Gardening our way Home:

toward a biological Way of Life

Local Food Insecurity• Results of a 2011 Gallup survey on Food

Insecurity in 100 US metropolitan areas:– 2010 Survey: Asheville metropolitan

area(Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison Counties) - 7th worst in the nation!

– 2011 survey - 3rd worst !! – One in 5 people (approx 106,000 People) in WNC

is food insecure!!!!– NC 1st in local food insecurity in USA– 1 in 4 kids hungry in NC, 1 in 3 obese!– We source less than 5% of our food locally!

Russian Home Gardens

Gardens trump Agriculture

Gardens• 1 calorie in/40 calories out• High production efficiency• Minimal external inputs• Intensive space use• Diverse yields/stable• More nutritious foods• Supports local community• Unites• Human Scale• Distributes wealth and power• Restore and regenerate

Industrial Agriculture• 4-12 cal. in/1 cal. Out• Less efficient production• Maximum external inputs• Extensive space use• Monoculture/fragile• Questionable nutrition• Destroys local community• Separates• Corporate Scale• Concentrates wealth and power• Pollutes and degrades

Incredible Edible Todmorden

Permaculture Design Goals

Restoration and regeneration of damaged lands, ecosystems, communities, cultures

Conservation of natural and cultural resources.Production: Whole system yields for all life. Systems care: Maintenance and management

across generations. People care: Meeting peoples primary needs.Regeneration of our culture and our world.

Permaculture in the Garden• Build soil, plant plants, tend animals• Begin at the kitchen door and work outward on a controlled

front.• Overcome limiting factors. • Optimize use of space, fill the niches, stacking and packing.• Select for place and optimum nutrition: varietal selection• The art of placement: right plant, right place• Mixed perennial, annual, and animal production systems for

creating food poly-cultures.• Diverse yields over time. Year round production.• A place for animals and fish.

Our Nutritional Needs

• Calories • Protein• Fat• Carbohydrates• Vitamins• Minerals• Phytonutrients• Medicinals

What do we eat?

• Vegetables• Herbs and spices• Root Crops• Grains• Animals and animal products• Oils• Nuts• Fruits and berries• Mushrooms• Products of the above: ferments, sauces, canned and dried

goods

Our Most Nutritious Foods• Vegetables - greens:

cabbage, kale, spinach and collards- carrots- Brussels sprouts- peppers- squash- sweet potatoes -potatoes- celery- green beans- peas- asparagus- parsley - onions- garlic- broccoli

• Fruit- all berries - all melons- hardy citrus- grapes- cranberries- apples, pears

- cherries - peaches, plums

- mulberry - paw paw - fig

• Nuts (raw)- almonds- walnuts- hazelnuts

- chestnuts - pecans• Seeds (raw)- flax-

sunflower- pumpkin- sesame - hemp

• Grain - oats- millet- quinoa- buckwheat- spelt- barley- wheat

- rice• Legumes- chick peas-

black-eyed peas- black beans- pinto beans- other dried beans

• Fats- hemp oil- flax oil- pumpkin oil- olive/hazelnut oil

- grape seed oil• Animal Products - Fish-

chickens and ducks - rabbits and guinea pigs - squab - free range eggs-

yogurt- goat’s milk and cheese- cottage cheese

• Mushrooms

Antioxidant Super Foods

FRUITSElderberryAronia berrySea BuckthornMulberryServiceberryMuscadine GrapeHardy KiwiBlueberriesCranberries

Blackberries Raspberries Strawberries ApplesPlums CherriesPeachesRed grapes Prunes Black Currants VEGGIESCollards/KalePotatoes Kidney beans Pinto beans

Asparagus Yellow pepper Green grapes Black eye peas Cooked tomatoes Red Cabbage Red-leaf lettuce BroccoliBeetsTea Camellia

Regional Staples

– Sweet Potatoes– Potatoes– Onions– Beans– Corn– Pumpkin and Squash– Cabbage and greens– Eggs– Fruit, nuts, and berries– Wild Plants and Game– Small and large Livestock

Plugging the local nutritional food gaps

• Oils: Nuts, Seeds, Animal Fats• Minerals: soil remineralization• Grains• Staples• Cultivate more specialized farm/orchard

enterprises to close the loop/ fill the niches.

PRIMARY HOME PRODUCTION

Vegetable Gardens

Herb Gardens

Home Orchards

Vineyards

Small Livestock

Aquaculture

WHAT WE CAN GROWAnimals: bees, fish, chickens, ducks, rabbits, quail, etc.Vegetables Root cropsFruitsNutsBerriesGrapes and vinesHerbsMedicinal plantsMushroomsGrainsFlowersChildrenOurselves

SUPPORT ELEMENTS

GreenhouseCold FramesRow CoversBiomass ProductionCompost and Worm BinsBeehivesLivestock Housing and YardsAquaculture Tanks and PondsWater Storage: Cisterns and PondsRoot CellarSolar CookerFood DryerOutdoor Kitchen

• Vegetables to the center; nuts, fruits, and berries on the edges

• For limited spaces, grow trees as shrubs

• Speed succession.• Increase the productive

edges. • Alley cropping• Use vertical space –

Grow up, not out!• Use shady spaces• Use slopes to advantage

Permaculture Garden Strategies

Keyhole Garden Beds

Reclaim unused spaces

Sheet Mulch Gardens

Sheet Mulch Stages

Restore Soil Fertility

Vertical Gardening

Pavement Gardens

Detroit community Garden

Have fun. Savor the journey toward an abundant future.

Chuck Marshchuck@usefulplants.org

chuck@livingsystemsdesign.net828.669.1759

Zone Planning Principle: Locate elements within the system for energy

conservation and best use.Design Goal: local nutritious food for all. energy and resource

conservation.Community scale zone planning:Zone 1. Urban Homestead: example and inspirationZone 2. Neighborhood gardens, orchards, vineyards,

pharmacies, forests, urban farms.Zone 3. Public spaces: Abundant food for allZone 4. Local farms, orchards, vineyards, forestsZone 5. Regional farms, orchards, vineyards, forestsZone 6. Continental producersZone 7. Global producers

Relative location

Principle: Make connections between elements. Place elements in a system so that the needs of one element are met by the yields of another element within the system.

Design Goals: Build and link local food and resource networks. Plan stable and resilient food producing home and community landscapes.

• Develop logistical and connecting strategies for building local food systems.

• Local community food and resource maps as organizing tools.

Redundancy

Principle: Design redundancy into critical survival systems: food, water, energy, etc. Redundancy and diversity support security.

Design Goals: Build redundancy into:• Food: Scalable, diverse local food supply.• Energy: Diverse blend of local fuel and energy

sources.• Economy: Develop a diverse local economy.

Support local businesses first.

Use biological resources

• Principle: Use biological resources instead of fossil fueled or industrially based resources.

• Design Goal: • Biological Economics• Return to biologically based local food, energy, and

economic systems.• Take advantage of the productive potential of natural

systems • Close the loops. Turn “Waste” into resources.• Carefully choose imports to support biological systems.