A Permaculture Garden- Clarkston, Michigan

A scenic tour of the garden 7/5/10.

Video created without the use of editing!!
Music by M. Ward

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• scenic
• nature
• gardening
• permaculture
• horticulture
• perennial polycultures
• edible landscaping

[TrevorsGarden]

I've become very careful where I use the word 'permaculture' in attempt to not misconstrue it from the original meaning, that is- a design system w/ a set of principles and ethics... We mustn't confuse specific strategies and methods(lasagna gardening, herb spiral, etc.) as 'permaculture' itself, but only systems created using those design principles. We need durable, self-renewing systems that can be sustained indefinitely, and that is something Sepp Holzer has def. created.

[Swansen03]

@TrevorsGarden as much as i like sepps ideals, i'm not sure if what he instills is perfect, i think fukuoka's example is better. Problems with Sepps is that it requires the huge 4-5 foot mounds, which in general are great, but, having the trees as foundations and nutrient sources is an issue. He uses tractors for that.. and even says they will probably have to be redone every 15 or so years.

[TrevorsGarden]

@Swansen03 I agree with you, in fact I was in no way implying that my garden was modeled after or even inspired by Sepp's approach, although I do think it is fascinating and look forward to meeting him when he visits Detroit this summer!

[chriscunanan]

so do you have it all lasagna'd to hold the moisture or what? didn't see too many bodies of water, so i assume? if ur still using the hose i guess it'd be some pseudo-perma then, eh? lol either way props man, just wondering

[TrevorsGarden]

@chriscunanan I used sheet mulching techniques or 'lasagna gardening' to establish this garden. I use heavy heavy mulch and irrigate minimally. Occasionally I will water seedlings periodically if it doens't rain. I take a low maintenance approach. I designed the garden USING permaculture principles, but really there isn't such thing as a 'permaculture garden', misleading name. Polyculture garden is more precise. Cheers

[TrevorsGarden]

Oh yeah, I use rainwater stored in a 275 gal cistern to irrigate when necessary.

[Swansen03]

@TrevorsGarden :) no, i wasn't suggesting you were, i just wanted to point out that fact, that Sepps system is pretty specialized, thats not to say that there aren't useful ideas that can be pulled from his methods. Essentially, all we can do is pick and choose this or that to make it work in our area. HE IS COMING TO DETROIT!! thats awesome, where do i find the date?

[chriscunanan]

@chriscunanan i'm soaking it all up though, like the sponge system i aim to achieve, any passing along is appreciated....forgot to say thank you for the quick and pleasant response =)

[chriscunanan]

@TrevorsGarden so something like sepp holzer's place on the infamous documentary on here wouldn't be a permanent-culture...well, i guess nothing is...but more permanent than his lifetime and many more! as long as it doesn't get man-gled maliciously...of course it was born out of man-ipulation, but the intents differ obviously...what sites did you use for research mainly, or do you recommend any good general links? i know that's a pretty vague question lol

[TrevorsGarden]

@chriscunanan I used sheet mulching techniques or 'lasagna gardening' to establish this garden. I use heavy heavy mulch and irrigate minimally. Occasionally I will water seedlings periodically if it doens't rain. I take a low maintenance approach. I designed the garden USING permaculture principles, but really there isn't such thing as a 'permaculture garden', misleading name. Polyculture garden is more precise. This year it has been taken over by self-seeding groundcherries! Cheers