permaculture

[Steve Diver <steved@ipa.net>]

Dear Shivani - 

I'm re-posting two sentences from your query. 


>For instance, the other day I came across the URL for a what 
>was described as a model permaculture farm and teaching center 
>in Australia, to find when I looked at the arial map on their 
>website that they have big blocks of trees in rows, each block 
>of a different species. 

>We are creating a permaculture farm community, and want to get 
>advice from a permaculture expert.


You and other posters characterized this as monoculture and questioned
the integrity of an orchard/farm like this as "permaculture". 

But your sentence alludes to "blocks of trees in rows, each block 
of a different species."

So that means multiple number of fruit crops, only each crop 
is organized together in "blocks" within a larger orchard.
 
Thus, that is not a monoculture orchard.  Since they are talking 
permaculture then one can assume they made a conscious design 
geared towards planting arrangement and species diversity.  They 
are raising multiple tree crops within a larger orchard.

Let me share this perspective from my experience working in
and around permaculture and organic agriculture.  On a farm,
you need to employ farm-level tactics.  It is a business.  
It is very expensive to enter into an orchard or vineyard. 
The cost can approach an investment of $10K per acre.  

Orchards and vinyeards use tractors and sprayers.  That 
is a sure guarantee in most parts of the world because 
orchardists -- with absolute certainty -- will have to 
manage for insects and diseases.  In organic agriculture 
the "sprayer" is turned into a "bio-sprayer" for application 
of microbial teas, biodynamic preparations, bio-stimulants, 
and plant extracts.  So you might even see a permaculture 
orchard with a blast sprayer in a photo!!! Organic farmers
raising orchard crops employ sprayers as a normal practice. 

Orchards have specific requirements for commercial production.  
Fact is that each tree crop has certain flowering, spraying, 
and harvest schedules. In addition, each variety within a tree 
crop have the same specific phenological characteristics.
Most orchards are organized with varieties placed within 
a block.  Spraying is highly focused on the phenological 
state of budding, flowering, and post-flowering with respect 
to control of certain insects and diseases. 

The understory in an orchard is another realm of importance
in organic / permaculture management. 

The orchard falls into the broad-scape part of permaculture
design, just like any broad-scale agriculture cropping
system.  It might look like permaculture to you in a photo,
or it might not.  There's a few dozen ways to increase 
diversity, patterning, cover cropping, relay intercropping, 
and ecologial functioning in broad-scale organic farming 
systems.  

Permaculture is about the whole farm but when it boils down 
to it the more highly visible aspects of permaculture happen
where the integration of built structures interact with the  
immediate landscape, intensive eco-design, and water systems.  

Have fun exploring and planting your permaculture farm
community, Shivani.  

With best wishes,

Steve Diver
Texas