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| Florida Permaculture, Edges Are Everywhere |
The task of trying to read edges edges has always been a significant part of my professional life. Before aortic dissection put me on hold, I spent decades as a biologist tasked with documenting natural edges across the landscape for design purposes. Subsequently, after law school, I continued learning the language of edges and natural perimeters as an advocate for sustainable conservation and land use. I have spent thousands of hours out in nature examining tracts of land searching for significant preservation edges, such as; mature successional or native forests; wetlands and uplands; perimeters of protected wildlife habitat; changes in soil types, and so much more. The years of hands on natural feature delineation have proven important to my own understanding of how perimeters play such an important role in urban landscape and survival garden design.
And so I believe that prior to installing a survival garden the initial permaculture design process should include identification and integration of existing perimeters and edges, both natural ones and those constructed. Perimeter and edge concepts are necessary central components to successful survival garden design.
Thoughtful edge use is a primary infrastructure design tool capable of maximizing survival garden production values.
Flat or farm, the concept of edges applies just as much to the tiny apartment balcony as it does to a large acre homestead. There are many edges on a balcony, those obvious and those not so obvious.
Edges exist almost everywhere. Some edges are pronounced and other edges are more nuanced and difficult to discern, but all edges are important considerations in permaculture and survival garden design.
During your initial permaculture site survey you will come across those prominent and then those not so manifest edge lines and perimeters.
Obvious edges can include: ground level topography; vertical edges such as buildings, walls, cliffs or dunes; watercourses like ditches, streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and oceans; foot paths, trails, curbs, sidewalks, driveways, roads and highways; balcony railings, fencing and signage; roof contours; rows of plants such as containerized plants, mondo grass, crepe myrtle shrubs and lines of canopy trees; telephone poles and street lighting and more.
Not so obvious edges may include: tree canopy variations; rainwater flows including drip lines, gutter downspouts and water stains, swales; changes in soil types; plant community transitions; shadows from adjacent structures; allelopathic buffering; shadows and light lines; reflections; animal and critter trails; bird flight patterns; prevailing wind directions and others.
In fact upon a comprehensive examination of your survival garden, you will probably find edges and perimeters covering your entire site. Complexity is the appropriate way to think of your integrated plot, be it balcony, yard or farm. Survival garden complexity and lots of edges go hand in hand. An understanding of these edges will provide you with design guidance and ultimately with a secure, beautiful, sustainable and productive homestead.
Most edges and perimeters have signatures left by bio and geophysical interactions with the space in and around your homestead. Birds may share the same flight pattern across your yard or land in the same spot on a apartment balcony rail. Rainwater pours off, pools and then runs off with similar flow characteristics with each passing storm. Squirrels, mice, raccoons and feral cats usually enter your parcel time again through the same ingress point and leave via the same egress location. Tree lines vary with height, texture and color depending on grove species and light exposure, as do shrub and groundcover splays. Natural windrows become illustrated through the habit and forms of sculpted plant canopies. Nature and civilization both sign their perpetual works of art across balconies, patios, yards and homesteads with 'edge art'.
Larger tracts of land will usually contain more edges and perimeters than apartment balconies but even small balconies may develop numerous edge influences. Learning to recognize these natural and man-made edges can be an enjoyable and enlightening venture. With each additional recognition of newly discovered edges we can gain a greater understanding of how our homestead and garden efforts function in the natural world.
Once we recognize the edges that exist in our space we can then use proven permaculture approaches to increase overall homestead efficiencies. For instance, if the cardinal lands on your apartment rail in the same place each time she visits, placing a pollinator attracting flower under her perch area can take advantage of her nitrogen rich droppings and spare you the effort of cleaning her plop off your balcony. Similarly, recognizing stormwater flow across your patio or yard will give you a heads up about where to place those plants needing increased irrigation, and so forth and so on.
I believe our agrarian and foraging ancestors intuitively developed a refined art of recognizing edges. Perhaps through industrial commercialization and the electronic revolution we humans today have shifted focus away from our predecessor's edge tracking skills. Nature has so much to offer once we learn to read her ways.
Finally, the decades of conducting ecosystem field analyses has provided me with many opportunities to learn first hand about patterns with edges in nature. I want to share an interesting observation about the area where soil saturation ends and upland soils begin.
Documenting agricultural tracts with large numbers of cows I noticed over the years a similarity between cow paths and wetland delineation lines. After long discussions with farmers and others familiar with cows and their habits the correlation became clear. Cows like to have access to water. They often establish perimeter paths around ponds with varying access points. When I would establish wetland delineation lines around the ponds, the wetland lines invariably corresponded almost exactly to the cow trails. Turns out, according to the farmers, cows want to walk as close to water without walking through damp soils or muck. Upland soils are easier to traverse for the heavy animals. Now when I look from a distance across a cow field and see ponds I can almost immediately discern where the upland soils change into wetland soils. The cows intuitively recognized the edges between upland soils and wetland soils and used this recognition to their advantage.
Although wetland and upland soil lines are just one part of integrated soil science a general understanding of edge forensics provides important insights for survival garden design. It is so much more perceptive to look at plants, topography and animal tracks in the field than to have to pull out a soils map and translate the symbols.
We have just barely touched the surface of the practical importance associated with recognizing nature's edges. Understanding what your plot is saying will help guide you in your survival garden ventures.
Always look for new edges, wherever you may be. Even after years long familiarity with a plot you will find that nature changes previous perimeters into new edges. Seek and search for changing edges. A homesteader or bushmaster who is well read with the language of nature's edges has an advantage in creating a successful survival garden design over those who have not learned perimeter discernment.
You can start today conversing with edges simply by walking outside, wetting your finger, holding it up in the air and noticing the wind's direction and watch as leaves rustle in a breeze.
Once we begin discerning the language of edges around us, new and amazing permaculture worlds will manifest themselves everywhere.
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