I'm located about an hour north of Perth a few miles inland from the coast. Its 5 acres of local natives with some weeds of course. Natives are mature Banksia and Blackbutt (aka Prickle Bark or Todtiana), with a variety of tough scrubby bushes eg Prickly Moses (ouch!). I'd like to keep as much natural bush as possible, and follow permaculture principles to develop small food production etc. Not keen to do anything without a decent plan, so hoping to learn plenty. It gets pretty hot and dry in summer, 6 months of drought, and the soil is sandy and porous, so water is my first priority. I don't know if swales work on sandy soil when the water just disappears into the ground. Is there a way? Or are there alternatives to keep water in the soil? Anyway I look forward to learning and sharing info with you all. Yued is the screen name (after Yued Country in respect to the local Noongar tribe), Gary is also fine...
Hi Gary, Welcome aboard. I'm a bit further south than you (250 km south of Perth) but we have similar rainfall patterns with six months of drought or near enough. I'm actually planting banksia and prickly my for bee food, among other species. We also have sandy soil on our property but have not tried swales or keyline or anything yet. If you haven't come across them yet, look up drylands permaculture farm, they're choos to you Best of luck
Thanks Jason. I saw a video by Geoff Lawton who warned against our tendency to want to act just to feel useful. Often doing nothing is more productive - ie work out the design before anything else. Start small (zone 1), grow incrementally and let the system design evolve. And I would add don't mimic the neighbours
Hi yued We're in Geraldton... We've only been here three years.. Totally agree that just observing for a long while is best way not to be re-doing/un-doing things.. Drylands is just out of town here... If you're ever up this way definitely make the effort to visit!!
Hi Gary, I also live in the Perth hills with rocky, sandy soil. I have found that open swales are not so effective, but filling the swales with organic material (mulch is great) really helps. Carbon is a sponge and will retain moisture and build your soil profile. Whenever i plant a tree now I did the hole as big as I can and put sticks and mulch in the bottom to act like the sponge, holding the water and releasing it when the plant needs it. Cover the mulch with a layer of soil so the roots are not directly touching it then plant the tree. Try not to use really sandy soil for this layer because it will preserve the mulch instead of letting it break down into soil. We have sloping land so I also dig a mini swale on the bottom side and fill that with organic matter to stop runoff and collect water which is stored in the carbon The roots will eventually tap into this source of moisture and nutrients. Same with veggie gardens, mini swales filled with organic matter to catch water and create soil. Most veggies have fairly shallow roots so if you can hold the water in the top 12 inches they will be happy And keep mulching and building I just did my PDC and I'm keen to make connections with other permies in West Australian, particularly around Perth. Hope you stay in touch and share your permaculture adventures Rachel