PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES 1-12
Learning and understanding the permaculture principles are a perfect way to get started with your own permaculture garden, no matter how big or how small. They can act as filters for each design decision we make during our gardening process towards accomplishing big goals. Anytime you feel a change coming up through your design and garden, you can check back through each principle to keep in aliment with the ethics and purpose of permaculture.
Many intelligent gardeners from all over the world have published lists of the principles in various lengths and details. Below you can find Seed to Sage's take and examples of each principle.
The functions of a forest closely follow along with the permaculture principles without trying.. in a state of reciprocity, holding space with all the living beings. So let's start from the beginning, although, the principles are to be seen as a circular system, not a linear one.
Permaculture Principle #1
First things first! Observation is the key to a good permaculture design. It is the way we figure out how we will work WITH nature, not against it. This means taking time to slow down, pay attention to detail, see the systems already in place, and begin to interact with them!
You usually want to observe your land for at least 1 cycle of all four seasons before implementing any permanent fixtures. This gives you time to start mapping areas out and concept designing. . A good design starts with a harmonious relationship between nature and the people, and that is what Seed to Sage stands for. If you need help with where, to begin with, new or existing gardens, get in contact us!
Permaculture Principle #2
Catching and storing energy is nature’s default, and can happily be achieved by simply planting a garden, aka producing more biomass.
Seed to Sage likes to use this principle by way of the four elements :
•Air: The wind getting caught in mature canopy trees and protecting the ground level and precious topsoil layer from getting swept away.
•Water: Is the soil/ground permeable enough to allow for rainwater to soak in? Where is water pooling or running off your site? The most common and easiest practice is utilizing rain barrels.
•Fire: Sunshine! Each leaf on a plant is like a little solar panel, the more plants, the more energy is caught and stored! Use the sun in your favor with south-facing veg gardens, or start using solar panels for your home's energy usage.
•Earth: The development of healthy soils promotes healthy crops, retains more rainfall, stores carbon, and more importantly our microbe friends.
Permaculture Principle #3
Obtaining a yield can be the primary goal of a productive permaculture garden! Although, with this principle, you want to keep a holistic mindset, as in, ‘how is this yield providing systemic enrichment to the larger ecosystem.’ The key here is BIODIVERSITY.
Holding as much diversity as possible in your garden environment can ensure you have many different harvesting options, it also keeps the area healthy and improving over time! Whenever trying to obtain a yield, you want to think of how you are giving back, the regeneration quality & what you are leaving for other living beings. The Winter season heading into Spring is the time of year to be planning out what kind of yield you will have throughout the growing season! Seed to Sage offers many different garden designs, such as herb gardens, tea gardens, food forest gardens, and gardens for cutting flowers!
Permaculture Principle #4
This principle gets to the heart of permaculture designing. Nature is always our greatest teacher, following naturally occurring patterns can help us see the bigger design going on past our urban yard spaces.
With this principle, you want to think about taking yourself (the gardener) out of the picture! If you walked away for any amount of time, how will your garden be fair? This is how self-regulation steps in. You want to get set up well enough that your garden systems are working on their own. Once you let some of your self-regulating systems do their own thing for a while, you want to go back to accept the feedback found. Were there any issues? What is working and what isn’t. And at this point, you might want to start back at principle 1 with observing and interacting in order to apply changes!
You want to have fun, play, and experiment, lots of people have a lot of experience and ways to do this “right”. But Seed to Sage likes to approach each garden design like the unique situation that it is, not one size fits all.
Permaculture Princple #5
Use and value renewable resources.. a lesson shown repeatedly in the garden and in nature. With the spring equinox around this corner, it has us watching the new bursting through the old. So how can we reflect this in our own lifestyles and permaculture gardens? Switch your perspective on what you have around you, try to not label anything as “waste”, and get creative! As shown in the images above, there has been outdoor furniture created from some old wood pallets! As well as a fireplace put together from old used bricks.
We want to limit the things we are taking away from our sites as well as how much we have to bring onto our sites. Making our lives simple, and taking a step away from a consumer mindset. Want some nice wonderful soil for your gardens next season? Then you better start up your compost system! Plant perennials that you can harvest from, use as mulch plants, and know they are mending the soil all at once!
Everything can be transformed, the elements show us their transformation abilities time and time again, work with them and see what you can come up with
.
Permaculture Principle #6
Everything is a resource in some way or another. Permaculture principles #6 & #5 are closely related! Our modern lifestyles are so convenient that we tend to view value items as “waste” when we are through with them, this way of thinking is not through the lens of a permaculture designer.
Look again and you may see the highest use possible for this once unneeded object. Taking advantage of these principles meaning will cause less build-up in our landfills and less need for more production!
In this image, you see old toilet paper rolls as seedling containers, and food scrapes becoming compost! This is a great and easy example of how to recycle items in your gardening practices. Then you can take it further to filtering greywater for a second purpose, stack energy functions to happen at the same time to be more resourceful, or check if your community is in need of what you are wanting to be rid of! The options are endless when you truly do not view objects as waste! Change and transformation are at the heart of every ecosystem, so let’s follow along.
Permaculture Principle #7
Zoom out and zoom in, patterns to details. This principle serves a very important part in the permaculture design process. Within the patterns, you want to know how all landscapes flow together, for example, zooming out to the whole of Canada, how do the patterns of nature flow throughout the provinces, there is deep history and wisdom there, there is a story. Zooming into Alberta, and then Calgary, to the details, what makes up our ecosystems? What are the native plants and what species are sustained in our environment?
•The patterns that are always surrounding us are - Waves, Edges, Spirals, Swirls, Branching, Webs, Lobes, Scattered, the Weather, the Planets
•The details that surround us are -Specific to a direct location, Soil types, Precipitation percentage, Planning site zones, etc.
•Perspective is knowledge, designing patterns to details is another way we can connect our little plots of land to the big picture of nature!
Permaculture Principle #8
This principle used in permaculture design pretty much sums it up!
The integration component is a must for the proper functioning of any system, having all parts working together. As many of us know, we are a reflection of nature, and relationships can be very diverse and complicated. This is witnessed in our personal lives, to seeing the daily life of busy pollinators! Essentially a vibrant landscape, garden, or ecosystem is just a mass of interconnected relationships, an unspoken language of reciprocity.
Like a small tear in the web, separation causes stress. If you are only relying on one crop to provide for yourself, what happens is disastrous if it fails. Unlike a food forest, where if one source fails, there is still an abundance of others that will provide! The integration of many systems allows for more strength and resilience for the whole! Let us know the ways you like to bring integration into your daily life, shift away from separation, ask for help when you need it, as many hands make light work.
Permaculture Principle #9
In a world where we have grown used to having what we want almost instantly.. permaculture principle #9 can be easier said than done.
Using small and slow solutions to achieving your garden goals is very important! And a way to always feel like a winner. Even though we may all have a grandmaster plan, there will always be the first step to getting there! The journey can be the most exciting and humbling part. It is also taking the time to recognize what will work for you and what won’t.
Building your foundation thoughtfully and slowly will bring forth great long-term success. There is no shame in leaving room for trial and error, you will only become wiser for future situations. Love yourself through the process, and grow with your garden along the way.
Permaculture Principle #10
Many biologists, environmentalists, and nature observers alike can all agree —Diversity is the key for life to thrive!
In permaculture principle 10, we can take away that the more diversity there is in a forest or in a garden, the more resilient it will become. This is due to the web of life coming from so many different aspects, and the abundance is not coming from one solo source!
Remember this concept isn’t only referring to the number of creatures or elements within a system, it is also referring to the number of functional connections between them. The way things work together to provide for all. This also goes along with the idea that if one of your systems does not pull through one season, you will have already created a backup or have other systems in place so you are not left on empty. The goal is stability.. with less work! Take a look around your property or wild areas nearby and count how many different species you can find in one section. You may be inspired to copy nature’s intelligence.
Increase your biodiversity today by.. creating a polyculture around an existing fruit tree, or build your soil health by adding different kinds of organic matter for the microbes to feed on. Plant all different kinds of native plants for a diversity of roots in the soil! Creativity is on your side with this principle.
Permaculture Principle #11
The interface or juncture of two meeting ecological boundaries is where some of the most valuable, diverse, and productive action is taking place! A lot of medicinal herbs and edible plants take shelter on the edge of a forest, or along the border of a river. Being richer in the variety of species present in these areas makes you think, if this is in nature’s design method, how can I be a part of it!
This can be extremely useful in a larger property with existing features such as a forest in the area or rolling hills like here in the prairies.
So where are these edges and margins within our yard gardens that we can take advantage of?
-The area closest to your house, where it is sheltered, absorbs a lot of heat but may not retain a lot of water.
-In the drip line of a row of mature trees
-A property line fence where you can create vertical gardens!
-A Boulevard or sidewalk where there will be more foot traffic and the hard contrast of concrete.
These areas can become microclimates within your garden to play with. Or to create your own edges - create large hugelkulturs, a natural pond, or plant a fruit tree forest.
Permaculture Principle #12
j Responding to change has been a necessity for life on our planet. It is a natural process that should be embraced and used to our benefit in the permaculture garden.
This can be as simple as planning for the growth of a fruit tree to become its mature size in the future, being aware of the shadows it will cast, and planting the underbrush accordingly. Another example of creatively responding to change is if we are taking down a building- can you use those materials to build some raised veggie beds?
Take all the principles before this one into consideration in the midst of needing to respond to change wishing your dynamic living systems! Getting creative with your spade in this way will create more resilience and self-sufficiency while eliminating “waste”. What a fulfilling way to live.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
We have now covered all 12 of the permaculture principles, I hope this has shifted some perspective on your gardening style. Big change can start in small places. Start to implement these principles in multiple ways than just in your garden, let the ripples take effect on those around you! Share the abundance that permaculture brings.
Comments