Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand January/February 2020 | Page 46

HOW TO USE PERMACULTURE GUILDS
to turn
your garden
into a
Food
Forest
Gardening can be back-breaking, labour-intensive
work. Wouldn’t it be nice to pass some of our chores on
to nature? Permaculture is a style of gardening that does
just that, so you have more time to enjoy your garden.
by Monica Mansfield
P
ermaculture utilises connections between plants, insects, animals, and
soil biology to create a thriving ecosystem with minimal input from the
gardener. These self-sustaining ecosystems can take five to seven years to fully
develop, but you can still reap healthy harvests as they grow and mature.
These food forests follow the patterns of nature. In fact, many permaculture
principles come directly from observing how plants grow together in the
forest. No one tends to the forest, yet it is lush and vibrant. Permaculture
strives to replicate this in your backyard.
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Maximum Yield