By Mary Ann Lopez
Herald Staff Writer

Tom Riesing and Christie Berven work in their greenhouse at Oakhaven Permaculture Center in Hesperus on June 10 with their granddaughter, Cassidy Chindlund. Riesing and Berven consult and offer educational workshops at the center.

HESPERUS If there is order in chaos, then the gardens at the Oakhaven Permaculture Center may serve as an example.

These gardens have no neat rows, and the soil is covered with mulch. The gardens appear to be planted randomly with trees and shrubs, vegetables and herbs growing together in the same space. But beyond the chaotic appearance is an order that allows the plants to live in harmony and help each prosper.

Nature is at work in the Oakhaven gardens, but Tom Riesing and Christie Berven help give it a nudge. Riesing and Berven are co-directors of the nonprofit educational center.

They say almost anyone can use some of the principles. Permaculture attempts to mimic nature, taking into account the interconnectedness of life: How wind direction, shade, water supply and nearby trees affect a garden's environment.

At the center, people learn how to use permaculture techniques within the space they have, to grow gardens that allow them to be more self-sufficient. It could mean replacing a high-maintenance lawn with a garden, or gardening in a small space in town.

"We want to teach other people who are as interested in it as us," Riesing said.

Most people aren't familiar with the term "permaculture," Riesing said. In the simplest terms the word means permanent agriculture or permanent culture: living sustainably, caring for the Earth, taking only what is needed and sharing the surplus. Australian Bill Mollison first coined the term in the 1970s.

Riesing began to garden organically in the '70s. Over the last three years, he began incorporating permaculture principles. Last year, he and Berven took courses to teach permaculture techniques and to help others design gardens based on the principles.

Now they consult and offer educational workshops at the center.

Permaculture can be described using a spider's web as an example, he said. The home is in the central zone. The next zone includes the family garden. As people learn to grow and produce more food to sustain themselves and their families, they move farther away from the center. Once people can grow for themselves, they can share the surplus with the community. Eventually, if they have the space and ability, they can sustain themselves and begin producing food commercially.

"In permaculture we think big, but start small," Riesing said.

The gardens at Oakhaven are not made up of plants in neatly carved-out rows; instead the plants and vegetables are grouped together in a way that allows them to benefit each other, Riesing said. The process is known as companion planting.

"What we try to do is imitate nature," he said.

In a garden, fruit trees are planted and then berry-producing shrubs. Interspersed within the larger plants are smaller annuals, vegetables and herbs. Over time the garden will grow out, with the fruit trees and shrubs producing along with the vegetables.

The garden connects the plants in a way that allows them to support each other, Riesing said. For example, in companion planting, growing the herb basil near tomato plants draws beneficial bugs that attack other bugs that might threaten tomatoes.

Permaculture takes a systemic approach to dealing with plants, animals, buildings and infrastructure, said Greg Vlaming, La Plata County extension horticulturist for Colorado State University. The idea is to garden in an ecologically, environmentally and economically sound manner.

"You try to work with nature rather than against it," he said. "You observe and plan and do it as environmentally friendly and as sustainably as you can. ... You are working with the environment rather than overcoming it."

Even people with a small parcel of land can mimic companion planting and use permaculture ideas to garden, Vlaming said.

"If you are environmentally sensitive you are going to be using permaculture," Vlaming said.

Berven said that permaculture differs from other gardening techniques because it starts by building healthy soil. The health of the garden depends upon the soil.

Eric Nylund and Elizabeth Anderson have worked for several years to build up the clay soil on their land near Bayfield. Creating fertile soil naturally and using mulch to keep it from drying out helps conserve water, Nylund said. The couple have taken permaculture classes at Oakhaven.

A healthy environment and nutrient-rich soil are key foundations for permaculture, Vlaming said. A lot of agriculture exploits the land until it will no longer support life; permaculture cares for the earth.

Gardening in a way that cares for the soil, whether dirt or clay, and that does not use pesticides makes sense, Nylund said.

"It really makes sense to do things this way," Nylund said. "I see the alternatives and they don't seem attractive. It's worthwhile and we aren't going to burn up the soil in three years. And we aren't going to need to add fertilizer."

Reach Staff Writer Mary Ann Lopez at maryann@durangoherald.com.