Permaculture Principles for Home Gardens

1. Kakariki
Sustainability Conference
2009
Permaculture principles
for home gardens
Presentation: Nicole Bührs

2. Overview
1. Permaculture
2. Home gardening - Growing food –
3. Pest and disease control

3. 1.Permaculture
What is Permaculture?
The term comes from Perma(nent)
(Agri)culture
It was first used by Bill Mollison and
David Holmgren
It is based on ethics and principles

4. Ethics and principles
Ethics – care of the earth, care of people,
surplus share
Some of the principles:
Relative location
Multiple functions for each element
Energy cycling
Diversity
And more

5. Some Permaculture principles
Relative location

6. Principles (cont.)
Multi functions for
each element

7. Principles (cont.)
Energy cycling

8. Principles (cont.)
Use of biological resources (plants and
animals)

9. Principles (cont.)
Diversity

12. What permaculture amounts to is
Let nature do the work
Minimum work for maximum result
Saving people’s time and energy
A healthier environment

13. Bill Mollison’s view of
conventional egg production

14. Bill Mollison’s view of
permaculture egg production

15. One of the best way to reduce the
environmental impact of our lifestyle is to
produce as much food as possible of our
own food.

16. 2.Home gardening
- Growing food –
No garden – no problem
Grow sprouts in the
kitchen

17. Growing plants in
pots/containers

18. Use space saving techniques

19. More space saving techniques

20. Growing a vegetable garden

21. Being involved in a community
garden/allotment

22. When growing food you might find that
others want to share with you…

23. 3.Pest and disease control
Crop rotation
Physical resources
Companion planting

24. Physical resources

25. Plants that attract beneficial insects
Daisy family
Carrot family
Mint family
Buckwheat
Phacelia

26. Companion planting: plants
that help each other
Carrots and tomatoes
Tomatoes and celery
Broad beans and early potatoes
Sweet corn and dwarf beans
Beetroot and cabbage

27. Companion planting / Guilds
3 sisters: sweet
corn, beans and
pumpkin
Tomatoes and basil

28. Protection against fungal
diseases
Basil (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants)
Chives (carrots, courgettes,
cucumbers, gooseberries)
Garlic (tomatoes, carrots)

29. Protection against nematodes
Tagetes or French
marigold

30. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.
Chinese proverb

31. The end
Sources:
Molly Chalken’s workshop notes (2000)
Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening
COMPANION PLANTING
Illustrations:
The Permaculture Garden – Graham Bell
PERMACULTURE A Designer’s Manual - Bill Mollison
Photos:
Nicole Bührs