Creating a base map of your site is a vital part of the ‘Survey’ stage of the design process, as this captures relevant basic information about existing physical features that will be useful later on.

Arial photographs of the landscape are easily available these days via the internet (eg, Google Earth, Google Maps, etc). These are useful for ‘broadscale’ information gathering about the landscape and the wider context of your design project…

However such digital tools are not always so useful on a closer scale – this ‘zoom in’ shot of my forest garden project at Manchester Drive allotments is blurred and indistinct, and not a great deal of useful information can be gathered from it. It’s also out of date; I don’t know how old this photo is, but I do know for a fact that the plot and other plots around it are considerably more developed than this image would suggest. Therefore creating your own relatively detailed map of your project using a handful of simple tools and techniques is definitely a worthwhile exercise.

Begin by measuring the plot boundaries – this can be done simply by using an old fashioned tape measure – various sizes are available, 30m or 100m lengths would usually be suitable for a relatively small site such as this allotment scale project. It’s usually better to work in pairs when taking plot measurements, with one person holding one end of the tape at a fixed point whilst the other records the distances. Also be aware of obstacles such as branches or bushes that might get in the way of the tape and cause distortions to your readings, and try to keep your line as taut and straight as possible – whilst most permaculture projects on this scale probably don’t require maps that are 100% accurate (as long as they still contain the information that is useful and relevant enough for your purposes) it is still worth making the effort of avoiding errors as far as possible.

Make a rough sketch of the site in your notebook – this is not drawn to scale but will have all relevant measurements recorded on it. I’ve also started to note some significant features along or near the plot edge such as an oak seedling, a wild cherry tree, bramble patch, etc as useful reference points.

A compass is of course a vital tool for determining the orientation of your plot – illustrated is a solar compass which is also useful for working out sun sectors , eg,  where the sun will rise and set, and its highest point in the sky at different times of the year.

Information gathered in the field is then converted to a scale map on the desk top. It is a useful convention in map making to always have ‘North’ at the top of the page in order to avoid confusion about where the sun rises and sets, where north or south facing slopes are situated and where shady spots will be in relation to your plot. It’s also important to choose an appropriate scale for your map so that you can capture and record information and features clearly without making the map too crowded and ‘fiddly’. For this plot measuring approx 23m x 8m a scale of 1:50 (ie, 2cm = 1m) made sense (1:100 was too small to produce a meaningful map), the only draw back to this size being that the map was too large to fit on a piece of A3 graph paper so I had to join 2 pieces together.

In the next part I’ll be looking at filling in the details on your base map, that is, how to accurately determine the location of significant features in your landscape such as trees, ponds, structures, etc by using TRIANGULATION. You can also find out much more about basic landscape mapping techniques and tools and how to utilise these (including site visits to my forest garden and other projects) at the the forthcoming full Permaculture Design Course that is being run over 5 weekends here in Westcliff on Sea.

Click here to find out more about the full design course…

The Permaculture Design Process, Part 1

The first step in any design process is to observe and collect information about your site. At this stage it’s important to try to be as ‘value free’ as possible- at the moment we are concerned only with collecting data, not with making decisions. Many permaculture designers recommend that the observation period should last at least twelve months. In reality this isn’t always practical as we usually need to obtain some kind of a yield before this, especially if our livelihood or sustenance depends on it! However the ‘leave it a year’ rule is certainly good advice to follow before making any changes that may be difficult to reverse, such as any major landscaping, pond creation, tree or hedge planting, building permanent structures (for example, sheds, greenhouses), etc.

The following table from my book ‘Permaculture A Beginner’s Guide’ provides a checklist of a few of the issues that it is useful to think about. To find out more and learn the basics of surveying your landscape or project, why not sign up to our Full Permaculture Design Course accredited by both the Permaculture Association and the Open College Network to be held this spring in Westcliff on Sea?

This table taken from Permaculture: A Beginners Guide by Graham Burnett (published by Spiralseed)

The kitchen can be a ‘garden’ in its own right, using the minimum amount of space to produce intensively grown, nutrient rich crops all year round, especially during the winter months when other fresh vegetables can be hard to find. They can make an important contribution to any healthy diet, being high in enzymes that assist digestion, help cell repair and boost immunity, and chlorophyll – ‘liquid sunshine’ that acts as a blood cleanser and helps to remove toxins from the body.

Seeds or beans such as mung beans, alfalfa, chick peas and fenugreek can be sprouted on any spare window ledge or shelf, and are easily available from health food stores and many grocers. The main requirements for successful sprouting are moisture and warmth, and providing a few guidelines are followed, it’s easy to obtain good results that require very little time or effort. Run a small handful of seeds under a tap and place them in the sprouting vessel. This can range from a simple upside down jam jar with a piece of net curtain secured over it’s rim by an elastic band, to specially designed multi-level self-draining sprouters. There are several makes on the market, but we’ve had great success with our ‘Biosnacky’ 3 tiered mini-greenhouse germinator that allows us to keep a constant succession on the go. What is important is that the vessel is maintained at room temperature (approx. between 13-21 degrees C) and is free draining, for waterlogged sprouts will quickly rot. The seeds will germinate within a day or two, and should then be rinsed at least twice a day, possibly even three or four times in hot weather. When around 1 to 3 inches in length – that is, after 3 or 4 days – they will be ready for use. If left much longer they will begin to develop leaves and can become bitter tasting, although the growth process can be halted by placing them in a cool place until needed.

Mung beans are a particularly popular indoor crop, and can be sprouted either in light or dark conditions, for example, an airing cupboard. Those sprouted in the dark will be whiter and crisper in texture, but have less nutritional content. Growing in full sunlight however should be avoided as this may cause the beans to overheat or dry out. Subjecting the sprouts to pressure, eg, by placing a weight on top of them in their sprouting container, will result in larger, crunchier sprouts similar to those sold in Chinese grocers. They are a valuable source of Vitamins A, B, C and E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Amino Acids and consist of 20% protein. However, they are fast growing and quickly pass their nutritional peak. Its also worth experimenting with combinations of seeds and sprouts – among our favourite mixtures are mung, alfalfa, fenugreek and broccoli, and alfalfa, radish and green lentils.

It should however be noted that all raw legumes contain varying levels of toxins. These are reduced by soaking, sprouting and cooking (eg, stir frying), although some have advised that to be on the safe side one shouldn’t eat more than about 550g (20oz) of raw legume sprouts a day. In reality the risks are probably minimal in most cases, although kidney beans are one legume that should NEVER be eaten uncooked.

Herbs such as chives, parsley, basil, thyme, sage, etc, can also be grown indoors on a sunny windowsill. These can of course be raised from seed, but if you have trouble getting them started off they are often sold grown-on in supermarkets, health food shops and garden centres for ‘fresh picking’. Divide them up from the pots they are sold in and replant in small containers of potting compost and they will last indefinitely! Most of us are probably familiar with the mustard and cress we grew at school, but other leafy vegetables such as wheatgrass, buckwheat and sunflower greens can also be cultivated indoors. Soak the seeds overnight then drain thoroughly. Germination should begin after about 24 – 48 hours, when they should be planted in 2″ deep seed trays half filled with soil or organic potting compost. The sprouting seeds should be gently spread on the soil surface and covered with newspaper (not soil) to exclude the light, then positioned in a warm place. When the growing shoots push off their coverings (usually after about 4 days) place them in full daylight and water regularly. The leaves will turn green and be ready for harvesting after about a week. This can be done by cutting with kitchen scissors as close to the soil as possible, leaving a mat of soil held together by a root mass which can then be composted. ‘Cut ‘n’ Come again’ salad plants like red and green ‘salad bowl’ lettuce, rocket, chicories and oriental ‘saladini’ mixtures can be cultivated in large seed trays in the same way, but will regrow after harvesting, providing a succession of edible leaves rather than just a single crop.

Sprouting chart

Some ideas for using sprouts and windowsill greens

Sprouts and windowsill greens can be used in a whole variety of ways, either juiced, eaten raw in salads or added to dishes such as soups, stews, curries, stir-fries or bread.

Announcing a full Permaculture Design Course to be held in Westcliff on Sea this Spring.

The full 72 hour Permaculture Design Course is a vital stage in the development of understanding of permaculture ethics, principles, design processes and implementation techniques providing essential skills for the post-peak oil world.

Held over 5 weekends at a venue less than an hour from central London, we will be running this course in partnership with Southend in Transition, Milton Community Partnership and Growing Together

Dates: 7 – 8 May
21 – 22 May
4 – 5 June
18 – 19 June
2 – 3 July

Times: 10 am – 6 pm, with optional additional sessions and/or social events on the Saturday evenings

Accomodation: options for attendees from outside of the Southend area are available, more details to follow

Suggested cost: £450 – £300 depending on income, some concessionary places also available, please enquire to Milton Community Partnership (see below) £50 secures a place

Led by: Graham Burnett and guest tutors

Full course details here

For enquiries and bookings contact Milton Community Partnership or tel 01702 213264

Please note that booking of places for this course is NOT through Spiralseed, please contact the MCP directly, thanks

‘Permaculture Ethics and Design Principles’ and ‘Relocalisation – How Peak Oil Can Lead To Permaculture’ – two DVD’s by David Holmgren (Holmgren Design Services) reviewed by Graham Burnett

In these two DVD presentations David Holmgren, the co-originator of the permaculture concept, reiterates his view of permaculture as being about using ‘systems thinking’ to provide a framework for designing landscapes based on the patterns of nature to meet human needs. When I was told that, apart from a few slides, these DVD’s basically consisted of two 90 minute lectures I admit I was sceptical as to whether they would hold my attention for the duration – In the event however Holmgren’s engaging and unassuming style meant I watched them right through in one sitting.

The first focuses on his 12 Design Principles derived from the study of the natural world and pre-industrial societies, demonstrating how they can be universally applied to ‘fast-track’ the development of sustainable land and resource usage. Using distinctive visual icons, proverbs and stories, Holmgren makes the link between traditional wisdom and the power of modern systems thinking, with illustrative examples ranging from Integrated Pest Management in the vegetable gardens at the Centre for Alternative Technology (‘Observe and Interact’), Yeoman’s ‘Keyline’ farm in western Australia (‘Design From Patterns to Detail’) to his neighbours’ station wagon, bought in 1964 and still going strong after almost 50 years (‘Produce No Waste’).

‘Relocalisation…’ looks at the challenges of ‘energy descent’, arguing that peak oil can actually be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat by proactively applying permaculture design to human activities such as food production, land tenure, forestry, community governance, nature stewardship, economic activity, education and health and spiritual well-being, again using examples from his own experiences at his ‘Meliodora’ homestead.

Whilst perhaps not suitable for a general audience new to issues such as sustainability (ie, probably not ones for your local Transition Town film night), they would be perfect to show to Permaculture Design Course students or indeed anybody else interested in exploring how Holmgren’s principles complement and expand those originally attributed to Bill Mollison, as well as their relevance to the challenges we all face today.

More about David Holmgren’s principles here

You can obtain both of these DVD’s from The Green Shopping Catalogue. Many thanks to Maddy Harland of Permaculture Magazine for supplying these review copies

Graham Burnett www.spiralseed.co.uk

A delivery of ornamental bambles that had to live in my back room for longer than I would have liked due to the persistent snow of the last couple of weeks…

Transporting plants to the forest garden

The snow seemed to have cleared everywhere else in Southend except for on my plot! Even Ron’s plot next door had no sign of any snow left…

Mycorrhizal powder was applied to the roots of the rubus before planting

Planting the rubus – it was like digging in toffee today….

Eleagnus, a shrub that will fix atmospheric nitrogen, making this and other nutrients available to other plants through mycorrhizal associations