Permablitz

Steve Harris and Emily Waters have a house in Malvern Victoria that had a large boring backyard.

They were frustrated that the lawn required a lot of maintenance, water and energy while providing nothing in return. They had a budget for transforming the property, and needed some help to get started towards achieving their aim of converting their backyard to an abundant source of vegetables, fruit, berries, and possibly eggs.

Enter Permabltz: The week before the blitz, volunteer permaculture designers Dan and Adam from the Permablitz network visited the site and discussed what Steve and Emily wanted to achieve on the day of their blitz. A design was hatched that meshed with both the site and the residents' interests, budget, and available time. The design included and cleverly integrated veggie patches, a pond, fruit trees, paths and chickens into a design that will produce much food for relatively little effort. A key focus is water - how to use permaculture design to cleverly lay out paths, pipes, pits, ponds and a tank to catch, store and direct as much water as possible to the vegies, herbs and fruit trees.

Word went out to the Permablitz mailing list, alerting over 1500 subscribers to the upcoming blitz.

On the day 25 people arrived from a wide range of areas, ages, and cultural backgrounds. After introductions and a discussion of the design, which has been beautifully illustrated by one of the volunteers, the participants set to work.

In no time at all a veggie garden with winding paths was being sheet mulched with wet newspaper, built up with compost, and planted out with new seedlings. A separate group dug a pond, a third group planted out a small orchard of five fruit trees, and a fourth group set up a new chook house to run.

Tips

Pond: Bringing water into a garden immediately changes the feel and focus of the entire space. In this case the pond is not only a central focus but it acts as a magnet for birds and lizards who, are ideal pest managers in the garden. You can also grow water chestnuts in the pond, hence making it a productive landscape as well.

Chicken coup: What’s not to love about chickens. They do it all for the garden. And lets face it, where in history do you find somewhere that didn’t have chickens roaming around turning waste into recycled manure gold.

And eggs to boot. You’ll be seeing more about chickens and their importance throughout the series. I love chickens and I’m not afraid to shout it from the top of a suburban coup near you...

Permablitz: The concept of the permablitz certainly sounds a bit out there on paper, but on the ground on the day, the exchange, engagement, interaction and education was phenomenal. Everybody that came was positive and excited about giving of his or her time for a common belief and community end. As an educational tool and means of bringing people together to share and inform, the permablitz concept works. The beauty is that it can be adapted to the style, design and financial position of the individuals involved, but remains available to apply and get anyone and everyone started with producing their own fresh fruit and vegies at home.

More Information

Permablitz is a now an Australia-wide movement based around days on which a group of at least two people come together to achieve the following:

•    Create or add to edible gardens where someone lives
•    Share skills related to permaculture and sustainable living
•    Build community networks
•    Have fun

It's a simple formula and it works.  Since starting in Melbourne in 2006, there have been over 60 Permablitz events in Melbourne, and Permablitz networks have started in many other Australian cities along with New Zealand, Ireland, and even Uganda.

Each Permablitz is part of a longer process including a pre-blitz design visit or visits, prior organisation of materials needed for the blitz, and after the blitz follow up visits to see how people are going with their new gardens.  This means that Permablitze’s stay true to permaculture design, which is always an extended process in which all action is informed by prior observation and reflection.

The Permablitz network is currently entirely volunteer, and based on the principle of reciprocity. Most people come to blitzes because they are fun and you learn something.  However, once you've been to a few blitzes, volunteers in the Permablitz network can help you organise one where you live.  
 

http://www.veryediblegardens.com/

http://www.permablitz.net/