Permaculture Design Principle 7

Optimum Sizing & Stacking - Intensive systems under control

Small-scale intensive systems

Permaculture is about designing a farm (or garden, community, or town) to its best advantage, using the available human resources, a buildup of productive perennial plants, alternative technologies that generate and save energy, and a moderate use of machinery, as appropriate. Small-scale, intensive systems means that (1) much of the land can be used efficiently and thoroughly, and (2) the site is under control. This means permaculture principles can be applied to larger scale operations as long as it is efficient and not a waste of time, energy, and water. Permaculture does mean optimal sizing. (Read an interesting article about Small-Scale Intensive Systems vs. Optimal Sizing).

In the beginning stay close to the developed center in your design. Fully develop the nucleus (zoning) before moving on. To save energy and water, and to prevent weed invasion, the developed system should be fully-occupied with plants, even if some will need to be thinned out later. Even if it appears to take more time and every at first, it pays in the long-term through reduced plant death and easy system maintenance.

Imitate nature in your plans to help a system evolve to meet your needs.

Plant Stacking

Unlike many contemporary cultivated gardens, nature does not neatly compartmentalize her landscapes with ornamentals growing in one place, vegetables in another and fruit trees in yet a third location.

In woodlands several plants such as standard and half standard trees, shrubs, climbers and ground cover occupy the same area of space, each ‘stacked’ to find it’s own requirements within it’s particular ‘level’ in the system. The Forest Garden (also called a Food Forest, Home Orchard) is an attempt to replicate this ‘layering’, replacing the wild plants of the woodland with fruits, herbs, vegetables and other plants that are useful to peoplekind, and maximize use of the space.

Just remember in our temperate climate in Reno, many plants require fairly open systems to allow light to lower layers and to encourage air movement between plants to reduce the chance of fungal problems.

Permaculture designers also learn to observe and research naturally occurring plant and animal assemblies (called guilds). This information is translated for use in sustainable farming. Perennial fruit trees, shrubs, and vines, together with livestock and animal commercial crops are selected to mimic natural assemblies–each plant and animal benefits the other, providing a permanent and maintenance free resource system.

1. Relative Location - Where stuff in the right place
2. Each Element Performs Multiple Functions - Multitasking
3. Multiple Sources for Each Need - Redundancy planning to reduce failure
4. Energy Efficient Planning - Zoning & sectors
5. Using Local Biological Resources - "Think globally, Act Locally"
6. Cycling of Energy - Reconnecting movement of energy
7. Optimum Sizing & Stacking - Intensive systems under control
8. Accelerating Plant Succession and Evolution- Working with Nature, not against Her
9. Polyculture and Diversity of Species - Resilience and resistance to pest attacks
10. Increasing "Edge" Within a System - Increasing productivity through edge effects and natural patterns

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