Expanding Permaculture Efficiency Design by Spending Time the Kitchen

Permaculture Garden Design Principles Found in the Kitchen

Cleaning our small kitchen used to be one of my least favorite activities.  Now I thoroughly enjoy the task for there is so much to learn about maximizing form and function design concepts.

Kitchens and gardens have several things in common but one trait in particular stands out.  Kitchens and gardens, be they ground level, balcony, patio or rooftop, have only so much available space.  With limited space comes potential clutter problems and negative energy flow.

Florida Permaculture, Vertical Edges in the Garden Offer Additional Growing Space

Finding enough room to add plants to the survival garden is just like finding space in the kitchen for that added cup, utensil, appliance, pot or pan.  As in a cluttered kitchen, a cluttered garden can be so overwhelming that we don't want to spend time tending to the plants.

We've found in our rather small kitchen two different approaches to maximizing function and sense of form; 1. go vertical along edges, and 2. leave plenty of open space in the middle.

Our kitchen and pantry areas are limited in size.  Originally the spaces were tightly enclosed with walls and most of the storage space could be found only on flat, horizontal surfaces like counters.

Likewise, yard space was mostly filled with randomly scattered plants and few defined edges or walking spaces or gardens.

After removing a few walls and opening walking areas and installing hooks, racks, hangers, shelves and baskets our kitchen and pantry evolved into a much more efficient and enjoyable food activity area.  Now I like to clean and cook because the space is much more enjoyable to spend time in. Granted, the pantry is not as packed as it could be.  Perhaps less packed is more efficient though as it is now easier to see and use those goods we do have stored. 

Florida Permaculture, Lessons From Kitchen Design

I've noticed that our garden, landscape and overall permaculture installations also benefit from the same open space and vertical edge design principles that we applied inside the kitchen. 

Maximization of walkable space increases a feeling of openness, zen and overall accessibility both in the kitchen and in the garden.  Being able to move without bumping into something or someone unexpectedly makes for a more pleasant sense of place than the claustrophobic clutter feeling of having to navigate spaces sideways.

Florida Permaculture, Finding Garden Edges for Vertical Green

Intense densities in plant communities do have their places in permaculture design.  I love jungles and swamps and they are some of the most diverse ecosystems on the earth and some of my favorite.  I am never more thrilled than to study the highly complex and productive ecosystems found in jungle-like plant communities.  I also try and incorporate areas of deep forest and swamp-like plant communities into our survival garden.  However, swamp and jungle garden areas are not those places where humans will willingly spend much of their time.

Same way with a claustrophobic kitchen or pantry.  Packed storage might be good for quantity but I probably won't be inclined to hang out for stretches of time in the strew.

Florida Permaculture, Pantry Space, Like Garden Space, Can Be Limited

Open, flowing garden spaces can welcome breezes, sunshine and pedestrian activities and provide a sense of place and belonging; this is important to both humans and plants.  Plants need sunshine. Light is a basic component of the photosynthetic process.   Too much jungle, and there will be not enough light to support bountiful produce harvest.  Plants also need to be tended by humans; neglected, overgrown survival gardens may not even survive themselves. In turn, humans benefit in countless ways from vibrant garden plants.

Many designers include feng shui, 風水, flow into both kitchen and garden plans.  The concept of feng shui maximizes good qi, or energy, flow through an area.  The number one guidance thought in feng shui is the importance of 'tidy and orderly' space.  Our kitchen and garden both may not always be clean but because of openness and vertical components both have positive energy pathways throughout.

Adding vertical growing space to a garden functions much the way hooks, racks and shelves create functional storage in the kitchen and pantry,  Vertical growing space such as; trellis, fencing, arches and walls in the garden add room for more plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables, and provide tidy form.

Florida Permaculture, Chicken Coop Fences Offer Growing Space

Vertical growing space in the garden can also be integrated with natural and created plant based edges to further bolster both form and function.  A permaculture survival garden alive with form and function possesses good, strong qi.

Just like a cluttered, disorganized kitchen, an overgrown weedy garden will want for the amount of time we spend in it.  An ignored garden will also lack in productivity and harvest.

Gardens and kitchens full of open space and vertical edges, even though small and compact, can flow with positive qi and invite us in to spend time in their lushness, while rewarding us with bountiful harvests.  

If you have a well laid out, lovely kitchen or perhaps a flowing, beautiful and productive garden, examine the vertical edges running through each along with the openness and inviting flow of the area.  A good garden read can help us with our kitchen energy.  A kitchen where we like to tarry may also hold answers to increasing form and function qualities in the garden.