12 Jun What is Permaculture?

I have a tough time putting it into words, so I went to Wikipedia and it says “Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, and environmental design that develops sustainablearchitecture and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems. The term permaculture (as a systematic method) was first coined by AustraliansBill Mollison and David Holmgrenin 1978. The word permaculture originally referred to “permanent agriculture”…”.

While Bill Mollison wrote” Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable environments.” I personally think it is a smarter way to garden and farm.  It’s a way to set up a natural system on your landscape to produce continuous and sustainable food systems.

I just got my Certification of Permaculture Design, I still feel like I don’t have a firm grasp on what it truely is. I have been contemplating a change in my own back yard, so why not start there.

This is what I imagine my backyard with a permaculture design would look like….  walk out onto my back patio and I have a mini food forest, where I can pick my fruit fresh from the trees, grapes fresh from the vine, step out and pick fresh veggies from your raised veggie beds, full of fresh veggies like kale, lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes!  Possible a small chicken coop with some hens providing fresh eggs and using their manure to fertilize my plants.  Have an herb spiral close to the back patio for easy access to the fresh herbs like rosemary, basil, oregano, scallions and other delicious herbs daily for cooking.  I like the idea of having a green house to grow my own plants but also a farm with corn, potatoes, strawberries and beans.

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So now what?  I need to put a design onto paper and start my back yard permaculture design project.  I’ll keep you updated on how it goes and put pics up of my final design.

If you need help with any permaculture designs or implementations of permaculture into your landscape, give me a ring or email me at [email protected].

Cheers and Happy Gardening- Dave