Permaculture Design Principles Explained: The 12 Ethical Practice

If you want to understand more about permaculture, you need to have detailed permaculture design principles explained. It’s basically about the ethical growing of plants with each design principle being universal in concept (and understanding), but the methods may vary depending on the situation and place. It’s not just about gardening or plants growing, but it’s applicable to political, social, economic, and personal views and values.

Observe and (then) Interact

Knowing what’s going on is crucial before you can make decisions of what action to take. For instance, if you want to have a garden, you need to observe which area is sunny and which one is protected from the wind. Instead of fighting against what’s obvious, isn’t it better when you can work together and get aligned with nature?

Catch Energy and Store It

One of the permaculture design principles explained is about making the best use of energy provided by Mother Earth. Abundant resources are just a shame when they go into a waste. You can use water tanks to accommodate the rain. You are able to pick summer veggies so you can consume them during winter months. You are able to design the house so it can accommodate the sun (and its heat) throughout the day, keeping it warm into the night. This is quite handy during winter.

Yield Obtain

When you work hard, you want to enjoy the fruitful outcome. When you plant cucumber seedlings, you want to have fresh cucumber for healthier meals. You also work hard to keep off the pests and you focus on watering them. When you don’t get the desired results, it means something is wrong and you need to resolve it.

Self Regulation and Feedback Acceptance

One of the most obvious feedback from nature, but in a negative way, is climate change. Nature basically tries to warn us about our way to produce goods and consume them. Basically, nature has its own way to warn you and tell you that something is wrong. You just need to have an open mind and listen.

Use Renewable Resources (and Services) and Value Them

One of permaculture design principles explained is to have long-lasting sustainability as the main goal. You need to choose natural materials and energy that are able to replenish themselves. Want to have healthy and rich soil? Use compost. Want to suppress weeds? Go with newspaper and cardboard rather than black plastic.

Zero Waste

When you have to discard something, re-think about the action. Can you still reuse it? Can you fix it? The principle applies to maintaining a garden, especially if you apply closed loops. For instance, you keep chickens and feed them with food scraps. The chickens will then produce manure, which turns to compost. You can add it to your garden, which produces veggies. When you eat them, there will be food scraps. And the cycle goes on and on.

Design Patterns (to the Smallest Details)

Take a look at your (daily) patterns. What kind of foods do you love to eat? And what areas of your garden that you often pass by on a daily basis? You can plant your garden in that area, while planting veggies and herbs to areas that are closest to your kitchen.

Integrate

Your garden can be your connection (the bridge) between you and the community. When you have excess produce, you can give them away or swap them. You can learn new skills from your neighbors. You can also share tools. It’s not about keeping yourself enough, but you get to share it with your community.

Use Small Solutions

When you want to build skills, do the investment slowly. Don’t go big at first. When you drop it after a few weeks, you will regret your extra splurging. Collect the materials and tools for free or cheaply. When you go slow, you can save resources.

Use Diversity and Value It

When you plant various plants, you can enjoy greater benefits. Some plants can produce tasty produce, while some may provide the needed protection. Some plants are great to prevent diseases and pests.

Make Use of Edges

You can find spaces in your properties. The footpath verge, driveway edge, and balconies are some examples of productive spaces. You can plant herbs or small plants on unused land or footpaths.

Be Creative

Nature is always changing. Be creative to deal with the situation. What can you do to keep up? What to do to adjust yourself? What can you do to address the changes while making communities better?

Bottom Line

Doing ethical things to improve how you grow food may seem complicated at first, but you’ll get the hang of it once you are used to the situation. Hopefully, with permaculture design principles explained, everything can work out better for you.

Photo by Olivier Mary on Unsplash