Tips for a Permaculture Garden
Are you a nature lover who dreams of a beautiful and fruitful garden but lacks the time and knowledge for gardening? Keep reading because these permaculture tips could transform your garden dramatically.
Lucy Legan and Katlin Johanson, two passionate permaculture designers who stayed with us at “Kora Village” in La Buona Terra, where our staff and volunteers live, have shared their valuable knowledge. Here is what they share:
But first, what is permaculture?
Permaculture is a design system rooted in the observation of natural ecosystems. It aims to create sustainable and self-sufficient human habitats by following principles observed in nature. Permaculture integrates land, resources, people, and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies, emphasising sustainability, resource conservation, and ecological harmony.
– Andre Soares
There’s several garden techniques that make gardening more efficient and respectful towards nature. These strategies are also ideal for busy people, so if you always wanted to put your green thumb to the test but felt like you lacked the time, keep reading and get inspired!
For starters, perennial crops are plants that will last several growing seasons. Planting perennials can aid in building healthy soil with an intact soil food web, as this soil won’t need to be constantly “worked”. In addition, they provide a habitat for many insects, micro-organisms and other soil life forms!
One key element of a permaculture garden is diversity. Growing different plants together is known as companion-planting. The seemingly messy companion-planted garden plays a significant role in holistic gardening. It reduces pest and disease invasion, improves the garden’s general health, conditions the soil, and adds nutritional value to the plants.
Raised garden beds are great because there are fewer chances of feet trampling the space. They also provide a nice chance for you to get involved in gardening if you have a harder time reaching the ground (if you use a wheelchair, or suffer from back pains…)
Additionally, they are easy to water and good at keeping weeds at bay!
You can also use the vertical growing space in the garden, which will optimise production and add an extra beautiful touch. There’s several techniques that can be used; here’s two of them:
Firstly, with trellises, you can cover walls, a small space between other structures, or any other empty spot!
Plants with vines such as grapes, kiwi fruit, choko, passionfruit, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, beans, or peas will happily populate them.
Secondly, tipi-like conical structures can help you grow various climbing plants, such as beans and peas. When making a tipi (or tepee), wrap twine around the poles or bamboo sticks to provide a larger growing space for the climbing plants.
Saving seeds is an integral part of your permaculture garden. You can always save the most beautiful or plump fruit or plant for seeds. Sharing seeds is a great way to connect with other gardeners before you munch into a new plant or after you produce something you’re proud of!
Mulch is a big topic on its own since it has many virtues. The best may be that it promotes healthy soil, the base of your healthy garden.
Mulch is used to protect the soil from the pounding of heavy rain, strong winds and scorching sun.
And better still, worms love mulch! Besides keeping the coolness and moisture, it is an excellent source of food and shelter for macro and microorganisms that will replenish your soil’s nutrients.
And that’s it for now! There are plenty of ways to organise your green spaces so they’re healthy, productive and have a better impact. We wanted to share a few to inspire you to start applying small changes for the better!
Are you excited to try these tips, are you already doing it, do you want to share some other gardening wisdom? Let us know what you think!
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