Mediterranean Climate Permaculture Perth Australian / Sub

Permaculture Location
· Select a sunny location
· Away from trees so there isn't competition from the tree roots and shade

Preparation of a Permaculture Garden
· Slash the weeds and drop them to the ground. Then sheet mulch it to prevent them re-growing.
· No cultivation is necessary. Feed from the top; straw, manure, minerals, let it feed itself. Essentially let the worms and the soil life do the cultivation. It's one of the best things about feeding from the top, that soil life and gravity will work it for us. It's so easy.

Philosophy of Permaculture
Permaculture is a practical approach to the problems facing modern society based on a philosophy of think globally, act locally, and is equally as relevant to an inner city courtyard as it is to a broad acre farm. It's all about finding creative solutions to living a more sustainable life by growing local organic food, reducing energy consumption, recycling our wastes and creating habitat for other life around us.

Josh's Permaculture Garden
The property is typical of many in Perth, just under a quarter acre in a quiet suburban street. The climate is classic Mediterranean. Long, hot, dry summers and short, wet winters. There's a slight west north west slope, with good northern solar access.

Designing the Site
Before you begin you should observe and note the summer and winter sun angles, prevailing winds, the degree of slope on the block as well as any views that you want to keep or screen out. When overlaid on a plan showing existing structures, vegetation and access ways, we create the framework for our design. You want to shade out hot summer sun whilst allowing in warming winter light. Windbreaks are also planted to shield strong winds.

The Vegetable Garden
The vegie garden is going in the front yard because it gets good sun all year round. It will consist of a main cropping area of 24 square metres divided into four separate five square metre vegetable beds for the purpose of crop rotation, with half a metre access paths between each bed.

Vegies need rich soil. To build up these garden beds add bentonite, blood and bone and organic mineral fertiliser. Bentonite is a swelling clay that helps hold water and nutrients. Apply this at 100 grams per square metre.

Dig all this in to about 20 to 35 centimetres. Next, apply a liquid soil wetting agent. This will help overcome the non wetting nature of sandy soils. You need to wash it in so it really sort of gets through the top of the soil profile. It may take several applications and a bit of time to really have its full impact.

The next step is to install the polypipes to run the dripline irrigation off. This is done after the digging of the soil so the pipes don't get damaged. Continue to build the soil by adding generous layers of sheep manure, lucern, more blood and bone and then more sheep manure.

The Hen House
Chickens are the perfect animal for a backyard permaculture garden. They convert food scraps to eggs, clean up weeds and fallen fruit, and of course are a great source of manure.

The trick is to set them up so they work for you not against you. They can be very destructive if let loose amongst your favourite plants!

There are many ways to house chickens. Josh decided to build a permanent chook house with alternating runs. The eastern run will be planted with fruit trees, in particular fleshy fruits prone to fruit fly, which the chickens will help control by cleaning up the fallen fruit and maggots. The southern run, which is shaded for most of the year, will double up as the composting and firewood storage area. Two metre high fences with sunken barriers all the way around will keep the chickens in and the dogs out.

The concrete floor in the main hen house is covered in 30 centimetres of deep litter for the birds to scratch around in and to soak up droppings. Woodchip mulch is a cheap option. When this batch needs replacing, it'll go straight on the compost heap. Using a deep litter in this way also helps reduce the build up of parasites.

The chooks will also need a perch to roost on at night and cosy nesting boxes for laying eggs. These chickens are highline browns. They're quiet, passive, non flighty birds that are well suited for the suburban backyard. They are fantastic layers.

Please note: Check with your local council for regulations on keeping chickens.

Verge Planting
Preparation for this area included removing unwanted plants and weeds, as well as some basic earth shaping to create an interesting profile.

Josh decided to transplant some mature Zamia Palms Cycas media and Grass trees. These were rescued from land clearing that would have otherwise seen them destroyed. Grevilleas including Grevillea preissii, which has a lovely soft, grey foliage are also planted along with Conostylis, which has a pretty little yellow flower, and of course the classic Kangaroo Paw. This particular one is called Red and Green Kangaroo Paw Anigozanthos manglesii.

Wetlands
In permaculture we draw inspiration from local, natural systems as a guide when designing. Josh's constructed wetland is modelled on the natural wetlands that occur in Perth that rise and fall with the watertable. There are three sections to this wetland: an open water section, a lined sedge bed and a dry edge section, with a total area of around 30 square metres.

Firstly Josh dug the hole and stablised it with old pavers, slabs and carpet that he salvaged during the clean up of the site. There'll be about 20 centimetres of sand on the base, which will give a water depth of around 80 centimetres.

In summer, as the level drops, the sides will be exposed but there'll always be some ponding water at the bottom. In winter, when it fills up, it will overflow and feed the outer sedges before soaking away.

Cover the liner with jute matting, which helps the sand cling to the liner on steep sides until the plants get established and the roots can hold it in place. Native wetland plants are available from specialist nurseries, and you can also ask for advice about species local to your area. Josh planted Lake Club Rush Schoenoplectus validus in the pond section. This tolerates some inundation, as does Jointed Twig Rush Baumea articulata.

When the pond section fills up and settles in, Josh will introduce local pygmy perch, gilgies, freshwater mussels and frogs. Once established, it will be low maintenance and self sustaining, only requiring an occasional topping up of water during dry weather.

Drip Irrigation
Josh has been using drip irrigation for years and is convinced it's the way to go. He set up an automated system that will irrigate selected parts of the garden as efficiently as possible. He's done his calculations and knows that one supply line will be adequate for each group of plants because they're relatively small areas.

Running the supply lines along fences and the edges of pathways reduces the chance of them being damaged. If you need to cut across an open area that you're likely to be digging in, bury the pipe a little deeper and consider putting it in a protective sleeve.

For grouped plantings, run parallel lengths of dripline along the garden beds and connect one end into the polypipe supply line using a punching tool and dripline connectors. When installing dripline to individual shrubs and trees, create a spiral around the base corresponding to the canopy. Make sure you keep the lines even to ensure uniform watering.

Grey Water
With all the water restrictions, grey water re use is in fact vital all around the country.

Some people worry about what kind of grey water is the best? Which is the safest? Well, grey water from the laundry and from the bathroom is usually safe to use as it's a lot more diluted and we tend to use safer products that are close to our skin. The problem with kitchen waste water from the dishwasher or the kitchen sink is that it contains a range of greases and fats. These can clog the soil leading to problems. Often the detergents are stronger, quite alkaline and caustic, and can really damage soil life. It is important to follow some simple rules.

The trick is to install a system so you can divert the grey water out to the garden and distribute it safely to your plants. You need a filtration system if you're going to put it through drip irrigation. Rules are in place because there is a low risk of disease transfer with grey water re use. The best practice is to put it beneath the surface and cover it with mulch.

Grey water shouldn't be used to irrigate vegetables because there is a risk of bacteria and diseases that could make you sick. The risk is low, but it is there. However grey water can be used on ornamental plants and fruit trees.

Recycling Organics
Chooks are at the top of the food chain. Along with their staple diet of mixed grains and free range foraging, Josh gives them the deluxe food scraps; pretty much anything you'd be happy to eat. They're not big fans of onion or hot and spicy food.

Rather than just letting this stuff rot on the ground put it into cone type composting bins where it slowly breaks down ready for later use. Sometimes these bins can get a little wet and sour. If this is the case, simply add a couple of handfuls of lime, and some manure and some dry material, and fork it over to aerate.

Worms are the next willing workers in the system. You can feed them chopped up vegie garden waste, shredded envelopes and toilet rolls as well as kitchen scraps. The castings that these guys generate really are valuable, so use them wisely. For example you can use them to make a liquid feed to fertilise your vegies. One handful to nine litres of water can be applied fortnightly to help them along.

The bulk biomass that's generated from the garden, such as vegie crop material, leaves, weeds and shredded tree prunings, all goes into composting bays. Josh uses this to build up his vegie beds and around his fruit trees, to build up soil structure and provide nutrients.

Home Nursery
By setting up a well organised home nursery area you will be able to produce loads of plants cheaply and easily.

The key features of the set up are an undercover work station with a potting bench, a trough for washing pots and storage areas for pots, trays and tools. An old whiteboard comes in handy to jot down notes, and a pin up board is perfect for pinning up envelopes full of seeds. A shade frame is good for protecting new plants outside, and a general purpose bench can be used to harden off plants after being under shade.

There are a number of ways to propagate plants, the simplest being from seed, taking cuttings or by division. Hand watering is the most efficient way to water but be sure to use a gentle misting nozzle so you don't blast the seeds out of their pots.

One of the best things about growing your own plants from seed is that you can use non hybrid stock that remains true to type. In fact, the only way to keep these wonderful heirloom varieties alive is by growing them in our own backyards, carefully saving the seed and then sharing them with friends and neighbours.

This is suburban permaculture at work, and it's a living and evolving example of the kind of things that we can all do as gardeners to live a more sustainable life, regardless of where we live.

Information contained in this fact sheet is a summary of material included in the program. If further information is required, please contact your local nursery or garden centre.
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