Allelopathy - Allelopathy is the phenomenon in which plants produce chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. These chemicals can be released from the roots, leaves, or other parts of the plant. Allelopathy can be used by the permaculture gardener to control weeds, pests, and diseases. It must be considered in the timing of cover crops (e.g., rye, a cover crop is somewhat allelopathic) and in discounting gardening myths, like the one stateing that the toxicity of black walnut is so great that even composting it is to be avoided.
Biodiversity - Biodiversity is one of the goals of permaculture and regenerative gardening. Biodiversity references the variety of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms within a given space. Generally speacking, the greater the variety of organisms in a garden, the more resilient and robust the garden will become.
Biomass - Biomass is the animal and vegetable part of animal, vegetable, mineral. It includes plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms as well as their non-living residuum and products made from such, e.g., cardboard, bones, the bits of vegtables you chop up and hopefully compost rather than turning into landfill. According to Doug Crouch, Permaculture Designer/Instructor and Founder of TreeYo Permaculture, "Permaculture mainly consists in moving biomass from one place to another place."
Carbon - Carbon sequestration is what we do when growing a robust garden or food forest with our space instead of paving it over or maintaining a lawn. Carbon is found in all living things, including plants, animals, and humans. Carbon is also found in the atmosphere, in the form of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. The biomass of growing plants is constructed primarily by carbon dioxide drawn from the atmosphere. So the more plant matter that is grown in a space, the more carbon sequestration is occurring.
Chop and drop - Chop and drop is a permaculture technique in which plant material is cut down (chopped) and left on the ground (dropped) to decompose. This helps to add organic matter to the soil and improve its fertility. It also helps to suppress weeds and provide food and shelter for beneficial insects.
Closed loop - A closed loop is a system in which waste is recycled and reused. This helps to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfills or incinerators. It also helps to conserve resources and protect the environment. As mythical as the perpetual motion machine, it is nonetheless a worthy design goal for regenerative gardening or farming practices.
Compost - Compost is a mixture of decomposed organic matter that is used as a fertilizer. It is made from a variety of materials, including cardboard, paper, leaves, grass clippings, food scraps, and manure. Compost helps to improve the fertility of the soil, increase water retention, and suppress weeds. Please try not to put biomass into landfill. Compost it.
Coppice - Coppice is a homesteading practice in which trees are cut down to the stump and allowed to resprout. Historically, coppiced woods were used any time you wanted easily harvestable firewood, or you wanted straight shafts for things like posts or garden tools. This can be done to produce wood, to manage the growth of the tree, or to create a coppice woodland. Coppice woodlands are often used for grazing animals or for producing firewood.
CSA - A CSA, or community-supported agriculture program, is a partnership between growers and consumers. Members of a CSA buy shares in a farm and receive a portion of the farm's produce throughout the growing season. This helps to support local market gardeners and provides humans with fresh, locally grown food. Pricely Gardens is not currently structured as a CSA, but we strongly support the practice and encourage everyone to try to participate.
Farm to table - Farm to table is a movement that promotes the consumption of locally produced food. This helps to support local farmers and reduce the environmental impact of industial food production performed remotely, overprocessing, overpackaging, and transportation.
Food desert - An area, like many neighborhoods in and around Cincinnati, where there is limited access to healthy food. Food deserts are often found in low-income neighborhoods and urban areas. The practice of urban homesteading and regenerative gardening at whatever scale is practical is a highly effective way to transform food deserts. By education, example, and production, Pricely Gardens seeks to mitigate the food desert problem around it.
Food forest - Pricely Gardens includes a food forest area with over 75 fruit trees and berry bushes with numerous other edible or pollinating plants, primarily perennials. This comprises a type of polyculture that is designed to mimic, to a certain extent, or is inspired by the natural ecosystem of a forest.
Food security - The ability of people to access sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life. Urban America's food security depends on a vast and delicately balanced (fragile) system that is amazingly vulnerable to disruption. Growing food in your own yard and supporting local, organic or regenerative growers is the most fundamental safeguard you can deploy to help insure your neighborhood's food safety,
Foodweb - A network of interconnected food chains. Food webs show how different organisms in an ecosystem are connected by their feeding relationships.
Gratuitousness - The quality of being given or done without expecting anything in return. Everything we have and are is ultimately a gift to us. Human beings are social animals. When self-reliance becomes a fetish or an ideology it becomes toxic.
Heirloom - A variety of plant that has been passed down through generations. Heirloom varieties are often more flavorful and nutritious than modern hybrid varieties. If we want to save our seeds for the next season, we have to rely on heirloom varieties, since the seeds from hybrid plants do not typically breed true. This is not to say there is no use for hybrid varieties.
Homestead - A somewhat self-sufficient farm or home. Homesteads try to produce their own food, water, and energy in lieu of being totally dependent on the corporate commercial supply. Homesteaders colaborate with neighbors, other local growers, consumers, and allies to build resiliant networks of solidarity.
Keyhole - A type of garden that is designed to be small and efficient. Keyhole gardens are typically circular in shape and have a central raised bed that is surrounded by a walkway. Composting often occurs right in the middle of the structure, such that there is a continous leaching of nutrients into the growing area of the structure.
Loam - A type of soil that is rich in organic matter. Loam is ideal for growing a variety of plants. Regenerative growing practices seek to turn dirt into what can be described as loam, rich tilth, or fertile soil.
Local production - The production of goods or services within a specific geographic area. Local production obviously helps to reduce the environmental impact of transportation and supports local economies. It is rather absurd, if you think about it, to purchase produce and meat that could originate from anywhere, even overseas. It does not help the local economy to pay non-local corporate producers, plus the costs of transportation and storage for one's food. And, the complicated "supply chain" upon which we may depend for our staple food is clearly fragile, as has been amply demonstrated in the pandemic and post-pandemic world.
Low dig - A method of gardening in which the tilling of the soil is minimized to the extent possible. Low-dig gardens are typically created by laying down a layer of mulch or compost on top of the soil and then planting directly into the mulch. See "no till" below.
Mulch - Mulch is king of the garden. A layer of material that is spread on top of the soil to protect it and improve its fertility. Mulch can be made from a variety of materials, including cardboard, leaves, grass clippings, and wood chips. Exposed dirt is prone to compaction, weed growth, and runoff effects. Soil covered in living materials or mulch is less subject to harm from these kinds of harms.
Mycelium - The vegetative part of a fungus that consists of a network of thread-like hyphae. Mycelium is found in soil and helps to break down organic matter and make nutrients available to plants.
Mycorrhizae - A symbiotic relationship between a fungus and the roots of a plant. Mycorrhizae help to improve the plant's ability to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Legume roots have a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizae that enable their famous nitrogen fixing properties.
Nitrogen fixing - The process by which plants take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that can be used by other plants. This is an important process in agriculture, as it helps to improve soil fertility.
No dig - A method of gardening that fanatically avoids any tilling of the soil whatsoever. No-dig gardens are typically created by laying down a layer of mulch or compost on top of the soil and then planting directly into the mulch. The concept may be more useful as a goal than a ideology.
Non-GMO - A term used to describe food that has not been genetically modified. Genetically modified foods are foods that have been engineered using genetic engineering techniques. In general, using traditional techniques of selective breeding are preferrable. Whether GMO plants present some direct danger is unkown with certitude -- currently there seems to be little evidence that is the case. However, GMO products are patented and owned by giant corporations, and do not lend themselves to systems of local production.
Organic - A term used to describe food that has been produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers. Organic food is often considered to be healthier and more environmentally friendly than conventional food. Certification as an organic producer is complicated and expensive. Consequently, it is not in the spirit of local production and solidarity with community producers to fanatically insist upon organic certification.
Regenerative - A term used to describe agardneing and larger scale agriculture that helps to improve the health of the soil and the environment. Regenerative agriculture practices include low-dig/no-till farming, use of livestock for fertilizer, cover cropping, and crop rotation.
Permaculture - A system of agricultural and social design principles centered on simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems. Permaculture is based on the idea that human settlements and agricultural systems can be designed to be sustainable and harmonious with the environment.
Pesticide free - A term used to describe food that has not been treated with pesticides. Monoculture and corporate methods of producing food tend to necessitate significant use of pesticides. Permaculture practices aim to reduce the need for pesticides by using anatural methods to reduce pest pressure. Pesticides are chemicals that are used to kill pests, such as insects, rodents, and weeds. Pesticides can be harmful to human health and the environment.
Pollard - LIke coppicing, but for really tall people. A forestry practice in which trees are cut down to a height of 6-12 feet and allowed to resprout. This can be done to produce wood, to manage the growth of the tree, or to create a pollard woodland. Pollard woodlands are often used for grazing animals or for producing firewood.
Polyculture - A type of agriculture that involves growing multiple crops together in the same space. Polycultures can be more productive and sustainable than monocultures, which are systems in which only one crop is grown.
Resilience - The ability to recover quickly from a disturbance. Permaculture systems are designed with resilience in mind.
Rhizosphere - The region of soil that is directly influenced by the roots of a plant. The rhizosphere is a dynamic environment that is home to a variety of microorganisms. These microorganisms play an important role in plant growth and health.
Seed bank - A collection of seeds that is used to preserve plant diversity. Seed banks are important for ensuring that we have a variety of crops to choose from in the future.
Solidarity - Much more than a mere feeling of unity and support among people. Solidarity is the continuous act of benefiting each person we encounter. In addition, the concept extends to the biosphere wherein we dwell, meaning in addition to the human the land, the animals, and the plants. In the context of permaculture, solidarity can refer to the support that people give to each other as they work to create sustainable communities, food growing systems, and culture. The eradication of local food desserts would be a good example of solidarity. A Polish philosopher once gave this description: "Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all."
Succession - The process by which one community of organisms is replaced by another. In the context of permaculture, succession can refer to the process by which a garden or landscape changes over time.
Sustainability - The ability to meet our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In the context of permaculture, sustainability refers to the design of systems that are able to function indefinitely without harming the environment. It is opposed to an extractive, short-term approach to the use of land and assets.
Synergy - The interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect that is greater than the sum of their individual effects. In the context of permaculture, synergy refers to the way in which different elements of a system can work together to create a more sustainable whole.
Tilth - The physical condition of the soil, such as its texture, structure, and drainage. In the context of permaculture, tilth refers to the quality of the soil that is necessary for growing healthy plants.
Wonder - The thing that kids experience until they are taught to stop doing it. Wonder is the
beginning of philosophy and science.
It includes a feeling of surprise and admiration that is caused by something beautiful, unexpected, or unfamiliar. It is essential to a wisdom-based rather than formulaic approach to gardening. In the context
of permaculture, wonder refers to the sense of awe and amazement that we can experience
when we actually connect with the natural world, not as a spectator, but as a connected participant.
"The heavens are calling you, and wheel around you,
Displaying to you their eternal beauties."
-- Dante, Purgatorio 14:148-149