Permaculture Farming

Posts Tagged ‘diy’

Question: Tilling soil with Permaculture?

I’m starting a new Permaculture Vegetable Garden, but the only spot I can have it is part of the lawn. Any tips for tilling an extremely grassy area using the rules of Permaculture? Thanks in advance!

Answer: Most permaculturists would suggest burying the lawn under deep mulch and never tilling it. Do a search for “lasagna gardening” for specific directions.

I practice Permaculture in my yard, and I advise tilling it this year, and advancing to no- till practices in future seasons. If you have a rototiller, you might still need to break the turf up a little to help it chew up the grass. Otherwise, just get out there with hoe and shovel and do it. Your goal is to break up the grass, work a little manure or compost into the soil, and leave the soil texture fluffy. If you try to work wet soil, it will turn to sticky mud.

Remember that the home vegetable garden is an intensively managed zone, and management practices will be much different there than in a pasture or forest garden. Permaculture excels at designing low input systems, but a vegetable garden is a small, high input zone.

Have fun, and remember that gardening is an art. It takes a few seasons to get it right. But the knowledge is also in our bones- your ancestors lived this way for a thousand generations.

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Permaculture Home Garden

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