Advanced Permaculture

This course takes you well beyond PDC foundation course. It's intended for:

• Graduates of other Permaculture courses
• Garden Designers, Landscape Architects, Horticulturists, Ecologists or other professionals who understand aspects of permaculture; but want to take their knowledge to the next level.

“Complete this course after Permaculture Systems and you are ready to create a design for a range of situations - as a consultant to others or for your own property.” - Adriana Fraser Cert.Hort., Cert.Child Care, Adv.Cert.App.Mgt., Cert 1V Assessment and Training, Adv.Dip.Hort., ACS Tutor.

Learn to plan and manage the detailed development of a permaculture system.

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Evaluating Design Strategies
   • Introduction
   • The need for sustainability
   • Low input farming
   • Regenerative farming
   • Biodynamic systems
   • Organic systems
   • Conservation farming
   • Matching enterprise with land capability
   • Polyculture
   • Integrated management
   • Permaculture planning
   • Observation
   • Deduction
   • Reading patterns
   • Analysis
   • Mapping overlays
   • Sectors
   • Zones
   • Design strategies and techniques
   • Undulating edge
   • Spirals and circles
   • Zig zag trellis
   • Temporary shelter
   • Small scale sun trap
   • Small scale sun shading
   • Pathways
   • Keyhole beds
2. Understanding Patterns
   • Understanding patterns
   • Know your land: evaluate a site
   • Weather patterns, soil pH, EC,temperature, water etc
   • Electromagnetic considerations
   • Herbicide or pesticide consideration
   • Land carrying capacity
   • Assessing land capability
   • Checklist of sustainability elements
   • Indication of sustainability
   • Log books
3. Water
   • Water supply
   • Water saving measures
   • Tanks
   • Dam and pond building
   • Edges
   • Construction; concrete, brick, stone,
   • liners, earth construction
   • Collecting rainwater
   • Recycling waste water
   • Using farm waste water
   • Town water supply
   • Well drilling
   • Pumping subterranean ground water
   • Pumping from natural supplies (eg. lakes, rivers)
   • Pumps and plumbing supplies
   • Water use: power generatyion, deisel generators
   • Fish culture: land and water, dams
   • Water plant cultureWater plants to know and grow
   • Seasonal changes in a pond
   • Sweage treatment: reed beds
   • Problems with water
   • Wating water and conservation
   • Swales and keylines
   • Keyline design
4. Earthworks
   • Site clearing
   • Levelling
   • Drainage
   • Solving drainage problems
   • Surveying techniques: triangulation, direct contouring, grid system etc
   • Levelling terms
   • Levelling procedure
   • Levelling a sloping site
   • Loss of soil fertility
   • Erosion
   • Salinity
   • Sodicity
   • Soil compaction
   • Soil acidification
   • Build up of dangerous chemicals
   • Improving soils
   • Using lime, gypsum or acidic materials
5. Humid Tropics
   • Climatic systems
   • Precipitation
   • Wind
   • Radiation
   • The wet tropics
   • Sources of humus
   • Mulches
   • Soil life in the tropics
   • Barrier plants
   • Animal barriers
   • Permaculture systems for the wet tropics
   • Garden beds
   • Tropical fruits to grow
6. Dry Climates
   • Introduction
   • Water storage and conservation
   • Dryland gardens
   • Dryland orchards
   • Planting on hills
   • Corridor planting
   • Overcoming dry soils
   • Drought tolerant plants
   • Vegetables
   • Fruits
   • Vines
7. Temperate to Cold Climates
   • Introduction
   • Characteristics of a temperate biozone
   • Cool temperate garden design
   • Useful crops for this zone
   • Crop protection
   • Soils in a cool temperate area
   • Growing berries
   • Orchards
   • Soil life
   • Blueberries
   • Raspberries
   • Strawberries
   • Nuts
   • Herbs
8. Planning Work
   • Alternative planning procedures
   • The planning process
   • What goes where
   • Equipping the environmentally friendly garden
   • Barriers, walls and fencin
   • Gates
   • Rubble, brick and concrete walls
   • Retaining walls
   • Trellis
   • Hedges
   • Changing an existing farm to be more sustainable
   • Monitoring and reviewing
   • Contingencies and seasonal variations
   • Planning for drought
   • Excessive water
9. Costing
   • Property costs
   • Making cost cutting choices
   • Planning for the cost conscious
   • Likely costs to establish a garden
   • Socio economic considerations in farming
   • Production planning
   • Economies of scale
   • Materials
   • Equipment
   • Value adding
10. Sustainable Systems
    • Other sustainable systems
    • Working with nature rather than against it
    • Minimising machinery use
    • Only use what is necessary
    • Different ways to garden naturally
    • Organic gardening
    • No Dig techniques
    • Biodynamics
    • Biodynamic preparations
    • Crop rotation
    • Bush gardens
    • Succession planting
    • Seed saving
    • Hydroponics
    • Environmental horticulture
    • Sustainable agriculture around the world
    • Integrated pest management
    • Cultural controls
    • Biological controls
    • Physical controls
    • Chemicals Quarantine
    • Controlling weeds without chemicals
    • Animals in sustainable systems
    • Chickens
    • Turkeys
    • Ducks
    • Geese
    • Pigs

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Evaluate appropriate design strategies for a specific development site.
• Explain the relationship between a Permaculture system and natural patterns occurring in your local area.
• Develop strategies for the management of water in a Permaculture design.
• Determine earthworks for the development of a Permaculture system.
• Design a Permaculture system for the humid tropics.
• Design a Permaculture system for a dry climate.
• Design a Permaculture system for a temperate to cold climate.
• Determine planning strategies for the development of a Permaculture system.
• Prepare cost estimates for a Permaculture development plan.
• Explain alternative sustainable systems practiced in various places around the world.

What You Will Do

• Here are just some of the things you will be doing:
• Explain the evolution of a Permaculture system which is at least five years old.
• Compare the suitability of three different planning procedures, for development of a Permaculture system on a specified site.
• Develop a permaculture plan on a specified site, by using flow diagrams.
• Illustrate the progressive development of one view of a Permaculture system, over three years, with a series of four overlay drawings.
• Explain the relevance of patterns which occur in nature, to Permaculture design.
• Explain the importance of observation skills in Permaculture planning.
• Analyse the weather patterns of a site in your locality as a basis for planning a Permaculture system.
• Compare different methods of water provision, including collection and storage for a specified Permaculture system.
• Analyse the adequacy of two different specific Permaculture system designs, in terms of: water requirements, water provision, water storage, and water usage.
• Explain, using labelled illustrations, the use of different survey equipment.
• Survey a site, between one and four thousand square metre in size, that has been selected for a proposed Permaculture system, recording details, including: topography, dimensions, and location of features.
• Prepare a site plan, to scale, of the site surveyed, including contour lines and the location of all existing features.
• Distinguish between, using labelled drawings, different types of earthworks, including: banks, benching, terracing, and mounds.
• Compare different methods for the provision of drainage on a site proposed as, or being developed as a Permaculture system.
• Determine the factors unique to the design of Permaculture systems in humid tropical climates, dry climates, and cold climates.
• Determine fifty plant species suited for inclusion in a Permaculture system in each of the climates above.
• Determine ten animal species suitable for inclusion in a Permaculture system in each of the climates above.
• Prepare a Permaculture design for each of the climates above.
• Calculate the quantities of materials, showing necessary calculations, required in a specified permaculture plan.
• Estimate the work-hours required, showing any necessary calculations, to complete each section of work.
• Estimate the equipment required, showing any necessary calculations, to complete each section of work.
• Determine suppliers for all materials, for a specified Permaculture development, in accordance with specific plans supplied to you.
• Determine the costs of five types of different materials, for a specified Permaculture development, from different suppliers.
• Determine the essential costs for services to establish a specified Permaculture system, such as: labour costs, sub contracting fees, equipment hire, permits and planning applications, technical reports, legal fees.
• Compare the costs of establishing two different Permaculture systems, which you visit and investigate.
• Explain three sustainable agricultural or horticultural systems, other than permaculture.
• Differentiate Permaculture from other sustainable systems, including: Biodynamics, Organic farming.
• Compare specified sustainable agricultural or horticultural practices from different countries.