Hi there, new to permaculture though have done a bit of reading. If finances allow we are hoping to buy a property. My question is this: what does a good potential permaculture site look like ? What are some of the characteristics it would have that would make it easy to design a well-functioning property ? Hope some of you experts out there can give me some pointers, thank you very much.
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? Hello Breal, aspect and water does it for me. If you can get a Northeast facing slope (if you are in the southern hemisphere) to allow maxium sun in the winter and if you have access to enough water you will be off to a good start. There is more but that will start the process. regards purplepear intent-observation-intuition
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? g'day breal, big question that one as we all have different aspirations, another almost how long is a piece of string thingy hey? you may get some ideas from our web site? but for us it was: having enough land to graze some beefand grow food plus have enough habitat to improve and manage, yet still have enough clear way around our infrastructure so w didn'tahve all the safety issues of living among the gum trees. also meant learning how to pick "good land" or land with "good water" there are tricks to that trade, so in the 18 months we drove around our preffered area of the state we looked and listened. no matter how good permaculture may seem it can't help you turn rock into arrable land, and you can't do much i an area where rain is scarcer than hens teeth, so that brings in the affordability factor if money is the ruler you may be better off staying where you are, but then no good paying too much either. you need somelace no further than 50k away from the coast and east of the highway in general, and with a mean average rainfall of no less than 700mm, not steep mountain goat country, no more than say 6% slope with some 8% thrown in maybe. for us it also meant aspect so we could build an eco' designed home. also took into considertion distance from shops (for food) and emergency services ets.,. keep in mind a 30k drive to town at highway speed to buy vege' could mean around a 45 minute trip for the ambulance to get to you. of course if you are bullet proof then none of that will matter. as you can see there is lots in it, check our site you may like what you read you may not eitehr way take all points on baord, you buy in too far and out of teh wy place and things say go bad and you have to sell, think ahead will there be someone else out there to buy waht you need longer want, within a reasonable time frame. in short nothing under around 50 acres, take no notice of the wives tale that there can be too much land to look after not so if fences are up and good repair, those on 10 acres or less do way more work trying to fit things in than the other could ever do, running our 70 acres was a dream. don't make it a tree change or sea change make it a change for the better. len
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? You could swing by our site too Breal, if you want to see what you can do on just 14 acres if its well planned. not that the site is anywhere near as descriptive as Lens but it will give an alternative perspective. regards Mark
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? hmmmmmm, Len, are you telling Breal to move to Tasmania ? I think i ticked every box in your description of the perfect site
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? Whilst I do understand the spirit of the question, I think we should still be careful about narrowly defining what permaculture is. It's not just about big properties is it? One can practice permaculture on a suburban block too, can't they? or can they? Perhaps the rock has it's own solution beyond being converted to arable land?
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? Hi, Depending on where you are looking, I can help you with your selection, as well as imparting information as we go. Let me know if you would like to discuss further. Paula. 0402064832. www.permup.com
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? sorry i forgot to mention comfort and minimising the need for heating, and having enough summer to grow things and maintain good levels of vitamind 'D' in the body. nothing like an 8 month summer and 4 month autumn almost winter, makes for comfortable. at the end we need is warmth(the hardest factor to achieve in some circumstances), lots of ways to keep cool cheaply. a bit of a chuckle there hey eric? len
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? you are wise beyond your years Grahame :wink: I am anxious to hear from Breal and find out where in the world the post comes from. :?:
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? G'day Breal Welcome to the PRI Forum. One thing that often gets overlooked when undertaking a pre-planning assessment prior to purchasing is location: How far will it be to the nearest corner store for milk/bread/newspaper? How far to the nearest post office? How far to school/uni/medical? How far to work? How far to the nearest public transport node? Do you really want to spend 30-min, 1, 2 or even 3-hours a day in the car? Is living 10, 20, 50 or even 100km from the nearest essential services 'sustainable'? Another one is the culture/fit of the existing neighbourhood: Is this a location where you will want to live for the next 5, 10, 25 or even 50-years? What does the local government have to say with regards to forward (strategic) planning for your intending area? Any plans on the books for developments that invlove noise/dust/smell/visual clutter? Will planning permission be required for any type of permaculture development/use that you intend to implement? Many questions... but don't fear, they have all been asked before. A great book (relevant to Australia) to get a hold of is "Buying your Bush Block" by Allan Windust (3rd edition, 2001): https://books.google.com/books?id=MnCP-5 ... q=&f=false Good luck with the process, and don't forget to let us know how you get on. Cheerio, Mark.
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? " somelace no further than 50k away from the coast and east of the highway in general" serious? so that rules out most of Australia's landmass.. actually I think we could think a little broader than that..
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? guess it does ppp, but if you want to delve into very low rainfall verging on desert then go for it. one thing we learnt you get nowhere without rainfall, and rainfall affects grazing rate the drier the more acres needed per head just how it is sorry. there are some gems around but bet they aren't for sale when you are looking and bet they aren't cheap either. we learnt as we explored sth/east qld to the range you soon get the picture. anyhow it's all about independant views what the poster eventually does is their choice, lots of traps for the unwary. yep the coastal strip recieves more rainfall in general in this are than do others, that is curently why brissy dams are 70% capacity and toowoomba only around 30% or so, and a recent drive up gatton way showed how much drier it is that far away. len
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? Well... if it wasn't for all the damn rain, it would be quiet dry here
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? you send some of that rain up our way and we'll be all the more comfortable. len
Re: How to pick a permaculture site ? Thats the worlds biggest problem... Plenty of water, just all in the wrong places.
If you go here... https://www.geofflawton.com/sq/15449-geoff-lawton You can get the answer to this, and an awesome pdf guide to buying Permaculture property.
agree with Ian except the 50ks from the coast....hey people there is a whole lot of Australia more than 50ks from the coast.....good country.....nice people and even work in most places. Cathy
Easy and expensive or hard and cheap? How long have you got? Future Local and State Government plans for the area, water supply, quality, quantity and reliability, soil type, access to electricity grid costs, $per Hectare, climate, aspect, elevation, drainage, flood and drought susceptibility, sustainability and utility of dwelling if present and potential to improve, potential for real estate value to increase, neighbour profile including the modernity of the food and fibre producers around you be they trad. or otherwise. Distance to input and outputs from your site. Public transport access if any. Access to health services, Post Office, library, Government offices, and last but not least an extensive network of supporters, friends and true mate or two to share your ride and dreams in the Australian tradition. Cheers, half the fun is in the exploring and dreaming.
