One of the principals of Permaculture is the idea of utilizing the strategies that God has already set in place as a pattern for growing and building productive, resilient structures and food producing systems. This mindset leads to another that is summarized in the phrase ” The Problem is the Solution”

This is not some mystical, “woo-woo” sort of saying that you should contemplate on whilst staring at your navel. It is a thought process that enables us to utilize problems of one type to create solutions for another.

Examples will make this more clear…

This…is Lamb’s Quarters:

Most people see this as a noxious weed that invades their gardens each year and persistently finds ways to come back after being pulled up.

Here is what you should do with Lamb’s Quarters:

Lamb’s Quarter’s is a delicious nutty flavored herb that can be eaten raw or sautéed and eaten with eggs or alone. Lamb’s Quarter’s is a European relative of spinach and beets, nutty spinach-flavored leaves you can collect from mid-spring to late fall. It’s one of the best sources of beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, and iron in the world; also a great source of trace minerals, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and fiber.

Lamb’s Quarter’s also goes by the names Pigweed, Fat-hen, goosefoot, bacon weed, dirty Dick, Muck Hill weed. Its official Latin name is “Chenopodium album”

So…the problem is the solution…have a Lamb’s Quarters problem in your garden? Eat it! (Livestock LOVE it)

I spoke on Permaculture this past weekend at the Mid Atlantic Survival and Preparedness Expo, and gave an example of the Problem being the solution of our Mimosa tree. Many people have Mimosa’s in their yards. They are beautiful. But they make a mess when they shed their flowers , leaves, and bean pods. Mimosa is really not a Mimoseae but rather Albizia Julibrissin , a “Persian silk tree”. It is valued in Permaculture as a Nitrogen fixer, meaning it accumulates nitrogen in its leaves, flowers, and pods and shares it with plants around it.

This tree really makes a mess on our deck:

But by sweeping the mess off onto the Strawberry plants as a free super fertilizer, we have created a lush highly productive Strawberry patch that provides delicious strawberries for desserts and jams.

Again…the Problem is the Solution. Plant Silk Trees as a part of a guild around your newly planted fruit trees and each year chop the silk tree back and drop the material around the base of the fruit tree. Eventually, the fruit tree will become firmly established having had the nurse tree help it grow. The Silk Tree will eventually die off and can be cut off at the ground, leaving the roots as carbon highways for nutrients to the fruit tree.The Silk Tree also attracts humming birds and pollinators (Insects like bees that pollenate plants). Plus it provides a beautiful tropical look tree that shades our Deck and Patio making for pleasant sitting and relaxing.

Bill Mollison, founder of Permaculture was quoted as saying to someone with snails bothering their efforts…”You don’t have a Snail problem, you have a duck deficiency!”

Grass clipping needing to be hauled off? Turn them to compost instead.

Very wet corner of your property? Build a pond and stock it with fish.

Deer in the garden? Maybe you’re growing Venison!

And the list goes on.

So…the next time you face a problem…step back and think…how can we use this to our advantage and turn the problem into the solution…