Permaculture Principle #3: 'Obtain a Yield'
"Abundance is all around us, if only we have eyes to see it."
Redefining "Yield" for Abundance
When people think about gardening or farming, the focus is usually just on maximizing the production of a single crop – like, how can I get the most tomatoes or the most corn out of this plot of land?
The way I see it, the goal with permaculture is to design your whole system to extract value from the land in all kinds of different ways. Sure, growing nutrient-dense food is a big part of it.
But it's also about things like producing your own fuel, like firewood or even biofuels. Or getting useful materials like fiber for textiles. Or harvesting medicinal herbs and other valuable plants.
The way they put it is that the definition of "yield" is much more holistic. It's not just about pure crop output, but about creating true abundance and self-sufficiency.
And by diversifying what you're getting from the land, you actually build a lot more resilience into the whole system.
I mean, think about it – if your whole livelihood is just riding on one or two cash crops, you're really vulnerable if something goes wrong with those.
But if you've got all these different elements working together – food, fuel, fiber, and more – then you've got a lot more reliability and stability, even if one piece of the puzzle has a down year.
Balancing Annuals and Perennials
One of the key things I've been thinking about is the balance between annual and perennial plants. So the main difference is that annuals are those plants that only live for one growing season, while perennials come back year after year.
Annuals, like lettuce or radishes, will give you a quick harvest, but then they're done for the year. Perennials, on the other hand, like fruit trees or berry bushes, take a little longer to get established, but then they just keep producing more and more over time.
The cool thing about the perennials is that once they get going, you get this awesome flow of harvests year after year, with barely any extra work.
And they tend to be a lot hardier and more disease-resistant than the annuals. But the tradeoff is they take a bit more patience to get established in the beginning.
These days, I try to take a balanced approach. I'll still plant some of the fast-growing annuals to get some immediate results. But I'm also always working on adding more perennials to the mix.
That way I get the best of both worlds - the quick gratification from the annuals, combined with the steadily increasing abundance and resilience that the perennials provide long-term.
Stacking Functions with Plant Guilds
The basic idea is that instead of just having a bunch of individual plants all growing separately, you group them together in a way where each plant serves multiple purposes. So you're kind of getting this synergistic effect, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
It's just this really efficient, closed-loop system where nothing goes to waste. And that's the essence of what a "plant guild" is all about - selecting a group of plants that all work together to support and nourish each other, while also providing you with a diverse array of useful outputs.
A guild that I'm really interested in trying is the three sisters - corn, beans, and squash. The corn provides a structure for the beans to climb up, the beans fix nitrogen in the soil to feed the other plants, and the squash helps shade the ground and prevent weeds. And of course, you get all these different edible crops from the same little space.
I think the key is just looking for those complementary relationships, where the different plants can kind of fill in each other's gaps. Like having a tall tree that provides shade and shelter, with some nitrogen-fixing shrubs underneath, and then trailing vines or groundcovers to cover the soil. It's this really efficient, interconnected system.
Gradual, Observational Development
The way I see it, the smartest approach is to start small and simple, and then slowly build things up over time. Rather than trying to plant a huge, elaborate garden right away, I think it's better to just focus on getting a few key things established first
The reason I like this gradual method is that it gives you a chance to really observe your site, learn about the unique conditions and challenges, and then adapt your plan accordingly.
If you try to do too much too fast, you might end up wasting a lot of time and energy on things that just don't work well in your particular location.
But if you start small and simple, you can kind of get a feel for how things grow, what pests or diseases you might be dealing with, and how the sunlight and water flow through your space.
Then, once you have that foundation, you can slowly start expanding and diversifying your plantings over time.
That way, you're building a garden that's really tailored to your specific homestead, rather than just trying to copy someone else's vision.
It takes a little more patience, but I feel like you end up with a much more resilient and productive landscape in the long run.
Tailoring to Personal Preferences
When you're setting up a permaculture garden, it's super important to first figure out what you and the people in your household actually like to eat and use.
Think about the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other products that you guys already enjoy. Make a list of all of those things. That's going to be your starting point.
From there, you can design your garden specifically around those preferences. So if your family really loves tomatoes and basil, you can make sure to plant lots of those in your garden.
Or if you use a ton of rosemary in your cooking, you can make sure to have a big rosemary bush. The key is to match what you're growing to what you're actually going to use.
Plus, I think it's just a really satisfying feeling to be able to walk out to your own backyard and harvest the exact foods and herbs that you love. It makes the whole process feel so much more personal and connected.
Integrating Native Plants
The basic idea is that when you're designing your permaculture garden, it's super important to include lots of plants that are native to your local area. These are the plants that have naturally grown in your region for a really long time, so they're perfectly adapted to the climate and the soil conditions.
A lot of times, those native plants aren't just tough and resilient - they're also packed with nutritional value and have great culinary or medicinal uses.
So by including them in your garden, you're not only creating a healthy, balanced environment, but you're also giving yourself access to all sorts of tasty and healthy foods and herbs.
And it's not just herbaceous plants either - many of the native trees and shrubs can be incredibly valuable too. Some of them might even be able to live for hundreds or even thousands of years! Just imagine having a fruit tree or nut tree in your backyard that could provide food for generations.
It's really remarkable when you think about it. These plants that have evolved alongside the local wildlife and climate conditions aren't just survivors - they're thriving, life-giving organisms that we can incorporate into our own lives and food systems. It's a win-win all around.
Conclusion
The traditional view of "yield" is often narrowly focused on maximizing the production of a single crop. But the permaculture approach encourages a more holistic, diverse understanding of yield.
The goal is to extract value from the land in several ways - not just food, but also energy, medicine, fertilizer, and other useful materials. This broader definition of "yield" allows for true abundance and resilience.