Tips for Designing the Perfect Permaculture Garden in Florida
When you decide to plant a permaculture garden, you commit to working with nature, instead of against it, to build a thriving ecosystem. The early stages can feel daunting, but once your systems are in place, many features of your small farm or backyard garden will do much of the dirty work for you. Find out what it takes to design the ultimate permaculture garden in this guide.
Read more: What Is Permaculture and How Does It Work in Landscaping?
What can you grow in a permaculture garden in Florida?
Building a permaculture garden in Florida is all about leveraging the natural climate to work in your favor. Opting for native varieties that thrive in tropical and sub-tropical weather will improve your chances of success. Here are a few fruits and vegetables to include in your design plans:
Leafy greens
Florida’s mild winters are ideal for growing cool-weather leafy greens like kale, collards, mustard, Swiss chard, and arugula. In summer, heat-tolerant spinach varieties like Malibar, Okinawa, and Longevity may thrive.
Root vegetables
Many root crops perform well in Florida’s sandy soil, especially when you supplement nutrients using compost and other amendments. Consider incorporating carrots, radishes, beets, turnips, and sweet potatoes into your permaculture garden layout.
Fruit trees and shrubs
A food forest is the ultimate addition to any permaculture garden, and there’s no better place to plant one than Florida. Citrus, avocado, mango, papaya, banana, fig, and pomegranate can all do well here. Shrubs and vines, such as blueberry, blackberry, and passionfruit, can serve as sustainable ground cover while producing tasty edible fruits.
Heat-tolerant crops
During hot, humid summers, heat-tolerant plants like okra, eggplant, heirloom squash, hot peppers, yardlong beans, and southern peas can withstand extreme temperatures and fill unused space in your yard or garden.
Related: Plants That Attract Butterflies to Your Florida Garden
Tips to design your Florida permaculture garden
Backyard-gardening beginners and old pros alike may benefit from a master class in planting a permaculture garden. Here are a few tips to consider:
Follow the 12 key principles of permaculture
Permaculture isn’t just a landscaping technique–it’s a holistic approach to gardening that incorporates various methods to ensure a cohesive, integrated ecosystem. The 12 principles of permaculture include:
Observe and interact: Understand the features of your property and the natural systems already in place.
Catch and store energy: Build soil, collect rainwater, and plant perennials to store natural resources.
Obtain a yield: Grow plants you can use or sell.
Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: Continually learn and adapt your techniques for optimal efficiency.
Use and value renewable resources and services: Put everything to use; incorporate solar, wind, compost, mulch, even weeds.
Produce no waste: Composting, recycling, and finding creative uses for “waste” are essential.
Design from pattern to detail: Start with the big picture, then choose plants to fill each niche.
Integrate rather than segregate: Companion planting, plant guilds, and food forests work together for a more productive ecosystem.
Use small and slow solutions: Start small and build a strong, sustainable system over time.
Use and value diversity: Biodiversity boosts resilience.
Use edges and value the marginal: Transitional areas like fence lines and pond edges are often the most productive.
Creatively use and respond to change: Embrace unpredictability as part of your permaculture garden’s evolution.
Choose the right space for your garden
A spacious spot in your yard that receives plenty of sunlight and has access to water or irrigation can make a great location for your permaculture garden. Ideally, this area will have high-quality, well-draining soil, but you can always build your soil using compost and other amendments.
Pay attention to environmental and seasonal changes
Even with a small lot, the space around your home features various microclimates that create ideal environments for different edible plants and flowers. Return to the first principle of permaculture and observe your garden to identify areas that receive the most sunlight, retain the most heat, offer gentle shade in the afternoons, and so on. If possible, take notes throughout the year to see how these spaces change from season to season.
Related: When To Plant Spring Flowers by FL Zone
Benefits of a permaculture garden
There’s a lot to love about a backyard permaculture garden, including:
Environmentally friendly
Permaculture is an alternative to modern agriculture that prioritizes natural solutions whenever possible. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are replaced with compost and natural predators. It requires fewer external inputs, instead relying on “waste,” such as leaves, kitchen scraps, and rainwater, to meet various needs.
Lower maintenance needs
Integrated systems in a permaculture garden are in place to reduce your workload. For example:
Mulch, ground covers, and dense planting reduce weeding, watering, and soil erosion.
Perennials and self-seeding annuals reduce the need to replant every season.
Chickens and beneficial insects control pests.
Mature food forests are self-regulating, requiring only occasional pruning and soil amendments.
In space-saving raised beds, companion planting helps bolster soil nutrients, reduce evaporation, and minimize pest activity.
More biodiversity
A thoughtfully planned permaculture garden features multiple layers ranging from canopy to ground cover. Within these layers, various species serve a wide range of functions, including pest control, nitrogen fixation, supporting soil structure, and more. This natural culture can make your garden more resistant to pests, diseases, and extreme weather.
Water conservation
From collecting rainwater and graywater to incorporating swales, rain gardens, and mulch, permaculture gardens maximize the use of available water to minimize waste and excess consumption.
Natural pest and disease control
Beneficial insects and natural predators like chickens, ducks, and frogs are just the beginning of pest control in a permaculture garden. Greater biodiversity, healthy soil, and plant guilds also support natural pest control.
Start designing your permaculture garden with the pros at Soil & Bloom!
An efficient, productive permaculture garden begins with thoughtful observation, planning, and design. At Soil & Bloom, we can help you with every step of the process, from assessing your property and selecting seeds to installation and maintenance. Get started today with a free estimate!
