Permaculture is a method of gardening that relies on biodiversity. It makes it possible to create a self-sufficient garden and to harvest healthy products. This requires some knowledge and setting up a permaculture garden is not done in a jiffy. Getting started is sometimes difficult, and before the vegetable garden is self-sufficient, amateur gardeners suffer many failures. Here are the six common mistakes to avoid absolutely to succeed in your plantations and enjoy abundant harvests from permaculture.
1 – Not identifying the type of soil
The earth is a food tank for plants and it is essential not to plant at random without first identifying the type of soil. Depending on its composition, the soil retains more or less heat and water, its humus content varies and there are also many disparities from one land to another in terms of air permeability. However, not all plants thrive in the same type of soil. By planting haphazardly, there are therefore countless risks of failure.
From one region to another the composition of the soil changes. There are heavy earth, my-lourdes et light. A light soil heats up quickly, the air circulates easily, but it has a lower humus content than other soils. Identifying your type of soil is therefore fundamental to improving its quality over time so that it is, for example, lighter or more fertile…
2 – Leave a bare area in the garden from March to November
This is an error that must absolutely be avoided. If the soil has no plant cover from spring until the first frosts, thehumus becomes depletedif only because bare earth is directly exposed to strong light.
On the contrary, therefore, we must always cultivate an area to prevent the soil from drying out. Growing plants there keeps it in the shade thanks to the foliage. It is absolutely essential for preserve the edaphonthat is to say the set of fungi, plants and animals, all these living organisms that the ground shelters. The gardener must take care to preserve their living conditions because without them, the harvests would be very meager, or even non-existent.
And if you have nothing to sow or plant, never mind, cover the uncultivated soil with mulch. It’s certainly not a living cover, but it’s still much better than leaving the earth devitalize in the open air. However, it is best to cover an uncultivated area with good quality compost.
3 – Not fertilizing the garden soil
Compost is essential for improve soil. All vegetables need the waste products which, when decomposed, form this organic material what is compost, hence the interest of having a composter available in which you can add a compost activator to aid the composting process. So that the vegetable plants do not cry famine after only a few weeks, which can be seen by their yellowing or their lack of vigor for example, it is essential that the soil is sufficiently rich in potassium, phosphorus but even more so in nitrogen.
In order to make up for deficienciesgardeners experienced in permaculture recommend supplementing plant and kitchen compost amendments, straw and manure with granules of dried blood and poultry droppings. The crushed horn at a rate of 10 kg for 50 m² of culture also gives very good results. These solutions are much better than buying synthetic fertilizers that are not always perfectly assimilable by plants.
Be careful, however, of do not overload the soil with nitrogen where leafy vegetables such as spinach are grown because they tend to trap nitrates, which can be detrimental to health if large quantities are consumed.
4 – Always grow the same vegetables in the same place
A growing area in which the same plant species follow one another year after year becomes less fertile and in addition, the risk of disease and pest infestation are much more important. So as not to exhaust the soil, we therefore strongly recommend opting for the rotation des cultures when the garden soil is not regularly amended with organic matter. Crop rotation also helps prevent pests from taking hold to eternal life at the same location. By changing plants every year, they will have to look for their favorite food elsewhere…
However, for novice gardeners, crop rotation is a real headache. It is therefore possible to simplify your life by nourishing your garden soil well and by cultivating different species in a mixture on each bed.
5 – Space the plans too much in the permaculture garden
A vegetable garden where there are too few vegetables is not what promotes photosynthesis. On the contrary, it is necessary mix vegetable plant species and sufficiently fill its beds with tall and low, long-cycle and short-cycle plants. These are all good ways to maximize photosynthesis. Just make the right combinations such as radishes with lettuce and carrots, then on another board beans with squash or tomatoes with basil and on another area lamb’s lettuce and garlic to plant in same time…
However, we try to ensure do not overtighten the plants because the air must be able to circulate. This is essential to avoid being confronted with diseases favored by humidity due to confinement.
6 – Watering against common sense
In the permaculture vegetable garden, we pay attention to watering. They must be enough et wisely distributed. Too superficial they are totally useless (it’s wasting water for nothing), too abundant they lead to rotting. But it can seem complicated when you start a permaculture garden because not all plants have the same needs. Some are real camels while others are constantly asking for a lot of water.
To save water and give the plants only what they need, it is necessary to butter as soon as possible, mulch to maintain soil moisture as this limits the evaporation process, watering at the right timethat is to say in the evening in summer and in the morning in spring and autumn, always taking into account the local climate of course.
You don’t get into permaculture if you can’t devote enough time to your garden. It is totally illusory to think that plants grow on their own. You have to be at least passionate about nature to try to understand it and stick to gardening over the seasons to enjoy abundant harvests and healthy products. Taking your climate into account, thinking about the well-being of plants without forgetting that of soil animals are basic principles that cannot be derogated from. Permaculture therefore requires passionfrom patience and a good dose ofobservation as well as the perseverance so as not to give up at the first pitfall.