Page 18 - Living Aloha Magazine March/April 2017 Issue

farming
&

gardening

reSPonSibly by Liah Howard

I’ll be honest with you, I am not a that Bill Mollison probably had an intuitive flash in 1978,

gardener. I rely on farmers to provide my when he envisioned the holistic form of farming he
coined “permaculture”. Bill wanted to sustain the earth’s
veggies and fruits. Having said this, I did a little resources rather than deplete them. His idea for a new
research into various farming and gardening approaches way of farming, called permaculture is to harmonize with
and styles and was amazed at what I learned. There have the land and its terrain, and to have the farmer work with
been some major shifts in the production of food in the nature rather than against it. Also, at the same time, to
last 40 years. Conventional farming with pesticides, GMOs, have permaculture farming have as low an impact as
and long rows of veggies that strip the soil of life are no possible on the environment. This intuitive insight came
longer the only means of farming. There is a new slant to to Mr. Mollison at a time when industrial farming using
farming that encourages the grower to use their intuitive mono-cropping methods was actively raping the land of
knowledge in order to be the best farmer they can be. all its nutrients.

According to Tasha Miles from the Grow Network, “In Joel and I then went on to discuss organic farming, which
humans, a ‘feeling’ that helps us see beyond present has become quite popular since the education of the
circumstance to some future outcome is called intuition. public about the effects of GMOs (Genetically Modified
It is the intersection between what we consciously know, Organisms). Organic farming focuses on building the soil
unconscious details we may not even be aware we quality up through natural biological means like manure
have noticed, and our resulting formulations on how to that increase the microbial content. The effectiveness of the
use that information.” If we apply this intuitive ability to soil to store water is increased and therefore plants grow
gardening, then more and more ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions better and are more resistant to pests. I was surprised to
for solving new and different gardening problems will learn that although food can be labeled “organic” by the
be discovered. These intuitively inspired changes can FDA, it may not really be completely organic. He explained
transform the way gardening and farming are done and that as long as no chemicals (pesticides or fertilizers) or
provide a sustainable future for our planet. Genetically Modified Seeds are used in the growing of the
crops, then that farm can be certified organic. However,
Curious to know more about farming, I sat down with these crops can also be labeled organic if they have
my son Joel, who has a green thumb and a degree been treated with natural fertilizer which contains the
in horticulture, as well as years of experience working bones of cows that were not organic or GMO free. While
on many different organic, local and permaculture intuitively this just feels wrong to trick the consumer, the
farms. We discussed various types of farming, including farm industry is counting on the ignorance of the shopper
permaculture and organic farming. Joel shared with me

18 FEATURES Living Aloha | MARCH–APRIL 2017