THE PLOWBOY INTERVIEW BILL MOLLISON

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In our Tagari gardens, we use several different species to deal with potential pest problems. Ducks, for example, are effective against snails and slugs. In some areas of Australia we have so many grasshoppers that people can't garden without the pest-destroying help of guinea fowl . . . so they have to site their plots within a guinea fowl range. I also make straw and rock piles for lizards . . . since the reptiles will eat some grubs that birds won't touch.

Another predator that I encourage in my garden is the tree frog . . . it will devour both cabbage moth larvae and pear slugs. To attract the frogs, I simply make little ponds out of shallow pits lined with plastic and hollowed-out tires. I dig the ponds wherever I need them — near the pear or apple trees and among the cabbages — then dump in a couple of gallons of tree-frog tadpoles.

We've also found that mulch is effective against such insects as cutworms. And, since most good mulches contain many different kinds of fungi, the material provides a sort of "battleground" in which harmful organisms simply eat each other up. I think one has to play around with all sorts of natural controls, as we've done . . . and will eventually hit upon the ones that work best in a specific area.

PLOWBOY: Isn't there a tremendous financial outlay required to set up a permaculture, with such a diversity of species?

MOLLISON: Well yes, the initial cost can be steep if you're the only person involved . . . and at one point I was. Originally, I spent about eight or nine hundred dollars, in species purchases alone, to set up a half-acre! But — once I was done — that piece of land didn't cost another cent in equipment or maintenance. So there's a rapidly decreasing financial input involved.

The best way to establish a permaculture, though, is to share the expense among a number of people. If you have some sort of association, you can obtain the necessary species at a low cost to each individual . . . and can also share whatever species you already have with one another. For example, I now find that one of my friends will already have specimens of any of six or seven hundred plant and animal types I might need.

PLOWBOY: Let's talk about houses and buildings . . . what sorts of structures would fit into an evolved permaculture?

MOLLISON: Any buildings that are part of an ecosystem should agree with that system's overall principle of minimal energy usage. To that end, there are basically two choices: One either makes adjustments to existing structures, or constructs new dwellings.

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