The first rule in medical practice is to DO NO HARM.
The first rule in sustainable gardening should also be DO NO HARM.
Permaculture, sustainability and medicine all have the same aim of sustaining a living organism at its optimal health.
With sustainability the living organism is the Earth and ourselves.
So before you read a thousand books and know all you need to know about sustainable gardening, raising chooks, animal husbandry and earthships, please start by simply doing no harm.
I think the most harmful thing any home gardener can do is to use pesticide.
Pesticides are for the most part non-selective, meaning that they will kill ALL insects that they come in contact with.
Many insects like ladybugs, praying mantis and bees are beneficial to your garden, and in good numbers they will actually help you control pest outbreaks.
Secondly if you take out the insects you remove a valuable food source for other animals like lizards and birds.
You are better off to encourage insects by planting a variety of nectar rich plants and allowing annual herbs and plants to set seed.
The second most damaging practice you can stop is the use of herbicides like glyphosate. These herbicides not only kill the plants but they damage the structure of the soil.
The resulting soil does not support strong healthy disease resistant growth.
Glyphosate is actually banned in other countries and I encourage you to ‘do your research’ before you ever use it again.
So in conclusion sustainable gardening is gardening with the view to the future beyond the next yield.
It is working with nature to improve the health of your patch for years to come, and doing no more harm.
There are many levels at which you can become sustainable if you would like to know more join us for our workshops and working bees on the first and third Sunday of the month in the garden.
Check out our advert in this week Jimboomba Times about the upcoming traineeship opportunity in Conservation and Land Management. Contact us for more information.
