Permaculture

It's hard to get anyone to agree on what exactly Permaculture is. The way I understand it, is an ethic of caring for the earth and people sustainably, combined with design prinicples to set up whole systems that work naturally without great input of material or labor.

At Fairweather Farm, we agree with the ethics of permaculture, and strive to learn ways to reduce inputs and live in harmony with nature. The principles of permaculture are extremely useful, and we try to apply them when making decisions.

In addition to using the permaculture principles to arrange systems that work together, under the umbrella of permaculture there is a great deal of useful information that we can apply.

Permaculture at the farm

Past project: Project No-mow

One permaculture principle is "the problem is the solution". We have a problem, our four sheep are eating a lot of grass and the pastures are getting low. And another problem; swaths of "lawn" that separate gardens and buildings, that Jay has to mow, especially in spring. So put them together! We fenced off half the yard, and the sheep are happily mowing it down.

3' chicken wire fencing, connected to t-posts and rebar, seems to be enough to keep them in place. We used a few concrete blocks to make stiles so we can easily walk over the fencing (although we need to unhook it to get a wheelbarrow through). The sheep do leave presents on the ground; after we have a dry spell, I hope they will rake into the ground and improve it and no longer be a menace to shoes. The sheep haven't bothered the rosemary or lavender but they do seem to have eaten down the reseeded calendula.

As soon as we can put up some protection for the younger trees, we'll allow them in more of the yard. Sheep aren't like goats that will immediately destroy all trees, but sheep will eat leaves, and young trees are too vulnerable.



last updated: 1/26/10