Ecological agriculture - by design! Learn more at http://www.regenerativedesigns.wordpress.com

1. Permaculture for Farmers
Ecological Production by Design
Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic Farm
Ethan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture
Regenerative Apios
Design Group Institute

2. Permaculture for Farmers

3. Permaculture Design
• Origins - Ethics - Principles

4. The Permaculture Pie
biochar/
bioremediation terra preta
composting & aquaculture
food forestry
compost tea
coppice perennial
woodcrafts vegetables
& biomass
apiculture
keyline mycoscaping
management- alternative
intensive grazing currencies
edible forest
earthworks
gardening
natural building
green architecture

5. Ethics of Permaculture
1. Earth Care
2. People Care
3. Resource Share
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more
than 4,000 projects on the ground

6. Ethics of Permaculture
1. Earth Care
2. People Care
3. Resource Share
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more
than 4,000 projects on the ground

7. Ethics of Permaculture
1. Earth Care
2. People Care
3. Resource Share
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more
than 4,000 projects on the ground

8. Ethics of Permaculture
1. Earth Care
2. People Care
3. Resource Share
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more
than 4,000 projects on the ground

9. Ethics of Permaculture
1. Earth Care
2. People Care
3. Resource Share
Developed in 1980’s, over 1,000,000 people certified, active in 140+ Countries, more
than 4,000 projects on the ground

10. Principles

11. Design Tools

12. Zones of Use

13. Camp Epworth

14. Zone 1

15. Zone 1
Zone 2

16. Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3

17. Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
Zone 4

18. Sector Analysis

19. Sector Thinking:
Windbreaks

20. Keyline Design

21. Keyline: Catch+store
Catch
and
Store
Energy
Source: Permaculture:
A Designers Manual

22. Yobarnie

23. Yobarnie, 2007
Yobarnie,
Layout,
1988
Source: Permaculture:
A Designers Manual

24. Keyline Plow

25. Coulter, Tip, Shank

27. seeding

28. Yeomans Keyline Plow – Plowing for Rapid & Cheap Soil Development (Pasture)
Soil conditioning
Existing Condition:
Shallow, Compacted, Drought-Prone Topsoil
1. Soil Test & Remineralise
2. Plow to 2” below hard pan
3. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks
4. Just at onset of flowering:
Hard graze to 2-4”
1. Plow to 2” below new root depth
2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks
3. Just at onset of flowering:
Hard graze to 2-4”
1. Plow to 2” below new root depth:
Max out at 12-15”
2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks
3. Just at onset of flowering:
Hard graze to 2-4”
And Another Thing:
1% increase in Organic Matter =
63 ton/ac capture in Atmospheric CO2 !
(That’s twice your total annual emissions)

29. Keyline Pattern

30. [DD keyline design]

31. LittleSeed CSA
Chatham, NY

32. 3-Shank Plow

33. Shank & Weed-Knives

34. Carbon Farmers of America

35. Cimarron Farm
Swanton,VT

36. 5-Shank Plow

37. Italian Ryegrass

38. www.carbonfarmersofamerica.com

39. Rodale Whitepaper
• A 40% reduction of global carbon emissions
is possible with a switch to regenerative
organic agricultural practices on the world’s
3.5 billion tillable acres.
• Agriculture contributes 20% of Carbon
emissions in the US, and 12% worldwide

40. Rodale Institute
Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming
• A 40% reduction of global carbon emissions is possible with a switch to
regenerative organic agricultural practices on the world’s 3.5 billion tillable
acres.
• Agriculture contributes 20% of Carbon emissions in the US, and 12%
worldwide
• Soil holds twice as much carbon as terrestrial vegetation
• Midwestern soils that in the 1950s were composed of up to 20 percent carbon
are now between 1- and 2-percent carbon.
• Forests and grasslands generally are 6 to 10 percent organic matter, well over
the 1- to 3-percent levels typical of today’s agricultural field systems.
• Because soil organic matter is primarily carbon, increases in these levels will be
directly correlated with carbon sequestration. While prevailing farming practices
using synthetic inputs typically deplete SOM, regenerative farming practices,
including the integration of crop and animal production, build it.

41. Carbon
Farming
• August 25 -
September 16th.
• The Farm,
Summertown, TN

43. Carbon
Farming
• August 25 -
September 16th.
• The Farm,
Summertown, TN
• Next one in
Hudson Valley?

44. Design Patterns

45. Animals & Aquaculture

46. HM Grazing
Deseret Ranch, AZ

47. Deseret Ranch, AZ
8 years later

48. Tractors

50. Polyface Farm

53. Aquaculture &
Aquaponics
CH_CS_fish1
Cascade Systems
Wadenswil Agriculture Research Station, Switzerland
Photo: Ethan Roland

54. Tilapia
50

55. CH_CS_view01
Photo: Ethan Roland

56. CH_CS_waterflow
Photo: Ethan Roland

57. CH_CS_parsley
Photo: Ethan Roland

58. 54

59. 55

60. CH_CS_papaya
Photo: Ethan Roland

61. CH_CS_waterflow
Photo: Ethan Roland

62. CH_CS_banana
Photo: Ethan Roland

63. Ecosystem Mimicry
• Land Institute

64. Ecosystem Mimicry
• Kazakh Food Forests

65. Ecosystem Mimicry
• Kazakh Food Forests

66. Perennial Vegetables

67. Perennial Vegetables
• Permaculture Principle:
Least effort for large effect
• Plants w/ a 3-3000+ year lifespan
• Not destroyed by harvesting
• More Common:
– Asparagus, Rhubarb, Horseradish

68. Perennial Vegetables
• Human Uses: 7 F’s
• Ecosystem Functions:
– Beneficial Insect Attractant & Habitat
– Aromatic Pest Confusion
– Dynamic Accumulator & Soil Builder
– Carbon Sequestration & Water Conservation

69. Perennial Vegetables
LOW MAINTENANCE
• Only plant once
• Years of harvests
• No digging or tilling
• Resist pests, weeds, drought
• Extend harvest season
• Excellent yield/time
Slide: Eric Toensmeier

70. Some (More) Common
Perennial Vegetables
Nettle Asparagus Rhubarb French sorrel
Urtica dioica Asparagus Rheum x cultorum Rumex acetosa
officinalis
Slide: Eric Toensmeier

71. Top Ten Perennial Vegetables

72. Climbing Spinach
(Hablitzia tamnoides) Photos: Eric Toensmeier

73. Good King Henry
(Chenopodium bonus-
Photos: Ethan Roland &
Eric Toensmeier henricus)

74. Skirret (Sium sisarum)
Photos: Eric Toensmeier

75. Multiplier Onion (Allium cepa-aggregatum)
• Shallot, walking onion,
chive, garlic chives
Photo: Eric Toensmeier

76. Sea Kale
(Crambe maritima)
Photos: Ethan Roland

77. Sea Kale
(Crambe maritima)
Photos: Ethan Roland

78. Sunchokes
(Helianthus
tuberosus)
Photo: Eric Toensmeier Photo: Kathryn Conway

79. Turkish Rocket
(Bunias orientalis)
Photos: Kathryn Conway & Eric
Toensmeier

80. Water Celery (Oenanthe javanica)
Photos: Eric Toensmeier

81. Welsh Onion (Allium fistulosum) Photo: Kathryn Conway

82. Salad Hedge

83. Salad Hedge

84. Small Fruits & Nuts

85. Currants
(Ribes spp.)

86. Hardy Kiwi
(Actinidia arguta)

87. Seaberry
(Hippophae rhamnoides)

88. Hazelnuts
(Corylus spp.)

89. Sandraberry
(Schisandra chinensis)

90. Agroforestry &
Forest Gardening

91. Agroforestry &
Forest Gardening
Tree Crops & Agroforestry:
2:15-4:15 Resource Center

92. Design Patterns

93. Summary Example:
Threshold Farm

95. Keyline

96. Keyline

97. Perennial Vegetables

99. Forest Gardening

100. Chive, sorrel, anise hyssop, and chicory starts

101. TBD understory
1 season later

103. Harvest bins

104. Apples,
Pears,
Peaches

105. Animal Integration

108. Permaculture for Farmers

109. Business Design
• Mosaic Farm
• Econ Ag Tool

110. Mosaic Farm
Benneth Phelps
Northampton, Massachusetts
bphelps2@gmail.com
All photos: Benneth Phelps, 2008

111. Mosaic Farm
MISSION STATEMENT
Offer unique vegetables, fruits and nuts, produced with sustainable methods, and
provide a diverse, seasonal, year-round diet to local customers, while developing a
model farm for the future, including investing in a carbon neutral energy supply, building
ecological capital on site, utilizing a mixed
food forest system of perennial crops, and
a low-input, self-regenerating, high-yielding
system where crops and products are
byproducts of improvements in the site
ecosystem.

112. Mosaic Farm
LANDSCAPE MOSAIC
A geographic group of site-level ecosystems (Bailey, 1998).

113. Food Forest Farm
Goal #1: Acquire 15‐25 acres class I or II soil in one to two
con=guous fields within range of willing customer base for
experimental CSA. Long term lease, rent to own, or purchase. Water access.
Goal #2: Lay groundwork for CSA opera=on on site.
Objec/ves:
A: Ini=al Soil Improvements (Green Manures) Q3 2010
B. Ini=al Infrastructure Improvements (barn, water, greenhouse) Q1 2011
C. Ini=al Equipment Acquisi=on (Tractor 1 and 2) Q4 2010
D. Land Use Plan & Nursery Garden Q3 2010

114. Mosaic Farm
Goal #3: Meet energy needs in a carbon neutral manner
Objec/ves:
A. Complete Energy Plan, with solar specs and budget
(Completed Q1 09)
B. Solar electric system on barn roof
C. Solar electric for heat in greenhouse
E. Research, evaluate and conduct electric tractors and
tractor conversions
Goal #4: Create a 150 member CSA that serves customers year
round and offers new and exci=ng fruits, vegetables and nuts.
Objec/ves:
A. Sign up 100 shareholders, Q2 2011

115. Mosaic Farm
FARM PRODUCTS - beginning in years 1-2
 Annual vegetable production
 Winter greens
 Storage roots and alliums
 Mushrooms
 Solar energy
FARM PRODUCTS - beginning years 3-5
 Fruits
 Perennial Vegetables (greens, alliums, roots etc…)
 Perennial Flowers
FARM PRODUCTS -beginning in years 10-25
 Nuts

116. Mosaic Farm
Benneth Phelps
Northampton, Massachusetts
bphelps2@gmail.com
All photos: Benneth Phelps, 2008

117. Eco-Ag Design Tool

121. Next Steps
• Resources: Handout
• Northeastern Permaculture Wiki:
• www.nepc.wikispaces.com
• Forest Garden Immersion Series
• www.appleseedpermaculture.com
Northeast

122. Questions?
Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic Farm
Ethan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture

123. Permaculture for Farmers
Ecological Production by Design
Benneth G. Phelps, Mosaic Farm
Ethan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture
Regenerative Apios
Design Group Institute