Basics of Permaculture Design

Fair warning, most of this post has been taken from a larger post about what permaculture actually is, you can read it here. This post is a little more detailed on the design aspect though.

Permaculture Design Principles

Permaculture is guided by a set of design principles that help individuals create sustainable and regenerative systems. These principles are not rigid rules but flexible guidelines that can be adapted to specific contexts and projects. The number and arrangement of these principles can vary among permaculturists, but some common ones include:

Observe and Interact

Before taking any action, it is essential to carefully observe the natural patterns and dynamics of a site or system. Understanding the interactions and relationships within the environment is crucial for effective design. It’s going to be really hard to pick the right plants without knowing things like how much sun you have, how much water you have, and the requirements of the plants you are wanting to put in a spot. It’s also helpful to ask yourself how you are going to actually use the space. Do I like to go outside and kick a soccer ball around with my kids? Do I like to barbeque? Do I invite people over often, and do I bring them outside? How much time to I have to devote to this spot? What are the maintenance requirements once it is completed? all of these are questions you need to ask yourself in the planning process of building a garden, a back lard landscape, or any other greenspace.

Catch and Store Energy

This principle encourages the collection and storage of resources such as water, sunlight, and organic matter, making use of natural abundance when available and storing it for times of scarcity. When I think of this, I mostly think of a garden’s ability to catch runoff and make sure more of it is seeping into the ground than running away off my property. This happens in a few ways, one is to always have something on or in the soil. It could be plants or mulch, just so that the soil isn’t bare. Or course there are some best practices that you could use, in particular using keyline design, with is a method of managing water runoff in landscapes on hilly land. Another is the use of swales and berms of areas that are a little flatter or even with a dip in them. If you have an area on your property that looks like a small pond every time it rains, this might be for you. Catching and storing energy could also look like starting a compost pile in your back yard. This reduces your own personal food waste, as well as makes it cheaper to feed your plants, and helps improve soil conditions.

Obtain a Yield

A fundamental tenet of permaculture is that systems should provide a yield. Whether it's food, medicine, or resources for crafts, design with the intention of creating value and usefulness. I personally have a lot of medicinal herbs in my garden, I really liked learning about herbalism and I like to make my own teas as well, so growing plants that had medicinal value has worked well for me. Ask yourself what you buy a lot of at the store that you could be growing from home. For you this could be anything, it could be that you really like fresh tomato salsa as a snack so you start growing some tomatoes and peppers. Maybe you’re like me and like teas, so you start growing some mints and some other herbs like chamomile and lavender. Whatever you though do with intention and start small.

Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services

Emphasize the use of resources that are renewable and ecologically sustainable, rather than relying on finite or non-renewable sources. Also, you do not have to buy every single thing new, not only is this extremely costly, and depletes even our renewable resources, but it is just unnecessary. I am currently working on redesigning my vegetable garden and I am going to build some garden boxes that I am going to source from an old fence that was torn down. Not only are these materials free, but they also will last for a few years, and who doesn’t want to feature reclaimed wood as part of their sustainable garden? Looking for reclaimed wood, old pots a nursery is giving away cheap or free, and plants that a friend doesn’t want anymore, or wants to trade for something new helps out tremendously.

Produce No Waste

In nature, there is no such thing as waste; one organism's waste is another's resource. This principle encourages the responsible use of resources and the design of systems that minimize waste. Reducing plastic waste is a great start, but you can also reduce different kinds of wastes. Composting is a great way to divert some waste away from landfills and decrease food waste, mulching is a great way to get rid of excess wood (I have a a small pile that is growing from all my recent projects), a great way to break up leaves quicker so they can go back into the soil. I even plant some perennials, perennials are plants that will come back every year. I try really hard every year, but some years I miss saving some of the seeds on my annual plants, or even my trees. Planting perennials allows me to have go buy less plants, although I’m not totally sure who needs less plants haha! You can also reduce waste by the way that you water and how often you water. Xeriscaping is a great way to reduce how often your water, if you even need to water at all. Drought tolerant plants in general are a great addition to any garden or landscape as they require less water, so therefore less maintenance, which gives you more time to do other things in your garden. Opting for a drip irrigation system is a way to reduce waste by reducing them amount of water you waste. If you are watering your plants in the middle of a hot summer, in the middle of the day with a sprinkler or sprinkler system, you are absolutely wasting water. More on this in a later post, but most of the water gets carried away by the wind and by evaporation. If you want more information on the pros and cons of different methods of watering, your local extension service probably has an article that can hep you out.

Integrate Rather than Segregate

Encourage beneficial relationships between elements in the system. Everyone as heard of the three sisters planting method of planting corn, pole beans, and squash together, but do you know that there are other plants that are beneficial to each other? This method is called companion planting and includes planting crops together such as dill and basil, or planting crops in between other crops, like planting marigolds for pest control. You can also plant things that keeps pests away from you, some common plants that keep the insects away from you are lavender, basil, and citronella.

Use Small and Slow Solutions

A common criticism of permaculture design is that it can be hard for people to switch to and it can be hard to start if you’re just starting out. Avoid large-scale, rapid changes that can lead to unintended consequences. Instead, implement small, manageable changes that are easier to control and adjust. I’ve actually heard a few people talk about a method of switching from conventional to permaculture landscapes by just growing your permaculture area a few feet every growing season. it makes sense because you’ll either go from nothing and grow to your whole property, or you’ll get to a sweet spot and stay where things are manageable for you.

Use and Value Diversity

“Biodiversity” you hear it everywhere you learn about ecofriendly gardens, landscapes, and crops. Biodiversity is a source of strength and resilience in ecosystems. Incorporate a variety of species and elements to increase the stability of the system. In any greenspace, you don’t just want the plants, your don’t just want the animals, or even the microbes, or the insects, you want it all and you want it all working together. You want your space to function as a little ecosystem, and the more self reliant it is -the more biodiversity it has- the less inputs you will have to manage. Inputs being watering, fertilizing, soil regeneration, weeding, and whatever else you can think of that you have to do to a garden besides just enjoying it.

Creatively Use and Respond to Change

Change is inevitable, and systems should be designed to adapt and evolve in response to changing conditions. Creative thinking and adaptability are essential. I think of it as being scrappy or being resourceful. This last one is really so open to what your needs are, the main take away is to be flexible with your plans.