beans are woven upwards, enriching the soil with nitrogen. And on the bottom row is a pumpkin, which mulches the ground with its leaves, protecting it from excessive evaporation. This is how a beautiful three-tiered form is formed, built according to the niche principle.

How do pollinate flowers?

How is your window sill different from the open ground? There are no pollinating insects and no wind that carries pollen. Therefore, if you want to get a crop of tomatoes and cucumbers, you need to work as a "bee". Take a squirrel brush and gently touch the long nose of the tomato flower, due to these movements, the pollen moves from the anthers to the stigmas, where the fruit is formed.

It is more interesting with cucumbers: they have male and female flowers - it is easy to distinguish them. Under the female flowers, there is always a slight thickening - the ovary, where a cucumber is formed in the future after fertilization. And our task is to transfer pollen from the male flower exactly there.

Permaculture to the masses

If all surfaces in the house are crowded, you can install a multi-tiered pot rack. If this stage is also passed, but there is no balcony or it is already crowded, and there is no room for an additional rack, then you have reached a new level, and now you are ready to bring permaculture to the masses! But before that, it’s better to soberly assess your strengths and the area where you live.

If your yard is constantly littered, and hooligans regularly trample on flower beds and throw cigarette butts, be prepared for the fact that no one will appreciate your permaculture work. The crops will be spoiled and you will be upset.

Perhaps the management company has already taken care of you and filled your area with beautiful plantings and a smooth lawn. In this case, you do not need to introduce your garden. If you can bring beauty to your yard and do it well - go for it, but remember that permaculture should be aesthetic. Flower beds from old tires are, of course, reused, but a dubious upcycle.

If you are full of strength, energy, and permaculture enthusiasm, first find out what category of property the adjacent plot has. If it belongs to the management company and residents, contact the HOA. Hold a general meeting of the owners and obtain permission to use the space in the yard for a demonstration garden for, for example, "promoting environmental awareness." If you just want to grow beans, no one will approve your request. In the HOA, you need to show why this is useful for the house and its residents.

In the yard, you can even install a composter bed that processes not only kitchen organics, but also fallen leaves, which are usually taken out of the city in garbage bags to a landfill. In St. Petersburg, such a project was successfully implemented: during the season, about 2.5 cubic meters of foliage were processed in the garden, the same amount of grass from the nearest square, and plant organics from several neighbors in the entrance.

Your yard has every opportunity to become better and greener.

Get permission and boldly start developing permaculture facilities that will please the eye, the soil, and your permaculture soul.