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