Planting for the Future
Seed to Sage takes a design approach that naturally allows for succession - to allow for the organic unfolding that is unstoppable in the garden. "A garden is never finished" is one of our favorite quotes by Shunryu Suzuki because it could not be closer to the truth!
Over time, everything evolves, no matter how much we would like things to stay the same, change is the only constant in our world. In the natural world, there is a consistent ebb and flow of death and rebirth. Of plant species playing out their roles throughout different seasons and allowing for all life to flourish, creating space for the emergence of something new.
So how can we, as gardeners, prepare for this natural occurrence of change? This is where the concept of planting for the future shines bright! You can make a difference, you can help towards not only preserving natural areas but to help them reach their potential and create a better world for the future of the planet!
What exactly does it mean to plant for the future?
Planting for the future is all about reciprocity, giving back as much as we take is the key mindset in creating a garden that is fulfilling in regards to you, your family, as well as the surrounding nature and animals. We want to be leaving the plot of earth we are residing on lusher, more alive, and more abundant than we found it. By having this goal and intention, we can know the future of that land is on the path to regeneration.
With this foundation at the core, we will go over three main ideas that are contributed to creating lasting gardens that will be prosperous and have a long life. In permaculture design and gardening, all of the permaculture principles will advance the notion of planting for the future, so be sure to check out and read up on the 12 principles of permaculture!
Three main ways to plant for the future:
1. Building soil
2. Species choice
3. Plant in layers
Tip:
Save money and material by starting your own compost! There are many easy and convenient ways to compost in order to start making your own soil!
Building soil for the future
Building soil is a very rewarding goal and has far more benefits than most people realize. Following some guidelines and practices, over time something very magical occurs, the soft, dark, rich top layer of the soil is created! Usually referred to as the humus/topsoil layer to your garden beds. This is a high-energy hub for the soil food chain to conduct itself. Maintaining healthy soil alive with microbes and earthworms will ensure the plants living within that balanced soil will have a long life free of disease.
All life in the garden begins in the soil, which shows you that it is always the main place to start when you are beginning to plan out your new garden beds or will be adding to an existing one. You want your soil to be rich in minerals and nutrients, especially when growing food crops, although, unfortunately, we can not snap our fingers and have the perfect soil... but there are steps to take over time that will get you closer to that goal.
Chop and Drop
One way to be building soil is a simple concept, which is with plant matter! A known permaculture term is that of "chop and drop". This is a term used for when you are needing to prune perennials, shrubs, or trees, be taking off dying leaves, or remove unwanted plants, and you simply leave them on top of your garden bed after chopping the plant matter into 1-2 inch cuts. Creating this layer of living mulch on top of your garden bed will attract a lot of hungry soil creatures that are ready to break down the material and turn it into a wonderful soft peat moss-like soil! And chopping the plant matter into small bits will ensure they will be composted into the soil quicker. Although this does take a couple of seasons, it is a very easy method to implement and build more soil in your garden.
If your garden is in its beginning stages and you do not have a lot of plant material to take out or use in the chop and drop method, it is best to add natural woodchip mulch on top to cover the earth and keep the soil moist and protected. The mulch will be broken down and contributed to building soil.
Adding in compost and other fertilizers
You can add in homemade or purchased compost 1-2 inches thick on your garden beds in early spring. If you are putting down compost on an existing bed, be sure to keep the compost a few inches away from the existing plants as the active microbes in the compost can actually harm exposed stems/leaves. Doing this practice every spring alone will help to build the soil, keep it healthy, and add life back into your soil that may have been depleted in the last year.
In the fall, keep all fallen leaves in the garden beds! This will add protection from frost, add in nutrients, give soil life some food before winter, and the best thing is by the spring the leaves will be close to being completely dissolved anyways.
Other fertilizers that can be added to the garden throughout the season to build soil and keep pests away are things like compost tea, or, herbal teas made from 'weeds' or, extra harvested plants like nettles and yarrow. If adding in animal manures, be sure enough time has passed so that you won't risk burning the plants or the manure going in being too strong.
You
Choosing the right plant species for the future
When you think about the plant species you would choose to last and become members of the larger ecosystem, what comes to mind? Surely not the overly cultivated plant species that can only grow in your zone if in a backyard microclimate. Quite the opposite is the option to choose when planting a garden for the future. You will want to be choosing the plants that you see around on your weekend nature walks. The species that have stood the test time in your climate, the native herbs and, plants!
Even though many people have the misconception that this means your garden is going to look like an overgrown jungle is simply wrong. Especially for those living in the prairies of Alberta, we have an abundance of wild native flowers, berry shrubs, and beautiful evergreen trees!
So when you are planning to go plant shopping for your next garden, remember to check out the native plant nurseries that are in your local area. If not, there are many nurseries that are now sourcing and carrying more native plants available, they will normally have a sign to tell you if they are native to your climate and growing zone.
Going the extra step to be planting for the future would be to find out which species in your regions are struggling, have been cut back to near extinction, or are hard to find in the wild areas anymore. A lot of the time many of these plants play an important role in the health and life cycle of many other life forms around them! If you are planting these species in your garden, get ready to see some visitors you have not seen around regularly, perhaps a rare type of butterfly that will be so thankful that you have chosen to grow this type of plant!
Having a native plant habitat or garden can also become a part of a larger vision for the future of your neighborhood or community gardens! Once you get familiar with the growing conditions for these plants, spread the word and share the wonderment of the native plants growing in your area with those around you.
Planting your garden in layers for succession
Are you ever working in your gardens and realize you are seeing the same types of "weeds" trying to come in and take over the space? Well, this might be due to that natural cycle of succession. Every open space or bare soil area will naturally be regenerating itself to become part of the surrounding eco-systems again. This happens gradually over time by preparing the area with annuals at first, then into perennials, and finally going towards growing trees and shrubs in the area so it can become covered, protected, and a habitat for life to survive. More can be found on the progress of succession within Seed to Sage's Ebook - Urban Nature. Just look for it in our websites shop.
This can happen somewhat quickly, depending on how you see it. In 2-5 years in a garden bed, all annuals (some considered "weeds", think dandelions, chickweed & lambsquarters) will be gone from a bare garden site, and other perennial plant layers will be growing instead in order to establish the beginnings of a forest! Tree saplings and other perennial seeds that blew in will begin to take off. This is a huge intelligence happening in nature. The desire to expand, evolve, and move towards creating more of a complicated relationship with life in its design.
The way for gardeners to be involved in this process is to view your garden plot no different than a wild area, except you get to become an active participant! This is the third piece of planting for the future. When you plant your garden in layers, you are emulating the same design and systems found in a forest, causing less of a need for nature to step in and start trying to do that on its own. The functions of each layer contribute to keeping your garden healthy, diverse, abundant, and have multiple roles playing out.
The layers I am referring to are the ones that you can find in most permaculture gardening designs, which looks like this:
1. Canopy layer - Large mature trees, and coniferous trees.
2. Understory layer - This is smaller trees, such as fruit trees.
3. Shrub layer - Honeysuckles, Currants, dogwoods, etc.
4. Herbaceous layer- Native perennial layer
5. Root layer- This refers to having some plant species with large taproots that can bring up minerals that are further underground.
6. Ground cover layer- This can be the plants you think of that are easy to walk on top of, and will cover the ground so weeds can not get through. Think of Kinnickinnik, Thyme, violets, etc.
7. Vine layer- This is the 7th and last layer of your garden space as it usually takes some time for vines to move into a forested area. It needs large trees to climb. Although you can create the vine layer onto fences, or specifically built structures.
This system gives you a great outline to form your garden design around. Creating a garden for a purpose is always a great inspiration. If you can add in the notion of creating and planting a garden for the future of our Earth, then all the better. If you want to care for the life on this planet to strive and be nourished on many levels then a garden is the perfect way to start. The benefits are endless and are an act of service towards all life around you! I hope this blood post has inspired you to take a little more thought and care into how you choose to play a part in this mission to plant for the future!
This blog post will be referencing many of the wonderful topics brought up in a book by Rosemary Gladstar & Pamela Hirsch called "Planting the Future", find it here - https://unitedplantsavers.org/product/planting-future-saving-medicinal-herbs/
Learn about some amazing organic gardening strategies and alternatives to using chemicals here-
Comentarios