10 Permaculture Projects For Your Backyard

We are a diversified fruit, vegetable, and livestock farm in USDA zone 6b in Central Kentucky, USA. In this video we take a look at 10 common components often seen in Permaculture Designs that would make great projects to create in your own backyard. In permaculture the overall design is more than the sum of its parts, but here are some of the parts that can help you move toward sustainable food systems on your own property.

0:00 Introduction
0:38 Herb Bed
1:27 Swale
2:45 Hugelmound
4:09 Guild Planting
5:22 Hedgerow
6:10 Pollinator Garden
6:54 Raised Bed
7:56 Water Catchment
9:04 Compost Pile
11:33 Greenhouse

[jabohabo]

lambs quarters is actually more nutrient dense than normal spinach is for those who were wondering. wash the white powder off the leaves and cook em up. taste is almost identicle to spinach but better.

[lesliekendall]

I'm on a flat 1/2 acre in a city that doesn't get much rain so to make a swale I made my main path by digging down 2-3 inches and planted it in clover. New sub.

[ScottStevenErickson]

I still consider myself to be an amateur gardener, but it is validating to see that I’m already doing most of these! 😊

[Ace-]

Currently renting a small place out in the country, so sadly can't implement these ideas just yet. But I do remember doing a lot of these with my gramma on her farm! She didn't have any names for them- There was just "the wood pile"- her hugel mound, "the grapes"- her unexpected, effortless hedgerow, and her swale was where a bunch of lilac bushes have taken over now. Can't wait till I can finally afford my own place and do some of these things from the ground up. thank you!

[artofwolfgangvonzenn]

Using an old bathtub for composting is a great idea. And I've been doing a hugelmound for years without knowing it! Nice! I use a two pile, outdoor, open-air compost pile system. One is a hugel mound, and the other is a compost mound. Every year, I interchange them as they break down and I use the compost soil at the bottom.

[carmenortiz]

I tried a hugel mound, decided to pile some dead black raspberries branches on top since I needed to dispose of them, temporarily. Turned out a bunny decide to move in and made an entrance in front. That was about 10 years ago, still have rabbits living there because I can't get myself to evict them. One problem, they are great at finding my beans and peas no matter where in the yard they are. (Last very cold winter, they decided to gnaw some of my fruit tree trunks. Still can't get myself to get rid of them.) I guess it's a hugel mound fail. I like most of the projects and plan to try them out next year.

[gwenjohnston-petrarch]

I just discovered your channel and I really have to thank you for the comprehensive (yet digestible) knowledge. I am a long time gardener (in the traditional sense - garden patch, miracle gro yadda yadda). A number of years ago I decided I didn't want to garden that way anymore. In fact, I wanted to jump feet first into the 21st century (I'm pushing 70 so this was a big step). I tried, and was amazingly successful at hydroponics. After lots of research I set up a system in a basement room that was 20x30. I started modestly - I wasn't going to tackle growing fruits or veggies I'd never grown before but the ones I did grow (the ubiquitous tomato, cuke, kale, lettuces etc) did really well and I fed two adults, 27 chickens and one pet pig with that garden. It was also my sanctuary (which every gardener big or small understands). Now I have jumped in feet first again and have ditched city/suburban life for 70+ acres in planting zone 7. I have been setting my intentions for permaculture gardens and swales. I had no idea how to implement these things and would look out over my meadow (still just dirt and rock) and wonder, "how the heck...??" But your video pointed out the smaller versions of most of things I am planning and, although it made perfect sense and I should have figured it out (I was just letting myself get overwhelmed) I could take such projects in smaller bites! As I looked upon your small medicinal herb garden and listened to you talk of it, it occurred to me where, on my own property I could put the same! As you moved on to the swale I thought about an area along the right side of our home where I already have certain components for a swale set up (quite accidentally) and with a little planning and elbow grease can start my permaculture garden! Wow! So thank you so much for opening my eyes to the beauty and utility I already possess but didn't see until now. God bless! G

[saal]

6 out of 10 so far! A tiny greenhouse, a compost bin and a herb garden I added this month. We don’t have a lot of space here, about 30m2, and terribly dense clay soil, but we’re making it work!

[dogslobbergardens-hvwf]

Nice overview. I appreciate you helping to make it clear that all these ideas can be scaled down a great deal, so that people who only have a small yard or even just a patio to work with can do something positive for themselves and their immediate environment.

[Shaman]

Im only 4 mins in and im already happy, so many things we intuitively do right in our garden and lots of inspiration!

[jackiekjono]

I really appreciated the guild segment. I have been trying to squeeze guilds in my tiny front yard and have gotten confusing advice about how to space them. It was very nice to see the actual space.

[extraincomesuz]

Great video! It's just me working in my yard, a retiree, so I find some work difficult to do. But this gives me mini project ideas, especially the worms and herb garden. Thank u🎉

[l.l.]

New subscriber here. I had a beautiful pile of light brush from various sources breaking down slowly and I periodically invited people to add to it. It had been there for 5 years or so. One day I went out and it was gone! My bro-in-law had hauled it off to the neighboring municipal yard waste program because it was "in the way". Didn't even ask first. When he explained what he had done I had a very hard time politely asking him to ask first next time. Since he had done a lot of the "adding to the pile" I didn't feel like I could let him have it with both proverbial barrels. Also he is my main source of muscle when something needs doing that I can't do myself. But it was a blow. And I will never be able to explain it to his manicured, formal landscaping mind. Believe me, I've tried.

[astridexplorer]

As someone who has only ever had this heavenly treat from commercial sellers in grocery stores, I cannot wait to make this. While I'm sure buttering all the layers would make for a more authentic version, this fresh from the oven quick version will still taste better than anything I've had. Thank you!

[AniBanerjee]

I have always had a herb garden. But I learned long ago, if I grow my herbs in one bed-spiral the mint and the basil take over, in Houston, TX

[Breakable_Pencil]

Thank you for emphasizing the use of native plants and pollinators so much! Permaculture is such an amazing community and movement, but the conversation of supporting native ecosystems specifically is a little underrepresented, but also is such a vital part of a true garden ecosystem! So thanks again :)

[emmelia-]

Thank you so much! This is just the type of garden video that helps -- you show how we can implement some of the principles in our own yards -- so encouraging ❤

[RevelationswithRabbi]

Rabbits are the perfect zero-waste animals. Their poop is great, meat is great, fur is great, reproduces like mad, their organs can be eaten (by us or our pets), their bones can be ground up for the garden. Truly no waste!

[alinakrohn]

I love this! Thanks for all the great tips and reignited energy in this backyard farmer😍

[conniewojahn]

Black Soldier Fly larvae drive me crazy! Yes, I know they're great composters, voraciously eating just about every veggie and fruit scrap in my bushel size kitchen scrap bin. However, I can't stand looking at the squirmy maggots. After years of trying to exclude adult flies from laying eggs, and hours and hours of picking and sorting maggots out to try and keep adult flies from coming back, I finally gave up. Now I have three chickens who pick the larvae out for me. Remove the lid from the scrap bin and they fight over who gets to go in first. During the larvae season, the Ladies are in "hog heaven" eating all the larvae they want, which is thousands. The Soldier Fly have taken over the bin and there aren't many worms in the bin, so I don't worry about the Ladies eating what few worms there are. Probably wouldn't work for others, but it's worth thinking about.