I'm fairly new to Permaculture.  I started learning in April 2010 but on the 23rd November I was very relieved (and proud) to hand in my Permaculture Design Project to complete my Permaculture Design Certificate.  Here is a quick overview of what it entailed.

First, I did a client interview to determine what their needs, wants, ethics, budget and commitment to installing and maintaining the system are.  Through this process you can get an idea of what is realistic, what might be short term or long term goals, what they want to use the property for, what the property has historically been used for and also what the client’s understanding of Permaculture is.  I represented this process in a mind map (see below).

Once I had assessed the client needs, I completed a Sector Analysis.  This was done through observation – observing sun movements (and shade) across the property throughout the days; feeling where and when cool, warm and strong winds cross the property; observing where water flows and pools when it rains; noting how pets, children, adults, cars use the property for work, play and daily movements; researching where pipes and electrical lines are dug or hanging; and anything else that is important to how the space is utilised.  I drew this information up in the sector analysis diagram (see below).

The next step was to take note of what was already on the property and mark it on a Base Plan.  This would be the basis for my design.  This plan was to plot all the existing structures and plants.  In my case, the property had a staggering 52 fruit trees planted!  I had barely noticed some of them since they were still young trees.  I started to identify these trees, research them and plot their sizes at full maturity on my Base Plan (see below).

As you can see, whilst the landlord has planted some really rare, beautiful and exotic trees, there simply will not be enough room for them all to grow to full size and be fully productive.  This is not a normal permaculture experience!  Normally designers are confronted with bare properties or ornamental plants only… what a treat!  Check out my document (PDC Design Project) to see all the amazing trees I researched.

Once I had fully researched each tree, and done my soil tests I could determine if each tree was actually suitable for its current location and once removed I could see the available space for the rest of my design.  So, then I started considering my design, using what I had learnt in my courses and remembering these permaculture principles:

Elevational Planning – This is basically considering the profile of the site, where water flows and how placement of elements will be affected by this understanding.  You will see in my design that I put a banana mulch pit in the lowest corner of the property to make use of water running there.

Multiple Functions – There are lots of uses for everything in permaculture! Everything should be placed for more than one function – for example, in my design I have ground covers and guilds within the orchard to mulch the trees but the choice of plants will also feed the chickens 

Sectors - Used to channel external energy like wind and sun into or away from the system.  In my design I have an example of this in the North East corner.  I have designed a circular garden for tomatoes but since they are not tolerant to wind I have planted a Jerusalem artichoke windbreak around them.

Zones - Zones are used in Permaculture design to place elements depending on how often you go to that element.  For example, in my design I wanted things like the compost bin and herb spiral close to the back door (which is near the kitchen) because we would use them every day.

Maximise Edge - Edges are rich in diversity – think the banks of rivers or edges of forests!  In permaculture, we want to create edges to encourage microclimates, good predators and diversity.  In my design I have incorporated key hole garden beds at the back of the house to do this!  In future designs, I hope I wouldn’t have as many existing straight lined concrete garden beds so I can create more interesting pathways and edges through the property.

Relative Location – This one is all about putting a design component in the right place for its most efficient functioning.  For example, in my design I put my intensive vegetable gardens in the North East corner of the property to make sure they get the required 6-8 hours of sunlight per day.  I ensured that the vegetables we’d want to pick daily were placed en route to the letterbox, making the trip to collect the mail useful in another way too!

Diversity - Diversity is everything! It’s needed for stability, for pest control, for interest and enjoyment.  Diversity includes the different types of elements, the number of connections between them and the number of ways in which they work. In my design I have tried to incorporate many species of edible plants but also incorporated them as sources of mulch, companion plants for pests and diseases, nitrogen fixers and chicken food, as examples.

Patterns - Patterns help us frame our design by planning how elements connect and function in beneficial relationships.  In my design I was limited by the existing square concrete garden beds but still incorporated the spiral herb garden, key hole plucking beds and circular tomato bed.

Biological Resources – This one is all about using plants and animals to save energy.  For example, my design incorporates companion plants for pest and disease control, chickens for manure and pest control and composting food scraps to improve the soil.

Natural Succession – Carefully planning the succession of plants can recreate what happens naturally in a rainforest.  In my design I have included an under story of useful plants within the orchard and suggested the planting of some pioneer species to improve the soil and encourage growth of the smaller fruit trees.

Energy Recycling – This one is all about keeping energy on the site as much as possible. My design addresses this through a banana circle which uses the water that runs off to the North West corner of the property, composting organic waste, growing my own mulch, utilising rain water tanks and installing solar hot water and solar panels, as examples 

Multiple Elements - There is more than one way to use everything!  An example I haven’t used yet is the bamboo planted in the South West corner of the property in my design.  This has been included as a screen for privacy to the neighbours yard, as a source of mulch for the gardens, a material to be used for construction of planting stakes (and hopefully furniture one day!).

Finally I did my Concept Design (see below).

Lastly, you would already know the 3 ethics of Permaculture, but I wanted to keep them in mind too:

Care of the Earth - Care for living soil (see a post on my blog called The Story of Soil), care for our forests and rivers, reduce our consumption of ‘stuff’, care of all creatures (even the microscopic ones). Work with nature and not against – collaborate, don’t compete.

Care of People - Meet people’s needs in a compassionate and simple way.  Start with looking after yourself and expand to include families, neighbours and communities. Embrace self-reliance and personal responsibility.  Focus on positives and opportunities rather than problems and obstacles.  I think this is an appropriate place to appreciate my friends at the city farm I volunteer at.  They are constantly teaching and inspiring me.

Share of Surplus - Recognise our limits to what we can give and take, for people and the planet. Find the right balance in production and consumption.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my PDC project :)

IMAGES BELOW from left to right:

CLIENT NEEDS MIND MAP

SECTOR ANALYSIS

BASE PLAN

CONCEPT PLAN