Non agriculture zones

Before I jump into this week’s topic, I want to tell you about an online course that I signed up for, An Introduction to the U.S. Food System: Perspectives from Public Health, offered by Coursera, www.coursera.org. This is a free course that lasts six weeks. It just started, so I think you can still get into it. Based on the first week’s lessons, it looks pretty comprehensive.

OK. Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Permaculture Zones

The basic concept of permaculture was agricultural zones.

Zone 0

The house, or home center. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live and work. Zone 0 is an informal designation, which is not specifically defined in Bill Mollison's book.

Zone 1

The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, etc. Raised beds are often used in zone 1 in urban areas.

Zone 2

This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards, pumpkins, sweet potato, etc. This would also be a good place for beehives, larger scale composting bins, and so on.

Zone 3

The area where main-crops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control maybe once a week.

Zone 4

A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as production of timber for construction or firewood.

Zone 5

A wilderness area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural ecosystems and cycles.

Copied from Wikipedia

If we do an analogy with our social involvement (this includes politics, charity, etc.) it would be something like this.

Zone 1 – Immediate family

Zone 2 – Neighborhood

Zone 3 – Community (town, borough, township, city)

Zone 4 – County or Parish

Zone 5 – Regional area

Zone 6 – State or Province

Zone 7 – Country

Zone 8 – World

If you have limited resources, take care of things in the above order.

With respect to the environment:

• Plant your own garden, create your own reserves
• Trade surpluses with your neighbors, Help develop community gardens, support community programs and institutions, participate in Earth Day activities
• In Berks County, you can support Hawk Mountain, Nolde Forest, The Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association
• Regionally, get involved with the Penn-Pemaculture group.
• Petition your state legislators to support the programs you think are important, join and participate in the state Sierra Club programs
• Write your Federal Congressman to voice your opinions about social, financial, and environmental programs
• Volunteer for international programs according to your beliefs and your resources.

 But it shouldn’t be limited to environmental issues only. Consider these activities

•  Be creative - paint, write, cook, brew, invent
• Join neighborhood watch
• Support your local library and museums
• Participate in county and state events
• Vote, Write your congressman about your views
• Learn about the world. Keep abreast of the news. Support global activities that you can afford and are consistent with your beliefs.

Permaculture

  Copied from www.holmgren.com.au

Permaculture began as an agriculture zone theory in Australia. It has since evolved into a framework for thinking about all aspects of society. I first became aware of the subject at a talk given at the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Fair in Kempton, Pa. several years ago.

What caught my fancy was the Permaculture flower shown above.

 

I began researching various areas as indicated on the chart. In some areas there were slim pickin’s. It seems the theory has outpaced the research. That’s as it should be. Now there are areas that challenge our imaginations and beg for solutions.

I thought about taking a Permaculture Design Course, but the idea seems to have been franchised and it costs big bucks to take the course.

Fortunately, there is a wealth of information available for free on the web. As I searched, I came across a web page, www.tv.naturalnews.com that has videos on a variety of permaculture subjects. There is a series of fourteen videos by Goeff Lawton that provide a pretty good overview of the design theory for agriculture.

Finally, I found a site where I could get free ebooks about permaculture, www.green-shopping.co.uk. They also sell books about permaculture, if you want to round out your library.

There is also a free booklet titled, The Essence of Permaculture by Dave Holmgren, one of the founders of the Permaculture movement, on his site listed above or at www.permacultureprinciples.com.

In this book, David Holmgren lists the Design Principles of Permaculture. They are:

1. Observe and interact

a. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2. Catch and store energy

a. Make hay while the sun shines

3. Obtain a yield

a. You can’t work on an empty stomach

4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

a. The sins of the fathers are visited on the children unto the seventh generation

5. Use and value renewable resources and services

a. Let nature take its course

6. Produce no waste

a. Waste not, want not

7. Design from patterns to details

a. Can’t see the forest for the trees

8. Integrate rather than segregate

a. Many hands make light work

9. Use small and slow solutions

a. Slow and steady wins the race

10. Use and value diversity

a. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

11. Use edges and value the marginal

a. Don’t think you are on the right track, just because it is well beaten

12. Creatively use and respond to change

a. Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be

If you download the book and want to print it, make sure your printer is in landscape mode.

If reviewing this topic stimulates your thinking about using the permaculture principles in a non-agricultural way, or if you are involved in a current project, let me know. I would love to hear of your ideas, experiences and plans.

Deadline

The day is almost done and I almost forgot my new year resolution.  Short term memory is the second thing to go.  What is the first?  I forget. (old Laugh-in joke).

Anyway, I brewed the barleywine and it is in the fermenter cooking away.  Fermenting that is.  There is no heat applied.

Last night we had a party to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Berks County Homebrew Club.  I've only been a member for 1.5 years.  Whenever you join a group, there is a period where you feel like the newbie.  In a blink of an eye, you are one of the old guard.  So it goes.

When I get into a new activity, I do a ton of research.  I download articles and read books and magazines and make a lot of mistakes through trial and error.

After a while it becomes old hat.  Sometimes it takes a few years.  Other times it takes decades.  Is it that I become jaded or does something else seem more exciting?

Let me know what you think.

Hello world!

Poor blog, I've been neglecting you. 

Well my New Year Resolution is to blog more.  I'm going to try and do a weekly blog.  I may invite guest bloggers to add their two cents.

Our weather is crazy.  Cold and snow one day and mild and dry the next.  Instead of global warming, we are experiencing global schizophrenia.

I've expanded my brewing setup and will be able to do full five gallon boils, instead of two gallon partials that I have been doing.  I also got 4 Corney kegs, so the bottling chore is lessened.  I'm still not diligent, however.  I have several batches of wine and beer ready to be kegged or bottled and I feel too lazy to do it.  I'm also committed to contributing five gallons of barleywine to the Berks County Homebrew Barrel Project.  Lets get cracking!

I better save some news for next week, if I remember to log on.