Videos/ Information
Current video’s from the Lets Grow Shopping YouTube channel.
Permaculture Resources
The basic principles
https://permacultureprinciples.com/principles/
A macro pattern for all permaculture principles
Permaculture zones
Observations
Watch the weather – particularly rain. Go outside and watch it flowing through your land. Where does it go, can you catch it, store it, make it soak in, divert it so it can soak in?
Take photos of sun shadow at different points of the day at different times of the year. Take photos of everything!
Diary – start logging when certain things flower, fruit, when you sowed seed, when you harvested. When you fed, composted, watered. When it rained, the temperature, high winds. Invaluable information for next year….
Research, research and research…..
Don’t be put off by the size or complexity of the task, it will come in the end as long as you keep leaning your shoulders into it and take notes as you go.
Networking Opportunities
Permaculture Sydney North (PSN) – join up at https://www.permaculturenorth.org.au/.
Subscribe to newsletter and/or courses. Some great courses (life skills and gardening) for next to nothing. If you attend meetings at Lindfield there is a comprehensive library full of everything permaculture – books and film. Bring along surplus crops/seed for swap at the meeting.
Get PSN to help you organise a permabee. A group of people come to your house and help you with various projects to get a lot done in a short time. You usually provide refreshments in return for their labour.
If you haven’t got the skills ask PSN to organise a workshop.
Use the facebook group for advice.
Crop Swap – swap surplus seeds, produce, home made goods for the seeds, plants, goods you haven’t got. Join the Facebook community.
Join your local Community Garden – or start one! A chance to network with like-minded people and learn how to grow, compost, when to plant, swap seeds, produce. Another place for your excess seedlings and they may have spare seedlings for you. It is good to know another garden well in your area so that you can troubleshoot your own problems at home and visa versa.
Books
(there are hundreds, but some essential standards are…)
The Earth Users Guide to Permaculture – Rosemary Morrow. An easier to digest permaculture manual than Bill Mollisons original.
Introduction to Permaculture – Bill Mollison, exactly what it says.
Permaculture: A Designers Manual – Bill Mollison, the original manual. A bit of a dry school text book, but very informative.
https://retrosuburbia.com/ – David Holmgrens latest book. Get the hardcopy book or, pay what you can/feel option for online purchase. Join the Facebook community.
Miraculous Abundance – inspiring story of two French people growing large amounts of food on two acres.
Film, Music and Art
https://happenfilms.com/ – inspiring mostly free, professional films about permaculture and sustainable living from Australia and NZ.
https://www.localfutures.org/action-resources/films-for-change/ – Huge list of films for making a better world.
www.formidablevegetable.com.au – Formidable Vegetable Sound System. Permaculture via the ukulele and humour. Unique! Particularly relevant to children. Also watch on Youtube.
https://www.brennaquinlan.com/ – Brenna Quinlan has illustrated numerous standard permaculture texts. Thought provoking.
Websites
(in no particular order…)
https://www.limestonepermaculture.com/ – where I did my PDC at Stroud NSW. Book yourself on a garden tour – blow your mind. Also on Happen Films above.
https://www.permaculturenorthernbeaches.org.au/#home – great website with calender of events/ courses for northern beaches Sydney
https://ourpermaculturelife.com/ – Morag Gamble, permaculture guru. Loads of information. Great you tube clips.
https://www.permacoach.com.au/ – Courses and inspiration from Meg McGowan and others.
https://smarterthancrows.wordpress.com/ – Meg McGowan’s blog (Permacoach). Meg is great at communicating design tips and relating them to the principles. Not just for the garden, but for life.
https://artistasfamily.is/ – Artist as Family. A family trying to live as far outside the monetary economy as possible. The blog is a great read, and their You Tube channel is fantastic.
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/ – Charles Dowding is an English market gardener with 35 years experience. Fantastic website and you tube channel. Huge advocate for no dig gardening.
http://witcheskitchen.com.au/ – Linda Woodrow, permaculture guru’s blog.
https://permaculturesydneyinstitute.org/ – Penny Pyatt, St Albans, north of Sydney. Events and courses fairly close to Sydney. Very experienced permaculturist who used to teach at Ryde TAFE.
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/ – Sustainable life inspiration blog from the Inner West Sydney.
http://www.urbanfoodgarden.org/index.htm – loads of information. Located in Ballarat, VIC
http://www.underthechokotree.com/ – Nevin Sweeney. Urban legend from Sydney’s western suburbs. Loads of information.
https://goodlifepermaculture.com.au/ – Hannah Moloney. Part time ABC presenter from Hobart, TAS. Force of nature.
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/ – Gardening Australia snippets.
https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/my-garden/ – Bloody amazing garden story. Fully documented creation of an urban food forest in a rented city house. Melbourne.
https://www.milkwood.net/ – Nick Ritar and Kirsten Bradley. Join the Facebook group. Loads of practical advice and instruction on sustainable living.
https://www.permaculturenews.org/ – Geoff Lawton. Permaculture guru based in northern NSW. More information here than you ever thought possible, but sometimes not as practical for urban living. More for agriculture based permaculture application in my opinion. Geoff Lawton’s ‘Greening the desert’ video’s from Jordan in the Middle East are nothing short of amazing.
https://makingpermaculturestronger.net/ – once you have the basics. This is where you go for the deeper understanding. Brain food. Dan Palmers website.
https://www.veryediblegardens.com.au/ – Garden design and wicking bed maker out of Melbourne area. Loads of useful information.
https://sharewaste.com/ – connect with people who have scraps/ lawn clipping/ mulch to give away.
Facebook – Like minded groups.
Lets Grow Shopping – my own corner of the internet.
Milkwood
Retrosuburbia
Earth Gardeners
Australian Backyard Vegetable Growers
Permaculture Sydney North
Permacoach
Crop Swap – great resource for swapping seeds, surplus plants, homemade goods etc.
Hornsby Buy, Sell, Swap (or see your own local council area)
My Efficient Electric Home – not so much permaculture, but interesting reads on what is efficient and what is not…
Buy, Sell, Swap groups
Free, Cheap and Ethical Stuff
Compost. – Number one rule of backyard organic gardening. Absolutely NOTHING you can buy is anywhere close to your own compost. Treat it like gold. Hot compost if you can – google the Berkeley Method for instructions.
Council hard rubbish collections
Garage Sales
Industrial estates or Bunnings – pallets and cardboard
Local coffee shop – spent coffee grounds for compost and worm farms
Arborists – free mulch. In the suburbs, this is hugely plentiful and if you can afford the space to pile it up and let it rot, a guaranteed source of worms. In the long term it does wonders for your garden.
Neighbours – Canvas the neighbours for their grass clippings and food scraps – this could be hit and miss as you want quality food scraps, not bits of meat, fat and plastic because they couldn’t be bothered to separate 100% of the time…
Metal scrap yards
Tip shop – Kimbriki
Second hand shops in general – books, clothes, kitchen stuff, shoes.
Gumtree and Ebay – not half as good as they used to be, but worth a shot, particularly for building materials (colourbond, bricks, pavers etc)
Your local Buy, Sell, Swap group on Facebook
Give with No Expectation of Anything In Return
Giving your time, produce, products and unwanted items are the essence of community building. Over time it will pay you back in spades. Reduce your dependence on the monetary economy!
