​Kincardine Horticultural Society learns about permaculture

Well, gardeners, we might now be getting some warm days. Have you planted your annuals yet? Even with the cooler weather we have been having, the perennials are growing.

The Kincardine and District Horticultural Society held its annual plant sale, Saturday, and quite a few of you must have been out buying because it was a success. We have more plants for our already full gardens but as you know, there is always room for one more wonderful specimen.

What is permaculture, did you ask? Well our speaker this month was Yvonne Fair and she explained this all to us. She started with a small eight-by-10 garden and now has four acres lake side in Kincardine.

“Small Holdings” is the name of the hobby farm operated by her and her family, which has grown over the years and includes chickens with, might we say, beautiful rainbow eggs, corn, heirloom tomato plants, vegetables, a variety of berry plants and a greenhouse. She also now grows turmeric, ginger and eucalyptus in the greenhouse.

Yvonne explained that permaculture has key principles and some are:
 

• Observe and interact - see how the wind, water and sun move
• Catch and store energy – compost and use rain barrels
• Obtain a yield – grow food, herbs and grow pollinator plants
• Use and value diversity – grow a mixture of plants
• Produce no waste – compost
• Integrate rather than segregate – plant companion plantings

With permaculture, try and mimic mother nature using renewable resources.

Permaculture can be understood as the growth of agricultural eco-systems in a self-sufficient and sustainable way.

This form of agriculture draws inspiration from nature to develop synergetic farming systems based on crop diversity, resilience, natural productivity, and sustainability.

Yvonne’s farm has become part of a Monarch way station and has joined monarchwatch.org - a safe haven for Monarchs and tracking them.