Creating your own permaculture design in your backyard is relatively easy, believe it or not. Creating urban permaculture gardens is a specific skill that is great to have because permaculture designs are created to support almost all of the needs of a family. Keep reading to see a few great urban permaculture designs.
Arcology, Gestalt ,Ekistics, Ecumenopolis, Principles of intelligent urbanism, Transit Oriented Development, Permaculture , Ergonomics, Biomimetics, Urban design , Garden city movement, Smart growth, Walkability, Urban planning, Green-collar worker,...
OCCUPYING SANDY SOIL adjacent to Botany Bay, a fruit and vegetable garden has been designed and planted to feed a household of three. “We’re not trying to grow all our own food”, says Fiona Campbell…
Urban permaculture is becoming increasingly popular as people seek to create sustainable and self-sufficient communities in the heart of urban environments. Permaculture is a design approach that aims to mimic the natural ecosystem by using sustainable agriculture, renewable energy sources, and other environmentally friendly practices. As urban permaculturalists strive to create a regenerative environment, it
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Backyard Permaculture Design to create an amazing garden! Permaculture design principles & permaculture design ideas to grow your permaculture garden
Creating your own permaculture design in your backyard is relatively easy, believe it or not. Creating urban permaculture gardens is a specific skill that is great to have because permaculture designs are created to support almost all of the needs of a family. Keep reading to see a few great urban permaculture designs.
OCCUPYING SANDY SOIL adjacent to Botany Bay, a fruit and vegetable garden has been designed and planted to feed a household of three. “We’re not trying to grow all our own food”, says Fiona Campbell…
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!...
Autor: urednici MW-a Organsko vrtlarstvo podrazumijeva izbjegavanje korištenja kemikalija koje potiču rast biljaka ili služe za zaštitu od nametnika. Umjesto toga oslanja se na prirodna načela koja…
Wildlife habitats in our gardens serve as crucial sanctuaries for various species, allowing them to flourish and offering homeowners a chance to reconnect with nature. The degradation of natural habitats around the world underscores the importance of establishing safe spaces for animals, birds, and insects even within our urbanized environments.
by Rachelle Yeaman and Michael Hoag. Despite being the creators and beneficiaries of the Lillie House urban permaculture site, Mike Hoag and Kim Willis are still a little amazed by all the yields they
From our design team to you 80 of our Favorite Plants With thousands of plants to choose from in the Midwest, these are the ones we use over and over. When ...
Read more of my blogs here: (please click on the words below for links to my blogs) PRUNING NOTES This blog contains a link to my hand drawn notes in pdf. format. I made them while I was on ...
Permaculture has been challenging to succinctly define, so let’s explore it a bit. What is permaculture? And why is it so important?
I created our garden from a completely empty yard. My enfaces was on edible plants grown sustainabiliy. I want everyone to have a garden that they enjoy as
Why Coppicing/Pollarding is part of This Permaculture Design Coppiced Tree We teach the fundamentals of coppicing and pollarding at every full Permaculture ...
In an increasingly urbanized world, the disconnect between humans and nature has never been more pronounced. Enter biophilic design, a concept that seeks to bridge this gap by bringing nature indoors, creating spaces that nurture our innate connection to the environment. But what exactly is biophili
Retrofitting the suburbs - imagine an ordinary Australian suburban street full of houses, whose front and backyards are dripping with food, catching and storing all the water they need, and generating some of their own power.
Learn to grow your own food and live more sustainably with these free online permaculture courses.
These gorgeous sloped backyard ideas and expert tips will take your terraced garden to new heights, including sloped backyard ideas on a budget
Delicious, wholesome and ethical meals will be prepared by Su Dennett and the ashram’s kitchen volunteers. Su will make sure that what you eat meets
This is an evolving resource base, curating links, reviews, and tutorials for the best beginner-friendly landscape design apps. Updated Sept 2023
The Blueberry, one of the most perfect fruits! http://www.immortalhumans.com/wp-content/uploads/Blueberry__23651_zoom.jpg Common Name: Blueberries Scientific Name: Species in the Vaccinium genus and the Cyanococcus section Family: Ericaceae (the Heather family) There are so many species and varieties of blueberries available Here is a patented variety of Southern Highbush Blueberry named Jewel. http://www.floridahillnursery.com/images/JewelBlueberry.jpg Common Species: Lowbush/Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) Rabbiteye/Southern Black Blueberry (Vaccinium ashei or Vaccinium virgatum) Northern/Alpine Blueberry (Vaccinium boreale) Highbush Blueberry (Northern) (Vaccinium corymbosum) Highbush Blueberry (Southern) (Vaccinium darrowii) Creeping Blueberry (Vaccinium crassifolium) Velvet Leaf/Canadian Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) Kids love to help pick blueberries - a great way to get kids in Nature http://benhewittvermont.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/blueberry-kids.jpg Description: The Blueberry is one of the most well known fruit around the world. It is highly nutritious, highly flavorful, and used in a variety of ways. Primarily used for its fruit, there are blueberries that can be grown in almost any Temperate Climate around the world. A little work is needed to get their acidic soil needs met, but after that we are left with a moderately long-lived, productive plant needing very little maintenance. Blueberries are on my list of mandatory plants in the Forest Garden. Vaccinium corymbosum http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/bigphoto/VACCOR_.jpg History: Native to North America, blueberries were used my Native Americans for thousands of years before Europeans took this plant around the world. The first cultivated blueberries (Highbush Blueberries) were introduced in Europe in the 1930’s. Trivia: The Bilberry, aka “European Blueberry” (Vaccinium myrtillus) is closely related to the North American blueberry species, but it is not in the Cyanococcus section of the Vaccinium genus, so they are not true blueberries. Bilberries have red flesh unlike the white or light green flesh of true blueberries. “Huckleberry” refers to a plant that is either a true huckleberry in the Gaylussacia or Vaccinium genus like the Blue Huckleberry (G. frondosa) or Red Huckleberry (V. parvifolium). The name “Huckleberry” is often a local name given to plants, typically in the Appalacia area of Eastern North America, that are really true blueberries. "Half-High" Blueberries are a cross between Highbush and Lowbush types. They are very tolerant of cold weather, but reportedly are not too flavorful. Blueberry Tart... enough said! Here's the recipe USING THIS PLANT Primary Uses: Fresh Fruit Cooked Fruit Baked Goods, Pies, Tarts, Pancakes (!), etc. Preserves, Jams, Jellies, etc. Dried Frozen (place washed and dried fruit in a single layer on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and place into the freezer for 20-30 minutes before placing in a container – this will keep the berries from freezing together into one large chunk) Juiced Used as primary or flavoring agent in beers, wine, liquors, cordials, etc. The Creeping Blueberry (Vaccinium crassifolium) is a great, evergreen ground cover http://www.briggsnursery.com/assets/photos/Original/VAC_cWellsDelight.jpg Secondary Uses: General insect (especially bees) nectar plant Wildlife food source Hummingbird plant Ground cover plant (mainly the Lowbush Blueberry in cooler climates and the Creeping Blueberry in warmer climates) Edible Hedging Tea Plant – dried fruit and leaves Dye Plant - purple, from fruit and leaves Yield: 3-8 quarts (3.5-9 liters) or 8-15 lbs (3.5-6.8 kg) per mature plant Harvesting: Late Summer – Early Autumn (July - September). The best fruits are ones that fall from the branch with a little shake. Most blueberries in grocery stores were harvested once the fruit turned blue (and sometimes not even quite blue!). Blueberries to not "ripen" after picked, so harvest the berries when they have been blue for a few days. Storage: Fresh fruits will keep for 1, maybe 2, weeks in a cool, humid location Lowbush/Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is a small, cooler weather shrub http://nhfruitgrowers.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wild-blue-1.jpg DESIGNING WITH THIS PLANT USDA Hardiness Zone: Lowbush/Wild Blueberry: 2-7 (Deciduous) Rabbiteye Blueberry: 7-9 (Deciduous) Highbush Blueberry (Northern): 2-8 (Deciduous) Highbush Blueberry (Southern): 5-10 (Deciduous) Creeping Blueberry: 6-9 (Evergreen) AHS Heat Zone: Lowbush/Wild Blueberry: 8-1 Rabbiteye Blueberry: 7-9, said to “love the heat” Highbush Blueberry (Northern): 7-1 Highbush Blueberry (Southern): No reliable information available Creeping Blueberry: No reliable information available Chill Requirement: Lowbush/Wild Blueberry: 1,000-1,200 hours Rabbiteye Blueberry: 350-700 hours Highbush Blueberry (Northern): 800-1,000 hours Highbush Blueberry (Southern): 150-800 hours Creeping Blueberry: No reliable information available Blueberry bushes in Autumn... beautiful https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsbP_at5GWfGE7tVcLxMZjaQRHfgVSDhuSnswhBgWIE_fZxQ9UxDUAiukEL4bEc6JGtn2-eUDC9wGmRqgCLZc_cqWXuPTkc57g4uxIWdfnBSbT5yYOIZGOxlyR7ZhOsu8NeJ-P3ljtg92/s1600/FallBB.jpg Plant Type: Small Shrub (including prostrate forms) to Large Shrub Leaf Type: Most are Deciduous, few are Evergreen Forest Garden Use: Shrub Layer, Groundcover/Creeper Layer Cultivars/Varieties: Wide variety of species and varieties available – there will be at least one type well suited to your location. Most blueberries available for purchase are hybrids of multiple species. Pollination: Most are Self-Fertile; however, Blueberries will produce significantly more fruit if another cultivar/variety is in the immediate area. Pollinated by bees and other insects. Flowering: Late Spring-Early Summer (May-June) Life Span: Years to Begin Bearing: 3-5 years Years to Mature Bearing: 6-8 years Years of Useful Life: Average 10-15 years, but some plants have been productive for over 50 years Blueberry flowers attract beneficial insects, like this Mason Bee http://blueberrytalk.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/may-6-2012-011.jpg PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PLANT Size: Lowbush/Wild Blueberry: 18-24 inches (45-60 cm) tall and 2-3 feet (60-90 cm) wide Rabbiteye/Southern Black Blueberry: 6-18 feet (1.8-5.4 meters) tall and wide Highbush Blueberry (Northern): 6-12 feet (1.8-3.6 meters) tall and wide Highbush Blueberry (Southern): 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall and wide Creeping Blueberry: 3-6 inches (7.5-15 cm) tall and spread up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide Roots: Relatively shallow and flat. Most have a suckering or stoloniferous growth habit… sending up new plants from underground roots or putting down roots from creeping stems. Growth Rate: Slow Blueberries can be used as an edible hedge Rabbiteye Blueberry (Vaccinium ashei or Vaccinium virgatum) http://www.acuffirrigation.com/files/QuickSiteImages/Rabbiteye_Blueberries.JPG GROWING CONDITIONS FOR THIS PLANT Light: Prefers full sun Shade: Tolerates medium shade, but reducing sunlight also reduces yields Moisture: Dry to moist soils, depending on the species/variety pH: prefers more acidic soil (3.5-5.5) Special Considerations for Growing: The acidic soil the blueberries love can help be maintained with pine needle mulch if available Blueberries can be early-, mid-, or late-season cropping which provides a longer harvesting season Does not tolerate juglone (natural growth inhibitor produced by Black Walnut and its relatives). Consider using another plant as a buffer between your blueberries and walnuts. Propagation: From seed. Up to 90 days of cold stratification may be required. Cuttings are possible but take some skill - softwood cuttings in Summer. Division of suckers are easier and can be taken in Spring or Autumn. Maintenance: Minimal. Cut back the “twiggy” branches at planting to encourage good initial root development. Prune after 3 years or so to open up the plant; blueberries can develop into less productive, thicket-like shrubs if left un-pruned. Yearly pruning of older woody growth will encourage new growth and larger berries. Remember that berries grow on wood that is one year or older, so don’t get too carried away every year. Netting may be required to protect the harvest from the birds If the leaves start to yellow, then the plant likely needs more acid. Concerns: None.
Let’s start out with a basic understanding of what full scale Hugelkultur and full scale swale based systems are. Then we can jump into what they are not and why combining them can be a very bad idea.
Editor's Note: Some of you may remember my Magic in Melbourne post, where I covered the back yard of a certain urban wizard named Angelo, and his sidekick Louie. Well, Angelo gives us a great update o
What’s an olla? That was one of my first questions when I first heard the word. The basic definition of an olla is an unglazed pot. Ollas have been used for centuries for irrigation in dry…
Shelterbelt/Windbreak Protecting your garden from the wind will increase productivity and decrease workload. Often overlooked, it should be one of the first things you consider when designing your garden or choosing a site. Wind can be a major suppressant of plant growth desiccating the soil and increasing the transpiration rates (water loss) of plants considerably. Strong winds can cause soil erosion, damage to plants and deter beneficial winged insects. This tree signifies a prevailing wind coming from the right side of the picture. The growth directly exposed to the wind has been suppressed. The advantages of a windbreak are many, however there are some disadvantages and if designed poorly one can create a bigger problem rather than finding a solution. So lets take a look at the potential problems first. Welcome to our Online Store where you can find Forest Garden/ Permaculture plants, seeds, bulbs and Polyculture multi-packs along with digital goods and services such as Online Courses, Webinars, eBooks, and Online Consultancy. We hope you enjoy the store and find something you like :) It's your purchases that keep our Project going. Yuu can also find our full list of trees. shrubs and herbs for forest gardens on our website here Enter Our Store Here Plants, Seeds, eBooks, Consultancy, Bulk Fruit and Nut Tree Orders for Permaculture, Polyculture, Forest Gardens and Regenerative Landscapes. Frosts Poorly designed windbreaks can encourage frosts and although generally are no problem during the winter as the plants have adapted protection, late spring frosts can be a problem for sensitive plants. On a cold night the air nearest the ground is colder than that up above. The wind mixes it up preventing the lower layer from reaching freezing point. Sheltered areas are at more risk of frost than exposed areas. A windbreak that stops wind completely can increase the risk of frost and may even do more damage than good to the land it is protecting. By thinning out the shelter belt as it develops we can provide enough air flow to prevent this. Root competition The plants used within the shelter belt will obviously require their share of ground water and nutrients. The root system of certain trees can be prolific and extend way beyond the visible above ground spread. Care should be taken to avoid planting too close to the edge of the shelter belt especially if heavy demanding crops are the intended beneficiaries of the shelter belt. A good understanding of the root systems of the plants you are using can ensure that invasive and heavy feeding plants are kept away from the leeway edge. On larger sites the inside edge is sometimes used for road access thereby making use of the land that would otherwise give a poor return. Pests and diseases Consideration should be given to the ecology of the windbreak and how this may affect the surrounding areas. Certain trees will attract insects and wildlife not necessarily beneficial to other plants and trees. For example, Prunus cerasifera - Myrobalan Plum makes a great windbreak tree, growing fast, tolerating drought and wind. However fruit from these trees, if not collected, may provide breeding grounds for large populations of fruit boring organisms, such as Grapholita funebrana (Plum Moth), to establish. Once established these organisms may spread to all other Prunus spp. in the garden and surrounding areas. Shading Bear in mind the shadow the shelter belt will create when mature. The shadow cast, root competition and the space taken by the belt itself will use a considerable amount of viable land and this will need to be weighed up from the benefits gained from a shelter belt. As mentioned above, if designed well, these potential problems can be avoided leaving you with all the advantages of a windbreak such as Protection of plants Preventing/reducing, wind erosion Reducing evaporation from the soil Reducing transpiration from plants Protecting buildings (reducing fuel and maintenance needs) Providing habitat and increasing biodiversity Creating soil fertility Productive potential, food, fodder, fuel, biomass, mulch, timber etc Ornamental value Moderating extreme temperatures Want to learn more about Regenerative Landscape Design? Join The Bloom Room! The Bloom Room is designed to create a space for more in-depth learning, for sharing projects and ideas, for seeking advice and discovering opportunities. Ultimately, it aims to build a more intimate, interactive, and actionable relationship between members, a way for the Bloom Room community to support each other’s projects and learning journeys, and to encourage and facilitate the design, build, and management of more regenerative landscapes across our planet. What you can expect as a member of the Bloom Room As a member of the Bloom Room you can expect; Access to an interactive forum where you can ask questions, direct what type of content you would like to see as well as share your own content and projects. Monthly live session featuring general Q&A and tutorials on design software for creating and presenting polycultures. Live session every month for members to showcase your projects, plans, designs, and gardens, with guest speakers from the community. Full Access to all of the content on Substack A 50% discounts on all of our online courses Future opportunities to join our Global Regenerative Landscape Design and Consultancy Service, with potential roles for those with the will and skill to join our design team. An opportunity to take part in the group ownership of a Regenerative Landscape. You will find more details on that here. Become a paid subscriber to our Substack to join. The annual subscription is currently $70 and the monthly subscription is $7 (monthly subscription excludes discounts for products and services) . You can join here, we look forward to meeting you! Design - Where to Start Before establishing a windbreak or shelter belt it is important to make a thorough study of the local winds and to plot on a map the direction and strength of the winds. Observing the wind Wind can flow from any direction from horizontal to vertical depending on the energy balance. Wind can also curve or even rotate, a tornado for example. The units of measurement for wind speed is normally km/hr (kilometres per hour). Direction of wind is determined as a bearing angle from N. It is sufficient to use the eight points of the compass as a basis for determination of wind direction. Wind direction is noted from where it approaches, not where it is heading. There are many different types of instruments that measure wind speed and direction. However, the most common instrument used is known as an anemometer. It consists of three cups on arms that can rotate measuring wind speeds based on rate of rotations and a vane which indicates the wind direction. Basic forms of estimating wind strength and direction. The movement of fast moving low clouds normally indicates the approximate direction of the wind. Fog also will move in the direction of the wind. Wind can raise dust and other light objects and therefore following this movement is yet another technique that can help you estimate the strength and direction of the wind. It also can reveal eddies created by objects as wind flows around them. The same technique applies for blowing snow but this normally requires higher wind speeds. If you are around a body of water, it is possible to observe surface flow of wind based on the changes in water texture or ripples. Relatively stronger winds will disturb the water surface causing ripples. This region of ripples or darker texture can be observed moving as the wind progresses. Signs and patterns to help you determine the direction of prevailing winds Often you will find higher vegetation such as trees and tall shrubs seemingly leaning in one direction as shown in the picture above. This neatly signals the occurrence of a prevailing wind. Weather vanes and Wind Socks are easily accessible tools for measuring wind direction Wind in mountainous areas Wind traveling across a mountainous region will move in waves. When clear of obstruction the wind can continue its wave motion creating eddies in the open plains. Motion of wind blowing across mountainous terrain Design - Essential Points Windbreaks can be effective on a small and large scale. They can be used for the temporary protection of annual crops and in this case can be as simple as a row of Helianthus tuberosum - Jerusalum artichoke planted to screen wind sensitive crop or they can be as complex as a multi-row perennial plantation of trees, shrubs ,herbs and ground covers to shield a broad acre plantation. When considering windbreak or shelter belt planting, three zones can be recognized: the windward zone (from which the wind blows); the leeward zone (on the side where the wind passes); and the protected zone (that in which the effect of the windbreak or shelterbelt is felt) A barrier should be established perpendicular to the direction of the prevailing wind for maximum effect. A checkerboard pattern is required when the winds originate from different directions. This applies mainly to broad acre sites. The effectiveness of the windbreak or shelter belt is influenced by its permeability. If it is dense, like a solid wall, the airflow will pass over the top of it and cause turbulence on the leeward side giving a comparatively limited zone of effective shelter compared to the zone that a permeable shelter creates. Optimum permeability is 40 to 50 percent of open space, corresponding to a density of 50 to 60 percent in vegetation. It is generally accepted that a windbreak or shelter belt protects an area over a distance up to its own height on the windward side and up to 20 times its height on the leeward side, depending on the strength of the wind. Gaps in the barriers should be avoided as they tend to channel accelerated wind through causing damage. If a gap is needed for access then further shelter should be provided to mitigate the wind passing through the gap. Regenerative Landscape Design - Online Interactive Course Want to learn how to design, build and manage regenerative landscapes? Join us on our Regenerative Landscape Design - Online Interactive Course. We look forward to providing you with the confidence, inspiration, and opportunity to design, build and manage regenerative landscapes, gardens, and farms that produce food and other resources for humans while enhancing biodiversity. Regenerative Landscape Design Online Course You can find the course details here and at the moment we have a $350 ( 20%) discount for full enrollment to the course. Just use RLD2024 in the promo code section of the registration form to receive your discount. Design - Selection of tree and shrub species When selecting plant species for windbreaks or shelter belts, start by observing plants in your area that are in windy positions already. Look for healthiest specimens and if possible propagate from these specimens or obtain the same specie from a nearby nursery. You may desire a larger diversity of plants within your design. When selecting plants the following characteristics should be sought: Rapid growth Straight stems Wind firmness Good crown formation Deep root system, which does not spread into nearby fields Resistance to drought Desired phonological characteristics (leaves all year long or only part of the year). Productivity: timber, fruits, nuts, medicine, biomass, fertility Design - Layout of Plants There are a number of different ways to build a Shelter belt. It is generally accepted that multiple rows of plants provide increased protection. If using multiple rows, there is greater opportunity to obtain significant amount of food and resources from within the shelter belt as well as creating excellent habitat for a range of organisms many of which are beneficial allies to the gardener/farmer. One method, pictured below, includes a windward row of small- med wind-firm trees with row of taller trees behind on the leeward row. Windward Row If the prevailing wind is blowing from the north then the windward row should be established first as the faster growing central trees will reduce light availability. The plants in this row need to be somewhat shade tolerant, fast growing and wind firm. Plants already growing in windy positions around your site should be first choice. A selection of nitrogen fixers, evergreens and wildlife plants should be selected. This layer needs to provide a lower screen for the higher canopied next layer so should consist of bushy trees and shrubs that fill out low to the ground. Suitable Plants for Windward Row Aronia melanocarpa - Black Chokeberry Elaeagnus angustifolia - Russian Olive Hippophae rhamnoides - Sea Buckthorn Hibiscus syriacus - Rose of Sharon Cornus mas - Cornellian Cherry Lycium barbarum - Goji Berry Rhus typhina - Stag's horn sumach Alnus incana - Grey Alder Elaeagnus umbellata - Autumn Olive Leeward Row The leeward row should consist of fast growing taller trees and include nitrogen fixers , conifer species and tree’s that sucker freely. This area can provide coppice wood for fence posts or fuel and consist of upper canopy fruit trees such as White Mulberry-Morus alba and Hackberry-Celtis occidentalis. Suitable Plants for Leeward Row Caragana brevispina - Pea Tree Gleditsia triacanthos - Honey Locust Celtis occidentalis - Hackberry Prunus cerasifera - Cherry Plum Alnus cordata - Italian Alder Possible species selection for a three row Windbreak/Shelter belt You can also find a good selection of suitable plants at the plants for a future database . Support Our Project If you appreciate the work we are doing you can show your support in several ways. Become a member of the Bloom Room. A $70 annual or $7 per month subscription to our Substack provides you with access to live sessions, design tutorials, a members forum and more, see details here. Make a purchase of plants or seeds from our Nursery or Online Store Joining us for one of our Practical Courses or Online Courses Comment, like, and share our content on social media. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We offer a diversity of plants and seeds for permaculture, forest gardens and regenerative landscapes including a range of fruit and nut cultivars. We Deliver all over Europe from Nov - March. - Give a happy plant a happy home :) Our Bio-Nursery - Permaculture/Polyculture/ Regenerative Landscape Plants
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This weblog is about my other biggest interest! Permaculture! Since I was a little kid I was already convinced that the way we live, the way we treat our planet is not the correct way. Since I was young I was always active in trying to make people aware about what we are doing to our planet. Nature will always survive us; we can never survive nature. If we want to live longer on this planet we should respect her more. At the moment we are only taking her sources and never giving something back. We are just taking, taking, taking... We should start to worry and make sure that we should bring back what we take. It is most important that we are starting to make the biological circle round again. We are just some visiters on this planet. It took me a very long time to find proper way to live on this planet. Two years ago I discovered Permaculture That was it!!!!! Till now it is still for me the best solution for the future. My focus is fully on it. In 2008 I started to volunteer in a beautiful permaculture garden in Den Oever, Holland. Elzo Stubbe started this garden www.wieringerakker.nl He taught me so much about permaculture. Elzo is an amazing, inspiring person with so much knowledge of plants and always willing to help. The permaculture garden of Elzo Overview garden In 2009 I followed a Permaculture Design Course by Darren Doherty from Australia. www.permaculture.biz/education/darrenCV.php In the meantime I also kept on helping Elzo Stubbe "classroom" Practical class Creating a Permaculture Design More designs till late at night Our exam to get our certifcate In 2010 I stayed for two months on a permaculture farm in Trinidad, an amazing place with wonderful people. Erle Rahaman-Noronha is the owner of the farm. I am so thankful to him for giving me this chance to learn more about tropical permaculture, to introduce me to a lot of realy nice people, to give me so much freedom and trust to design and create a gardenmandala on his farm. www.wasamakipermaculture.org The farm in Trinidad These are my experiences Coconut Beds The borders of the beds are like little walls. The material consist of coconut husks who are chopped into pieces. The coconut husks will keep grasses out and it is also holding water. It is always better to build up instead of digging. In between the walls we put also some husks so we don’t have to use to much soil. Because I was “renovating” the beds, the beds were already a partly filled with old soil. I started to reconstruct the walls. Afterwards I brought in some horse manure, which had been laying for a while. This will make it more fertile and it fixes nitrogen. Than it was time to make the soil. The soil is a mixture of 6 barrels of topsoil, 2 barrels of compost and 1 barrel of sharp sand. The compost is made of dry leaves and horse manure (1 barrel of manure and 30 barrels of leaves) and then you let it rot for months. The sharp sand is used for drainage since here we have heavy clay soil. I filled all the beds with the “soil”. After that I put an extra thin layer of pure compost.Then I made everything wet and put a lot of mulch. We took the mulch(dry leaves) from zone 3,4,5 since we had te remove the leaves there because of the bushfires. I used the mulch to maintain the soil and to prevent it from water evaporation. The best part was to make a little hole through the mulch and the soil and plant the seedling which will give us food. I planted the seedlings in a certain way so that the different kind of species get their benefits from each other. (companion planting, guilds). Coconut bed husks With a lot of mulch Long beds When I arrived, there were already 5 beautiful long beds in place. The soil was quite well maintained and there were some vegetables growing. The only thing I had to do was to punch holes with a fork for better drainage, add some horse manure, make it wet and put a lot of mulch! After letting it rest for a couple of weeks I was planting lots of seedlings in “companion planting way”. The next thing I found was that some of the seedlings were eaten by insects. I planted new seedlings, different species. Still some were eaten. One day, by accident, I put some lemongrass on top of a seedling and I found out, after more testing, that insects don’t like lemon grass! Long beds longbeds with mulch The Garden Mandala First I started to make a design. In the meantime we started to cut the grass in the shape of a circle. Because of the dryness we were forced to plough the plot. The clay was like concrete. I am not a big fan of plowing but it was highly necessary. We let this sit for a couple of days to make sure the grass would dry. Measurements and design Grass being cut Heavy clay soil It was great to start drawing the design on the soil. I collected a lot of sticks, a hammer, measuring tape, we started to measure and pound the sticks in the soil. Later on we started to dig the pathways which are giving the shape to the garden mandala! We were throwing the topsoil of the pathway on the mandala to safe and reuse the soil. Digging out the top soil Overview of the mandala shape We wanted to make the clay soil a bit more fertile. After wetting the soil I started to put some calcium on top of it. Erle made some natural nitrogen fixing liquid. It is made of legume plant with water and letting it ferment for 3 months. After the 3 months you dilute it 1:3, and spray it over the soil. After spraying we put compost and some horse manure, made everything wet and then applied a big layer of mulch! The white bags are full with horse manure Putting a big layer of mulch Pile of hay and we had 3 piles of leaves Over view Outside the circles we put calcium and compost, we gave the soil water and put lots of bamboo leaves and hay on top of it. When you have clay soil, you can better use bamboo leaves. Bamboe leaves contain lots of silica which is very good for making the claysoil more healthy. It will also be good to use sand for drainage. (In Trinidad sand is very expensive). After all this work, we made a little hut of bamboo to create some shade for the plants who cannot handle a lot of sun. On top of the frame we put some palmtree leaves Plants of the garden mandala Now everything is ready to plant. We choose certain edible plants which also break down the hard claysoil. Banana circle (the circle in the middle) We made a ditch of 1 meter deep and 2 meters wide. The ditch will be filled up with mulch and green matter. On top of the ditch there will be a frane and a shower. Around it there will be different kinds of species of bananas mixed in with papaya and around it sweet potato. Inside we can try to grow taro and yam. The middle circles are called keyholes. The function of keyholes is that you can stand in the middle and that you can harvest easily. L= Lemongrass the yellow small circles on the outside cirle are pineapple Planting all the plants, seedlings, seeds List of costs: In total we worked 140 hours on the garden mandala. Also you have to calculate the time to collect 3 huge piles of leaves and bringing it to the farm. 1/4 of pile of hay 21 bags of horse manure 14 wheel barrels of compost 1/4 bag of calcium The time to plow the soil. You should not forget the time to make the natural fixing Nitrigen liquid. Now it is waiting for the rain to let everything grow! Final result After crossing the ocean by sailboat I created an herb spiral in france. The herb spiral First I checked out the place, it should be close to the kitchen and also you should consider the position of the sun on the herb spiral. The place where I started to build one, was full with grass. So first thing I started to do is take all the grass away. Making a circle with a diameter of 2 meters. An easy way to do is to take 5 sticks and a rope of a litle bit more then 1 meter. Put 1 stick in the middle and tie the rope to the stick. Follow the end of the rope, put on north, east, south, west a stick. There you have your circle. The circle Digging out the gras After this job. I made a sprinkler to water the herb spiral. Also I added some big stones in the centre to make the herb spiral more stable. I started to make a circle of stones. Now, there is some work to do, making a big pile of good soil, I used 700 liters. Slowly with the help of the stones, soil and a level I build the spiral. When it got the right shape I made everything wet and started to plant the herbs. The herbs who don't need a lot of water on the top, and the ones who need more water you put them lower. Drawing side view View from above All the soil and the sprinkler Starting to level the soil Building the spiral Planting all the herbs Final result
