1. Elements of Permaculture Plants & People Ben Kessler & Meredith Hartwell Laughing Crow Permaculture

2. 2 Analysis of Elements List the Yields, Needs, and intrinsic characteristics of each Element. Lists are made to try to supply (by some other Element in the system) the Needs of any particular Element. Experiment on paper, connecting and combining Elements to achieve no Pollution and minimize Work. Close the Loops!

3. 3 Guilds A Guild is made up of a close association of species clustered around a central element, usually a plant or an animal. This assembly acts in relation to the element to assist its health, aid in management, boost yields, or buffer adverse environmental effects. Corn, Beans, Squash & Mullet Mullet remains dug into soil at planting to boost nutrients. Corn provides structural support for the Bean vines. Beans provide Nitrogen for the Corn and Squash. Squash acts as a living mulch for the Corn and Beans. Food waste fed to Mullet.

4. Ecological Equivalents Ecological Equivalents are organisms that fit similar niches in an ecosystem, or fulfill similar Functions in a design. Often the result of convergent evolution. Dusky Hopping Mouse Kangaroo Rat Small Five-Toed Jerboa Notomys fuscus Dipodomys sp. Allacteaga elater Australia North America Arabia Small, Seed-Eating, Hopping, Burrowing, Desert-Dwelling Mammals

5. 5 Environmental Equivalents Bison Prairie Chicken Tallgrass Prairie Water Buffalo Cattle Egret Savanna Cow Chicken Pasture

6. 6 Needs & Yields Tomato/Tomatl Solanum lycopersicum NeedsYields Full Sunlight, Water, NPK, Micronutrients, Warm Soil, Protection from Herbivores, Mycorrhizal Partners, Slightly Acidic Soil pH, Well-drained Soil, Structural Support, Love Delicious Fruit, Spatial Demarcation, Mulch,Dense Verdant Foliage,Pest Protection for Brassicas and Gooseberries, Companionship for Basil and Nettles, Compost

7. 7 Needs & Yields: The Permaculture Chicken Illustration credit: Bill Mollison What does each element need in order to live or be maintained? What products or services does it naturally provide?

9. Day/night temperature fluctuations ,

10. Low soil organic matter & alkaline pH,

11. Appropriate selection of vegetable and fruit varieties.

12. Ideally, link garden elements together so that the needs of one element can be met by the outputs of another.8

14. ~ Evaluate sun/shade/wind sectors and create warmer or cooler microclimates depending on vegetable typeStructures & thermal mass: ~ Raised beds & black pots ~ Frost cloth & plastic “mulch” ~ Cold frames & hoop houses ~ Greenhouses 9

15. Garden Inputs Soil Amendments to raise pH, organic content & nutrient values: ~ Compost, leaves, animal manures, organic fertilizers, earth worm castings, beneficial soil mycorrhizae, nitrogen fixing plants (green ‘manures’), straw or hay mulches Water: ~ Capture on landscape, drip systems, water in evening 10

16. Yields: Food! General guidelines for growing high elevation crops: ~ Emphasize cool season veggies in your garden: Cole/cruciferous crops, greens of all kinds (from arugula to spinach to lettuces), root crops, certain grains (quinoa, millet, amaranth, spring wheat ~ Select short-season & short day varieties: less than 90 days to fruition is ideal ~ Start warm-season crops inside, esp. nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, chilis) & plant them in a WARM microclimate ~ Include mid-story native berry shrubs ~ Plant late-blooming fruits (Best: apple trees with 800-1000 ‘chill hours’ before blooming; cherries, plums, grapes, & certain varieties of apricots & peaches) ~ Companion plant fruits, veggies, flowers & trees wisely for beneficial relationships 11

17. Other Yields: ~ Compost ~ Improved soil structure ~ Beauty ~ Sense and/or knowledge of place ~ Personal experience & knowledge of your garden ~ Seed ~ Localism: contributing to bioregionalism by growing and eating locally ~ (Perhaps) Increased community involvement involving food 12 Photo by Jennifer Temkin Photo by Meredith Hartwell

18. 13 Groundcover Living Mulch, Walking Surface Helianthus Helianthus sp. Pussytoes Antennaria parviflora Wild Sage Artemisia ludoviciana Photos courtesy of Jennifer Temkin

19. 14 Dynamic Accumulators Soil Aeration, Nutrient Accumulation, Shade Sequestration of Environmental Toxins Comfrey Symphytum officinale Kale Brassica oleraacea Stinging NettleUrtica dioica

20. 15 Nitrogen Fixers Nitrogen Fixation Root Nodules on Soybean (Glycine max) roots Alder Aldus sp. CloverTrifolium sp. LupinesLupinus sp.

21. 16 Insectaries Pollinator Attraction, Aesthetic Prettification Photo by Jennifer Temkin Calendula Calendula sp. Fennel Foeniculum vulgare Borage Borago sp.

22. 17 Cover Crops Soil Building, Animal Forage, Fallow Cover Especially for the Southwest: Annual Rye Oats Field Peas Hairy Vetch Winter Wheat Winter Rye Wildflower Mix Western Wheat Sideoats Grama Smooth Brome Buffalo Grass Indian Rice Grass Ephram Crested Wheat Sanfoin Clovers Borage Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis

23. 18 Polyculture Design Food Tea/ Medicine/ Insectary Ground Cover/ Nitrogen Fixer Food/Medicine/ Insectarycourtesy of Connor Stedman

24. 19 Polyculture Design Food/ Aromatic Pest Confuser Food/ Medicine/ Insectary Ground Cover/ Medicine/ Fertilizer/ Insectary/ Beneficial Habitat Food/Insectary Food courtesy of Connor Stedman

25. 20 SSLUG & Bonito St. Gardens

26. 21 SSLUG 2010

27. 22 CSA Garden

28. 23 Composting at SSLUG Photos courtesy of Ian Dixon-McDonald

29. Accelerate Succession Stack functions in time and space To enable a cultivated system to evolve toward a long-term stable state, we can construct a system, carefully planning the succession of plants and animals so that we can receive short, medium, and long-term benefits. “Place is a verb.” – Jeanette Armstrong Introduction to Permaculture (2004) Bill Mollison & Reny Mia Slay

30. Rampant & Invasive Species “Is it better to build systems that include exotics or should reforestation aim only to replace what has been taken away? Is a rampant exotic a weed, or nature’s most effective first aid treatment?” – Permaculture International Journal Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) on a CA hillside What are the differences between invasive species and changing ecosystems?

31. Local Rampants Salt Cedar Tamarix sp. Benefits: Willow Flycatcher habitat, basketry material, erosion control, butterfly food Detriments: Soil salinization, willow & cottonwood exclusion, flooding, water table draining Russian Olive Eleagnus angustifolia Benefits: Bird habitat & food, erosion control, N fixation, windbreak, mulch, shade Detriments: Willow & cottonwood exclusion, meadow encroachment “All rampant or weedy and invasive plants are gonna be everywhere eventually-why not just speed things up?” – Bill Mollison

32. Appendices

33. 28 Plants in the Landscape Forest Garden Hedgerow Silvopasture Coppice & Standard Alley Cropping

34. 29 Plants in the Landscape Companion Planting Keyhole Garden Intercropping Herb Spiral

35. Integrated Pest Management “Mulch your cat. It’s eating all the frogs and lizards that control insects.” – Bill Mollison Integrated Pest Management is a crop management approach designed to address ecological dilemmas in agriculture. 1. Acceptable pest levels 2. Preventative cultural practices 3. Monitoring 4. Mechanical controls 5. Biological controls 6. Chemical controls USDA IPM Principles: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm “[Industrial pest management] is like pokin’ a gopher with a rope- you can’t do that!” – Gordon Tooley

36. Convergent Evolution Ecological Equivalents are organisms that fit similar niches in an ecosystem, or fulfill similar Functions in a design. Often the result of convergent evolution. Lesser HedghogTenrec European Hedgehog Short Beaked Echidna EchinopstelfairiErinaceuseuropaeusTachyglossusaculeatus Adorable, inedible, insectivorous, little mammals

38. http://flagstafflandscape.com/?p=520

39. Coconino County Master Gardener Association: http://coconinomgassociation.blogspot.com/

40. Flagstaff Planting Guide, by Julie Lancaster: http://www.facebook.com/pages/for-anyone-who-grows-anything-in-Flagstaff-AZ/Flagstaff-Planting-Guide-Gardening-Community/332493936810?filter=3

41. Gaia’s Garden, by Toby Hemenway

42. Four-Season Harvest, by Eliot Coleman

43. The Winter Harvest Handbook, by Eliot Coleman

44. The New Organic Grower, by Eliot Coleman

45. Growing Food in the Southwest Mountains, by Lisa Rayner

46. J. Howard Garrett’s Organic Manual, 2nd Edition

47. Successful Small Food Gardens, by Louise Riotte

48. Carrots Love Tomatoes, by Louise Riotte

49. Start with the Soil, by Grace Gershuny

50. A People’s Ecology, by Gregory Cajete32

51. 33 Thanks to The Internet for words and pictures and Joanna Hale, Jennifer Temkin, DeJa Walker & Ian Dixon-McDonald for photographs Contact Information bkessler@gm.slc.edu laughingcrowpermaculture.wordpress.com