Permaculture is the way we can use the land around us in a natural manner to gain the food we need. Also it is a system of farming that uses the rules of nature by searching for its synergies, through a design chosen for the optimal form, with the best connections between plants in mind. The relationship between the mineral elements, the plants and the land itself is the pattern followed for the optimal result.

The philosophy of permaculture is the understanding of the landscape or the earth onto which we desire to use and the plants, as in what species intertwine best with one another to give the products of our need.

The advantages begin by blending our needs with the natural order so that we don’t dry the land of its life (the microbiological organisms that the earth sustains and in turn is sustained by); an example of how NOT to do it is by using large scale single plant farming areas repeatedly.

Another pro with this practice is the fact that we can relieve ourselves of the hard labor that conventional agriculture implies, even if we implemented specific equipment to ease the work.

In permaculture the physical effort is hardly noticeable, because the earth needs not be worked. It is required to understand in what state the soil is before we initiate any crop; then, if necessary, we’ll have to enrich it properly but of course in a natural way. We can use either manure from farm animals or branches and pieces of crushed wood from the area around (i.e. from a forest) which are the natural waste of already “broken” trees, never cutting them ourselves. Even the thin surface of the earth, in an already rich in organic matter area, has enough nutrients to be used in our designated areal.

Permaculture can be done in almost any place we desire, from a geographical location that is mostly desert to a mountainous area at surprisingly high attitude, for any type of farming. Of course we need to have an understanding of what plants can live there and in what combination; we can implement some of the not so common ones for our chosen spot. The variation of species in nature is so vast that we can surely find the right combination for our needs even in the more difficult zones, if we have a realistic understanding of nature… extremes never helped anyone.

To summarize, everything is easy to maintain, the crops are easy to collect, even with just your bare hands and there is no need to clear the former crop from the ground, beacause that itself will provide good nourishment for future plants.