What Is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a way of approaching design in which we seek to work in cooperation with the given environment rather than against it. It is most commonly used to describe a form of agriculture, but the 12 principles it is based on can really be applied to any type of design. Yes, I said principles. As far as I know, permaculture is the only type of gardening that has a set of ethics. This philosophy was created by Bill Mollison and and David Holmgren in the 1970’s. The word itself is a combination of the words “permanent” and “agriculture”, and with its focus on perennials, rather than annuals like the current agricultural model is focused, it would be easy to sum it up that way. Food growing with a concentration on perennials. But that would not be doing justice to the potentially revolutionary system that is permaculture. The central ethics, in order, are : Design for the earth. Design for yourself (people). Create a surplus (that can be shared). The principles are as follows:

1. Observe and Interact

Yes. Do that! Spend some time at the site you will be designing. Understand the weather patterns, the way the water moves on the site, and the unique microclimates. Where does the sun hit the property? Where is there shade? Is there a noise problem? A view that should be protected or blocked? When designing with permaculture, there is no such thing as a one size fits all approach. The design will be as unique as the property and the people it is being created for.

2. Catch and Store Energy

We know sun is energy. But some people think the only way to catch the sun and store its energy would be solar panels attached to a battery. There are many ways to capture the suns energy, like in grass or a vegetable garden. Grass is energy for livestock and vegetables are energy for humans. What about barrels of water in a green house that can collect heat during the day and release it at night to keep plants warm? What about capturing the energy of a flowing stream with a water turbine and using it to power a pump? The possibilities are limitless. There are many energy sources all around us, yet when we think of energy a lot of people think only of electricity that has been generated by using petroleum. We can do better!

3. Obtain a Yield

Beauty can be a yield. But, unless it is your absolute favorite plant ever, it should also serve another purpose. When thinking about how to landscape a home there is absolutely no reason why a majority of the plants should not be edible ones. There are many ornamentals that are also entirely or partially edible, (like daylilies, roses, or violets, just to name a few). If you have a favorite type of fruit or vegetable and it grows in your climate, figure out how to grow it. Get rewarded for all of your hard work! When I am placing an element into a design I like to see that it serves at least three purposes. For example: It is beautiful, it is edible, it is pollinator habitat. Or it is shade, it is nitrogen fixing, it provides forage for my chickens. I do this when obtaining animals for our farm as well (Chickens: eggs, bug control, manure. Angora rabbits: fiber, companionship, manure). If something does not serve at least three different purposes I usually decide I could make a better choice.

4. Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback

Pay attention to the systems you have put in place and make necessary adjustments and improvements. Sometimes a need to be right can prevent us from seeing a situation for what it really is and prevent us from taking the steps that would create a true success. Be honest about what is working and not working and be open to feedback, from the environment, animals, and people. Also, when choosing plants for an environment make sure to take into account how large they will be when they reach their full size.

5. Use Renewable Resources

Some resources, such as oil, are finite and not renewable. Some are, especially when managed properly. Using wood for heat in an efficient wood stove with proper forestry management ensures that there will be a never ending supply of wood to use as heat. Adding shade (with a tree or a grape arbor, for example) around a home and positioning it in such a way to protect it from the extreme mid day heat in Summer can reduce the need for artificial climate control and much reduce the amount of energy that will be needed to keep it comfortable for the inhabitants. A pecan tree can be used for shade, for food, for wood, and eventually for heat or compost. More can be planted. Trees are an awesome example of something that can be a renewable resource.

6. Produce No Waste.

What a radical idea today. No waste? Most households in the U.S. fill up one of those giant flip top garbage cans every week. That doesn’t include the large items like furniture or appliances that get taken to the dump. How many people take food scraps that are completely biodegradable and put them in a non biodegradeable plastic bag which will be placed in a landfill and will still be sitting there when the person who created that garbage is no longer on the planet? Meanwhile, the topsoil in our country has been much reduced in the last couple of hundred years (this is thanks to our broken waste management systems, deforestation, and conventional agriculture but that is another article) and the the soil that is left is nutrient poor. The food we grow can only be a nutrient dense as the soil that it is grown in. So…how about returning the nutrients to soil soil through composting? It is not difficult. Or should I say it is as difficult as people like it to be. Some folks like to turn their compost often, or have worm bins or big bins they keep it in which can be turned with a handle. We like a put it and forget it system. We have a three bin system that we constructed out of old pallets we got for free. By the time we fill up the third bin, the compost in the first bin is broken down and ready for use. The leaves that get bagged up and thrown away? These make an excellent mulch to put on your garden beds in the winter, or add them to your compost. If you have no use for your compost, for example if you live in an apartment and have absolutely no plants, consider reaching out to your community to see if anyone would want your food waste so they can compost it, a small local farm might be a good option.

7. Design From Patterns to Details

There are many patterns that are repeated in nature that you can mimic in your designs. A spiral, the veins in a leaf, a wave, etc. These patterns occur naturally again and again because they work, and they are functional. Observe them and notice where they would be appropriate in your design.

8. Integrate Rather Than Segregate

In many agricultural models today, there is a system of what is called a mono crop. Acres of corn or soy beans. A huge orchard with one kind of tree. The thought process behind this is that if you have one kind of plant it will all be easier to manage and maintain. The result of these systems is the soil becomes depleted and it creates an environment in which a particular pest species can proliferate itself in an unchecked way because it has an unlimited food supply. If you observe the way plants naturally occur you will notice there is never ever acres and acres of just one plant and nothing else. In permaculture we plant groups of plants together. A heavy feeding fruit tree would get planted with a nitrogen fixing plant to put nitrogen back in the soil, pollinator plants to attract bees and butterflies, pest deterring plants like nasturtium or garlic, a ring of daffodils to suppress grass growth and a dynamic accumulator species like comfrey or coneflower that pull nutrients up from soil and can be chopped and used as mulch that will feed the tree. Instead of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, we can benefit from the intelligience of natural systems.

9. Use Small and Slow Solutions

When people begin to grow their own food sometimes they can be turned off by the amount of time perrenial crops can take to produce. They want food now! Or in a few months at the most. And that is ok! I love some of the annual vegetables. But you can make the same investment of time and money into a perrenial crop, like an asparagus bed, a berry bush, or a fruit tree, and in a few years you have an established crop that will yield year after year with very little input. It can be hard to wait, but worth it! And if you plant several trees that bear fruit and nuts, and many berry bushes, and crops like artichokes and asparagus, in a few years the reliance on your annual crops will be much reduced.

10. Use and Value Diversity

Diversity is important when growing food because if you plant all one type of anything then your crop becomes vulnerable to attack by disease and predators. For example, instead of planting ten fruit trees that are all one or two types of apple, plant 3 apples, a couple of pears, a couple of stone fruits like peaches or cherries, and a couple of jujubes or paw paws. Ensure you have the correct number and type of pollinators for your trees, but get as many different varieties as you can. That way if you have a bad apple year because of weather, pests, or another variable, hopefully a few of your other fruit trees do well. This is true in the annual garden as well. Plant different varieties of squash, melons and tomatoes. You will find that some of them do better in your climate, are lower maintenance and more resistant to predators.

11. Use The Edges

The “edges” are where two spaces meet and they can be areas with many possibilities. The area where your yard meets the woods, or the grass meets the pond, for example, can create a microclimate that could be perfect for cultivating a certain crop that does not exist anywhere else on the property. Also, take into account the shape of your garden beds, the keyhole bed is a popular shape in permaculture because it maximizes growing space and minimizes path space. Realize anywhere that is a little different on your site has its own microclimate and possibilities. Example: A shed with a wall that gets half sun half shade, whose roof is angled the same diretion so it also gets rainwater. This could be a great spot to plant something like an elderberry.

12. Creatively Use and Respond To Change

Know that no two years will be alike. Keep a notebook and make a practice of bringing it with you when you harvest fruit and vegetables or do maintenece. Take notes and create informed courses of action.

Practical Permaculture was the text book we used when I took a class to become a certified permaculture designer. It is approachable for a beginner and also very complete.

Sepp Holzer is one of the masters and pioneers of permaculture.

This is an EXCELLENT book for planning an entire homestead. Very thorough.

This is an excellent resource for farmers who would like to apply permaculture systems to a very large scale, but can also be useful on a homestead scale. Loeks illustrates the book himself and it is wonderful for visual learners.

If you are already growing vegetables this might be the perfect permaculture book to get you started.

Some people refer to this book as the “bible” of permaculture. It is not currently in print so it is often very expensive. I would suggest trying one of the other books first and the coming back to this one if you just cannot get enough.

Some other things you may want when you are making your garden plans:

I wish you the best of luck on your permaculture journey! As a design approach I think it is special because it can stand on its own or be integrated with other approaches. Remember: Take care of the Earth and it will take care of you.