permaculture

[Pacific Edge Permaculture + Media <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

> From: Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>
> Reply-To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 12:17:14 -0500
> To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [permaculture] walking away is silly
> 
> The hardest part of PC to swallow for me is this notion of designs one just
> walks away from that are supposed to continue developing into some kind of
> paradise. 

This is a pervasive myth, isn't it. I also encounter it here too, in
Australia. 

Evidence that it is a myth is obvious when you visit sites where gardeners
have expanded too far, too fast, and where there are too few of them to
maintain the site. It's then that you see invasives such as kikuyu grass,
which spreads via stolons, and turkey rhubarb, which is a vine, moving in.
And they're persistent.

The myth is in part perpetuated by the promotion of sheet mulching,
including the use of a newspaper weed barrier placed on the soil below the
organic mulch, in permaculture as a 'preferred' gardening technique. The
'myth' in this case comes through the promotion of the belief that such
barriers prevent weed growth. While it's true to some extent and while it
does reduce the rate of invasion by weeds into a garden, maintenance is
still needed to remove those weeds that persist. I have seen nut grass and
onion weed reappear on previously mulched sites as well as the
above-mentioned weeds move in - the kikuyu grass weaving its stolons between
the layers of newspaper.

In permaculture designs and organic gardens I have also observed that a weak
point contributing to weed invasion is the poor construction of garden
edges. Weeds, particularly kikuyu, frequently move in from the areas just
outside the garden. A broad egde of brick or timber is required and, some
times, a weed barrier such as a slab of galvanised iron sunk at least 20cm
into the soil at the egde to reduce the chances of stolons entering the
garden.

A further design and construction weak point is leaving garden paths to
grass. This is another weed entry point into the garden. Sometimes, paths
are simply covered in cardboard, usually from boxes. This eventually breaks
down and weeds reappear. Better to gravel or pave a path, especially if it
is in a community garden where t will be heavily trafficed.

...Russ Grayson