Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [permaculture]

Horticultural/Agricultural systems modeled on ecological relationships.

Permaculture is the concept of designing an agricultural (or horticultural) system based on ecological relationships found in nature, rather than modern agriculture which tends to be based primarily on strict biological requirements. Permaculture aims to create a stable system that is virtually self-sustaining. Contrast this with modern agriculture which often results in erosion, soil degradation, and can depend on significant fertilizer and pesticide treatments.

The field of permaculture has significant overlap with concepts such as organic farming, sustainable development, and applied ecology.

Use this tag for questions about permaculture - how to practice it, and how to make your approach more "permacultural".

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What woods shouldn't be used for hugelkultur?

I have a yard this year for the first time and I'm attempting various methods of building beds. For my first bed, I used double digging. But that was an insane amount of work and I'm not all that happy with the bed that resulted. I've been…
Daniel Bingham
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How can I do permaculture in a city garden?

I'm currently looking for a new home, and one of my goals will be to use permaculture for my yard. Living in a dry climate (Denver, CO gets about 15 inches of rain per year) that gets freezing winters, what plants would make for a reasonable amount…
Tangurena
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What are some good plants to put in a guild built around plums/stone fruit?

I'm starting a small orchard of stone fruit trees -- just a few hundred square feet. I will be putting in plums next spring, and I'm thinking about what to plant between/around them. In the lingo of permaculture, I'm building a guild. I'm in New…
bstpierre
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How much soil do I need on top of my hugelkultur beds?

I'm building a bunch of hugelkultur beds from the blowdowns, branches, trimmings, and sticks we have scattered around the property. This weekend I built a 20' long, 5' wide, 2-3' high pile of (mostly old / half rotted) wood of various sizes (0.5" -…
bstpierre
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Are there any fungal or plant counters to Juglone (walnut allelopathy)?

I'm getting ready to begin building a food forest on the back quarter acre of my half acre yard. However, my yard is absolutely surrounded by walnuts. Walnuts release Juglone, an allelopathic chemical that inhibits the growth of most other plants,…
Daniel Bingham
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What to guild with Asparagus

I have been working on applying permacultural techniques of layering in space and time, and most of my gardens work well on this principle but I am having trouble applying it to asparagus. What should I plant around my asparagus to reduce exposed…
Chris Travers
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Are there plants that add acid to soil naturally?

I'm curious if there are any plants that might add acid to their soil so that they might work well in a permaculture setting, you might be able to plant X, Y or Z near a blueberry bush to eliminate the need for soil upkeep.
Throsby
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Plant recommendations for tropical food forest shrub layer

This is a small area in the front yard in Jakarta. What I have right now are three mango trees providing a rather dense and low canopy. This is bordered to the south with the house and a fence/wall runs through it forming an effective boundary to…
Chris Travers
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How can I help my permaculture garden that's being overpowered by weeds?

My permaculture design garden is being taken over by horsetails and other common 'weeds'. I'm spending hours every day or two on weed control. I believe they are choking my fruit trees and bushes, and would like a solution to lower my time…
kendra
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Can my DIY grey water bio filter system be improved?

I have just finished building a grey water biological filter and would love to hear the different ideas and concepts others might have. I know there are other concepts that can be added such as a gravel/sand filter. But in my design, I did not want…
Jonathan Rogiest
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Desalinating plants (the botanical kind) which create fresh water

Are there any plant architectures or permaculture schemes which can filter seawater and create fresh water? I imagine a saline pond or bore, flowing down through a series of ponds to a lower freshwater pond. Which plants would be best suited for…
Ben
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How can I get a map of my plot of land for planning purposes?

I'm studying permaculture and I would like to design before I start doing anything. Is there any software that could give me a map of my plot of land, like from Google maps or from sigpac in Spain? Any suggestions?
Hola Soy Edu Feliz Navidad
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Need identification on this growth on cherry & possibly plum trees and possible remedies

It's what I like to call The Alien Fungus, the plants don't seem to be happy about it, but they do give fruit - it grows in continental Croatia, Europe, typical yearly temperature range -20 to 40 and high humidity with heavy clay (surrounded by an…
bbozo
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I've read that Sorrel is a permaculture green, but an anual, how does it come back?

How does sorrel come back every year if you pick it all, when people say it's an annual?
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How many wood chips do I need to kill off grass?

I'm trying to kill off grass in an area that has probably been establishing itself since the last ice age, and was wondering how many wood chips it really will take to do the job I desire, and keep the grass out of the area after. It came up through…
black thumb
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