Permaculture 101

Gardening is a rather cheap and accessible hobby. Without much space, much can be accomplished in containers. The complaint I’ve heard before is you might spend $100 and save $5 on tomatoes. Tomatoes are fun to grow, but store-bought ones are pretty darn good and cheap. I’m not saying you shouldn’t grow tomatoes, but hear me out, herbs are the way to go. Store-bought herbs will never be as fresh as the ones you grow at home. Lots of herbs will come back year after year too.

I recommend starting with herbs. You’ll be set back the cost of a few planters, some soil, and a few seed packets. But you’ll soon find that soil and planters are cheap, and fresh herbs are delicious. So, what next? Want to grow those tomatoes after all? Where might you get your seeds? Don’t overlook the grocery store! A tomato has tomato seeds in it, cucumbers have cucumber seeds in them, and even the mushrooms contain spores that can be used to grow more mushrooms.

Finding wild food is fun, but there are many challenges. Going out with a field guide and trying to identify arbitrary species is likely going to lead to a disappointing experience. I know, I’ve tried it that way. Instead, let’s keep things extraordinarily simple.

Spring begins and shortly after, wild strawberries emerge. And later, you’ll be able to find raspberries, then blackberries, then plums, and then pawpaws. All of these species, besides the pawpaw, are pretty well-known and therefore quite easy to positively identify for people completely new to foraging. If you start going for walks, and see a patch of raspberries, within about a month, blackberries will probably be in season. These species come into season in the above order about a month apart from each other. Between these five species, you have a sort of calendar for foraging.

Compost is awesome. Food waste doesn’t feel so bad when you know it’ll help you grow more food. You can simply dig a trench and throw vegan food waste, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea leaves, and yard waste right into it. Periodically cover it with dirt and in time you will have some super fertile, super productive soil to use as an amendment throughout your garden. Composting is an easier, more pleasant experience if you own property, but I have had success composting in a bin on my condo’s balcony.

Everything is connected.

If you’ve grown a garden, you’ve built a small ecosystem. If one plant has pests attacking it, planting another species nearby might rid the other of those pests. Mosquitoes suck, but certain plants will drive them away. Hummingbirds and butterflies are beautiful, and you can plant things that will attract them. If all you want to do is grow food, you might still want to plant some flowers. Help the bees and other pollinators out, and they’ll help you in return with increased pollination leading to increased yields. Unraveling and understanding the connections in our ecosystem can be intensely rewarding. There are so many benefits to gain along the way. Like seriously, did I mention that mosquitoes stay away from certain plants? Can you put a price on knowledge like that!? So, in parting, I wish you a life with: more tasty herbs, fewer mosquito bites, more reasons to go on walks, and perhaps, a greater connection with nature.