permaculture

[Russ Grayson + Fiona Campbell <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

Kevin Snorf wrote:

> I am doing an organic gardening internship this quarter and we got into
> a big discussion about permaculture and Mollison's ideas. Keep in mind I
> am a beginner to permaculture and most of these ideas. On a tape of a
> lecture Mollison gave at Eco-farm I was listening to Bill describe the
> need for shade in vegetable farming situations because most plants
> produced higher yield when they weren't exposed to intensive prolonged
> heat patterns. His idea was that integrating trees would curb heat
> stresses thereby increasing yield.

Kevin Snorf


This might apply where heat is intense during the warm season, say in some
areas of Australia where plants of temperate climate origin are being
grown. Even here, in a warm temperate climate with hot, dry summer weather,
the herbs of Meditterranean origin grow best in full suin because that's
the type of climate they experienced in their region of origin. Sure, we
have problems of heat wilt during midsummer in January so some gardeners
simply erect a temporary shelter of light shadecloth.

Some vegetables don't mind the full sun - for example, in the Solomon
Islands we have found that tropical vegetables, while they will grow in
shage, actually do better in full sun in some cases.

It's the problem with generalisation - maybe it's best to ask loca growers
how they grow their crops and accept that as useful information.


>  PACIFIC EDGE PERMACULTURE
> Russ Grayson and Fiona Campbell
> PO Box 446, Kogarah NSW 2217 AUSTRALIA
>
> Phone/ fax   02-9588 6931   (IDD-61+2+9588 6931)
> Email: pacedge@magna.com.au
>
> PERMACULTURE/ COMMUNITY BASED ESD: permaculture education + Australian
> City Farms and Community Gardens Network (NSW contact) + organic
> gardening training + EarthWorks training (community waste minimisation
> training) + overseas development assistance project management services.
>
> MEDIA: journalism/ photojournalism (global development; environment and
> society; social change; sustainable community development) + publication
> design + desktop publishing services.
>

>