The most energy efficient thing you can do in your life is grow some of your own food. There is no greater reduction of energy per action.

The secret of the water for creating abundance in the garden: "Make water take the longest path, over the longest time, with the most passive friction." Another important point is not to forget to store it, because 7% of rainy days bring 50% of the precipitation.

If I only had $30 to improve my home garden, this is what I would do: 1- Harvest rain water from your roof and store it in tanks 2- Make compost to guarantee fertility. Practice no till and leave no soil bare. Either mulch or have it covered by plants/trees. 3- Source your seeds and young trees from local nurseries. Consider building tree and plant nurseries 4- Save seeds 5- Plan the positioning of your garden according to the “Main Frame Design” concept of permaculture. 6- Rely more on perennials

I was astonished when I heard what Bill Mollison, the father of permaculture, gave as his first piece of advice for starting a home garden. His advice was that your garden should be close to home (curiously, Mollison cited Pliny the Elder, 23–79 AD, as the source of that instruction). The main reason people end up giving up on their garden is that it is too far away (or too big) and they can't take care of it. Have you ever thought about it? If your garden is only about 60 meters away, that adds up to 42 km a year - a marathon! And that's not counting the garden chores or carrying tools, plants, and the harvest. That could dampen your enthusiasm and take the joy away. Our first home garden was halfway up a mountain — a beautiful place — but after a year it started to feel burdensome, even though we loved it. So, start your home garden right at your front door, and don't make it too big.

If we project the mentality the production line into the garden or farm, each problem requires a separate solution: - Snails or other pest need to be terminated by applying biocides - Weeds need to be eliminate by weeding or applying herbicides - Lack of plant growth need to be remediated by applying fertilizers - Seeds or seedlings need to be bought (GMO) to plant your bed out - Irrigation systems need to be bought to avoid plants drying out The commonality is that every problem or setback costs you money, time, energy, and the "solution" is only temporary. By developing actionable permaculture home gardening practices you can transform your relationship with nature.

I always tell my friends that planting trees (and other perennials) in the garden is a "power move." That is because the best soil for growing annuals is forest soil, so planting a tree in your garden helps create a forest-like environment right in the vegetable bed. It's something our ancestors knew, but it was dismissed during the modernization of gardening and farming. Most people say it can't be done because a tree makes working the bed difficult, or even impossible. That's true if you follow conventional gardening and farming advice and hold a fossilized vision of what a garden should look like: tidy, orderly, and in straight lines.

I was talking with many people last week during a workshop I attended that we leave our success on the planet to chance if we fail to plan a useful, productive, and pragmatic assembly of trees and plant companions (a guild) with proper technique. I see no reason not to design the planting of useful trees. No other action yields greater results for the effort involved. We can build upon the work. Would it be a bad idea to include useful trees species in your home garden too?

“Some people get frustrated with permaculture because it doesn't offer easy solutions. The solutions are local and a result of a design process based on observations and trials." - Bill Mollison

Humans are not designed to be pest hunters. We lack the eyesight, the delicacy, and the patience. The human role in a permaculture system starts with prevention through thoughtful design and ecosystem building. Effective pest and weed control begins long before problems arise.

Nature has no loose ends. At the bus station, spiders connected and wove an enormous web between two pillars where a light shone through. They created their own self-serve buffet of tiny insects drawn to the light. There's our design lesson, friends.

The most energy efficient thing you can do in your life is grow some of your own food. There is no greater reduction of energy per action.

Compacted soil is hard, waterlogged, low in oxygen, and difficult for roots to penetrate. Few plants thrive in these conditions. Avoiding soil compaction is just as important as preventing soil erosion. Fortunately, compacted soil can be regenerated through soil conditioning: techniques that loosen the soil and bring life back into it. Masanobu Fukuoka developed a method using daikon radish and white clover to naturally open and restore compacted soil. P. A. Yeomans developed Keyline cultivation, using a chisel plow on contour to rip the soil with minimal disturbance. Conditioned soil is one of the greatest assets in a permaculture garden. It stores water, supports biodiversity, and builds long-term fertility.