Permaculture is a more natural form of agriculture that respects the natural intelligence of ecosystems and organisms with mindful harvesting.
I recently took advantage of how easy this is to do with some mushrooms I purchased from Trader Joe’s that still had the mycelium on the base intact.
Before lightly sauteeing the brown beech mushrooms, I removed the layer of mycelium and kept it so I could place it what seemed like a friendly location — at the base of a tree in the backyard. Since then I have been feeding the area wet coffee grounds, a fertilizer and another great example of permaculture. That is, putting the grounds back to use in enriching the soil and growth instead of throwing them out.
The point is that instead of throwing away parts of the plant, or fungus, I kept its life cycle going. That will in turn, if not produce a bunch of mushrooms right away, certainly enrich the soil and is more respectful of life and nature.
This can be done with a lot of produce from the grocery store with roots, seeds and more. It is in fact very easy to grow food – whether that is indoors or much better yet, making use of any outdoor space.
Plants know how to grow, especially given optimal conditions. However, as with flowers growing through pavement, they can grow in what might be suboptimal conditions as well. And they improve the surrounding environment by re-greening.
Everyday environmentalism can make a big impact as small efforts accumulate. And permaculture represents an effort towards the local and circular, that is definitely more environmentally friendly and independent also. Community gardening and gardening amidst the community can bring a lot of joy, especially in the city, to actively improve the quality of life. Permaculture can become a creative and meaningful hobby that enhances the enjoyment of cooking.