I was first introduced to the idea of permaculture some years ago as a solution to my gardening shortfalls. I was young, ambitious and working way harder than necessary at becoming a sucessful gardener. I spent countless hours planting, tilling and tending to my garden with little yeald to show for it. I was becoming discouraged with the whole idea of growing food. Then one day I came across a video on YouTube by a fellow names Bill Mollison. He was talking about "permaculture" or as he explained it " natural gardening". Permaculture is a method of gardening where yealds are high, life is abundant and work is minimal! Sounds to good to be true right? It's not!
In the video, Bill went through several different permaculture setups demonstrating just how productive the permaculture method can be. From small scale urban models to ancient "food forest" designs, Bill demonstrated over and over how easy and rewarding permacuture can be. I was hooked. The next day I tossed everything I thought I knew about growing food to the wind and dove headfirst into the permaculture method. No more carefully tended rows. No more hours on end of digging and pruning. I took every seed I had saved for that years garden and began to scatter them randomly about the yard. Then I bought more, and more seeds and did the same with those. Before I knew it, I had vegatables growing from one end of the yard to the other! Everywhere I looked there was something to eat! 2000 square feet of edible greatness that sprung forth from a confetti of seeds, planted with little to no back breaking work. By spreading the seeds randomly the plants some how found there way to the best location for their survival. Herbs, vegatables, small fruit trees saplings, all springing from the ground harmoneously the way nature intended. Throughout the summer of 2012, all I had to do for dinner was go for a walk in the back yard. I had salad on demand and in abundance.
The next year I had planned to do the same and scatter seeds far and wide to reap the rewards. To my surprise, come spring, plants began to emerge from the yard without my assist. The fruits and veggies I had failed to harvest the year before had gone to seed and done the majority of the planting for me. I added some new plants along the way to improve the biodiversity of the system and to see what else I could get away with growing. Those years and a man by the name of Bill Mollison have made me a lifelong believer in permaculture and the natural farming method. Never again will I attempt to harness nature into a perfectly manicured row when the natural design has proven to be so much more beautiful and rewarding. From now until the day I die, I will remain a student of nature thanks to Bill Mollison.
