Big Sky Permaculture can work with you to plan, design and implement an edible landscape for your home.
Edible landscapes, which partially or completely replace a lawn, produce food for you to eat right from your property and do not require much work to maintain. An edible landscape, such as a food forest, is self regulating, in that the landscape produces high yields without the need for human products and energy. An edible landscape serves several important functions for you:
- Fresh and abundant pesticide-free food
An edible landscape in a typical-sized urban lot can offset all of a family's fruit and vegetable needs, depending on design. Because the arrangement of different kinds of plants mimics an intact ecology, no pesticides or herbicides are needed to combat 'pests' and 'weeds' because these things are effectively used in the system for their yields. You will be producing so much food you may need need to give it to your neighbours! - On-site water harvesting
Reduce your water bills. With Alberta's high-sunlight-low-precipitation climate, it is easy for our landscapes to dry out, even if we are diligent in watering them. An edible landscape is designed to keep water on site just as ecologies do, using the soil as a storage medium. An established edible landscape will stay hydrated even during periods of drought. Please see Anatomy of a Food Forest. - Mental and Physical Health
An edible landscape means harvesting and cooking with the food you grow, which is truly rewarding. While an edible landscape doesn't require much work on your part, the work you will do, including harvesting before a meal, is an excellent way to engage your body and forget about things. Some of the amazement that children have toward living systems comes back when you visit the garden patch for food. - Aesthetically Pleasing
An edible landscape is a beautiful structure that can compliment your property. It will also attract a host of wildlife such as birds and butterflies. It is an ideal place for children to play, and for you to site and relax and watch how nature works. You're neighbours will also be asking you about it!
You Are a Client If You Are...
- An individual or family who owns a home
We can work with you (and teach you the steps along the way) to plan, design, and implement an edible landscape on your property. - A municipality with an inventory or parks and open spaces
As a municipality, you are concerned with creating community assets that benefit and keep people in your community. We can work with you to plan, design and implement a beutifufl edible landscape that produces local and fresh food by community members for community members that is also a welcoming place for recreationists, children and pets. - An Agricultural Operation
As an agricultural operation your primary concerns are providing a high yield for your customers with a minimum or expense, and a secure supply of water and nutrients to grow your produce. We can work with you to design or redesign your landscape so that it takes advantage of the patterns of intact ecologies. As a result, your agricultural operation will be: a) self-managing, meaning less human input from you to keep it in a productive state, b) more productive, c) extremely water efficient, meaning your operation will stay hydrated passively during drought, and d) resistant to pests and blights. - A Community Garden Association
A community garden designed through permaculture will produce much higher yields per unit area of land, and using a quarter of the water normally use, resulting in an extremely productive landscape.
