Permaculture Zone 1

The next Permaculture Zone to discuss is Zone 1. This is the Vegetable Garden and close plantings to the house or dwelling.

The characteristics of Zone 1 are:

• close to the house (dwelling) for quick and easy access to food
• includes herbs (either interplanted, seperate pots or even a Herb Spiral), compost bins, worm farms, water tank (or water harvesting system) that feeds into the vegie patch, any small animals that assist with breaking down your vegetable scraps (eg. rabbits, guinea pigs, sometimes chickens, etc.) or assist with keeping weeds under control.Our duck, ‘Cuddles’, though fenced off, is right nearby the vegetable patch. Daily we throw him a soggy strawberry or any other vegetable or fruit that doesn’t appear too appetising. He gobbles it up in a heart-beat and the wag of a tail – one very happy ducky. The only downside to his position in the garden is that he’s not too keen on LTSH (Long Term Suffering Husband) and chases him across the yard, administering an awful nip on the back of LTSH’s leg. I find myself stifling a giggle each time I hear the sound of LTSH’s feet thumping like mad as he races for our back door, closely followed by the big flapping feet of Cuddles. And then the inevitable, “Oh! You mongrel!” follows as Cuddles’ sinks his beak into LTSH’s calf muscle.

  Now obviously if you’re going to be attacked by a psychotic poultry everytime you step outside into your garden, or if chickens can get to your vegetables, eat them, scratch them up, etc. then no, don’t have poultry in Zone 1. And I should mention, that not all ducks (he’s in fact, a drake) are like Cuddles – he’s simply a one-person pet… and dislikes everyone else! (Fortunately for me, I’m the one he loves!)

• includes anything that needs to be in close proximity to the house or dwelling. This includes the outdoor cooking area, BBQ, entertainment area, potting shed, seedling station which needs to be monitored, etc.  Friends have set up a delightful entertainment area amongst their vegetables and herb square. We sat on a picnic rug one evening and ate Enchiladas with a Chickpea Filling and salad items (yumbo!) and were serenaded by the crickets and rustlings in the vegetable patch surrounding us. It was simply beautiful.

When designing your Vegetable Garden aim for a variety of plants. Plantings of a single plant – known as a monoculture – are more prone to pest attack and don’t perform nearly as well as plants ‘housed’ with ‘friendlies’. I call these plant ’friendlies’, Plant-Buddies but you may know them as Companion Plants. They:

• assist by adding nutrients to the soil that their plant-buddy benefits from (eg. the legume family supplies nitrogen to other plants – Green Beans help Aubergines aka Eggplants), 
• protect their plant-buddy from diseases (eg. mustard protects tomatoes), or
• deter pests with their scent (eg. Sage deters Carrot Fly) that would otherwise attack their plant-buddy.

In Zone 1 give lawn the flick. Yep, that’s right. Lawns really don’t achieve much. Although, if you need an area close to the house for children to play on, then obviously keep some lawn. I should add, in case you didn’t know, your vegetable patch can be a wonderland of adventure for your children – discovering caterpillars hiding under leaves and then trying to identify them, watching spiders build their webs, and rummaging amongst foliage to be the one who tastes the first strawberry of the day!

Lawns take up space that could be used to contribute to sustainable design and feeding your family. They require time-killing mowing and maintenance, suck up water at a furious pace, and look like part of the production site of a Nuclear Holocaust Movie when you get a dry spell.

Don’t be concerned that in getting rid of your lawn you are taking a home away from helpful insects and animals. They will all find a home in your vegetable patch somewhere. Indeed, you will provide them with even more hidey-holes and food to choose from.

Next we’ll look at the Permaculture Zone 2.

Popularity: 31% [?]