I won’t share full details of my permaculture designs on this site. But I do want to give an occasional glimpse into the varied work that I do for gardeners and growers around the world. This case study is an example of one part of a permaculture design I completed for a client in Kansas.
The client had already planted some fruit trees along the back of their garden, and wanted me to create a permaculture design for the area around the trees and for an adjacent area of intensively managed annual beds.
I recommended the establishment of a forest garden, and the creation of sixteen polyculture beds with wood chip paths between them. The number of beds allows for flexibility in crop rotation, and should make it easy to implement a four year crop rotation to avoid any build up of pests/ disease. I also recommended the creation of mixed hedgerows, with combination of nitrogen fixing shrubs, edibles and wildlife-friendly species along the borders of the site.
In any new food production zone, setting up restorative and renewable systems is crucial to making sure that the space is productive, and that yield can be increased over time. I recommended creating a large double compost bin, and a bin for woodchip/ woody waste in the corner of the site. This means that these regenerative materials will be easily available and accessible from the main growing areas.
I included details of the forest garden guilds, mixed hedgerows, and a recommended planting scheme for each of the beds in the design. The area for intensive beds can already been tilled when the client approached me. But I recommended moving to a ‘no dig’ gardening system moving forward and helped the client understand how to implement this type of system moving forwards.
Of course, each individual design is unique, adapted to the site, and to the needs and wishes of the client in question. If you would like a garden design for your space, or help to create a planting plan or planting schedule, please do get in touch.
EWSP Consultancy 