![\"orchard-before-2008fromwoods500.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.ancientrails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/orchard-before-2008fromwoods500.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBefore<\/p>\n
Ecological Gardens <\/a> We had the post-installation walk through in which Paula began to explain the plants, their particular needs and uses.\u00a0 Lindsay came, too.\u00a0 The plant guilds (see a post a bit ago) around the fruit trees fix nitrogen, fight off predators, attract beneficial insects and help build soil nutrients.\u00a0 The clover sown among the fruit tree mounds and their guilds will further fix nitrogen and add a flash of white to the orchard. Right now the primary thing is to provide the whole with adequate water.\u00a0 The blueberries need some straw to hold in moisture.\u00a0 In preparation for next spring I will clear and smother a belt 15 feet back from the truck access way, creating a place to plant a forest edge.\u00a0 The edge plants will be shrubs which birds and other animals prefer to the fruits in the orchard.\u00a0 That’s a permaculture strategy for reducing animal feeding on human edibles.\u00a0 It also attracts wildlife, which we do to some extent now anyway.<\/p>\n Over the winter Paula and Lindsay will complete a site design that will begin to integrate the features of permaculture even more tightly into our overall landscape.\u00a0 As years go by, a great virture of permaculture is that it requires less and less maintenance because it mimics or recreates natural ecological balance through plant diversity.<\/p>\n 65\u00a0 bar steep drop\u00a0 29.80\u00a0 2mph W\u00a0 dew-point 45\u00a0 sunrise 7:12\u00a0 set 6:51\u00a0 Autumn Waxing Crescent of the Blood Moon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 rise\u00a0 11:04 AM CDT \u00a0\u00a0 set\u00a0 8:00 PM CDT Before Ecological Gardens “What is permaculture? Permaculture (Permanent Culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems that have the diversity, stability and resilience … Continue reading Before and After: The Orchard in Autumn, year 1<\/span>
\n“What is permaculture?
\nPermaculture (Permanent Culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems that have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other needs in a sustainable way (Mollison, Bill. Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual. Tyalgum: Tagari Publications, 1988.). Ecological gardening is an attempt to apply these design principles to backyard ecosystems.”<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"