Editing Permaculture (section)

=== Cropping practices ===

{{further|Crop rotation|Intercropping|Companion planting}}

Low-effort permaculture favours [[perennial crop]]s which do not require tilling and planting every year. [[Annual crop]]s inevitably require more cultivation. They can be incorporated into permaculture by using traditional techniques such as [[crop rotation]], [[intercropping]], and [[companion planting]] so that pests and weeds of individual annual crop species do not build up, and minerals used by specific crop plants do not become successively depleted.<ref name="Engels 2016">{{cite web |last1=Engels |first1=Jonathon |title=How and Why to Rotate Your Annual Crops |url=https://www.permaculturenews.org/2016/11/18/rotate-annual-crops/ |website=Permaculture Research Institute |access-date=18 October 2023 |date=18 November 2016}}</ref>

Companion planting aims to make use of beneficial interactions between species of cultivated plants.<ref name="Ludwig-Cooper 2011">{{cite web |last=Ludwig-Cooper |first=Stephanie |title=Companion Planting Information and Chart |date=2 December 2011 |url=https://www.permaculturenews.org/2011/12/02/companion-planting-information-and-chart/ |website=Permaculture News |access-date=18 October 2023}}</ref> Such interactions include [[pest control]], [[pollination]], providing habitat for [[beneficial insect]]s, and maximizing use of space; all of these may help to increase productivity.<ref name="mcclure">{{cite web |last=McClure |first=Susan |year=1995 |title=Companion Planting Made Easy |website=Hpfb.org |pages=4–6 |url=https://www.hpfb.org/uploads/companionplanting.pdf |access-date=9 February 2022 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209082558/https://www.hpfb.org/uploads/companionplanting.pdf |url-status=dead }} excerpted from {{cite book |last=McClure |first=Susan |year=1994 |title=Companion Planting |publisher=[[Rodale, Inc.|Rodale Press]] |isbn=978-0-87596-616-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/companionplantin0000mccl }}</ref>