PDC LESSON 3.20 NURSERY - THE WORKSTATION

 

PERMACULTURE COURSE AGRO-ECONOMY

PDC LESSON 3.20 NURSERY - THE WORKSTATION

The nursery is an important work- station that needs to be linked up with the carport, gardens, compost or/and worm-farm and water tap. Will there be enough sun? Think of anything else that you will need in the nursery to keep it turning over. Visualise yourself working in the nursery- which materials do you need to access? Can you easily transport the seedlings or trees to where they are to be planted? Do you need to wheelbarrow uphill?

Remember always to calculate where you need to wheelbarrow from point A to point B.

One simple rule we have learnt on our steep block is never push a full wheelbarrow uphill.

Above all, the nursery helps you to gain time in your farm. By growing plants and bringing forward your own nursery, you gain 2 months with each planting phase, which means 6 months a year. So it is possible that you can get 2-3 harvests per year if you replant immediately after taking out the harvest. If you want to work successfully and constantly water your land so that it always stays moist and the creatures in the soil are always active and multiply, you are forced to constantly sow or plant. So there is a constant cycle of planting on the farm and your employees are working at full capacity. If you can get $2 per square foot in one crop, it's possible to get close to $5 per square foot in 3 crops.

The maximum utilization of a farm is the supreme principle in agroeconomics.

It's not about playing around with permaculture design and herb spirals and making beautiful things, it's also about paying our workers well and having those workers work productively during this time to make money for us.

Text from the roots, Elisabeth Ferkonia (Aus.) PDC studied with Bill Mollison,