Principles

Principles of the Self-Sufficient Gardener

1. All gardening activities have a natural “flow”. In order to maintain self-sufficiency the flow must be circular. In other words there is never waste. The seeds from a tomato we would normally throw away are saved to produce next year’s tomato.

2. We strive to reduce our dependence on outside systems by controlling our inputs. We grow our own pest repellents, trellis material, spices, food and knowledge whenever possible.

3. We learn to live with nature instead of working against it. We understand that the garden is a living ecosystem when done correctly instead of a sterile lab. Crops will fail. Determination to save them at all costs can cost us everything.

4. The garden has utility but also aesthetic and abstract qualities. The garden is a teaching tool, a place to de-stress and a thing of beauty.

5. A person who gardens isn’t free until their garden functions free of them.