Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] natives AND permactulture

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Neil Bertrando <neilbertrando@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] natives AND permactulture
  • Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2011 17:12:41 -0700

Tanya, I agree with you that most people who plant wildlife gardens avoid
pesticides and that the reason for promoting natives is to preserve what is
left of our natural diversity, particularly in areas like California which
has a large quantity of unique ecosystems.

In support of Paul's statement,
California has different laws than many other states regarding the use of
herbicides and pesticides on state lands (and perhaps federal too). On the
other hand, in many states, one of the main methods of managing invasive
plants is to use herbicides, often year after year.

This native, non-native, invasive topic is complex, and I have yet to see a
standard template for managing it. I believe this is a case where
generalizations may do more harm than good because of the emotional aspects
of the issue and the complex management aspects that are often
case-sensitive and include social, economic, and environmental components.

In my opinion, there will always be good reasons to plant native and good
reasons to plant non-natives, each having their appropriate time and place.
I can think of a few examples that contrast Toby's points, and I think his
statements are reasonable and useful to consider when designing a human
ecosystem, particularly in the city. As designers one of our jobs is to
select a suite of organisms meets the needs and products of a particular
situation. Sometimes this means preserving old assemblages and sometimes it
means creating new ones, with the baseline being does this decision support
the three Permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share.

cheers,
Neil



On Mon, Sep 5, 2011 at 1:44 PM, tanya <tanyagarden@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 9:02 AM, paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> wrote:
>
> > ......there is lot of money being spent in the world of natives only.
> > Billions. Guess who is making billions on this? .... ....
> > herbicide companies. Specifically monsanto....
> >
>
>
> In fact, almost all of the people I know who advocate planting natives
> avoid
> pesticides and herbicides because they want to attract the native fauna,
> particularly insects. Doug Tallamy, in his book Bringing Nature Home,
> discusses his research showing that native plants attract more native
> insects, which attract more native birds. Obviously, people who plant
> wildlife gardens will not use pesticides!
>
> Two of the local garden tours showcasing native plants explicitly favor
> gardens that do not use herbicides and pesticides: Going Native Garden Tour
> in silicon valley and Bringing Back the Natives tour in Berkeley and the
> east bay.
>
> Furthermore, many natural areas around here are maintained by volunteers
> who
> pull invasives to preserve a unique assemblage of species, many of which
> cannot grow just anywhere. They use their hands and hand tools, and they
> avoid pesticides and herbicides. Invasive species can adapt to a wider
> range
> of conditions; certain native plants, however, flourish in special
> conditions and can be overwhelmed by monocultures of broom or yellow star
> thistle. Preserving existing stands of native plants and preventing
> encroachment of invasives preserves the uniqueness, ecosystem functions,
> and
> complex relationships of the natives.
>
> Advocacy of native plants is not about hair-splitting of what was native
> when or where; it's about protecting unique assemblages of flora and fauna.
> For suburban gardeners, it's also about maximizing the wildlife value of
> their relatively small space rather than planting something that's "merely"
> decorative.
> _______________________________________________
> permaculture mailing list
> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user configuration or find out more
> about this list here:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
> Garden Hand Tool Sourcelist and Biointensive Gardening Guide
> http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/documents/gardening-hand-tools.faq
> permaculture forums http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums
>
>




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page