In October, we explored the first permaculture principle: observe and interact. This month, I’m going to walk us through the second design principle: catch and store energy. There is a diversity of energy available on the land we inhabit. It’s important to recognize, honor and use these valuable resources to enhance and build vitality in our environment.
One source of energy we use abundantly is water. When it rains, there is an incredible amount of water blessing our land. One inch falling on one-half acre yields more than 13,500 gallons of water. A 50-foot-by-50-foot roof will catch more than 1,500 gallons. It’s just a matter of catching it, storing it and using it as needed. Water also can be held inside growing beds if properly constructed with enough humus and mass. Diversionary channels and swales can direct and hold water, too. On larger plots, ponds can help.
We all know the sun is an awesome energy provider, but we rarely categorize its benefits. We position our vegetables, berry bushes, flowers and fruit trees to receive the right amount of sunlight to produce food and beauty. Not every spot is productive. It’s up to us to find the right locations. Much can be stored by canning or fermenting our yield. We know solar panels give us electricity. When trees mature, they provide building materials. Their leaves are compost for garden beds and also may create a mycorrhizal (fungi) networks that move nutrients and water around and create habitat for birds and insects. The sun provides passive solar home heat in the winter months. Beehives enjoy the warmth of the sun. Our bodies convert sunlight into essential vitamin D. Suntraps can be created by positioning trees and/or stone walls to absorb and release heat. Plants also capture CO2 from the atmosphere and deposit in the land. The sun is involved in so much catchment and storage.
The wind is a large environmental element. Windmills have been used for centuries to mill grains and pump water and, now, create electricity. Along the shoreline, falling evening temperatures create lovely breezes.
Much of the organic waste stream on your property can be stored in the cycle of creating soil (i.e. composting). This also creates habitat for earthworms and beneficial insects that will be stored on your property and perpetually add to its enrichment. Fungi may become available for nutrition or direct health uses (requires some education).
Small-scale animal husbandry is another method we can use to catch and store energy. Chickens, their eggs, meat and manure; goats, their milk, meat and manure, rabbits, ducks and more. As long as we are feeding our animals from food grown on the land and create a closed-loop cycle, we are creating a sustainable system that catches, stores and recycles. This takes some thought, planning and time to create.
Bob Abbenzeller is a certified permaculture designer and volunteer at the Plant City Commons Community Garden. For more, email to pcpermaculture@gmail.com or call (813) 489-5520.