Permaculture
Working with the land rather than against it.
Sophie Potter is our permaculture coordinator. She has just finished a permaculture course in Leeds, knows a great deal about how soil, water, plants and wildlife get along, and, happily for the rest of us, she shares it. Ask her a small question and settle in.
She runs monthly workshops on site, open to all members; each one is announced on the news page and our Facebook page as the date is fixed.
What permaculture is
Permaculture is a way of designing a growing space by watching how nature runs things and joining in, rather than fighting it. It rests on three plain ethics: care for the earth, care for people, and share the surplus. None of it needs a certificate; most of it is what good allotment gardeners have always done, given a name and a bit of method.
What it looks like on a plot
Feeding the soil rather than digging it over, with mulch doing the weeding while you put the kettle on. Compost made from whatever the plot and the kitchen offer. Plants chosen to help each other along (companion planting, to give it its name) and perennials that come back without being asked. Rain caught and kept for the dry weeks. And room left for the birds and the insects, who do half the work; pollination and pest control come free if you house the workforce.
Getting involved
No need to have read a word of the theory; an interest is plenty. Come along to one of the monthly workshops, email rvascontact@gmail.com, or start on the community plot and ask whoever is there.