Permaculture in the garden: tips for creating a permanent culture

Permaculture has a number of advantages and it is no coincidence that it is considered to be particularly sustainable. We reveal everything about creating a permaculture in your own garden.

Permaculture is a particularly natural and low-maintenance form of gardening. We will tell you how to create your own permaculture garden in six steps and how you can create a permaculture bed and, above all, permaculture in the allotment garden.

Why does a permaculture in the garden make sense?

Permaculture in the garden has many advantages: On the one hand, it is a very environmentally friendly and resource-saving way of gardening. On the other hand, it leaves a lot of the work to nature and the human effort is minimal.

The advantages of permaculture in the garden in a nutshell:
Permaculture is...

• Environmentally friendly, both locally and globally;
• resource-saving;
• Conducive to biodiversity and diversity;
• Beneficial for beneficial insects, which relieve us of a lot of plant protection work in the garden;
• A good idea if you build up humus want to make your soil more fertile;
• A perfect tactic, um save water in the garden.

You can find out a definition of permaculture and everything about its principles in our article "What is permaculture?“

Create permaculture in the garden

A permaculture garden does not grow by itself. If you want to delve deep into this form of management, we recommend the following six steps. Immediately afterwards we will explain the implementation of these individual modules.

In six steps to the permaculture garden:

1. Watch
2. identify resources
3. zoning
4. plan items
5. planting planning
6. implementation

Create permaculture in the garden: 1. Watch

The first step to the permaculture garden is observing nature in the garden and the current conditions. Take a good look around your garden: Where is it rather dry? Are there wetter spots? Where does the sun shine all day? Which places are more likely to be shaded? Are there particularly wind-protected areas? Does the grass grow particularly luxuriantly in some places and not at all in others? Walk through the garden with your eyes wide open and familiarize yourself with what is already there. To record your observations, it is worth making a rough sketch.

Tip: Through later interventions - such as planting, creating watercourses or creating hills and Lower – the conditions in your garden can of course still be modeled so that other microclimates develop. After all, quite a few gardens consist of only two zones: a sunny, dry lawn and a shady lawn with moss.

Create permaculture in the garden: 2. identify resources

Now that you've inspected your garden closely, it's time to identify important resources. The results of your observations should also be included in your sketch.

Important resources in the garden:

• floor
• water
• light
• warmth
• wind
• working hours

Floor: Soil is the basic requirement for life. It is a habitat for important microorganisms, a water reservoir and, above all, a nutrient medium for healthy and vigorous plants. You can check the properties of your soil with a soil analysis - but that would be it necessary in all different areas - or turn to pointer plants and your intuition orientate. nettles (Urtica) are, for example, an indicator of nitrogen-rich soil, daisies (Bellis perennis) and cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) indicate nutrient-poor soils. sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is an indication of acidic soils, the field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) indicates alkaline soil conditions. The type of soil can also be roughly determined with the finger test: Kneadable, cohesive soils contain one good amount of clay, dark, fragrant and crumbly soils are rich in humus and soils with low cohesion are more likely sandy.

Tip: A humus-rich soil makes many things easier! It stores nutrients and water and supplies the plants with it as needed - so you have to water less often and only fertilize a few times a year. By introducing organic material and nutrients, for example with the Plantura organic soil activator, improve your soil in the long term and sustainably.

Water: Water is also essential for the development of plants. Depressions in the garden that are not constantly dried out by wind and sun are ideal as water reservoirs. Here a pond could become the basis of life for wet plants and associated insects, amphibians and birds.

Light: Plants cannot grow without light. Therefore, observe how long different areas of your garden are immersed in sun, shade or partial shade.

warmth: Heat does not only depend on solar radiation. Near house walls, dark stones and on humus-rich, dark soil or black mulch films the ground and the air above it warms up faster - especially if the area is also exposed to wind is protected. Such zones are valuable for heat-loving plants like persimmon trees or apricot trees.

Wind: Wind has a major influence in gardens. Windless areas are predestined for pests, especially fungal diseases and aphids. And wind can also play a role as a pollinator, for example in hazelnuts and walnuts. But wind also has major disadvantages: Windswept gardens often suffer from severe early and late frosts. Unprotected soils in particular also dry out extremely quickly in the wind, which in the long term affects the soil quality and, of course, every plant.
Therefore, it makes sense to design both wind-protected and wind-open zones in your own garden, if possible: For example, with the help of windbreak hedges.

Working hours: Another important factor is time: Do I have a lot of time to work in the garden, or do I actually only get to the garden very rarely? Depending on the available working time, the garden can be planned more or less labour-intensive.

Create permaculture in the garden: 3. zoning

The ideal model of a permaculture consists of five zones (rings), the center of which is the human being. The zones can also be implemented in small gardens, for example by using raised beds, that vertical gardening or by the zones merging into one another.

Zone 0 house or apartment: This is where we live and cook.
Zone 1 kitchen garden, herb garden: Especially herbs that are used daily in the kitchen should be grown in this zone.
Zone 2 vegetable garden: More frequently used and slightly more maintenance-intensive vegetables can be planted in this area. But the compost, pond or beehives can also be found here.
Zone 3 Agricultural zone: This includes arable crops such as potatoes or grain, which rarely require maintenance.
Zone 4: fruit and nut trees, pasture land: Trees are the lowest maintenance crops and are limited to seasonal use and care. For this, one gladly accepts a slightly further route. Any farm animals such as sheep or ducks also feel at home here between the trees.
Zone 5 wilderness, relaxation area for people and nature: This zone is considered a place of retreat, where above all bees, insects, butterflies, birds and small mammals like Hedgehog and Co. are undisturbed. Here it makes sense to set up an insect hotel; there are nesting sites for birds or a retreat for the hedgehog to hibernate in peace.

Zones 1 to 5 can be roughly drawn in your garden plan. The actual planning of the elements of the permaculture garden is now based on them:

Create permaculture in the garden: 4. plan items

After the area has been examined and you know where which zone is, elements can now be planned in a targeted manner. It is important to ensure that as many resources as possible are used. For example, it rarely makes sense to remove existing structures such as trees or shrubs just to create a sunny spot for the herb spiral. It would be better to find another place for the herb spiral or at least to use existing plants elsewhere. The same applies to walls, ponds or existing bed areas.

Examples of elements in the permaculture garden:

• raised bed
• mound bed
• pond and wetlands
• drywall
• stone bed
• herb bed or herbal spiral
• Nesting aid for wild beesthat pollinate your plants
• butterfly house
• flower meadow as habitat for beneficials
• nest boxes for birds
• earth cellar
• compost heap
• hedges
• Tree trunks for mushroom cultivation
• fruit trees like apple trees (penalty) or plums (Prunus domestica subsp. domestica)
• Nut trees such as hazelnut (Corylus avellana)
• berry bushes like raspberries (Rubus idaeus) or gooseberries (Ribes uva crispa)
• Small animals like ducks, sheep, Chicken or minipigs
• Native shrubs like sloes (Prunus spinosa) or rosehips (Rosa canina) for the wilderness area
• seats and paths

Tip: Wild meadows are anything but wasted space: Small and large beneficial insects are here and wait to be used in your plant population. You can also let pests such as voles do their thing here. Aside from their benefits, a wild meadow is like that Plantura beneficial insect magnet also an invitation to look and marvel - it is therefore a good idea to set up a seat here.

Create permaculture in the garden: 5. planting planning

When planning the planting, it is important not monocultures, but rather one mixed culture to promote. Diversity instead of simplicity is the motto here. There are many plant communities that support each other. Legumes such as peas (Pisum sativum) or clover (trifolium) capture nitrogen from the air, making it available to other plants. foundation plants like the bee friend (Phacelia tanacetifolia) feed insects and at the same time loosen the soil. And thanks to the different growth heights and rooting depths of the most diverse vegetable plants, every spot of earth is optimally used.
Also are perennial crops preferable to annuals. These last for several years in the garden and do not have to be replanted every year.

Create permaculture in the garden: 6. implementation

After all the planning and preparation, the final step is implementation. Now let's get started: You can let off steam in the countryside to your heart's content and design and build a permaculture garden according to your wishes. Don't stick to your original plan too dogmatically: Sometimes new insights emerge in the development process and you have to react flexibly to them. For example, a very good offer, such as a group of berry bushes, should never be turned down just because you have already decided on a specific variety. You'd better see if you can't integrate the gift you've received in a meaningful way.

Create permaculture in the bed

You don't want to redesign your entire garden directly, but at least want to create a permaculture bed? To create a permaculture bed, there are several principles and cultivation methods that you can consider. A popular practice in permaculture is direct sowing without digging up, as well as undersowing, the Mulching, green manure and - to be particularly emphasized - fertilizing with sustainable ones fertilizers.

Ideas for permaculture in the bed at a glance:

• Direct sowing without digging: Serves to maintain soil fertility; Beds are not dug up, but weeds are removed by covering them with mulch or mulch film. After a few weeks, the mulch can be removed, the weeds raked off and the seed brought in or planted.
• mulching: Here, bare soil is consistently covered with organic material, which protects the soil and provides new humus. In addition, weeds are suppressed.
• undersowing: A secondary crop such as parsley or rocket is sown between the rows of the main crops, such as leeks. The plants hardly compete because they root at different depths and grow at different heights. In addition, weeds are suppressed.
• mixed culture: Plants that can benefit from each other are planted together in a targeted manner.
• Perennial plants: Perennial crops are low maintenance and do not require annual tillage.
• Site-compatible plants: For example, choose appropriate Vegetables for the shade or one apple tree variety, which gets along well with the existing soil.
• green manure: It should cover the soil after harvest, not only keeping weeds out but also improving the soil.
• Natural Fertilizers: In order not to disturb the balance of acids and bases in the soil and to preserve useful microorganisms, as well as humus in the soil, in permaculture is only the primarily organic fertilization is an option - with mineral fertilizers the water and nutrient storage capacity of the soil would be greatly reduced in the long term. In addition to sustainable fertilizers like ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer are also compost - whether from your own garden or purchased - as well as horse manure, ash, eggshells and other home remedies provide valuable nutrients and carbon donors that improve the soil if used correctly be able.

Permaculture for small gardens

If you don't have a lot of space in the garden, you can still implement a lot. One possibility is to omit zones of the classic permaculture model: the zone of annual vegetables or the herb garden, for example. Or you build upwards: with the help of hill beds or raised beds planted all around, for example, many elements of permaculture already fit into an allotment garden. Even herb spirals are more space-saving compared to flat beds. Or try the space-saving one Gardening on Straw or in mushroom cultivation on tree trunks.

Tip: Many people automatically associate growing potatoes with tilling large fields. But many potatoes can be harvested even on no more than one square meter - we explain how:
Instructions potato tower:

• Sack (e.g. made of jute) with some nutrient-rich soil, like ours Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil, to fill.
• Put one or two small potatoes in the ground.
• Water regularly and refill with soil so that only the top two or three leaves are sticking out.
• When the sack is full of soil and the plant grows out, you have to wait another 2 weeks for the potatoes to develop properly.

Natural biological plant protection can also work well in small gardens: Um useful insects To promote, an insect hotel can be attached to the house wall. You could also spread one over several flower boxes wildflower meadow invest. If you don't have space for a large compost, you have the option of making your own vermicompost, which can be used to utilize kitchen waste in the smallest of spaces.
As water storage, rain barrels are a classic variant that can also find a good place in small gardens. The installation of an underground rainwater tank, from which water can be drawn with the help of a pump, is a little more complex, but much more space-saving.

Space-saving elements of permaculture for small gardens:

• raised beds
• mound beds
• herbal spiral
• Insect drinkers, wildflowers in tubs and boxes
• nest boxes
• worm box
• Rain barrel or underground water storage tank
• Vertical gardening on house walls

It is best to continue reading our special article if you are very interested in this Gardening in a small space interested!