Y is for...
Yield
(Continuing with excerpts from The Z-A of Plants and People - An Alternative Guide to Greater Harmony, unpublished)
Not as in the American ‘Stop’ sign, but as in ‘obtaining a yield’, one of the key principles of permaculture. It facilitates the meeting of the three ethical foundations of this ecological design philosophy: earth care, people care, fair share.
American permaculturist Tao Orion helpfully applies this principle to so-called invasive species, which is not so surprising as permaculture is known for using an expanded plant palette. As she says, “rather than thinking of an invasive species as something that deprives an ecosystem and must therefore be eradicated, we must get into the habit of considering what an invasive species has to offer.”
In her inspiring book Beyond the War on Invasive Species she goes on to explain, with many examples, how they can often be managed for multiple yields. These might include compost, fodder, human food, medicine, forage for bees, habitat, and phytoremediation, all of which might involve the development of meaningful livelihoods (also a yield).
Yields involving cropping can help to check the presence of ‘invasive’ species if a control mindset was still deemed necessary. In Britain for instance, the ‘problem’ of hybrid Rhododendron is starting to be addressed in this way. Putting aside the fact that one of its parents was a native before the last ice age, along with any discussion on its big picture ecological role, conservation organisations in both England and Scotland have been keeping it in check by cutting it for floristry foliage and for charcoal. Given the troubling ecological footprints of imported versions of both, these surely represent worthwhile yields, especially if they avoid recourse to chemical warfare.
Or take the example of Japanese knotweed, now a notorious ‘immigrant’ in many parts of the western world. Foraged by some Japanese as a highly nutritious spring vegetable - think: rhubarb-flavoured asparagus - its edibility has been put forward as a benign means of control, so-called invasivorism, though knotweed’s penchant for remediating toxicity in the soil should give cause for caution depending on context. Another potential yield involves such phytoremediation, the plant having been used to cleanse soils of heavy metals, a skill it evolved on the volcanic soils of home.
Knotweed’s medicinal qualities offer yet more beneficial outcomes, such as its effective use against certain invasive diseases (like lyme), or its high tissue concentration of the ‘wonder’ chemical resveratrol. An artisan acquaintance of mine is also trialling the use of its dead stems as a bulking agent in eco-friendly cob walls. This wouldn’t impact the plant’s vigour, however, and could also negate another ecological yield; knotweed’s hollow dead stems offer valuable wildlife habitat.
Obtaining yields from so-called invasive plants surely offers a more pragmatic and harmonious relationship compared to simply waging war on them. We might even view it as an exciting opportunity to express power with rather than against, our imaginations the only limiting factor. In doing so we would inevitably learn more about their ecological roles and this in turn might grow our respect still further.
I’ll leave the final words to Bill Mollison, co-originator of permaculture…
“Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system.”