Our

Inspiration
Before I speak about what permaculture is, I would first like to start off by
introducing you to a man whose ultimate goal was to cultivate our perspective
on agriculture. He saw no need for synthetic means and he beleived natural
was the way to go.

Masanobu
Fukuokas
Natural
Way
His principles may seem unrealistic, but if you take a deeper dive into his
philosophy, it might just open your eyes to a world of possibilities. Id like to
introduce you to Masanobu Fukuoka, a celebrated Japanese farmer and philosopher who showed us how productive natural farming methods can be. His
farming practice requires no machines and no chemicals. His method creates
no pollution and requires no fossil fuels. With how fast technology is improving,
its hard for us to remember what those days were like when we didnt have
machines. I chose to begin with Fukuoka, because I believe that we can gain a
lot of insight from him and apply what we learn to our own home gardens and
our lives.

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His mission to farm naturally by mimicking nature and keeping human-supplied products out of the equation is exactly what
we should strive for when discussing permaculture. Try to keep as
many synthetic products out of your garden as you can - including
fertilizer. So without further adieu, lets explain what permaculture is.

Permaculture is the philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful
observation rather than protracted and thoughtless
labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their
functions, rather than treating any area as a single
product system.1

Close your eyes and image your garden as a permanent and

natural component of your space. If youre having trouble visualizing this, think of your garden as a design project.

How can I make this awesome?

What can I do with it to do so?
How can I mimic nature to provide the best tasting, highest
yielding harvest?
What should I put in my garden?
What should I keep out of it?
Are there any processes that I should get started with prior
to sowing my seeds?

Mollison, B. (1991). Intrvoduction to permaculture. Tasmania, Australia: Tagari.

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Design Project
Yes, those are indeed worms to the right, which are actually pretty beneficial to
your soil. This will all make sense in just a second. First, I want you to do this:

1.

Grab a piece of paper and a pencil, or pen if you prefer.

2.

Sketch out your space and how you imagine your future garden.
It doesnt matter if it doesnt look perfect. The purpose of this exercise is to help you visualize your garden and figure out how to
maximize efficiency. You might not believe me, but the more work
you put into it now, the less you will have to do later. Just think of
the 5 Ps:
Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

3.

Draw it the way you would build it. Think about how you would put
it all together in real time.
Ill give you an example of one of my sketches, which will lead into
the next few subjects that well cover. This sketch was from
when I built a worm tower.

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What is a
worm tower?
A worm tower is an alternative to having a separate compost bin or worm farm. Before we get too
ahead of ourselves, lets take a step back and talk
about what composting is.

Composting
If you dont know much about
composting, dont worry, because
youre in the right place.
Compost is quintessentially decomposed organic materials. It is
the key to a healthy, long-lasting,
and natural vegetable or fruit garden. While composting may seem
complicated, its actually really simple and easy to do. Composting
involves a combination of digested
and undigested food that is left on
the forest (or your garden) floor.
The end product is a rich, soft soil.
Its amazing how a natural process
can transform everyday waste into
a gardeners fortune. Not only is
composting good for the garden, its
our environmental responsibility to
breakdown organic waste instead
of ditching it in landfills.

The Big Picture

Composting is taking a natural process and bringing it to a more compact form, says Scott Murray,
owner of the organic Edge of Urban Farm in Vista, CA. Think of the forest floor: As leaves fall from
trees, they generally land on the ground, moisture is added from rain and the leaves start to decompose and build the soil. If youve ever been to a spot where the leaves are really thick and start digging
through the layers, therell be leaves that look almost like they just fell and then leaves that are starting
to turn black and decompose. Down at the bottom, the leaves will be almost unrecognizable, and the
soil will be there - in a rich and healthy environment - full of microorganisms ready to help your plants
thrive.
The concept of composting involves saving all the organic materials created on our property. It
doesnt have to just be the kitchen, it can also be weeds that you pull from your garden, trimmings from
trees and shrubs, etc. All these materials can be brought together and piled up.
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What's With All Of This

RAISED BED
-

fuss? -

What is a raised bed?

Take a look at the images on this page. Those are raised beds!

Are there benefits?

Best believe it! Continue onto the next page to find out more...

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 Vital Origins, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Better Soil Conditions

Keeps pathway weeds from your garden soil. Prevents
soil compaction. Provides excellent drainage and serves
as a barrier to pests, such as slugs and snails.

More Efficient Irrigation

Keeps your valuable garden soil from being eroded or
washed away during heavy rains. Aids in water conservation while at the same time allows you to enrich
and build the soil through the constant addition of organic matter.

Increased Productivity
...over Traditional In-Ground Gardens. According to
Pete Lane at Ohio State University, In a traditional home [in-ground] garden, good management may
yield about .6 pounds of vegetables per square foot.
Records of production over three years in a raised
bed at Dawes Arboretum near Newark, Ohio, indicate
an average of 1.24 pounds per square foot, more than
double the conventional yield.

Heirloom
If you want tastier fruits and vegetables, buy heirloom seeds or heirloom plants.
Heirloom plants tend to express traits that are not consitent with your typical phenotype. This deviation in expression is caused from a particular strain being isolated and bred year after year. Over these years, genetic mutation naturally occurs
creating interesting colors and flavors. For example, Black Krim tomatoes. Black
Krim is an heirloom tomato strain from Russia that produces very unique looking,
large black fruit.
Tomatoes also happen to be what most American may imagine when they
hear the word heirloom - but the term heirloom is not exclusive to tomatoes. Take
a look at these beautiful purple carrots, they taste great and look amazing. Stay
away from GMO seeds and plants. Read up on it if you want to know more.

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Transplanting
1. Dig a hole. Make the planting hole as deep as the plant's container and about
double the diameter.
2. I find it easier to transplant when the soil is dry, so that it is easy to remove from
the pot. Dont tear your roots or the stem, otherwise your plant will either die or
not yield as much as it should. .
3. Remove the plant from the pot. Place your hand on top of the pot, with your fingers around the plant's stem. Turn the pot upside down and gently squeeze it or
push the plant out from the bottom with your other hand.
4. Check to see if the plant was rootbound. If the roots have wrapped around and
around the plant, gently pull a few loose with your fingers.
5. Place it in the hole. Set the plant in the hole at the same depth it was in its pot,
generally where the stem meets the roots. Tomatoes are an exception to this
rule - plant them deeper and the roots will start to grow out of the stem!
6. Replace soil and then water. Backfill the hole with the soil you removed. Water
the newly added soil to help ensure that the roots have solid contact with the
soil.

Helpful Tip:
Transplant on an overcast day to minimize stress placed
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Irrigation
First things first:

Always plant first, then install.

This will prevent you from having to do more work redesigning and modifying your previously installed drip system to fit your newly planted gardens
needs. Now onto what a drip system entails...
A drip system is a super efficient way to water your plants; conserving water that would normally run past the roots with conventional sprinkler watering.
Studies have shown that well designed drip systems use at least 30%, and
in some cases 50%, less water than conventional methods of watering. Drip
systems can also be set on a timer, minimizing the work that needs to be done
by you. Before you set the timer and walk away for good, ensure that you
are delivering the optimum amount of water to your plants: no more, no less.
Monitor it for a couple of days and adjust accordingly, reroute if necessary.
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Pests
Stay away from synthetic pesticides and all of the chemicals that are used in
them. You do not want your plants sucking up that mess because you will be eating them at some point. Instead, try making one of these natural home remedies
or pick up a few predator insects like the lady bug to the right.

Garlic and Red-Pepper Spray:

1. Blend 1 large bulb of garlic and 1 tbsp of ground cayenne pepper in 1 qt of water.
2. Steep the mixture overnight and strain into a sprayer or watering can, refrigerating the remainder in an airtight jar for later use.
This solution will be viable to use for several weeks on all kinds of sucking and
chewing insects: Japanese Beetles, borers, leafhoppers, slugs, deer, and rabbits.

Rhubarb Spray:
1. Gather 1 lb of chopped rhubarb leaves and mix in 1 qt of water.
2. Boil for 30 minutes then strain mixture into a sprayer, refrigerating the remainder in an airtight jar for later use.
This solution will be viable against aphids and other common garden pests.

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 Vital Origins, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Now that youre done with this crash course, we want to leave
you with some key takeaway points:

No-Nos
No treated timber (this includes paint)
No synthetic pesticides
No synthetic nutrients
No tilling
No overwatering
No GMO seeds

Keep it old school