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+--- Thread: Permaculture (/showthread.php?tid=2065)
Permaculture - Small chilli - 10-12-2023
I may of started a thread like this before (I can’t find it if I did ) .
Permaculture fascinates me. I think I love the principles of it. I really need to know more/everything about it.
I’m thinking it might be the way forward for my new veg garden.
So can those that already do garden in this way please explain it ( as if talking to a 4 year old ( and not a very bright one
)) . How you go about everything. Also any books, blogs, websites , celeb gardeners that you can point me towards .
In my head it’s all your veg planted together with lots of herbs & companion flowers. Planted big blocks. I’ve always wondered how do I get to stuff that’s really for harvest in the middle without crushing other plants. And what else gets done. It’s not just that simple is it?
You see this is why I need help
.
RE: Permaculture - Veggie - 10-12-2023
You may be surprised to hear that I did a permaculture course! Look where that got me.
Be warned!!I don't think there is as easy way to explain it. You start by observing your plot/garden, whatever size it maybe. How the sun travels around it during the day and throughout the year. What's in the shade or catches the frost most often. Where are the wet patches or the soil is always dry. What type of soil you have - clay, sand, peat etc. Once you have an idea of what you have, you plan your garden to fit it.
For example, I have several mature trees that cast shade most of the year so its pointless having an annual vegetable bed nearby...............but, there are plants that don't mind a bit of shade like raspberries or perennial leeks so they can go there as can other plants that grow in woodland or hedgerows.
When it comes to planting individual beds, plant the same way. Tall plants on the north so that they don't cast shade on the plants to the south - this is more "Forest Gardening" - a way to grow the most plants in a space where they don't inhibit the others. Its usually on the lines of a triangle with the sloping side angled to the south. A fruit tree, maybe with a climber on it, then a fruit bush, then a tall, perennial veg or herb, then a lower one, a ground hugger, so that they don't take light (from the south) from their neighbour! Its really too complicated to explain in a few words but really, its just working with nature and common sense.
You have the advantage of a blank canvas and can create beds wherever you like - as you have!
There are permaculture zones too - basically, keep the plants or structures you need most often, close to home, and those that need minimal attention further away
"Permaculture" has been thought to mean "Permanent Agriculture" with the emphasis on perennial plants but its wider than that. I admit to not understanding a lot of the stuff they spout about it, some of it just washes over my head.
RE: Permaculture - Veggie - 10-12-2023
Permaculture popped up before on https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1957&highlight=permaculture
RE: Permaculture - Veggie - 10-12-2023
(10-12-2023, 10:26 AM)Small chilli Wrote: ...........Goggle Polyculture - for mixed beds where groups of plants complement each other. Its the opposite of monoculture. In an ideal world there'd be little gaps between the plants that you could step into. Of course, it doesn't work like that here.
In my head it’s all your veg planted together with lots of herbs & companion flowers. Planted big blocks. I’ve always wondered how do I get to stuff that’s really for harvest in the middle without crushing other plants. And what else gets done. It’s not just that simple is it?
You see this is why I need help
The beds can be any size that suits you. They don't have to be random shapes like mine - they can be conventional edged/raised beds or a mixture of the two.
RE: Permaculture - Vinny - 10-12-2023
(10-12-2023, 08:37 PM)Veggie Wrote:Particularily well suited to keyhole gardening!(10-12-2023, 10:26 AM)Small chilli Wrote: ...........Goggle Polyculture - for mixed beds where groups of plants complement each other. Its the opposite of monoculture. In an ideal world there'd be little gaps between the plants that you could step into. Of course, it doesn't work like that here.
In my head it’s all your veg planted together with lots of herbs & companion flowers. Planted big blocks. I’ve always wondered how do I get to stuff that’s really for harvest in the middle without crushing other plants. And what else gets done. It’s not just that simple is it?
You see this is why I need help
The beds can be any size that suits you. They don't have to be random shapes like mine - they can be conventional edged/raised beds or a mixture of the two.
RE: Permaculture - Veggie - 11-12-2023
I've been looking through the notes I had on the permaculture course. One principle relates to "Yield". You should aim to maximise the "yield" from everything in the garden - that is, everything should have more than one use. For example, a shed is not just somewhere to store tools but the outside walls can be used to support climbing plants. A pond can be for wildlife, for growing edible water plants, as a source of water for watering plants, for rearing fish or for ducks.
I dry washing in the log store. Fences keep animals in or out and can be used to grow edible hedges.
Its all quite obvious really, but if you give some thought to where to put a shed with a view to using the outside to support plants, you may decide to put it in a different place or at a different angle.
Similarly with the plants you grow - an apple tree has blossom to attract bees, fruit in season, shade from the sun, twigs for supporting peas, kindling, autumn leaves for mulch or leafmould. Don't just think of a plant for its obvious use but what else can it yield.
RE: Permaculture - Small chilli - 11-12-2023
Thanks Veggie that’s all very interesting. There's a lot more to think about than I’d imagined. As you say if you put a bit of thought into it, it’s all quite obvious stuff. Using everything from plant to structure in economical and multi purpose ways. Definitely something to look more closely at I think.
Thank you.