OTISFIELD – At the end of a secluded road, Scott Vlaun is growing more than 400 varieties of plants on 2 acres.

“A lot of what we’re doing is experimenting,” said the co-founder of Moose Pond Arts and Ecology.

In addition to growing well-known salad greens, the farm is testing obscure plants such as the yacon, native to South America and capable of producing 15 pounds of edible tubers per plant.

It also uses the tenets of permaculture, a movement to design sustainable systems that emulate natural systems, in some of its gardens. The word “permaculture” was coined in 1978 by an Australian ecologist. A contraction of “permanent agriculture,” permaculture is about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems.

According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, a central theme in permaculture is the design of landscapes that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds.

“Nature tends to find its own ecosystems that are productive,” Vlaun said.

For example, the rows of potatoes in a revitalized Moose Pond farm field follow the contours of the land, preventing soil runoff.

The gardens also encourage natural ecosystems in place of chemical sprays and avoid the use of fossil fuels. At the beginning of the growing season, a “chicken tractor” is put into place. Secure in a wire mechanism that is slowly moved over the garden beds, a flock of chickens will scratch up weeds and eat insects.

“We’re probably set up better than most states in the country to have sustainable local farming,” Vlaun said.

He makes a living by writing and taking photographs for Seeds of Change, which offers 700 varieties of organic plants in its catalog. Though Vlaun has to purchase some foods, such as dairy products, he estimated that the gardens provide about 50 percent of the food for his family of three and helps support the five-member family of a part-time worker.

There is enough left over to make some sales to local businesses and to participate in community-supported agriculture programs, for which people pay up front and receive weekly boxes of vegetables.

Permaculture classes coming

In September, Scott Vlaun will be joined by Scott Pittman, founder of the Permaculture Institute in New Mexico, to offer classes on permaculture.

The first class, an introduction to permaculture, takes place Sept. 12 to 14. The second class, on “growing organic food in an ecologically rich environment,” takes place Sept. 15 to 17.

Space is limited to 25 participants in each class; a discount is offered for those who take both classes.

FMI: www.moosepondarts.com.

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