The cost of running a homestead has been increasing lately. Have you noticed the same? That’s why I’m a massive proponent of permaculture! Permaculture transforms your homestead into a self-sustaining system that produces delicious food each year while requiring less…
Building a backyard food forest means selecting plants that work together across multiple layers. It also means choosing edible perennials and yummy fruit trees that require only minimal maintenance once established. Well, we’ve got all of those angles covered. The…
Are you dreaming of a self-sufficient oasis on your property where abundant, delicious crop yields and ecological balance go hand in hand? Look no further than the fascinating concept of a coconut circle! Coconut circles are a permaculture design harnessing the remarkable…
If you grow some or even most of your own food, you might think you’re doing your part to live more sustainably. However, if you’re not using polyculture farming or gardening, you could be missing out on big ways to…
To make the most of a plum tree guild, it is always important to place it in the right spot and select the best companion plants to help your plum tree guild thrive. Understanding the type of soil plum trees…
If you want to plant an apple tree in your garden, you should not cultivate it alone. In the wild, plants don’t grow in isolation. They grow in communities of plants. In your garden? You should mimic natural ecosystems and…
The perfect permaculture garden is a garden that cares for people and our planet. It is a resilient space that helps you live sustainably and take only your fair share – returning the surplus to the system. And nature. But…
Fruit tree guilds are a fabulous feature of many permaculture gardens. These guilds are essentially collections of plants that work together to improve the health and productivity of the tree at their heart. The concept is simple. However, achieving the…
In this series of articles, I will walk you through the seven layers of the forest garden or backyard food forest, explaining the purpose and function of each one and some of the species that can be grown there in a temperate climate. …
There’s a bit of an odd-one-out among the seven layers of the permaculture food forest garden – a group that doesn’t fit into any one particular compartment of the garden quite so neatly… Like all plants, climbing plants start their…
In our exploration of temperate food forest layers, we’ve been taking a closer look at each of the seven layers, what we can plant there, and how to design each layer for optimum results across the whole garden. So far,…
So far, in our exploration of the different layers of the permaculture food forest garden, we have covered the underground and herbaceous layers that comprise the smaller plants of the ecosystem. Today, we’ll look at permaculture shrubs we can grow in…
Edible ground covers and the herbaceous layer of the permaculture food forest. What makes a food forest garden different from an orchard? One of the distinctions lies in what’s growing on the ground… In conventional orchards, the ground is either…
One of the defining features of forest gardens and food forests is how they utilize space to maximum efficiency by growing crops in several “layers” – just as you’d see in natural woodland. These layers can be roughly divided up…
By applying the 12 principles of permaculture to our lives, we can increase productivity, cut down on waste, and boost the health of our own, personal ecosystem. Permaculture is just about sustainably growing your own food, isn’t it? That is…
