Wish I could answer your questions from experience. I cant, but I cant resist having another say however.
How do Permaculturists deal with weeds - they plant out all space so that there is not so much room left. Also as it is no till, there is not so much need for weeds to come in and do their repair work. spaces can be filled with nitrogen fixing ground cover. Organic matter grows on site - try and keep a patch of dirt bare.(without poison)
Pulling weeds out of mulch is easy - when necessary, the soil is not hard, it is rich and alive.
There is no plowing to destroy fungal mycelium networks that can extend the reach of roots for kilometers. (Are you saying that only organic farmers till the earth?) No use of pesticides, fungicides or salt based fertilizers to damage the balance of the micro-organisms in the soil food web. The soil that builds up is simply the best soil can be. It is a product of man working with nature, Plants are self regulating, not force fed, bloated and ready to be attacked.
There is almost zero monoculture in a permaculture "garden", mulch is grown, chopped and dropped on site. Where did all those Fossil fuels come from? - old forests. Also pests are confronted with a host of shapes, colors and smells while being hunted, unlike in a force fed mono-culture.
Predator friendly environments are built in with bat houses, bird perches, rock piles and frog ponds. Sounds like a forrest?
There is also, no big profitable main crop for export either. Permaculture can not replace modern agriculture. But before 5 billion people starve from lack of access to Fossil fuels they will remember to plant fruit trees, make dry compost toilets and do things that promote lizards, frogs and birds to come to their "gardens".
Without cheap fossil fuels, will they turn to the wisdom of Modern Agriculture?
or will they try and use what they have on hand to survive.
What will 5 billion people do with out cheap grains and meat? Some will die, some will kill to get what others have made, some will plant gardens.
Some will cut down the last of the wilderness and plant rows and rows of straight line mono cultures and wonder why it is so hard to keep the weeds down and the pests under control.
Permaculture can not feed 7 billion people, it probably could take care of an extra billion or so if we took all the organic matter that is wasted, and applied it as in the first link below.
8 billion people could fit into Australia each person would have one quarter acre each - obviously this is ridiculous, but the point is we are not even trying to use our organic waste and our spaces to create food, because it does not hurt enough yet.
Most places on earth get rain sometimes, but how much is invested into harvesting it and slow releasing it? We could be re-shaping landscapes to harvest water and planting nitrogen fixing ground cover while fossil fuels are still relatively cheap.
Check out these links if you would like to hear a different line to the cynical monsato monologue
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=sohI6vnWZmk Yes they took organic matter form one area to another to get started. But how much is burnt or buried each day around the world? these systems are self perpetuating once you start them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC6w-QsYPGg This one shows food forrest concept very briefly.
One theme of your argument Sorgman is: You cant keep removing organic matter without replacing nutrients Agreed - that is why Permaculture systems are designing around maximizing the duties of inputs and reducing losses from the system.
Agreed they can not mass produce, but it is the most sustainable and highest return for energy without using fossil fuel based products. A real good thing to have as a back up against peak oil and a great learning tool for working "with" natural systems rather than "extorting them to the limit".
Another theme is - who will leave the cities to work in these hard labor organic gardens ? Me - I dont mind gardening part time, especially in a food forrest.
The more Permaculture food systems we have - the less we are dependent on Monsato - At this point in time, many of us are lucky to have the potential of both.
My food forrest is part of my retirement dream.. and a legacy for my daughter. I have the land, thanks to the ASX.
