How I’m planning my garden for food production
I’ve officially lived in my “new” (to me) house for 12 months (since October 2019). I started my garden transformation project in January and whilst it’s no way near being finished, I thought it was time for an update.
I thought I’d talk you through some of the planning and design, and explain the different choices I’ve made and why I’ve made them.
Just as a reminder, this is what I started with:
My garden is designed with permaculture principles in mind. What this means, is designing for the climate and with nature, rather than against it. I completed a Permaculture Design Course back in 2016, which is two weeks of full-time learning, and is a great foundation for making good decisions around environmentally sensitive garden design.
There are 12 principles to permaculture which help inform all the decisions. Some are self-explanatory, and others have a few different meanings depending on the context. The principles are:
- Observe and interact;
- Catch and store energy;
- Obtain a yield;
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback;
- Use and value renewable resources and services;
- Produce no waste;
- Design from patterns to details;
- Integrate rather than segregate;
- Use small and slow solutions;
- Use and value diversity;
- Use edges and value the marginal;
- Creatively use and respond to change.
Permaculture garden design: designing for the climate
When planning a garden it’s helpful to think about the patterns (permaculture principle: design from patterns to details). Things that might change from day to day, but run in cycles, whether they are monthly, yearly or something else.
One of the biggest considerations when planning a garden is the climate. It affects so much: the types of things you can plant, when you can plant them, how much water you need, whether you need wind or sun protection, and I’m sure there’s more.
In Perth, we have a Mediterranean climate, hot (brutal) summer sun, and lack of rain. On the plus side, there are 300 days of sun a year, and where I live, we don’t get winter frost.
Which means I need to have a good and reliable water source (reticulation is a must, unless you want to water everything by hand every day in summer), and shade for the hottest summer months.
(Yes, in Perth, plants that are described as ‘needing full sun’ need some shade in summer.)
The temperature range also dictates the kinds of plants that will thrive. I can plant some tropical plants (bananas and mangoes will grow well, but not as well as in the tropics) and I can plant some cooler weather plants (like apples and pears, but they need to be low chill varieties as there won’t be a frost – which some trees need).
Mediterranean plants grow really well, as it’s the ideal climate for them.
Permaculture garden design: designing for microclimates
Within most gardens there are microclimates. Put simply, conditions will be different in different spots of the garden. Some spots will get the gentle early morning sun (here it comes from the north), others will be blasted by the brutal afternoon sun from the west). Buildings can radiate heat and create warmer zones. Some areas will be shaded in winter, others all year round.
You don’t need to have a big garden to have microclimates. A sunny spot right outside the kitchen doors only big enough for a couple of pots is a microclimate.
But it helps to be aware of microclimates (permaculture principle: design from patterns to details) so that you can choose plants that will survive best in these areas. In my garden, tropical plants need to go in the sunniest spot and get full winter as well as summer sun. Planting next to brick walls will help beause of the radiant heat (this isn’t really an option in my garden).
Deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves and go dormant in winter) can be planted in a spot that gets summer sun and winter shade (closer to buildings). Without summer sun they won’t set fruit. Because they lose their leaves in winter, they won’t cast a big shadow over the garden like an evergreen tree will.
Permaculture garden design: planning zones
In permaculture design there are five zones, but for urban gardens it’s really only practical to have zones 1 and 2 (and maybe 3).
I’ll run through the permaculture zones quickly.
The zones are often imagined as concentric circles, but when applied to a block or dwelling, they tend not to be perfectly round, following boundaries and paths.
- Zone 1: Closest to the house and/or following well-used pathways. These are the spots that require the most attention and will be visited most frequently. Usually described as the spot for a kitchen garden: vegetables, herbs, kitchen compost bins, seed raising.
- Zone 2: Slightly further away from the house, and requiring slightly less maintenance. Perennial vegetables might be in this zone, along with fruit trees, beehives, chickens or quail.
- Zone 3: Further away again, and usually dedicated to farmland: farm crops, orchards, livestock and semi-sufficient bird flocks, dams. I would argue that an urban native verge could be considered as zone 3.
- Zone 4: A semi-wild area. In permaculture design, this is where you might forage or collect firewood, and possibly grow a woodlot.
- Zone 5: Wilderness.
- Zone 6: Not an official permaculture zone – the wider community. This is useful to think about in urban design when there is no space for outer zones, because produce can be swapped or traded, or several households can benefit from a single tree.
When I talk about zones in my urban garden, I’m really talking about zones that I’ve decided within permaculture zones 1 and 2, with some consideration for zone 6. (Permaculture principle: obtain a yield.)
Any vegetables I grow fit into the category of ‘kitchen garden’ rather than ‘urban farm’ because I’ll want to access them frequently and will be planting smaller beds of many different crops. I’m not planting out whole fields and then leaving them to do their thing.
Plant zones I’m planning for:
- A herb garden. Herbs add so much flavour to a meal, and are easy to grow.
- A vegetable patch. Of course.
- Perennial vegetables. Plant once and they come up year after year (examples: asparagus, artichokes.)
- Deciduous fruit trees.
- Evergreen fruit trees.
- Lawn. (Reluctantly, but my greyhound still needs some space to whizz about!)
- Chickens. The long-term plan is to let them free range different areas of the garden at different times of the year, but they still need a house and a base.
- Native plants. These are waterwise plants native to the local area (or sometimes, a little further afield) that attract pollinators and provide habitat.
With all of this in mind, let me share the latest update for the garden. I’m pretty excited because this week someone is coming round to help me sort out the reticulation with my plan in mind, which means the part of all of this where I get to plant *all the things* is getting closer.
(If you’re new here, you might like to read these first: My garden transformation project (Progress update: month one to three) ; My garden transformation project: why Iâm digging out my lawn by hand ; My garden transformation project (progress update: month three to six).)
Planting out the front verge
I haven’t made any progress on the verge, but now the front lawn is dug out I’ve set my sights on removing this. The plan is to plant natives here, to provide habitat and food for insects, birds and whoever else might like to come here (permaculture principle: use and value diversity).
Because it’s not my land but council land there are some restrictions around what I can plant. I’m not allowed to place fixed structures (like raised garden beds) and because there is no footpath I have to leave a 1.5m gap between the road and the plantings.
The big fiddlewood tree which dominates the verge dictates some of the design for my front yard, as it casts a huge shadow in winter over the garden.
Planting out the front yard
(With your back to the house, the front garden faces north-east.)
I finally dug out all of the grass at the front (permaculture principle: use small and slow solutions), and am pleased to report that there was been no return of couch grass over the wet winter months.
(Not to say there won’t be any regrowth, but if it hasn’t come yet I think it will be very manageable.)
The plan from here is to turn the front into one giant in ground veggie bed zone (permaculture principle: obtain a yield). It will be a rectangle from the edge where I took the photo to the green box on the far wall (the gas meter), and across about as far as the silver metal bed.
It will measure 7m x 4m, approx. (Those two cream raised beds were a temporary solution whilst I was still digging out the grass. They’ll be moved: either to the back garden, or if I can’t find space there I’ll list them on Gumtree, which is where I got them in the first place.)
Along the back where you can see a small wooden (painted blue) raised bed and a hedge, I’m going to plant deciduous fruit trees, probably stone fruit that grow in a vase shape. I’m planning to place a compost bin in between each tree. I think the big tree on the verge will give too much shade in winter for evergreen trees (permaculture principle: observe and interact).
These three metal beds were an old rainwater tank my neighbour had, that she chopped into four pieces. She is keeping the base, and gifted me the other three bits. I’m going to try placing these on the boundary between the verge and the front garden, which is under the tree. There is a bit of competition between roots here, so the raised beds will give more growing area to the plants I plant.
There is also a lot more shade, meaning it isn’t suitable for sun-loving edibles. I’m thinking I’ll plant one with herbs, one with perennials and leafy greens, and one with tea (well, plants that tea can be made from, like chamomile, rather than literal tea plants) and medicinal herbs.
Planting out the eastern side of the block
Going round the corner where the gas meter is, towards the back garden, is the eastern side of the house.
This doesn’t get much sun – the tall trees in the neighbour’s yard block the early morning sun (well, that and my fence!) and the house shades the space from the afternoon sun. It’s noticeably cooler than the rest of the yard (a microclimate!).
Because the bed along here is raised and the house is single storey, the top canopy of the trees here reach the sun for most of the day in summer. Which got me thinking – could I grow deciduous fruit trees along here?
The fruit will need 5-6 hours of sun to set, and it will only be possible on the higher branches, but I’m going to give it a go. I’m also going to espalier the trees I plant too, which means growing the branches along horizontal poles. This means I can train the branches to reach the sun, the fruit won’t grow over the neighbour’s fence, and will be easier to net for fruit fly in what is a fiddly space. I’m not sure it will work, but worth trying.
The best deciduous trees to espalier are the pome fruits (apples, pears, quince) and persimmons will also work. (Stone fruit don’t, as they prefer to grow in a vase shape and their branches aren’t suited to it.)
At the end of this space is the pomegranate I planted earlier in the year. This section gets more sun, so I’ll definitely be able to get another (deciduous) tree in here – I’m thinking a persimmon.
Planting out the back yard
The back yard is where most of the work has happened so far. Being the biggest space, there are a number of zones: the tropical / evergreen fruit tree zone, the lawn, chickens and the deciduous tree zone.
I added some raised garden beds to the tropical zone when Covid-19 hit in March, because the front wasn’t ready and I wanted to grow vegetables, fast. They’ve been great. Once the front is established and the trees grow bigger I may remove them (the small one first), but they’ll stay for another year or so at least.
Behind the veggie beds are a banana, a papaya, an ice cream bean (which is a nitrogen fixer), an orange berry and a macadamia. Plus two Chilean guavas and a lemon verbena, which are more shrubs than trees – and four pineapple plants.
The macadamia is planted in the far (west) corner and will be a shade tree as it grows, protecting the rest of the garden from the brutal afternoon summer sun.
As the trees get bigger I’ll probably remove the hedge too, to give them more space.
There is a lawn zone because I don’t live by myself and others like the lawn. One of the reasons I moved was to give Hans the greyhound more space, so I can’t really take it all away from him!
I’ve planted more deciduous trees closer to the house ( a mulberry and a fig), as they get less sun in winter due to shading from the building.
I’ve added a passionfruit to act as a screen – it’s not deciduous but it’s fast growing, and so it can climb high (and the top of the trellis is in full sun).
Since I planted the passion fruit (in July) it’s barely grown – in fact, it’s shrunk…, but with the warmer weather I’ve spotted new shoots, so I’m hoping it’s going to cover the frame pretty soon.
The screen is to hide the washing line (and protect the clothes from bleaching in summer!) and keep some sun off of the building. This helps keep the inside of the house cool, and reduces the need for cooling in summer.
(The tree in the foreground is a lime; there’s also a lemon next to it.)
Once I’ve got the reticulation in, I can start to think about layers. (Because there will be a lot of digging to install it, I didn’t want to plant too much and have to disturb all the roots.)
When people talk about permaculture they often talk about food forests, which is a low maintenance system of food production based on woodland ecosystems that incorporate food trees, shrubs and perennial vegetables. Food forests can be divided into a number of layers:
- The canopy: the tallest trees. The fiddlewood tree on the front verge is a canopy tree, and my neighbour’s avocado (which is the biggest avocado tree you’ve ever seen, and helps shade the garden from the afternoon summer sun. Eventually the macadamia, ice-cream bean and mulberry will be canopy trees.)
- Understory layer: trees that flourish under dappled light.
- Shrub layer: woody perennials such as berries. The two Chiliean guavas and lemon verbena are part of this layer.
- Herbaceous layer: annuals like flowers and herbs.
- Groundcover: plants that cover the bare mulch. Sweet potato is a great one, and there are plenty of green manures.
- Rhizosphere: root layers. Sweet potato are part of this layer as are ginger, turmeric and galangal, regular potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes.
- Vertical layer: climbers or vines.
I don’t have too many plans for the different layers yet, as I’m still focused on the canopy and understory layers. As these grow, I’ll start to add things underneath.
The best time to plant new trees is early autumn, so most of my planting will need to wait another few months. In the meantime I can still grow vegetables, and ensure the compost bins are cranking. Always something to do!
Now I’d love to hear from you! Are you investing more time in the garden (or allotment, or community patch) right now? What are you growing? What has been your biggest challenge? Any questions about my garden? Any other thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!
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I love the thought you’ve put into your plan and your willingness to experiment and take some risks. You definitely have a vision! My biggest takeaway is the importance of accepting how this space will continually evolve and change as it matures.
Oh so much thought, Jennifer – sometimes I am guilty of too much thought and not enough action! The retic started going in yesterday, so I really won’t have any more excuses in a couple of weeks. And I only have a short window before the planting season is too late, so I need to get onto it!
what an amazing array of things you can grow in your climate! i am sure all the very hard work and good thought you’ve put into the garden will bear great fruit…quite literally. permaculture is such a sensible and rewarding way to think about growing things; and i especially appreciate its respect for all the other lives that share an ecosystem with humans.
Perth is not without its challenges when it comes to growing (the soil is appalling) but get that right (or better, at least) and there is a lot of opportunity. We have a year round growing season, and a lot of the things I planted in the UK summer will grow in winter here! I still miss raspberries and currants and the cold weather fruits I an’t grow here though. Nowhere is perfect!
Thanks for the update Lindsay. I’ve been wondering how it is all going. Now that Spring is here everything will explode with growth and you’ll start to see your design become a reality. I’m planning to do a permaculture course soon. It sounds like you really benefited from the training. Any particular course you’d recommend?
Hi Ness and thanks for your comment! Whilst permaculture is a set of principles and so you can do a course anywhere in the world, I’d recommend doing one as locally as possible, because that way you understand the concepts in relation to your own situation, which is important, and you also start building a network of like-minded people, which is important. I love the work of Milkwood and would love to do one of their courses, but I did my permaculture course in Perth with Perth-based teachers and don’t regret it for a second.
A lot of people think permaculture is a bunch of techniques (herb spirals! hugelkultur! wicking beds!) but you have to be able to apply them to your local concept and consider if they will work. Herb spirals do not work in Perth because they are designed for the top of the spiral to get more sun and less water – not something we need here! A herb depression would be better!
You also get to go on site visits as part of the course, and so it’s helpful to see the gardens of people who live where you live.
So find someone local to teach you, is my recommendation. :)
Fantastic to hear about all your good garden works. Good on you! Permaculture totally rocks. It’s so common-sense, but something that we have somehow forgotten about. From what direction does the wind come? – is it a good or not so good element: do I wish to encourage it into the garden or protect against it? Does a particular spot get no sun at all? – then maybe that’s where the water tank/ worm farm/ compost bins go. Brilliant stuff. Your articles have been great to remind myself of the principles. I’ve also recently discovered Crop Swap Sydney and can’t BELIEVE I didn’t find/ use it sooner. Now I’m making best use of my yield and sharing my surplus with others, while getting plants, produce or products I don’t yet have. Win win win!
Lucinda, you’ve said it so exactly right – it’s common sense, but we’ve either forgotten about it or haven’t thought things through rationally. Oh I LOVE Crop Swap Sydney, I even gave them a shout-out in my book The Less Waste No Fuss Kitchen. I’d love to go to Sydney one day and snoop in all the gardens!
Hi Lindsay and readers. I highly recommend a downshifters guide to retrosuburbia by David Holmgreen (one of the originators of permacuture https://retrosuburbia.com/.. Lots of the content is also on the website
Hi Ali, thanks for sharing. This book is on my to-read list but I imagine it will be there for a while longer… it is HUGE!
What an amazing transformation! I would love to do something like this when I eventually own my own home! In the meantime, I enjoy learning as much as I can, and this post is super informative!
Thank you! There is still so much to do, and I am looking forward to getting it to look how it looks in my head! ;)
Such an informative Blog Lindsay. I will reread this one many times I suspect. It reveals just how much thought, consideration, research, understanding and environmental philosophy can be incorporated to produce something special.
So glad that your blogging continues. Although I don’t always read it every week punctually, I feel very reassured that your important work and encouragement to us is a constant amid all the other distractions that can interrupt our focus on vital matters.
Thankyou