Lessons and principles from permaculture can be the basis for the terraforming and regenerating of our planet. It’s a huge topic, so I wanted to share these time saving tips for starting down the permaculture path.
Start by Looking at your Situation
It’s important to get a vision of what you want to accomplish from the beginning. Stepping back and applying radical honesty to your permaculture efforts will save you insane amounts of time and frustrations. Ask yourself these following questions:
- What are your goals?
- What do you want to build?
- What size of land, plot, or deck are you working with?
- What growing zone and climate are you in?
- What varmints and animals are around your land?
- What are your resources in money and materials?
- What is your level of skill and experience?
Study the Type of Permaculture Relevant to you
Based on your answers to the prior questions, start looking up the lessons that match your situation. Youtube is the best place to start. From there, general and specialized permaculture books will give you a deeper dive.
Examples around this are keeping to relevant lessons such as: backyard permaculture, small scale, large scale, selling food, desert permaculture, raised beds, agroforestry, cold weather, etc. It doesn’t make sense to study something that is not relevant to your situation when starting out.
From my own personal example, I battle hordes of gophers so I have to build raised beds on top of stones to be 100% sure those furry bastards don’t get in. I also feed some outdoor cats around my garden so they hang out there and hunt them.
The best way to build is to learn a bit then decide what action makes the most sense for you. Build or plant on a small scale to see how it goes. Adjust from there and pick another project.
Start with Small, Easy Wins
When you are starting out in permaculture, aim for quick wins to grow some confidence and momentum. Sure, gigantic swales and ponds are awesome, but is that realistic right from the beginning of your journey?
Inexpensive and simple wins could be: recycled materials turned into raised beds or containers, chopping and dropping and area to improve the soil and water retention, planting cover crops that are nitrogen fixers, creating a simple water catching system.
When getting into this new way of growing food and managing the land, planning is vital. Draw and write out your goals and plans, then go for the easiest projects first. Burnout and overwhelm are common when you dive right into something gigantic.
Prioritize the Order of your Projects
Again, learn about permaculture planning and design practices. There is a sequence of things that should be done. You don’t want to make double work for yourself or have to remove something that you built out of order.
An example I see all the time is rushing to plant fruit trees immediately since they take years to produce. Before that, there should be planning and drawing out your plan.
A diversity of different plants and fruit trees should be planned to support each other. Holding water in the land should be considered first. You probably want swales or terraces to accomplish this.
Another thing that can foul you up is putting your garden patch in the wrong place. Maybe you didn’t observe the sun and it gets too much shade or that area gets too much wind. Maybe that spot is a better place for a small pond or dam. Always observe and plan for a couple of weeks before executing large projects.
Keep writing and drawing out your plans. Edit them constantly as you learn more about your property. What goes best where? Why is that? What earthworks do you need before you go planting? Where is the water running during rains? How does the sun and the wind behave? Plan, observe, act, plan, observe, act!
Keep Learning Along your Permaculture Journey
Permaculture is not something you learn in one week and then you are good. It is a constant back and forth where you are learning from your actions. Youtube, blogs, and books are your best teachers (if there are not other Permies around you).
I’ll make the point again: study from those with similar climates, goals, and properties. If you are in tropical conditions, desert, urban, etc. seek out those types of Youtube channels and websites.
AI is a Great Tool
I use the free version of Claude for planning and learning too. I make a project (on the left panel). I give it my goals, climate, size that I am working with, and start asking it detailed questions. You can ask it to “respond as an urban permaculture expert” or whatever your situation might be.
So those are my broad tips for saving time and being efficient early in your permaculture journey. Start small, plan, and work smart. You will be amazed at the results from a few well planned projects. Study all the angles before large projects and you will be productive soon.