If you're looking to implement permaculture design on your homestead or even on a suburban lot, you're in the right place. Join me as I discuss permaculture design, along with the most common mistakes to avoid, with Nicholas Burtner from The School of Permaculture.
About Nicholas
Nicholas is the lead educator for the School of Permaculture, where he leads the education programs and directs operations at both the farm and suburban demonstration sites for the school.
Since 2012, Nicholas and his team have worked on a large and varied number of permaculture projects from farms and ranches, to suburban homesteads and public parks, to apartment complexes and college campuses.
He has received his permaculture education and training, in person, from the co-originator of permaculture Bill Mollison in Melbourne, Australia. Aside from permaculture, and ecologic-related activities, Nicholas is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ and a father.
He believes that through the application of permaculture, people can find a more meaningful and purposeful existence.
Nicholas also teaches a course on Permaculture Design at the School of Traditional Skills.
What is Permaculture?
It's been said that there are as many definitions of permaculture as there are permaculturists themselves. Nicholas defines permaculture the following way:
Permaculture is a design system that works with nature to help you provide all your living needs.
But he explains that it's so much more than that. Permaculture is in everything. He likes to paint the picture of permaculture in these two ways:
- As an expandable tool truck. Inside the tool truck, there are multiple tool bags. Depending on the task and the need, you'll reach in and grab out individual tool bags for each different project. You may not know how to use all the tools, but as you learn and expand your knowledge, you'll be glad those tool bags are there.
- As a university. A university is made up of multiple buildings with multiple classrooms in each building. Inside each classroom, various classes are taught on different topics. No two classes are the same, but they can all work together.
What are the basic permaculture principles?
While it may be easier to think about individual areas of a homestead (the main house, the barn, the garden, the pasture, the fruit orchard, etc.), permaculture looks at them as a whole and how they work together.
When thinking about a home or a homestead, there are various areas to consider. These can be broken down into 12 main principles.
12 Permaculture Principles
- Observe and interact - It's so important to take time to observe prior to taking action. You must take time to see what's already happening on your property. Prior to building a garden, you want to know whether it will get adequate sunlight.
- Catch and store energy - This can look many different ways. Catching rain water to use in the garden. Preserving the summer harvest to eat in the winter months. Preserving eggs while the chickens are laying to eat when they slow down.
- Obtain a yield - Make sure all your hard work pays off by obtaining a yield. If you're not getting a yield from your work, it's possible your methods need adjusting.
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback - Look to all areas of your homestead for feedback on whether your systems are benefiting or working negatively. Adjust and try again, watching for that feedback. By implementing a rotational grazing system, we’ve noticed incredible improvements in the health and sustainability of our land.
- Use and value renewable resources and services - A perfect example of this would be in the garden. Build up healthy soil by making your own compost. By feeding the soil we no longer need to worry about feeding the plants because we know they'll get everything they need. Heating a greenhouse without electricity is another good example.
- Produce no waste - We do our best to have a zero-waste homestead. We're always trying to improve those areas where we see waste. Take a look around, look in your trash cans, take note of those areas of waste and start implementing systems to eliminate waste. Eliminating food waste is one of the best ways to also save money at the grocery store!
- Design from patterns to details - Designing from patterns goes back to the basic permaculture zones on a property. As Nicholas mentioned, having your driveway on the other side of the garden where you have to walk past it every time you go out to your car is a great way to know the garden will get adequate attention.
- Integrate rather than segregate - As we've said before, there's no such thing as self-sufficiency. Community-sufficiency is what we need to focus on. How can you work with your neighbors and those in your community instead of removing yourself?
- Use small and slow solutions - Slow and steady always wins the race, right? Don't jump in too quickly. Implement each new system one at a time. Once one system is running smoothly, then move on to the next.
- Use and value diversity - There's a reason the mono-crops from Big Ag have damaged the life of the soil all across America. They're not healthy and they're not sustainable. Diversity on your homestead is so important. In the garden, for example, if planted with only tomatoes, what happens to that crop if you experience a late frost? All the tomato plants will be wiped out and you'll have nothing left to harvest. Diversity is also crucial for your animals, the gardens, for the pollinators, etc.
- Use edges and value the marginal - We love looking at unused areas of our homestead for production. Last year we inoculated the woodchips on the edges of our garden paths to grow Wine Cap mushrooms. Each year Carolyn forages for Arnica flowers to create homemade arnica oil (perfect for this homemade arnica salve recipe). Don't overlook the edges!
- Creatively use and respond to change - Fear is never a good motivator. Though sometimes that's what it takes to get us to act. Instead, utilize preparedness practices for the unknown. For more posts on being prepared be sure to check out the following:
- How to Prepare for a Power Outage
- Preparing for Inflation and Food Shortages
- Emergency Preparedness
- Urban Homesteading Skills
- What to Do in an Emergency Until Help Arrives
- Preparing for Winter on the Homestead
- Positivity and Preparedness in Uncertain Times
- Building up a Well-Stocked Pantry (+ Long-Term Food Supply)
How Does Using Permaculture Design Benefit a Homestead?
As you learn and implement permaculture design properly, it gives you tools and resources for your homestead. You eventually end up with closed circles. These complete working systems all work together and, ultimately, make your day-to-day life easier.
An example of a closed circle:
- Keep a "chicken feed" bucket in your kitchen and put all your kitchen scraps into that bucket.
- Then take that bucket out each day and feed your chickens the scraps.
- They will lay eggs for you to eat.
- And they'll also create manure that's great for the compost pile.
- Once that compost has broken down, you now have rich fertile soil amendments to add to the garden.
- Your garden grows healthy flourishing crops to feed your family.
- The chickens get the next round of scraps from those crops.
These closed circles and properly working systems will save you time, money, energy and resources.
Permaculture Design Mistakes
Moving Too Quickly
Nicholas jokes that one of the biggest mistakes people make when implementing permaculture design is to "eat with their eyes." He relates this to a buffet table spread out with all kinds of delicious food. You're looking at the food and you want to try everything... so you do.
Before you know it, you're sick because you've overdone it.
Permaculture design is the same way. As we begin to study permaculture, our eyes are opened to the many areas of implementation. The more and more we learn, we want to implement everything all at once.
It's best just to slow down, take your time, learn and implement one new skill at a time, and do it well.
Under Planning
Don't make this common mistake of under planning. It's easy and common to want to jump in with both feet. But don't make this mistake! Nicholas shares of people being so excited that they bring home the chickens, the sheep, the goats, and the dairy cow all at once.
They become so overwhelmed because they haven't taken the time to implement the proper structures, systems and knowledge. All too often, this leads to burnout and sometimes, people even end up quitting altogether.
Over Planning
Though many people will under plan when it comes to implementing permaculture design, there's the other side of the spectrum where people will over plan. It can easily turn into analysis paralysis.
Just like Joel Salatin says, "Good enough is perfect."
Where to Learn More
This is just a brief overview of permaculture design. A 10,000-foot view, if you will. If you'd like to learn more, be sure to check out Nicholas' course on Homestead Planning and Design inside the School of Traditional Skills.
Where to Find Nicholas
- Homestead Planning & Design Class - You can take Nicholas' Homestead Planning and Design class inside the School of Traditional Skills.
- The School of Permaculture - Check out Nicholas' website and grab a free introduction course when you subscribe to his newsletter.
- YouTube
