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Soil, Water, and Permaculture In Your Backyard
Allison Houghton
Importance of SoilSoil can store huge amounts of water
Healthy soil acts like a sponge
Cultivate life in your soil and actively build soil to retain and store water, hold onto nutrients, and capture carbon!
www.areaivenvirothon.org soil microbes
Soil Pyramid
All Soil Life
Plants
Insects and Other Arthropods
Vertebrates
Good Soil Health
Poor Soil Health
Cultivate Soil LifePractice Organic Management!
Conventional pesticides do damage to the soil food web.
Conventional fertilizers feed the plants not the soil, actively breaking down soil structure
Defining Permaculture● “permanent” + “agriculture”● Using resources around us to their fullest
potential.● development of agricultural ecosystems intended to
be sustainable and self-sufficient.● conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally
productive systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.
ObserveSlopes
Impermeable Surfaces
Dry, Shady or Wet Areas
Water Sources
Perennials vs. Annuals
Trees and Plants
Bare Soil
Puddles
Weeds
South-Facing
Observe tree
driveway
house
drain street
gutter
gutter
sidewalk
S
leaf, log and
brush pile
Observetree
driveway
house
street
gutter
gutter
leaf, log and
brush pile
sidewalk
S
poor drainage
Capture and Store Energy and ResourcesWater
Compost
Leaves
Branches
Sunlight
Soil Moisture
Garden Waste
compost creeping thyme shredded leaves
clover cocoa hullsbuckwheat
straw
wood chipsmint
pea stones
goat manure
Actively Build Your SoilAdd organic matter to
BUILD soil structure
and
BUILD the soil’s capacity
to foster life and
HOLD water.
earthworm casting on soil surface
Hugelkultur
Optimize Edge
water running down a slope
Blackberries
The Biggest Limit To Abundance is CreativityConstraints can inspire creative design.
Turn Problems into Solutions
“We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities”
- Pogo (Walt Kelly)
tree
driveway
house
street
gutter
gutter
sidewalk
poor drainage
leaf, log and
brush pile
tree
driveway
house
street
gutter
gutter
sidewalk
poor drainage
leaf, log and
brush pile
Build a rain garden
driveway
house
street
gutter
gutter
sidewalk
French Drainage Ditch and Hugelkultur Garden Bed
tree
house
street
gutter
guttertree
sidewalk
permeable driveway
Permeable Driveway and Composter
house
street
gutter
guttertree
sidewalk
permeable driveway
Fruit Trees, Berry Bushes, Herbs, and Native Perennials
Vegetable Gardens with Mulch
house
street
gutter
guttertree
sidewalk
permeable driveway