Permaculture Water Harvesting

Water harvesting is a very important aspect of a permaculture garden. If your goal is to be sustainable, then you should work to rely as little as possible on using water from the tap or hose to water your garden and trees. Especially in the arid parts of the country, this can cause a huge drain on already low water supplies.

One of the easiest ways to reduce the need for frequent watering is to mulch. Mulch is often used in permaculture to improve the soil quality and to return nitrogen to the soil, but it also helps the soil retain moisture for much longer. In a permaculture food forest, nitrogen-fixing plants are often grown to improve the soil. When they reach a certain height, you can chop off the top of them and just drop it on the ground around fruit trees to provide nitrogen-rich mulch. To those more concerned about the aesthetic appeal of their permaculture plot, wood chips, leaves, or grass clippings can be placed around the base of fruit trees.

Once you have reduced the amount of water you need by mulching, it may be possible for a rainwater catchment system to provide all needed water for your permaculture garden. Rainwater can be collected by attaching a 55 gallon barrel to the downspout of your existing gutters with a screen to prevent debris from getting in. Multiple barrels can be assembled in series to increase the water storage capacity. If this system is not practical, you can simply set out buckets during a rainstorm to collect water, then cover them and use them to fill your watering can later. It is important to keep the buckets covered so they do not become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

For more intensive permaculture setups, earthen mounds and swales can be built for water harvesting purposes. A swale is a ditch that is dug on sloping land so water runs down the slope and settles in the swale. The water then continues to flow down the slope underground, but more slowly than it would have without the swale. This water will provide underground irrigation to the roots of all the permaculture crops that are downhill from the swale.

If you are able to have a pond in your yard, it can act as a water storage unit as well as provide you with food if you stock it with fish. Some people practice aquaponics, which consists of a stocktank of fish and a pump to send the fish-waste filled water to plants in a hydroponics setup. The waste from the fish acts as great fertilizer for the plants, and the plants remove toxins from the water that would otherwise kill the fish. This is yet another part of the permaculture way to reaching sustainability.

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