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SMALL-SCALE SYSTEMS
It is best to start small when you are first experimenting with perma-
culture. Start at your doorstep and build the smallest system that will
begin to meet some of your needs. Perhaps it is a small herb or salad
garden and a few fruit trees or berry bushes. en, observe what works
for your lifestyle, your yard, and your garden. I like to recommend to
my clients that they 'grow into their garden', building on their successes
and expanding incrementally.
PERENNIAL CROPS
Instead of just planting an annual garden, introduce edible peren-
nials into your yard, decreasing the amount of soil that needs to be
tilled each year. If you have the space, work towards a perennial "food
forest" in your backyard. is can be in the form of fruit trees (apple,
pear, plum, cherry) and berry bushes (raspberries, currants, gooseberries,
honeyberries) in addition to perennial herbs (chives, oregano, thyme,
sage, lovage), and vegetables (rhubarb, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes).
Since Mollison and Holmgren first coined the term over 40 years
ago, permaculture has become a global movement with design strategies
and techniques for every climate, landscape, and culture. We are lucky in
Montana because we already have a rich agricultural history. e Home-
stead Act led to an influx of thousands of people into Montana in the
early 1900s, encouraged by the promise of land and self-reliant living.
By 1950, 70% of the food Montanans ate was grown in the state. Yet
today, we import 86% percent of our food. Our history and our land
have proven that we can be more self-reliant and it's time to start turn-
ing the tide back. is doesn't mean that we are going back to the past;
it means that we are ensuring our future.
"I cannot o highly recommend
Yeowstone Custom Country Homes.
THEIR ATTENTION TO DETAILS AND QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP
IS AMAZING. THEY ARE DEDICATED TO LISTENING TO YOU AND
DETERMINING WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOUR HOME PROJECT.
THEY ALSO WORKED CLOSELY AND WELL WITH OUR ARCHITECT."
Janna C. ~ Bozeman, Montana
Who YOU BUILD WITH IS
AS IMPORTANT AS
what You Build.
BOZEMAN • ENNIS • BIG SKY • BLACK BULL • SHERIDAN
CUSTOM MONTANA HOME BUILDERS
WESLEY AND HOWARD MILLS
www.YellowstonecustomcountrYhomes.com
406.842.5068 • 406.581.0894 CELL
Kareen talks about
gardening in cold climate
www.distinctlymontana.com/kareen193
DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL
CONTINUED
