What exactly is permaculture?
The word permaculture is a combination of the words “permanent” and “agriculture”. The goal in permaculture is to create a permanent food producing system that allows people and their environment to live in harmony together. It allows for biodiversity (in fact it uses biodiversity to its advantage), for efficient use of water, and many more things.
Why is Mediterranean permaculture special?
-> Dry season, moderate winters, droughts, high temperatures. Water harvesting essential. Different plants to other regions.
Depending on the specifics of your site, you can accommodate species from arid, subtropical, warm and cool temperate climates.
Areas with more shade and shelter: Cherries, Herbs, Greens, Berries, Apples, Pears.
Areas with morning sun and afternoon shade: Loquat, Mango, Cherimoya, Persimmon, Avocado, Longan, Citrus, Pepino.
Areas with full sun: Peach, Fig, Apricot, Plum, Guava, Mulberry, Jujube, Pomegranate, White Sapote.
The many benefits of food forest design:
- Clean air, water purity and soil fertility
- Creates perennial Resilience
- Increases Land value
- Minimizes input, maximizes output
- Provides protection from the elements
- Decreases vulnerability to pests
- Helps moderate temperature extremes
- More warmth and dryness in winter
- More humidity and shade in summer
- Fast and healthy growth with the help of support species
- Attract beneficial predatory insects
- Attract beneficial pollinators
A permaculture food forests garden combines Art and Design, Ecology, Earthworks, Hydrology, Agroforestry (Edible landscaping, regenerative farming, biodynamic gardening)
What is a permaculture food forest garden?
A “Food Forest” in permaculture is the term for any intelligent assembly of productive and supportive species, designed and arranged in a way that harmonizes with Natural Laws. It mimics the patterns and layers of a forest, and creates regenerative abundance and sustainable living space for all beings.
The food forest is designed in space and time to evolve into a self-sustaining ecosystem. It is made of nine different layers: Root vegetables, herbaceous layer, fungal layer, forest floor, shrub layer, understory, overstory, emergent layer and the climbing layer.
Permaculture food forests world wide (LINKS)
