This document outlines various elements of permaculture design including plants, guilds, ecological and environmental equivalents, and needs and yields. It discusses strategies for designing high-altitude gardens, including soil amendments, temperature regulation, and appropriate crop selection. Various landscape design techniques are presented such as forest gardens, hedgerows, companion planting, and intercropping. Integrated pest management principles are introduced. Resources for further information on high-altitude gardening are provided.

1. Elements of PermaculturePlants & PeopleBen Kessler & Meredith Hartwell Laughing Crow Permaculture

2. 2Analysis of ElementsList the Yields, Needs, and intrinsic characteristics of eachElement.Lists are made to try to supply (by some other Element inthe system) the Needs of any particular Element.Experiment on paper, connecting and combining Elementsto achieve no Pollution and minimize Work.Close the Loops!

3. 3Guilds A Guild is made up of a close association of species clustered around a central element, usually a plant or an animal. This assembly acts in relation to the element to assist its health, aid in management, boost yields, or buffer adverse environmental effects.Corn, Beans, Squash & MulletMullet remains dug into soil at planting to boost nutrients. Corn provides structural support for the Bean vines. Beans provide Nitrogen for the Corn and Squash. Squash acts as a living mulch for the Corn and Beans. Food waste fed to Mullet.

4. Ecological Equivalents Ecological Equivalents are organisms that fit similar niches in an ecosystem, or fulfill similar Functions in a design. Often the result of convergent evolution.Dusky Hopping Mouse Kangaroo Rat Small Five-Toed JerboaNotomys fuscus Dipodomys sp. Allacteaga elater Australia North America Arabia Small, Seed-Eating, Hopping, Burrowing, Desert-Dwelling Mammals

5. 5Environmental EquivalentsBisonPrairie ChickenTallgrass PrairieWater BuffaloCattle EgretSavannaCowChickenPasture

6. 6Needs & YieldsTomato/Tomatl Solanum lycopersicumNeedsYieldsFull Sunlight, Water, NPK, Micronutrients, Warm Soil, Protection from Herbivores, Mycorrhizal Partners, Slightly Acidic Soil pH, Well-drained Soil, Structural Support, LoveDelicious Fruit, Spatial Demarcation, Mulch,Dense Verdant Foliage,Pest Protection for Brassicas and Gooseberries, Companionship for Basil and Nettles, Compost

7. 7Needs & Yields: The Permaculture ChickenIllustration credit: Bill MollisonWhat does each element need in order to live or be maintained?What products or services does it naturally provide?

8. 8Needs, in a High Altitude GardenWhat’s different at 7,000 feet? Short growing season (90-110 days) & short day length,

9. Day/night temperature fluctuations ,

10. Low soil organic matter & alkaline pH,

11. Appropriate selection of vegetable and fruit varieties.

12. Ideally, link garden elements together so that the needs of one element can be met by the outputs of another.8

13. 9High Altitude Garden Needs: Temperature Regulation StrategiesGarden bed placement:

14. ~ Evaluate sun/shade/wind sectors and create warmer or cooler microclimates depending on vegetable typeStructures & thermal mass: ~ Raised beds & black pots ~ Frost cloth & plastic “mulch” ~ Cold frames & hoop houses ~ Greenhouses9

15. Garden InputsSoil Amendments to raise pH, organic content & nutrient values:~ Compost, leaves, animal manures, organic fertilizers, earth worm castings, beneficial soil mycorrhizae, nitrogen fixing plants (green ‘manures’), straw or hay mulchesWater: ~ Capture on landscape, drip systems, water in evening10

16. Yields: Food!General guidelines for growing high elevation crops:~ Emphasize cool season veggies in your garden: Cole/cruciferous crops, greens of all kinds (from arugula to spinach to lettuces), root crops, certain grains (quinoa, millet, amaranth, spring wheat~ Select short-season & short day varieties: less than 90 days to fruition is ideal~ Start warm-season crops inside, esp. nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, chilis) & plant them in a WARM microclimate~ Include mid-story native berry shrubs~ Plant late-blooming fruits (Best: apple trees with 800-1000 ‘chill hours’ before blooming; cherries, plums, grapes, & certain varieties of apricots & peaches)~ Companion plant fruits, veggies, flowers & trees wisely for beneficial relationships11

17. Other Yields:~ Compost~ Improved soil structure~ Beauty~ Sense and/or knowledge of place~ Personal experience & knowledge of your garden~ Seed~ Localism: contributing to bioregionalism by growing and eating locally~ (Perhaps) Increased community involvement involving food12Photo by Jennifer TemkinPhoto by Meredith Hartwell

18. 13GroundcoverLiving Mulch, Walking SurfaceHelianthusHelianthus sp.PussytoesAntennaria parvifloraWild SageArtemisia ludovicianaPhotos courtesy of Jennifer Temkin

19. 14Dynamic AccumulatorsSoil Aeration, Nutrient Accumulation, Shade Sequestration of Environmental ToxinsComfrey Symphytum officinaleKale Brassica oleraaceaStinging NettleUrtica dioica

20. 15Nitrogen FixersNitrogen FixationRoot Nodules on Soybean (Glycine max) rootsAlder Aldus sp.CloverTrifolium sp.LupinesLupinus sp.

21. 16InsectariesPollinator Attraction, Aesthetic PrettificationPhoto by Jennifer TemkinCalendula Calendula sp.Fennel Foeniculum vulgareBorage Borago sp.

22. 17Cover CropsSoil Building, Animal Forage, Fallow CoverEspecially for the Southwest:Annual RyeOatsField PeasHairy VetchWinter WheatWinter RyeWildflower MixWestern WheatSideoats GramaSmooth BromeBuffalo GrassIndian Rice GrassEphram Crested WheatSanfoinCloversBorageBuckwheatFagopyrum esculentumBlue GramaBouteloua gracilis

23. 18Polyculture DesignFoodTea/Medicine/InsectaryGround Cover/Nitrogen FixerFood/Medicine/Insectarycourtesy of Connor Stedman

24. 19Polyculture DesignFood/AromaticPest ConfuserFood/Medicine/InsectaryGroundCover/Medicine/Fertilizer/Insectary/BeneficialHabitatFood/InsectaryFood courtesy of Connor Stedman

25. 20SSLUG & Bonito St. Gardens

26. 21SSLUG 2010

27. 22CSA Garden

28. 23Composting at SSLUGPhotos courtesy of Ian Dixon-McDonald

29. Accelerate SuccessionStack functions in time and spaceTo enable a cultivated system to evolve toward a long-term stable state, we can construct a system, carefully planning the succession of plants and animals so that we can receive short, medium, and long-term benefits.“Place is a verb.” – Jeanette ArmstrongIntroduction to Permaculture (2004) Bill Mollison & Reny Mia Slay

30. Rampant & Invasive Species“Is it better to build systems that include exotics or should reforestation aim only to replace what has been taken away?Is a rampant exotic a weed, or nature’s most effective first aid treatment?” – Permaculture International JournalScotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) on a CA hillsideWhat are the differences between invasive species and changing ecosystems?

31. Local RampantsSalt Cedar Tamarix sp.Benefits: Willow Flycatcher habitat, basketry material, erosion control, butterfly foodDetriments: Soil salinization, willow & cottonwood exclusion, flooding, water table drainingRussian Olive Eleagnus angustifoliaBenefits: Bird habitat & food, erosion control, N fixation, windbreak, mulch, shadeDetriments: Willow & cottonwood exclusion, meadow encroachment“All rampant or weedy and invasive plants are gonna be everywhere eventually-why not just speed things up?” – Bill Mollison

32. Appendices

33. 28Plants in the LandscapeForest Garden Hedgerow Silvopasture Coppice & Standard Alley Cropping

34. 29Plants in the LandscapeCompanion PlantingKeyhole Garden Intercropping Herb Spiral

35. Integrated Pest Management“Mulch your cat. It’s eating all the frogs and lizards that control insects.” – Bill MollisonIntegrated Pest Management is a crop management approach designed to address ecological dilemmas in agriculture.1. Acceptable pest levels2. Preventative cultural practices3. Monitoring4. Mechanical controls5. Biological controls6. Chemical controlsUSDA IPM Principles:http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm“[Industrial pest management] is like pokin’ a gopher with a rope- you can’t do that!” – Gordon Tooley

36. Convergent Evolution Ecological Equivalents are organisms that fit similar niches in an ecosystem, or fulfill similar Functions in a design. Often the result of convergent evolution. Lesser HedghogTenrec European Hedgehog Short Beaked EchidnaEchinopstelfairiErinaceuseuropaeusTachyglossusaculeatusAdorable, inedible, insectivorous, little mammals

37. 32ResourcesHigh Altitude Gardening websites: http://gardening.coloradohighaltitude.com/VegetableGardening/index.php

38. http://flagstafflandscape.com/?p=520

39. Coconino County Master Gardener Association: http://coconinomgassociation.blogspot.com/

40. Flagstaff Planting Guide, by Julie Lancaster: http://www.facebook.com/pages/for-anyone-who-grows-anything-in-Flagstaff-AZ/Flagstaff-Planting-Guide-Gardening-Community/332493936810?filter=3

41. Gaia’s Garden, by Toby Hemenway

42. Four-Season Harvest, by Eliot Coleman

43. The Winter Harvest Handbook, by Eliot Coleman

44. The New Organic Grower, by Eliot Coleman

45. Growing Food in the Southwest Mountains, by Lisa Rayner

46. J. Howard Garrett’s Organic Manual, 2nd Edition

47. Successful Small Food Gardens, by Louise Riotte

48. Carrots Love Tomatoes, by Louise Riotte

49. Start with the Soil, by Grace Gershuny

50. A People’s Ecology, by Gregory Cajete32

51. 33Thanks toThe Internetfor words and picturesandJoanna Hale, Jennifer Temkin, DeJa Walker & Ian Dixon-McDonald for photographsContact Informationbkessler@gm.slc.edulaughingcrowpermaculture.wordpress.com