Permaculture

I've become interested of late in this topic as although I grow my own veg without chemicals etc with mixed success, certain things have happened in my garden for which I think a more natural solution might help, like after recent thunderstorms a large body of water collecting in the garden which my son has named a "Wasserbad" which damaged my lawn. It got me reading about swales and rain gardens to divert and collect roof runoff.

I've also read about raised keyhole beds for veg and growing them in groups (guilds) like nasturtiums and tomatoes in harmony with each other. And herb spirals which have certain benefits in the design. This year I've become interested in medicinal plants thanks to James Wong's "Grow Your Own Drugs" series on BBC.

The concept of permaculture originated in Australia from Bill Mollison and has spread worldwide. One of its adopters lives just an autobahn ride down from us in Bavaria in Austria. He is "Agrär-rebel" Sepp Holzer. His Krameterhof Bauernhof grows such unusual crops as lemon at 100m up in the Alps near Salzburg. Has anyone heard of this place or been there?

In Shropshire the late Robert Hart grew what is known as a Forest Garden for which a Youtube video exists. He grew many plants at different levels from the tree canopy down to the forest floor. Also worth searching the web for is the fascinating BBC docu "A Farm for the Future" which is now classic viewing for the Transition Towns Movement growing in the UK.

So has anyone much idea what I am rabbiting on about here? Any examples of it in Bayern?

I've got swales.... I think? A system of drains running throughout the yard. As I have clay soil, this is a must, otherwise the foundation of my house would sit on a swamp when it rains (a rare event in California). I've seen these cool copper rain collector things that I might get... but that's probably about as rain-saving as I will go anytime soon.

I am about to start raised beds for veggies. Again, with my clay soil, it's a must (even though I've amended the soil).

As for the drugs, I have dagga (leonotis) and opium poppy, but only because the flowers are pretty. I grow lots of cooking herbs.

The great thing about CA is that since it's a sub-tropical zone, I can grow just about anything. e.g. I have 2 types of guava! I don't miss the Hamburg weather, nor my garden there.

CA must be a dream to garden!

As i read more about the subject I am getting more "into" my garden now. The idea of planting stuff at the edges appeals more now rather than fighting nature and planting more grass seeds.

Yes, it's best not to fight it. Go with what works. I found that grass is sort of ugly in Germany, anyway... Here in CA (yes, dream gardening climate) the current trend is xeriscaping to save on water. I'm thinking of pulling out a bunch of lawn and replacing with native, drought tolerant plants. People are starting to plant no-mow lawns, as well (native grasses).

I remember from your other thread that you stay up late reading about this stuff. I too bring garden catalogs to bed. But I don't stay up too late, since Mr. Rooster gets me up at the crack of dawn.

I've heard of xeriscaping.

Whilst living in Saudi Arabia my neighbour built up a fantastic garden on top of the desert by building up mulches of lawn mowings then making compost beds on top. He grew amazing stuff there.