What is a Permaculture garden?

A permaculture garden is a very practical and common-sense way of organising and managing your garden. It’s about planting what you want, in quantities you want, following the seasons and climate conditions to produce a healthy crop all year round. Whether you want to spend all your free time in the garden or just a few hours here and there, have a huge property or just a small yard or patio, there is a permaculture design to suit your lifestyle and needs.

Inspired by natural ecosystems, permaculture is also a way of life that refers to an ethical approach and a philosophy based on three fundamental pillars:

• caring for the Earth

• caring for people

• sharing resources equitably

what are the benefits of permaculture garden design?

You will save time and money

By capturing, storing and using the natural elements (sun, rain, food production etc.) and organic components (food waste, green waste, animal manure, and natural pest predators), you will reduce your expenses and the time you spend looking after your garden. All the benefits for less work!

Some examples of this are;

• Collecting rainwater from the roof for watering or drinking

• Using the sun to grow food, produce electricity and hot water (solar systems)

• Using chickens to produce fresh eggs and to fertilise your orchard or vegie patch

You will produce less waste

Organic waste is recycled, turned into compost and used as natural fertiliser, feeding your garden and reducing waste.

Organic waste can be used by:

• Using a compost bay, a worm farm or a bokashi bin to reuse the food waste and green waste. There is a solution regardless of the space you have.

• Using green waste as ground cover to protect and fertilise the garden beds

• Using animal manure to fertilise garden beds

You will be more self-sufficient and will create diversity

A wide variety of food products can be grown - even in small areas. Permaculture gives a sense of self-sufficiency, as you can grow and eat what you need. Surplus food can be stored for later use, or shared with friends, family or neighbors.

This can be achieved by:

• Densely growing vegies by using companion plants (plants that benefit from growing together) and taking advantage of every piece of space

• Using legumes (like beans & peas) to lock nitrogen into the soil, while providing food at the same time

• Using different layers and vertical surfaces like walls to take advantages of every surface

You will have a more sustainable lifestyle

By using natural fertilisers, natural predators and fresh water supplies, pollution is greatly reduced, which promotes a productive and stable lifestyle and biodiversity.

This could include:

• Using animal and plant manure, in conjunction with green waste, to boost your soils health and productivity

• Using carefully selected plants, you can attract predator insects to manage pests and create a natural balance in your garden

• Collecting clean rainwater to water your garden rather than being reliant on town supply - especially useful during summer

Where did permaculture come from?

The term permaculture was coined in the 1970’s in Tasmania by co-originators Bill Mollison and David Holmgren who were inspired by the cultural practices of Japanese Masanobu Fukuoka. Permaculture was designed to be a resilient, stable and sustainable farming system. In the garden, this concept values a perennial, productive and innovative food production system, which is non-polluting to create healthy soil, and limits the production of non-reusable waste.

To achieve this, crops are diversified and adapted to suit local conditions (sunshine, temperature etc). The use of the surrounding biodiversity (insects, pollinators, and bugs), is also a major element of permaculture, while also promoting independence and self-sufficiency, with an emphasis on energy efficiency. Permaculture is implemented using twelve principles illustrated below.