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Permaculture design

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Poster for the next course. Click here for the pdf version
Poster for the next course. Click here for the pdf version
With Permaculture Design the intent is that, by rapidly training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals will become designers of their own environments and able to build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements Wikipedia Jan 2008

What is Permaculture?. The following is taken from the definition from wikipedia...The word permaculture, coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren during the 1970s, is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture as well as permanent culture. Through a series of publications, Mollison, Holmgren and their associates documented an approach to designing human settlements, in particular the development of perennial agricultural systems that mimic the structure and interrelationship found in natural ecologies.

This course will run at Otago Polytechnic from 11 August - 20 October 2009 Location: L2, L block ,Otago Polytechnic. Cost of participation is: NZ$443.70. If you would like to participate email Kim Thomas on: kimtATtekotagoDOTacDOTnz. Everyone is welcome to follow along online as we publish recordings and study materials to this web page, and communicate through the discussion forum.Hortykim would like to thank and acknowledge the resources and information provided by the Permaculture short course learning facilitators in 2008-thank you Peta and Jason!I would also like to thank all the real life and "virtual" participants who helped create the permaculture garden at L block,Otago Polytechnic,Dunedin N.Z


Contents

Aim

The aim of this course is to establish a good grounding in the foundations of permaculture design and to apply it to the development of production systems and living spaces.By the end of the course the participants will have a design for their land & a portfolio of information which they can then can continue to work with & expand on.

Learning objectives

  1. Understand the principles of permaculture design.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of designing production systems and living spaces using permaculture design principles.
  3. Apply permaculture designs to the development of production systems and living spaces.


Course Schedule

Introduction to permaculture ethics & principles

Session 1 (Aug. 11 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

To do

  1. Introductions and welcome.
  2. As a group we'll look at the unit and this course schedule and run through the assessment tasks and then we'll establish a hand in date together.More details in regard to your assessment will be discussed in future sessions but the main part of your work will focus on creating a permaculture plan for a selected site.It would be ideal if you could choose a site over the next week.Choose a site which you can visit frequently in order to observe the characteristics,take measurements and in time implement your design.
  3. You may be asked What is Permaculture? Break into groups of 3-4 people and using the class discussions and hand out materials,write down a brief explanation that best describes what permaculture is.
  4. As a group we will explore permaculture ethics.
  5. As a group we will explore permaculture principles.
  6. Before our next session, find an Internet connection and look for resources and video related to permaculture ethics and design Free access to computers and the Internet is available at Otago Polytechnic Community Learning Centres, as well as any public library in Dunedin.Please take note of any good information you find so we can add it to our list of resources.You may want to start by watching this video by David Holmgren He argues that permaculture principles provide the best guide to a peaceful societal 'powering down."What do you think?

Session Summary

The first session was very dynamic and we have 14 enthusiastic participants enrolled! There is a good mix of people from diverse backgrounds and between all of us there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which will contribute to our end goal of each participant producing a permaculture plan for their chosen site.The following link is to a power point presentation which guided us through group discussions of permaculture ehtics and principles.http://www.slideshare.net/hortykim/permaculture-design.We broke into three groups and each group took four of the permaculture principles as outlined by David Holmgren and then thought of practical applications for each principle which we then all shared.For example, Tim and Mark looked at "Design from patterns to details" and came up with the idea of designing a garden in the shape of a leaf.There were many excellent ideas from the group and by the end of the session we were getting a good feel for the ethics and principles which will support our designs.For our next session I asked everyone to have a look for permaculture resources that they could bring to class.

  1. Observe and interact - By taking the time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
  2. Catch and store energy - By developing systems that collect resources when they are abundant, we can use them in times of need.
  3. Obtain a yield - Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.
  4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback - We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
  5. Use and value renewable resources and services - Make the best use of nature's abundance to reduce our consumptive behaviour and dependence on non-renewable resources.
  6. Produce no waste - By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
  7. Design from patterns to details - By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
  8. Integrate rather than segregate - By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
  9. Use small and slow solutions - Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes.
  10. Use and value diversity - Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
  11. Use edges and value the marginal - The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
  12. Creatively use and respond to change - We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.

Site plan and tips for drawing your design (base plan and sector analysis)

Session 2 (Aug. 18 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

  1. Welcome to the second session and welcome to anyone who missed our first session.
  2. Brief summary of last weeks session-(Kim remember to give e mail info to Aschel regarding the student who had turned his flat garden into an edible garden and he collects all the compost from his street)
  3. Suggest that we also look out for any interesting articles related to permaculture and post them on the classroom noticeboard.(Kim post your example that relates to Paul's interest in Cuba's response to reduced rations of imported foods.
  4. Last week's homework.What interesting books or resources did you find?
  5. Has everyone chosen a site for their permaculture plan?Could everyone give a brief run down on their chosen site please?
  6. Today's session is a switcharoo(Creatively use and respond to change) in that we were going to visit an area of bush to observe all of the interactions in a natural ecosystem/closed system,but, there is night shooting happening so I thought it best we go to plan B .The purpose of this exercise is to embrace the importance of how natural ecosystems underpin our goals in creating a cultivated ecosystem.
  7. Volunteer please, to read from *Earth User's Guide to Permaculture. Rosemary Morrow and Rob Allsop. Kangaroo Press, NSW Australia. 2006 (2nd ed.). 164pp. Page 17
  8. Base maps. A base map is a drawing that captures everything that is already on your chosen site. It includes buildings, fences, trees, hedges, pathways and driveways, power lines and pipes-anything you can think of that is already on your site.*Example of base map
  9. Weather/light permitting we will go and have a look at the permaculture garden on site as it may offer inspiration as to how far we have come from an A2 piece of paper with our base map.
  10. Exercise:to the best of your ability take 10 minutes to do a base map of your site.Kim hand out A3 paper.*Check out this awesome base map of a participant that followed our permaculture short course on- line last year.
  11. Sector analysis map.*A sector analysis map looks at what energies are affecting your site and how best can you utilize them and work with them.(Observe and interact.) What is the sun's path in summer and winter? What are the prevailing wind and rain directions?Where are the main areas of people activity(paths and flow).What is the aspect?Where does rain water collect or flow to? Where are any areas of shade/full sun? Exercise:to the best of your ability,add this information to your base map.
  12. Start on base map.Kim hand out A2 paper

Things to do for next session

1.Use all of your senses to observe what is happening on your site.(Design from patterns to details)Use a notebook to record these observations.Pay attention to boundary areas, temperatures, winds, types of living organism, anything you can notice about the space.Do this as regularly as you can and it will become a useful resource for years to come.Lynley-do you have your garden diary here to show as an example? 2. Make a base map of your project site. Leave at least a 2 - 5cm space around your drawing to allow for information cues and a key.The base drawing should be on an A2 piece of paper.Use scale of 1:100(1cm.=1 meter)or 1:50(2cm.=1 meter) 3. Now start a sector analysis map on tracing paper of the same size so it can be layed over the base map. 4. Photograph your drawings at various stages and your chosen site.

Ecology and it’s relationship to permaculture principles

Session 3 (Aug. 25 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

To do

  1. We are going to visit Lovelock Bush in the Dunedin Botanic Garden and make some observations about what is happening in this ecosystem.
  2. I will provide a guide of the area as well as a detailed outline of what observations I would like the participants to look for. I think it will be of benefit for the participants who are not enrolled in our full time horticulture course to budddy up with my students who have some knowledge of this area as well as good plant identification,re-vegetation and soils skills.
  3. The desired learning outcomes would be:Use your senses to gather information about various aspects of any ecosystem or section of land.Describe how materials & energy cycle through an ecosystem.Describe the co-operative relationships within the ecosystem.Understand the ecological foundations of the Permaculture principles
  4. Return to class room area and discuss observations and how these observations will relate to our plans.
  5. How did everyone get on with their base plan and sector analysis?
  6. Introduce the concept of elements.Students will break into groups and think of as many elements as they can and for each element,try to list three uses for each.For example, the tree lucerne hedge in the permaculture garden at L block provides a windbreak,food for livestock,nitrogen for the compost pile and firewood.Now for each element think of it's needs.For example, *The tree lucerne hedge may require trimming,compost and additional water if we get a long period of dry.
  7. For next week establish your wish list in terms of what elements you would want for your site and how frequently you would need to nurture them.What are their specific needs and yields and how will they relate to one another.Would it be handy to locate a chicken dome near a fruit tree?Kim show example of single mandala design.

Designers Checklist Introduction

Session 4 (Sept. 1 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

To do

  1. Welcome.Now a visit to the permaculture garden on site.What elements are included on this site?
  2. Return to the classroom and a quick review of our visit to Lovelock Bush and what we learned from this exercise
  • Exploring Lovelock Bush showed the group the importance of using all of our senses to observe what was happening in this relatively self sufficient ecosystem.
  • We paid special attention to the diversity of the edge, seeing how the meeting of the 2 different ecosystems gave rise to another.
  • We observed the stacking effect of the forest from ground covers to canopy & the various relationships that occur between the plants & so coming to understand how a permaculture system makes maximum use of space, & how placing plants in good relationship aids the cycling of matter.
  • We also observed & came to understand the various roles of the primary producers (plants) & the consumers in our forest, (the birds & insects), & the decomposers (fungi,insects, & micro-organisms)
  • We explored the flows of energy through the forest in terms of water & air flows, & the way light moves through the forest. At one place along the track we saw how a log, fallen across an intermittent water flow, had built up a deep litter layer & spoke about how we could, in many climatic areas, use these natural flows to enhance our cultivated ecosystems.
  • We observed the different growth habits of the plants which included colour & size of leaves which led to an understanding of the adaptions of plants & how understanding this language leads to being able to understand different plant's needs for example dark, large leaves are suited to shade.
  • The group also enjoyed identifying the native plants they came across.
  1. Where are we now? Kim hand out the designer's check list and go through as a group.
  2. Has anyone brought in a soil sample from their site. *Weeds can help you identify what soil type you may have How do we create sweet productive soil?

More exploration of the designers checklist and a closer look at the zones within the permaculture garden

Session 5(Sept. 8 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

To do

  1. Welcome and a quick review of the designers checklist and hand out to anyone who missed the last session.
  2. Continue discussions on soil health and look at techniques to improve soil health and enhance plant growth.The best ways to improve soil health and plant growth is through the addition of organic matter and nutrients by using the following techniques:
  • Grow green manure crops
  • Grow legumes as all legumes are soil-improvers and supply nutrients
  • Grow cover crops to protect the soil surface and open up the soil below the surface
  • Use organic mulches as they insulate the soil from temperature extremes,retain moisture and suppresses weeds.
  • Add animal manures to your compost or use for layers when you are sheet mulching or creating a no dig garden.
  • Compost compost compost-there are many *compost recipes so find one or experiment until you find one that works for you
  • Apply nutrient teas made from soaking your favourite source of nutrient(compost,worm castes,weeds or dynamic accumulators)in a bucket of rain water for a couple of weeks and then apply a dilution of the tea to plants.We made a worm caste tea in class.
  • Apply bio-fertilisers opposed to chemical fertilisers
  1. At the end of the last session we had a look at some of the soil samples brought in and started to *look at ways of assessing your soil
  2. No dig gardens
  3. Sheet mulching
  4. Composting
  5. Worm farms-let's make one in class!
  6. Zone one design characteristics

Designer’s Checklist for Otago Polytechnic Permaculture Design Course

What are your needs from your site?

  • Consider the time you are able to spend on site.
  • What resources do you have available?
  • What are your physical abilities?
  • How much money can you spend on resources/desired elements?
  • Take your time and allow yourself some mistakes. (Use small and slow solutions.)
  • What are your long term dreams/goals for your site.

Base Plan/Map

  • On an A2 piece of paper draw everything that is on your site. A base map is a drawing that captures everything that is already on your chosen site. It includes buildings, fences, trees, hedges, pathways and driveways, power lines and services. Use a scale of 1:100(1cm.=1 meter)or 1:50(2cm.=1 meter)

Sector Analysis Map

  • What energies are affecting your site and how best can you utilize them and work with them.(Observe and interact.) This will also help you identify your zones and zone placement.
  • What is the sun's path in summer and winter?
  • What are the prevailing wind and rain directions?
  • Where are the main areas of people activity?
  • What existing paths are in place and how do you move across the site?
  • What is the aspect? Where is north?
  • Where does rainwater collect or flow to?
  • Where are any areas of shade/full sun?

Use all of your senses to observe what is happening on your site. (Design from patterns to details.)

  • Use a notebook to record these observations. Pay attention to boundary areas, temperatures, winds, types of living organism, anything you can notice about the site. Do this as regularly as you can and it will become a useful resource for years to come. Think about our visit to Lovelock bush and how we observed naturally occurring relationships between the elements in the bush-how can you transfer these examples to your site? (Use edges and value the marginal)For example, a pond needs: shelter from wind, some sun, a water source/catchment, plants, fish, and aeration. It provides extra humidity & light to the area surrounding it, moisture to the edges, thermal mass (holds heat & radiates it out in the evening), food & beauty. It’s needs will be met, if placed in good relationship to other elements & in return their needs will be met by it. Look at other elements that you have or need, in the same way & see how you can place them so that their needs & yields are met by each other. Cycles of energy are enhanced & created this way. Experiment with random assembly if you would like to break out of traditional patterns of thinking.(Catch and store energy)
  • What type of birds and insects are on site? A heavy infestation of a particular insect indicates an imbalance which will need to be addressed using IPM. Plant health is the key here.
  • What plants are presently on site? For example, weeds can be a useful tool for indicating soil conditions. Chickweed or Stellaria media indicates good soil fertility.(Use and value diversity)
  • Have a good think about the structures and elements( present and future) on your site and consider what resources they provide and what are their needs/ maintenance requirements. Do they provide useful micro climates? How can you group certain elements together in order to maximise their functions?(Integrate rather than segregate)
  • Identify all of your resources on site as well as within your immediate boundaries to your neighbours/neighbourhood. When can these resources be collected and used, or stored for later use. For example, stockpile of all the prunings at permagrow. Resources may also be available off site. For example, food scraps from Bokashi bins. (Use and value resources and services)

Elevation planning

  • Look at your site in profile which is useful for sloping sites as you can observe air flow over the site as well as your flow. How can you best optimise trips up and down the site?(See flow patterns)

Soil analysis

  • A healthy soil food web is the key to having a productive garden as all plants depend on all the organisms working together. There are rudimentary tests that can help indicate soil health or you can pay to have a soil test. (Superior Minerals) .Regardless , organic matter is the key to good soil health hence composting systems are an essential element in the permaculture garden. What composting systems are suited to your site?(Produce no waste)

Analysis and flow diagrams

  • This tool enables you to create the beneficial relationships that are central to good Permaculture design. It leads to a great deal of creation! These relationships echo those you find in Nature. The principles of “co-operation not competition” & “observe & interact” apply here. Take an element that you want in your design. Look at all its needs & what it gives. (Obtain a yield)
  • Flow patterns. If the land you are working with is already lived on look at how you move across it. How could this change when your design is implemented? Make the pathways multi – functional. You are a flow of energy in a permaculture system. For example,you leave the house with the compost bucket & a basket & on the way back from the compost you can collect the eggs, & pick some herbs/veges & maybe grab a few pieces of wood or kindling from the woodpile.

Zone planning

  • Try to include all five zones on your site even if it may take a few years to develop all zones .You may want to seek advice from your local council when you are developing or adding to plantings for your zone 5. (Apply self regulation and accept feed back)
  • Even on a small site all zones from 0~5 can be included. See “Earth Users Guide to Permaculture Design” by Rosemary Morrow for more detail. Zones are about creating & placing areas of activity in good relationship to their needs & yields.
  • ZONE 0 — The house, or home centre. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live, work and relax
  • ZONE 1 — The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost and bin for kitchen waste.
  • ZONE 2 — This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control (preferably through natural methods such as spot-mulching) or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards. This would also be a good place for beehives and larger scale composting bins.
  • ZONE 3 — The area where maincrops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control once a week or so.
  • ZONE 4 — A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as timber production. An example might be coppice-managed woodland.
  • ZONE 5 — A wild area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural eco-systems and cycles. Here is where the most important lessons of the first permaculture principle of working with, rather than against, nature are learned.

Final site plan and combining checklist

  • Now pull all of these steps together for your next transparent overlay which is your site plan. Remember that your plan may take some time to implement and you may change your plan as it is implemented but your site plan will be a great guide. (Creatively use and respond to change)

Energy use in zone 0 and further exploration of zones, effective plantings for zone 2 and other considerations when implementing your design

Session 6 (Sept. 15 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

To Do

  1. Welcome and quick review of last week where we looked at soils and ways to manage and improve them.We looked at the the huge array of #soil types in NZ,the direct and indirect effects that *soil pH can have on plant growth and some are inherently more fertile than others but the very best way to improve soils is to add organic matter through *composting.We also looked at the advantages of not over cultivating a soil but building upon your existing soil type through sheet mulching/no dig gardens.
  2. From the discussions and briefly touching on soil types found in New Zealand I was asked specific questions about soil types in Dunedin.Leroy asked about soil properties in the Hayward Point area and Tom asked about *selenium deficiencies in NZ soils and how to improve the availability of selenium in your soil.Although NZ soils are low in selenium,it would appear that this does not have an adverse effect on the *health of kiwis as many imported wheat and legume products contain selenium.However,if you want to buy locally you may want to consider supplements.A common practice in countries where the soil is poor in selenium is the addition of sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) to the feed of animals.Meat and fish are a good source of selenium but if you a re a vegetarian you may want to kick up your selenium by eating brazil nuts.Kelp added to your compost or used to create a nutrient broth/tea would be a gentle way of improving the availability of selenium in your soil.
  3. Break into smaller groups and make a list of all the energy use in your zone 0.What can be done to reduce or recycle the energy and waste produced in zone zero?
  4. Kim hand out information on zones and let's have a closer look at zone 2 and hand out planting calenders and info on trees and shrubs.Zone 2 is still intensively managed, but less so than zone one, in zone two trees shrubs, perennials and animals play major roles. In this session we will look at what is commonly produced in zone two areas, how to choose what to place in zone two and look at some of the principles of permaculture design that help us create a dynamic productive zone which includes drawing on inspiration from wild and cultivated woodlands for zone two,choosing appropriate plants & materials for the zone. We will also relate permaculture design concepts to zone two such as stacking,succession,multiple functions and guilds.
  5. Kim hand out assessment guidelines and establish a hand in date.

Work on site plan and incorporate all key features

Session 7 (Oct. 12 5.30pm-7.30pm) Monday

Fieldtrip

This full day session includes a field trip and practical sessions on composting, no dig gardens and worm farms

Session 8 (Oct. 17 10.00 am-3.pm) Saturday

Present designs, discussion & potluck celebration

Session 9 (Oct. 20 5.30 pm-7.30 pm) Tuesday

Resources

This unit is used in the following courses

Admin

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