Permaculture Garden Design

Permaculture garden design has attracted more and more interest among organic gardeners in recent years. It is borrowed from organic farming, where 'edible ecosystems' are set up on permaculture farms to grow mixed crops together for synergy. The word permaculture is derived from 'permanent agriculture'.

Permaculture is a holistic system, involving the whole garden. The different plants use different minerals from the soil, which go into their leaves and finally, when they die, return to the soil. So they help each other grow, and also support insects, fungi and bacteria which maintain the life of the system through pollination and breakdown of the fallen plant matter.

The first design principle is zoning. This places the plants that need most attention closest to the house. In a conventional garden, the flower beds are often placed near the house and vegetable patches are further away. In a permaculture garden, this would be reversed in principle, although in practice some flowers are likely to be mixed in with the vegetables. This encourages diversity and can help the vegetables grow. Some types of marigold, for example, will ward off pests from tomato plants.

The most productive and well kept area of the garden is always closest to the house, where the gardener is constantly seeing it. So to create a productive organic vegetable garden, it makes sense to have the food growing areas here. This will also mean that ripening produce is not forgotten. More will be eaten. Anything that requires daily attention, whether it is watering, weeding or picking, should be right under the kitchen window!

Beyond this, the permaculture gardener will think about climatic factors including wind, sun, rain and exposure to cold. Of course some plants are hardier than others, and some require more sun. Gooseberries or nut hedges can be grown as a windbreak.

This type of garden will almost certainly include some wild plants. These can be any herb, flower, vegetable or fruit species that are native to your local area. Wild plants will thrive in your garden with very little tending and need very little attention.

Combine perennials and annuals for a garden that produces in all the seasons. Annuals will be grown on a no-dig basis wherever possible. This produces less predictable results which are more in tune with the natural cycle of the garden - a large crop one year, a much smaller one the next. Instead of digging, the soil is simply loosened with a fork, requiring much less work. Even potatoes can be grown this way, by placing mulch or straw over the seed.

Mulch can also be used to cover the bed to kill off weeds by depriving them of light. Many gardeners use old wool carpet or cardboard for this purpose. Of course you will want to be sure that whatever you use will not leach chemicals into your organic soil.

In a no-dig permaculture garden it is important not to compact the soil by walking on it. Therefore, you need many small paths through the garden. This is usually achieved with 'keyhole beds' where short paths in the shape of a keyhole jut out into the bed from each main path. This way you can reach all of the planted areas with minimal waste of growing space. Keyhole beds are also a very attractive feature of permaculture garden design.

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Peter Charalambos

Author: Peter Charalambos

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