HOW TO USE PERMACULTURE GUILDS
to turn
your garden
into a
Food
Forest
Gardening can be back-breaking,
labor-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 utilizes 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