Innerdevcrypto@Innerdevcrypto
How to build a permaculture/forest garden system
(long tweet)
Let´s go step by step into how to transform a field into a productive, easy to maintain, forest garden & permaculture system
Yes, some of my tweets are long, but it is the only way to provide quality and detail
Step 1: Read
Read a lot on gardening, permaculture, forest gardens: my favourite books remain:
- creating a forest garden, martin crawford
- the one straw revolution, masanobu fukuoka
- sepp holzer´s permaculture
- secrets life of plants, or secrets of the soil
More recommendations can be found on my website in the ´extended recommended reading list´ section.
These books will give you a good idea how to build a forest garden/permaculture system with minimal work and allow nature to do most.
Step 2: Land
One can transform a little city garden into a productive vegetable garden, but in this post we´ll look at larger pieces of land, let´s say at least 1000m2 or more, preferably bigger. To buy that, one has to go a bit remote, and there is plenty of land to find if you are willing to do that, especially thanks to starlink one can now work or trade (as many of you do) from remote places. If you buy land with a forest, you have to remove that first (or leave the useful trees that produce something).
Step 3: Get to know your land
Often sit in your garden, observe where the wind is coming from, how does the light move through the garden, what kind of animals or birds come nearby or visit, become acquainted with your little piece of paradise. Observe where are spots with more nettles for example (high nitrogen places) and what weeds and plants grow where.
Step 4: Fencing
Keeps the wild animals out: prevents boars, foxes, deers, or any other wild animals, to destroy everything you plant. While you fence, which is a lot of work, let all the grass and plants on your land grow for an entire year, don´t cut it. A lot of land is depleted so let nature for 1 year do its thing. Make sure to dig in the fence a bit, or some barbed wire at the bottom of the fence, so wild boars don´t try to get in.
Step 5: Minerals
A lot of land is depleted, so during the first year, spread a nice amount of volcanic rock dust, azomite for example, or any other mixture of rock dust rich in minerals. After a year, cut the grass and plants, and just leave it.
Step 6: Planting
Use the creating a forest garden book, and make a forest garden design. Use your observations from sitting in the garden to get the planting right once you know how to light and wind moves through your system. Also combine it with the permaculture zoning system so you put your chickens, annual vegetable garden, woodshed, and anything you often visit close to your house (if your house is close or on the land). Make sure in your design you leave enough space between trees and shrubs, you want enough light to reach the lower layers. I can go into much more detail on this, but not writing a book here, so look into the books i recommended. Add mycelium substrate to the hole when planting trees and shrubs, improves their growth and the health of the overall system.
Step 7: Organic matter and compost
Do not remove organic matter from your garden. Leaves, grass, whatever you cut or falls from trees, just leave it. Before transforming the lower levels of your garden into perennial plants, you have to cut the grass for a couple of years, so you can just leave that grass. In the future ,any trees or branches you cut, you can just put them on a pile somewhere on the side of your property, many animals will love to have a little shelter place. If you do an annual vegetable garden as well, one can make compost, but personally i don´t do that. I use a no-ploughing system with mulch in my annual vegetable garden. I throw cut grass in my chicken coop, the chickens shit on it, move it around, and once a week it take it out, and put it on the annual vegetable garden between the plants. A mulching system is much easier than ploughing every year. Look into no-mulching annual vegetable gardens, enough books on that. Experiment, read, and learn.
Step 8: Building phase to maintenance phase
After a couple of years, trees and shrubs and the lower perennials layer gets bigger, so you can dedicate less time to watering your plants when it is dry (they are bigger now so roots go deeper), and most of the system is build up. Building a forest garden system takes time, but after a while you really start to know your garden, what is happening, how your plants are doing (if they are sick or growing well), and you get into the habit of trying out new things. The building phase slowly phase into the maintenance phase
Step 9: Economics:
To build such a system, you obviously need to do some investing in land and plants, so you either have your residence next to your land or on your land, or have a plot of land nearby (buying farm land is cheap, but if you live in a city for example instead of on your land, you have to go visit often of course). Once your piece of paradise is growing, you can even generate income from it: i build a little cabin on my plot of land, and rented it for years for 50 euro a day, which sustained me for years (when living alone) while building out the system. I even know people that allow people to camp on their land for a fee (many apps for that), or have a small caravan which they rent. Giving tours or selling some produce can create extra income too. It is not a lot, but we are not creating a multi-trillion company.
Also, websites like helpx, wooof, or workaway, will allow you to receive volunteers. For many years i had young people visit my farm and they would work 20 hours a week in exchange for food and lodging. It is a great way for young people to discover the world cheaply, and learn useful things. Once my kids are bigger, i would definitely recommend them do that.
Step 10: Energetics & inner work:
Plants don´t have a soul, but they do have etheric energy, meaning one can feel the energy of plants doing certain energetic practices. Look into tree chi gong for example. It is an amazing practice. Do your inner practice in the garden when you can. This land is your paradise, you are the steward, and really feel what is going on with the plants and your garden. In time you will pick up intuitively if something is not going well. In time you will become aware of even more subtle forces working in nature
Step 11: Enjoy
A garden is never finished, there is always something to do, but be patient. This process take years, or decades, and is really an exercise in patience, enjoying the moment, and learning as much about nature as you learn about yourself. Allow yourself to ´be´ in the garden´, and not only work & do things. See how the forces of this planet and your intention can re-create and re-generate your little paradise
I can honestly say, that without my garden, and a place to often disconnect from screen time, i would not have become such a good investor or trader or would have deepened my inner practice so much. The forest garden/permaculture system i build allows:
- healthy food for my family
- a place to disconnect
- a retreat place for inner work
- huge joy to go pick berries, fruits, harvest food, with the family
- a beautiful spot to feel plants and breath fresh air
- a space to receive guests or visitors and burnt-out crypto traders
- in the past it also provided me income
Nature is generous, and the forest garden/permaculture system has given me and my family a lot
I also think it is a beautiful gift to to pass a fully build forest garden/permaculture eco-system to future generations, because certain plants and trees take long time to grow and become productive.
This planet has nurtured us, created us, fed us, and we are part of it, stewards of it, so passing a love and curiosity for nature and growing food along to future generations and yourself is worth it.
Good luck
