Multiple Functions
No living being can function on its own. It's true for you and for everything in your garden. So it makes sense to not look at the elements in your garden as isolated objects, but to look at the connections. Still, many gardeners don't take advantage of these connections, though it can be easily done by placing together elements that mutually benefit each other.
The easiest way to get started here is to try and think of three uses for every element in your garden. I can usually come up with at least five, but three is enough for beginners.
A tree can provide fruit, provide shade, and act as a windbreak.
Dill an be used as a herb, the flowers attract beneficial insects, and add visual appeal to your garden.
A hedge can provide fruit, privacy, and shelter for wildlife.
A pond can grow aquatic plants, hold fish, and attract birds and other wildlife.
A wall can give privacy, support climbing plants, and store heat (important if you want to grow frost sensitive plants in cooler areas).
Look at what every element can provide, and what it needs, and then put elements together (here we talk about relative location again), so they support each other. I'll give you one example:
I mentioned in a previous post that I always put my compost piles under my favorite fruit trees. Not only does the pile feed the tree, but the tree shades the pile and protects it from drying out. Instead of a compost bin I use a circle of wire mesh to hold the materials in. I position the circle so one side gets sunlight, and on that side I grow tomatoes or cucumbers, using the mesh as a trellis. The plants provide shade for that side of the pile, and without any fertilizing or attention they invariably thrive and I get a bumper crop. Of course there are also flowering herbs growing under the tree, we covered that. The insects they attract do the pest control and help with pollination. Once the vegetable plants have finished bearing I pull them up and throw them on top of the pile, no need to cart garden refuse around.
To return to the multiple functions, the tomato in this example provides you with fruit, shields the pile from the sun, hides the pile from your vision (since a loaded tomato bush looks a lot better than a pile of half finished compost) and in the end provides nutrients for the tree. Get it?
The tree, compost pile, herbs and vegetables in this example all work together and look after one another, and that means less work for me. Remember, I'm so intrigued with permaculture because I'm lazy. All I do in the end is pick what I need for my pasta sauce and salad. I only wish I could find somebody to cook it for me!
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