Elements of a Permaculture Dream Yard - Here's a start.

Utilize borders for vertical growth such as vines and high shrubs, for denying entry (thorns), for visual screening. In the city or suburbs, a fence is smart.
Very small lawn for sitting, or maybe just a grape-draped arbor in hot climates.
Good use of zones. Chives by the door to eat and keep out the ants. Veggies near the kitchen. Cutting flowers in front for the neighbors.
Good use of solar gain in winter, shading in summer. Greenhouse as part of the house, next to the kitchen if possible. Solar panels.
Small animals like angora rabbits for kids, manure, food.
Water feature like a small pond, or even a fountain- for birds and wildlife, for moisture, for beauty, for water plants.
Compost pile. Rain barrels for water from roof, or cistern.
Minimize concrete and tarmac.
Lots of diversity in plant materials, many perennial food sources like fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, etc. Native plant material as part of plantings. Eat the weeds. No pesticides.

Gonna ponder that. Lotsa info to digest, just what I was hoping for, thanks, seriphima!

Kat

Get Bill Mollison's "Permaculture: A Designers' Manual" it's the Bible.

There are dozens of other books on various aspects of Permaculture, but, this one is the best.

Here is a link that might be useful: Permaculture: A Designers' Manual

hey Kat

I would love to have a wood cistern with a stone base-- beautiful and functional.

Mollison equates "tidiness" with brain damage-- my brain must be very healthy. I like to work in the yard as much as I like the result of my work. Permaculture to me implies a work in progress. Nature is never "finished". For a more formal landscape (to be maintained and enjoyed by a busy family with many "away from home" interests) I would try a native xeriscape that complements the colors and style of your house. This would let you embrace the philosophy without embracing the weed (and sigh-- giving up the television and the automobile).

Sounds like my back yard except for the cutting garden. I use more native stuff because they do not require much water.

Fireraven9
"The field's set. Let's croq." Alas 4/28/01

I checked out Bill Mollison's book, thanks for the link. I was bummed to see how much it costs though. It's probably worth its weight in gold but unfortunately we just can't afford it right now.

seraphima, loved your ideas. They gave me a great starting place and much to ponder. I actually planted some chives this weekend as we do happen to have an ant problem and was happy to see your timely suggestion.

Our backyard is about 70' x 60'. So it's not huge. I've been going nuts trying to figure out what type of trees to plant without creating too much shade on the gardens.

We definately need a wind-break on the west side. I wonder if cherry trees or apple trees would do well for this purpose (if only seasonally). They would also give us shade on our patio. (Anything that serves three purposes is considered a "home run" in my estimation.)

jessiecarole, we DEFINATELY need to have the TV off more. We don't really watch it so much as have it on in the background. What a waste, huh?

I'm learning.

Kat

P.S. Are there any weeds you can't eat? I'm sure there must be. What are some yummy ones you can eat? Is there an edible weed identification source? We love salads and I wouldn't mind tossing some in (course I wouldn't tell dh until he's had a few of these salads first, I know, sneaky but that's what I did with celeryÂalways said he couldn't stand the stuff until I made a few things where I disguised their appearance but brought the full celery flavor outÂhe now loves it when I cook with itÂditto anchovies).

I'd actually pay money to find a recipe for Nut Sedge. The stuff is driving me NUTS (no pun intended).

>I checked out Bill Mollison's book, thanks for the link. I >was bummed to see how much it costs though. It's probably >worth its weight in gold but unfortunately we just can't >afford it right now.

A more affordable and user-friendly alternative is Toby Hemenway's "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture." It's one of my favorite books.
adam

Here is a link that might be useful: Gaia's Garden

THAT'S more do-able for me! Thanks, Adam!!!

For edible weeds, just get an urban edible plants book; most are common weeds like purslane, lamb's quarters, dandelion, staghorn sumac, plantain. Other useful "weeds" include clovers for nitrogen fixing, and some of the deep rooted kinds (just leave one or two) which reach deep into the soil and bring up nutrients. I don't let those set seed, if possible, but do let them grow.

I've seen people growing clover in their veggie beds. What do they do with it come planting time?

Kat

HI Kathy and all, there is some great info here and maybe I can help a tad, too.
A $10 book is high for me so buying is, most of the time, not an option. Sometimes you can pick up something from the library, or interlibrary loan. I read "Gaia's Garden" while sitting in Border's book store while my wife was looking around. Border's and Barnes and Nobles carry the books most of the time. You can always read something else that covers the topic. I have also seen books on Forest Gardens and Chicken Tractors.
I tried to read Bill Mollisons book but it was really dry reading, more like a college text. "Gaia's Garden" was a good read. I like lots of personal examples, not just principles, and this book has them.
Hope this helps someone.
Mike

Kat I planted my tomatoes in a patch of clover this year. It was the best dirt I had in full sun. No weeds and the tomato plants are beautiful.

Kat, you may be pleasantly surprised a the number of wild edible plants (weeds) there are. A good reference for a beginning forager is Peterson Field Guides by Lee Allen Peterson. There are a number of poisonous wild plants though, along with many "look a likes" so be certain of id's before gathering. This has been a passion of mine for many years and I look forward to each wild harvest as it comes in season. One of my favorites is common chickweed, often dreaded by gardeners! Extremely high in vitamin C, it's usually cooked as a green or used fresh in salads. I also use it's healing properties in homemade salves along with yarrow and plantain.

GG

Thanks everybody for some great suggestions! This thread is rockin!

Kat

Clover can be used as a cover crop. Clover is nitrogen replenishing, and holds the soil while not being used for veggies. Clover turned in will add bulk to the soil, and make it hold water better. Or as someone mentioned grow something taller than the clover right in the same bed.

I planted dutch white clover in the lawn as well. I love the little white flowers, it attracts bees, has a longer tap root than most grass, and seems to be more drought resistant.

I want to dream; thats what I'm chock full of.

Since I just graduated from college and don't have any money this is all a ways off, from the big dream yard.

Some day I'd like to end up off grid w/ an earthhip built by mostly my self and whomever my partner is (I've talked my current into the idea :)).

The earthship means year round warm weather plants and even tropicals. I have an avocado tree I'm growing now so it may need to be grafted(?) to fruit but it should be close by that point :) or too close. Anyawy so inside I plan on growing some banana and a few tomato plants for year round fresh tasty tomatoes, plus some fragrant flowers. Anything else I think of too, probably some herbs and such. I'll also have a root cellar off the house.

Since I'll be so rural I won't have to make my garden too pretty but I'll probably grow edible flowers and some prettier veggies out front from what I can see out of the windows. The side garden would have more of the other kinds. I want to make anc cann lots of tomato sauces. I think I will want to do some heirloom seed saving and I think I might go w/ winter squash. It would be a good general kitchen sort of garden, plus maybe also some beans for drying. Probably the sort of foo I won't grow as much of is some whole grains- I'll probably grow corn but thats about it. I will probably add some berry bushes and maybe some fruit trees. I like those "monkey balls/brain" trees and from what I've heard the fruit does an excellent job of keeping away insects (a teacher told me she once put the fruit in her basement around the foundation or something and they never saw any insects or spiders inside), and a pawpaw and any other trees I might find interesting. I might look for existing trees that can be tapped as well.
I would have an outdoor compost and an indoor worm bin and will look for good compost and such. I won't do any sort of animal husbandry, unless its more of a pet from animal rescue. I will however attract useful animals like toads amd birds w/ water.

and thats my ideas so far...this is probably at least 10 years up and open to change! I thought I'd bring this back to the original intent of this thear because I'm FULL of dreams.

I just found a exceelent book called The self-suffient suburban gardener that I highly reccomend. Lots of Permaculture type suggestions great plans and drawings.. Very Good Book.

The Self-Sufficient Suburban Gardener
Jeff Ball. Hardcover, Published 1983
Review: A practical guide to planning a food garden. Ball takes his readers through a 5-year plan for going from lawn or dirt to a productive and beautiful garden. The timeline takes a lot of pressure off those of us who are disappointed not to have the perfect garden in the first year. It's a plan that takes work and dedication, but it's very doable. Ball assumes you have a good bit of room, "only" a quarter of an acre, but his ideas are workable even for smaller urban gardens. Ball's methods are organic, space-saving, and intensive. Beginning and experienced gardeners both will find his book useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: buy it used! $3.98 at amazon

Bill Mollison's book - Permaculture: A Designers' Manual - is available here for much less than Amazon.com, but still a LOT of money. These are used books but if price is a consideration....

Eric

Here is a link that might be useful: Permaculture: A Designers' Manual (at Half.com)

Great! Thanks for the links.
Kat

I've been doing edible gardening for 28 years, and I've found that having a pond draws wildlife alright- then the possums stick around to strip your peach tree and the raccoons stick around to eat your grapes and dump your trash can and clean all the baby fish out of the pond, and the birds eat all your cherries before you can even taste one. I find that apples are the best and longest-lived fruit trees, and early apples suffer less from codling moth and apple maggot. Strawberries, raspberries and currants can give you more fruit faster than most trees, and birds don't bother them much compared to cherries. Birds don't bother the blueberries they can't see, so I'm going to interplant my blueberries closely next year with fava beans to make the fruit less visible and add nitrogen to the blueberries. Wire barriers against deer and rabbits last longer and work more reliably than chemical barriers. I have a chicken tractor and a duck tractor and ducks lay more consistently and tear up your yard less than chickens, are very hardy, don't get lice, lay yummier eggs, and are cuter. My 2 cents.

I have a good start on my 3 acre dream yard, with half of the acres left wild. I have blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, tiny pecan trees, blackberries (wild ones way out back, named ones closer to the house), a veggie garden mingled with wildflowers, herbs, a pond where the outlet from the heat pump is, and my landscape is mostly native plants. I plan to use the heatpump water to irrigate my orchard next year (grapes, apples, pears, cherries, and peaches)and will move the little pond nearer the house. I keep deer away by planting fragrant plants like mint or oregano near plants I want to protect. I use nets to protect small fruits from birds, rotating the nets from the cherries to the berries as they ripen. I mulch with rotten hay from the farm next door. My little son kept drooling over the weeds, asking, "Momma, can't we eat 'em?" so I got a book on wild edibles and we experimented. Chickweed was a hit and can be substituted for spinach but it's milder tasting. Now I'm reading up on natural swimming pools, my next dream.

I'd want to live near to my work so I could bike or walk there. That is, unless I'm telecommuting or even supporting myself from my garden (the best, of course, but with my back may not be practical). My house would be made of cob and be solar powered or powered by a mini-watermill. My water would come from a natural spring. All the runoff would be collected and used in the summer, and I'd have composting toilets that would also be used in the garden. A greenhouse would be attached to the house so it would share the heat of the house (if the house was heated, that is), where I'd grow as tropical of edible plants as I could (mainly lemons, ginger and bananas). I would have wormbins near the kitchen door for scraps and compost bins for garden waste. I'd love to have a shredder, but I'm not sure how I'd power it (solar, biodiesel, or petal-powered?).

The vegetable garden would make up the central part of the yard. It would be broken up into 1/3 legumes, 1/3 leaf and fruit crops, and 1/3 root and grain crops that would be on a 3-year rotation. I would also try to have it 70% seed crops, 20% root crops, and 10% other stuff. And of course rotating the botanical families as well. Sounds complicated, but I think it could be done (or at least approximated). It would be managed in an organic, intensive, low-till way. I would try to keep it pretty clean, however, to discourage slugs.

It would be bordered by a perennial edibles garden, including fruit, edible flowers and herbs. Plenty of edible natives would be included for myself and for the birds and bees. Both the perennial edibles and natives would be left messy to encourage a diversity of insects.

A separate bed would have medicinal plants and other useful plants like ones for fiber, dyes, soap, and preservatives. Another small bed would have plants for fresh and dried bouquets. Since these aren't edible, they would be separate from the edible part of the garden.

I would not allow weeds to run rampant, and I'd be careful what I plant, because some are very invasive and endanger native species. Invasive species (both animals and plants) have endangered almost 40% of endangered species in the US. Most of them were originally deliberately introduced. St. John's wort and comfrey are two very invasive plants that are commonly used in permaculture books that I would never plant or encourage. Having shade in the perennial areas and keeping the vegetable beds covered with crops would keep them to a minimum. A few weeds would be allowed though, if they were particularly useful and were not very aggressive.

I would also have chickens near the house, which of course I'd use in the garden in chicken tractors, and sheep or goats in a little pasture (perhaps under fruit trees) for their meat, milk, and fiber.

Who knows how much space this would take up...I'd try to make it as small as I could...

Since I'm living my dream on a 10 acre homestead, half of which is wetlands I guess I will explain my set-up as it is 18 yrs. old and an on-going process, still.

I have a 16'X90' mobile home with a 15'X25' back porch over-looking a half acre catfish pond. Surrounding the pond are the woods of which we leave natural for the wildlife except for many trails that my S.O. keeps cut for walking. I have two acres of raised beds with vegetables, herbs, and fruits. There are more of these every year and most are made from cement blocks with grass paths. We grow strawberries, Rabbiteye blueberries, apples, peaches, pears, figs, muscadines on arbors, and dwarf fruiting bananas in pots that get moved to one of the pvc pipe greenhouses come late Oct.

I have a guest cottage made from a portable building that was brought in on skids and made to look like a quaint country cottage using flea market finds. It is complete with a working kitchen and bathroom. (composting toilet)Behind this guest cottage I have lot's of rabbit cages with worm beds beneath the cages for the best fertilizer in the world! All kitchen scraps go into these worm beds along with cardboard and paper which I cut up into smaller pieces.

All household water from the mh and cottage is sent outside to the gardens through hoses with grease traps, though we use little grease, thank God!

All water from the roofs is directed to the pond and pond water is used for the gardens during drought periods like this past summer. Since Isadore came through, the winter garden will not have to make use of this source. The ponds catfish keep us in plenty of high quality protein and the cleanings are enjoyed by the worms.

I have 25 rare breed chickens that are free range as well as ducks, guineas, geese for watchdogs and weeds, and peafowl for insect control and watchdogs. Because of the barnyard fowl, we have found that insects are never a problem here. You would think we would have a lot of mosquitoes, too, but with the frogs, bats, dragonfly larvae in the pond, and birds...that too, is not a problem.

Our home is in the middle of a giant bamboo grove so it is much cooler than the surrounding air outside the grove, helping with cooling costs in my hot and humid area.

All junk mail either goes into the worm beds or is used by me for my paper mache art projects.

We have two inside cats and their clay liter goes into compost holes my son digs for me which are about 3-4' wide and again as deep. Once filled with liter and leaves from the woods and some vege and weed scraps in layers, they are allowed to compost over the winter and then planted to an ornamental.

Permaculture is an ongoing learning experience and lifestyle. It's not something you can do once in awhile and then get bored with all the work in entails. You have to be devoted to the concept. B.

I'm just learning about Permaculture, but I'll post a list that I often put up as my wallpaper on my desktop.

The Ethics of Permaculture:

Care for the Earth
Care for People
Distribute Surplus
Reduce Consumption

Principles of Permaculture

Everything works at least 2 ways
See Solutions not Problems
Cooperation not Competition in Work, Communications & Economics
Make Things Pay
Work Where It Counts
Use Everything To It's Highest Capacity
Bring Food Production Back to the Cities
Help Make People Self Reliant
Minimize Maintainance & Energy Input To Achieve Maximum Yeilds.
..................................

My thoughts on Permaculture Dream Yard.
Look at your Yard Now. Or your balcony if you're in an apartment.

That's your Dream Yard. The one you've got /right/ now...
Now, it's still in it's unmanifested state. BUT, if you make the cause, you've got the effect. As long as you dont give up.

Keep Dreaming, but dont stop DOING!
Nuffsed, Ana

PS. Someone asked about trees...I recently read about a type of peach tree that's been developed they are calling a 'pillar peach' they take alot less room to put in an orchard. I think I read about it on Agricultural Research's online magazine. sorry but I dont have the url at hand. 53

Permaculture Activist has Permaculture : A Designer's Manual for 65$ and they also have many more books and videos!

Here is a link that might be useful: Books at the Permaculture Activist

Someone asked me the other day what would i do if i won the lottery
They just said i was mad when i said time to build my permaculture garden.
But i know you would understand that it takes time to build and it is the one thing that i am poor for time.
I have the acre, 10 fruit trees berry plants big veg garden, worm bins, compost that i potter in plus the normal bulbs and things things i dont have to water much as we are in severe drought in australia at the moment my no dig veg garden that i experimented with last year was the only thing that was productive in the drought so it is the way i am going this year
so my dream
to improve what i have to increase the variety to give us some shade pergola or shade sail and work work work in the garden that i love
~wormlady~

Hi. I'm a little shy about posting here; I'm not only new, I've only picked up what information I have on permaculture on the 'net, and to make matters worse, I don't even own a garden yet!

I hope I'm not too badly out of place posting this.

My dream permaculture garden is a lush cottage-style garden, in the old useful flowers/herbs/veggies/fruit trees sense. I think asparagus is a beautiful perennial and ruby chard makes a cute accent.

A square-foot garden can handle the rest of the veggies, and in my daydreams its lined with low dry-laid stone walls.

Lots of apple trees (no boring shiny Red Delicious, I hate them!) and hardy pecans, with black raspberries underneath. I love trees, and I love fruit/nut trees even more, so we'll probably have weird things like American paw paw and Henry Lauder's Walking Stick, too.

Chickens, absolutely. I like Buff Orpingtons. My sister (partner in crime, hee) wants rabbits, so we're having them too, and they can graze the dandelions and clover and all the messed up vegetables. Honeybees for pollination, and about one pint of honey a year, since that is all we'd use.

We've been plotting this a long time. Hopefully we'll get it in just a couple more years now. I can't wait - I'm sick of only having two (fully occupied, no vacancies) windowsills!

Any "you are a complete newbie, but I will take pity on you" advice would be gratefully appreciated.