Our first and most significant form of permaculture adoption on the site is the way we have built up soil. Considering the silt and rock aggregate that forms the substrate in the garden enclosure, serious remediation of the soil was required to support any growth. By excavating our garden beds and layering viable planting mediums like mulch, top soil, compost, and further incorporating mycorrhizal fungi, blood and bone meal, worm castings and of course love and joy we were able to begin planting our food forest thereafter. To further build soil fertility, we have adopted a longer-term plan where cover crops are planted and mowed before maturation, leaving the degrading roots and decomposing biomass on the surface to further contribute to the volume of viable soil. As of autumn 2013 we have established a foundation for our food forest, where our incorporation of trees, shrubs, companion planting and cover cropping have resulted in a low maintenance yet highly productive variety of edible crops.
Groundswell’s Permaculture Garden incorporates rainwater harvesting, where 5000 square feet of roof collection area is stored underground. This rainwater supplies our drip-line system and our passive land gradient irrigation. As part of this passive irrigation system, water will flow through our wetland feature – not only serving to filter the water but will also be a showpiece for wetland ecology education and experimentation. As a result of the gradient based irrigation system, water will disperse evenly throughout our food forest, providing enough water to reduce or forego manual watering.