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Garden Advice

10 Ways to Use Permaculture Principles in Your Garden

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Odds are you’ve probably heard of permaculture but do you really understand what it is? Often thought of as merely gardening methods, permaculture actually reaches beyond techniques like hugelkultur beds and fruit tree guilds. Bill Mollison one of the founders of permaculture defined it as, 

“The conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”

Permaculture may not be the perfect solution for everyone but its teachings certainly have value. A great way to get started with permaculture is to learn about the principles and ethics of permaculture and try to apply them to your garden. 

Permaculture Principles

  1. Observe and interact
  2. Catch and store energy
  3. Obtain a yield
  4. Apply self regulation and accept feedback
  5. Use and value renewable resources 
  6. Produce no waste
  7. Design from patterns to details
  8. Integrate rather than segregate
  9. Use slow and small solutions
  10. Use and value diversity
  11. Use edges and value the marginal
  12. Creatively use and respond to change

Permaculture Ethics

There are also three ethics: earth care, people care, and fair share. These ethics can be kept in mind when making decisions to create a sustainable garden.

Here are a few ways you can use permaculture principles and ethics in your garden.

Save Seeds

Seed saving is a great way to take your gardening a step further. It increases your self-reliance and the resiliency of your garden. It allows you to play a role in preserving heirlooms and biodiversity for future generations. 

When you save seeds you deepen your understanding of the natural world. You learn that beets are biennial, melon varieties have to isolated at least 1/8 mile for home use, and that garlic must be properly cured. You’ll get to know your plants better and appreciate your garden all the more. 

If you’re nearby, SESE’s Ira Wallace will be at the Allegheny Mountain Institute hosting a seed saving workshop on July 3rd.

Compost

No matter where you live you can compost. If you live in an apartment you can look into vermicomposting or you might be able to join a community composting organization. If you have a yard you can set up your own compost bin. There are many easy DIY tutorials online.

Composting can significantly reduce the amount of waste headed for landfills and help add nutrients back to your garden. If you live rurally and are feeling extra adventurous you can try using a composting toilet which helps save water too!

Reduce Plastic

If you pay attention to environmental news or science you’re probably bombarded with the rather frightening statistics about plastic. Scientists have discovered micro-plastics in Arctic ice and according to National Geographic approximately 18 billion pounds of plastic ends up in the ocean every year!

You might be wondering what this has to do with gardening but somewhat surprisingly agriculture is now heavily dependent on disposable plastic. From seed trays to hoop-house covers and product packaging, it has become so prevalent there’s a name for it: plasticulture. 

Growing food at home can help reduce food packaging especially if you opt to preserve you harvest in re-usable containers, canning jars, or silicone bags. Take it a step further and take plastic out of your garden too. Check out our post 7 Ways to Start Seeds Without Plastic, to learn about alternatives to plastic seed trays.

Create an Efficient Property

Using permaculture zones to design your property, even if you just have a small suburban backyard, can help you make the most of your space. Check out Property Planning with Permaculture Zones.

Feed Some Friends

Throw a garden party this summer! Share your harvest or get together for some harvesting, shelling, or canning. Put down your phones and connect with people. Sow the seeds (pun intended) of gardening and love for fresh meals in others. 

Install a Rain Barrel

Catching and storing water improves your self-reliance and helps the environment. If you have a filter or are willing to install a rainwater system you can use rainwater for household use. Even if you just want to set up a simple DIY barrel you can use rainwater to water your garden.

Collecting and using this water prevents stormwater run-off that otherwise can lead to excessive nutrient loads in local watersheds. These nutrients can cause algae blooms, harmful to both human and marine life. 

Be sure to check local regulations before installing a rain barrel. 

Grow Storage/Staple Crops

Even many small plots have room for a few storage crops like flour corn, dry beans, and sweet potatoes. Growing these simple foods can keep your pantry full and reduce your reliance on the grocery store. You’ll learn about the bounty your land can produce and how to create from scratch meals with staples. You’ll reduce your food miles, bills, and might get a little healthier too.

Teach Others

If you have the opportunity, pass on your skills. Get your children, grandchildren, or nephews and nieces involved in the garden. Share seeds and wisdom with a curious neighbor. Offer to teach a class at a community center or school. These moments will connect you with your community and inspire others. 

Learn Something New

No one is too old or too good at gardening to learn something new. Consider signing up for a local gardening, preserving, or permaculture class. You can also watch a documentary or read a book. Facebook can wait!

Plant Perennials

Perennial crops like asparagus, rhubarb, berry bushes, and fruit and nut trees all require a larger up-front investment than annual plants. Almost all perennials require a least a year or two to get established (if not more) before you’ll see any harvest. They also frequently cost more to purchase. However, perennials are worth the wait. 

Many will thrive in areas ill-suited for annual crops and help you achieve a larger harvest. Perennials are also an excellent way to diversify your crops and land use. Many like will also create habitat for local wildlife as well.  

These simple steps can have a big impact. As you work on your garden consider the permaculture principles and ethics to live a more sustainable life closer to nature.

Garden Advice

How to Build a Hugelkultur Garden Bed

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For those of you who  aren’t familiar, a hugelkutltur bed is a permaculture garden bed that’s designed to provide your garden with a long term source of nutrients, require little watering yet not be subject to water logging, and encourage beneficial insects, fungi, and soil microbes. Hugelkutltur beds feature many layers including a bottom layer of logs or other woody material.

There are several advantages of hugelkultur. First the logs or branches slowly rot allowing for the slow release of nutrients back into the garden bed. For this reason it’s great for gardening in areas with poor soil.

Second it’s a no-till method. Any no-till practices are favored by many permaculturalists and gardeners for a number of reasons. First tilling is time consuming and difficult especially without equipment. Second tilling actually harms and/or kills beneficial insects and soil microbes that normally help plants grow. Tilling essentially flips over layers of soil which is not something that happens in a natural ecosystem. In nature soil is built from the top by simply adding more layers of organic material that slowly break down, exactly like hugelkultur beds.

Third hugelkutltur beds often require less watering than typical garden beds but as they are raised are also less prone to becoming water logged. Hugelkutlur beds are able to hold water well because of the decomposing woody materials that act as a sponge beneath the soil and the presence of mulch on the surface layer. Mulch is key in any garden as it keeps water from evaporating, reduces erosion, and provides habitat for beneficial insects, fungi, and microbes.

Woody Material

The first step to building a hugelkultur bed is to lay down woody materials in the area you want the bed to be. Branches, twigs, and even whole logs can be used.

It is important to note that certain species of wood are not ideal for this project. These include woods that are typically favored as fence posts like black locust and cedar. These woods are slow to rot and won’t provide nutrients as readily. Other species like black walnut use allelopathy, meaning they give off a chemical intended to keep other plants from competing with them for space.  Obviously it’s also best to avoid any would that has been painted or chemically treated.

You’ll want to pack the wood as tightly as possible. For this reason it’s typically easiest to work with a variety of sizes and start with the largest pieces on the bottom. There is no limit on how tall your pile is though many people choose to use at least three feet. Once you’re happy with your pile give this layer a good watering.

Nitrogen Rich Material

The next step is to add a thick layer of nitrogen rich material. This is necessary to help the wood decay and provide your plants with nitrogen. Good materials for this layer include manure, compost, and grass clippings. Once again you’ll want to thoroughly water this layer after adding it.

Soil

Now you can add soil. It doesn’t have to be anything special as the bed will soon be adding plenty of nutrients to it. You can use what you have on hand or purchase garden soil. Another option if you don’t mind the extra work is to dig a couple of inches of soil/sod out before laying your bed and then placing it back on, upside down as the top layer. This layer should also be watered well.

Mulch

The final layer is simply a layer of mulch. Hay, straw, or old leaves are often used. As previously discussed mulch has a variety of important functions including preventing soil erosion, retaining moisture, blocking weeds, and creating beneficial insect, fungi, and microbe habitat.

Planting

Now your bed is finally ready for planting. Simply move a bit of the mulch aside to sow your seeds or transplants. Nearly anything can be planted in a hugelkutltur bed including perennials like strawberries, rhubarb, and asparagus or annuals like potatoes, peppers, and lettuce. Some people even make large ones to plant trees in!

They can be a lot of work up front but hugelkultur beds will provide awesome harvests with relatively little maintenance. There’s so many benefits and they’re relatively simple and cheap (if not free) to construct.

Have you made a hugelkutltur bed? What did you grow in it? Let us know how it went!