[Scpg] How to Turn Your Yard into an Edible Landscape

[LBUZZELL at aol.com]

All  corrections welcome! 
L&L 
HOW TO TURN  YOUR YARD OR PATIO INTO A BEAUTIFUL AND DELICIOUS EDIBLE 
LANDSCAPE 
Version  9/1/09 
(c) 2009  Linda Buzzell and Larry Saltzman  
Co-Founders,  Santa Barbara Organic Garden  Club 
Graduates of  Permaculture Design Course 2006 (Larry Santoyo). 
Ripping out  lawns and immediately replacing these “ornamental deserts” 
with vegetables,  herbs, edible flowers and fruit trees is tremendously 
exciting and worthwhile.  But it’s easy to make mistakes with an ill-thought-out “
blitz.”  Here are a few things to consider before  you (or the property 
owner or renter you’re advising) pick up a pencil or a  shovel: 
1. START BY  OBSERVING.  
Before you  change anything on your property, take time to observe what’s 
already  there.  Do what permaculture  designers call a “sector analysis,” 
where you think about the wild energies from  outside that influence this 
property – the elements of sun (winter and summer  sun and shade angles), wind, 
rain (including floods), wildfire and piped-in  water.  Where are the hot 
and cold  spots on your land? Notice what plants already exist (including 
bulbs that just  pop up in certain seasons and then disappear), and what 
animals (including soil  critters, raccoons, birds, butterflies, bees, rabbits, 
gophers, moles and rats)  already live on the property.  You  may be 
disturbing their habitat. 
2. BEWARE OF  SLOPES!  
Imagine your  property in profile. Where will rain strike first and where 
will it flow?  Sometimes you’ll want to use swales,  terracing or wells 
around plants to capture rain, but if your property has a  sharp slope, you may 
need to hire a consulting engineer before doing anything,  to be sure that 
you aren’t creating the conditions for a landslide.  In fact, if you’re in 
any doubt about  how to make any of the changes on this list, hire a 
professional permaculture  designer (not just someone who’s taken the initial 
permaculture design course,  but a person who has advanced training and substantial 
experience) or a  professional landscape architect or designer with a 
sustainability/edible  landscape /permaculture track record) to help with your 
project. 
3. FIND OUT  WHAT KIND OF SOIL AND WATER YOU HAVE.   
Our coastal  California area typically has  alkaline clay soils and 
alkaline water. But some properties nearer the beach are  sandy.  Take time to get 
to know  your soil and get advice on how to improve it.  Clay  soils retain 
water and sandy soils shed it quickly, but both benefit from  amendments 
like compost and mulch. Our typically alkaline soils also may need  garden 
sulphur, pine needles or other amendments to lower the PH of the soil,  
especially if you want to grow acid-loving plants like blueberries.  
4. IF YOUR  SOIL IS REALLY BAD, START BY PLANTING IN RAISED BEDS OR 
CONTAINERS.   
Sometimes the prospect of remediating really  problematic soil is too 
daunting and the best thing to do is start planting in  sheet-mulched raised 
beds, bales of straw or containers like wine barrels.   
5. PLANT IN  ZONES.  
Permaculture  wisely advises us to put vegetables, edible flowers and herbs 
close to your  kitchen door and the water faucet – in “Zone 1.”  This is 
the zone you’ll visit most  frequently, to water, pamper and harvest.  As 
Santa Barbara’s legendary  seed grower Oscar Carmona of Healing Grounds 
advises, “The best fertilizer is  your shadow.” Zone 2 is for your orchards (food 
forest) and possibly chickens or  small livestock. Zones 3 and 4 may be 
pastures or forests and Zone 5 is left as  native wilderness.  On a smaller  
property, you may just have Zones 1 and 2 -- and perhaps a small Zone 5 area at 
 the edge of your yard kept as a preserve and habitat for native plants and 
 wildlife. 
6. USE A HOSE  TO LAY OUT THE DESIGN OF YOUR BEDS. 
You can use a  hose (or dribbled flour) to design the shape of your 
planting beds.  Then stand back and see if you like the  shape, before reaching for 
the shovel. Lay out the paths (they should be 3-4  feet across) and beds by 
picturing yourself reaching across the beds to tend the  plants. Measure 
the length of your arm and don’t create a free-standing bed  (reachable from 
either side) more than double that size unless you’re willing to  use 
stepping stones.  The goal is to  design the beds so you can reach every part of 
them from these paths or stepping  stones without straining.  Permaculture 
designers often do a keyhole-shaped bed where you can reach  every part of that 
bed from a central “hole.” 
7. GETTING  RID OF GRASS 
If your grass  isn’t Bermuda, you can sheet mulch. Here’s how: cover  your 
designated planting bed with a layer of mulch, then a layer of cardboard  
(ordinary brown is best) and after wetting down the cardboard add more mulch, 
 compost and perhaps some straw to create a springy planting bed up to 1-2 
feet  high. Some people also dig up some of the topsoil from the paths (why 
waste it  by just walking on it?) and put that on top of the beds too.  This 
gives you nice, fluffy,  water-retentive beds to plant in. 
If you have  Bermuda grass, take the time to remove it with a shovel (or 
sometimes you need a  pick), rolling it up like a carpet. It’s usually not 
deep-rooted but any little  piece you leave behind will root and come up again. 
Some people compost the  removed grass on a piece of plastic (so it can’t 
re-root) and other  less-optimistic souls just get it off the property 
altogether in the  greenwaste.  And even then, for a  while you’ll have to watch 
like a hawk for re-rooting from any tiny pieces you  missed.  It’s a lengthy 
process, but  worth it. Don’t be tempted to use toxic Round-Up to speed 
things up. 
Once you’re  sure you’ve removed the Bermuda, you’re ready to sheet  mulch 
as described above. 
8. RESIST THE  URGE TO DOUBLE DIG. 
The “no-till”  idea is becoming accepted as preferable to disturbing the 
soil.  Double digging may give quick results  but you have to keep it up each 
year and you’re destroying a whole underground  ecosystem each time you 
attack the soil with your tools.  It’s preferable in our opinion to build  UP 
your soil rather than opening it up and turning it over with a shovel (except 
 when planting a tree or shrub, of course, or doing very specific deep 
keyline  plowing that doesn’t turn over the soil).  The earthworms will come up 
from below your new raised beds and perform  their magic.  
9. PLANT ONLY  WHAT LIKES TO GROW IN YOUR AREA.  
Check with  neighbors, local garden clubs, farmers (the Farmers Market) and 
seed savers to  determine the best cultivars for your soil and climate.  Don
’t trust commercial nurseries or big  box stores to carry what’s best for 
you – they often don’t know.  And don’t buy from national chains or  
catalogs unless you’re sure that the varieties they offer like your climate, no  
matter how tempting the bargain.  However, this doesn’t mean you need to 
limit yourself to native plants,  as admirable as that might seem.  The best 
thing you can do for our environment is to grow more food at  home and also 
participate in protecting local wild places where native plants  are free to be 
themselves.   
10. PLANT  WHAT YOU LIKE TO EAT.   
It’s tempting to immediately put in exotic and  beautiful edibles that look 
good in your garden but never make it to your table,  but we recommend that 
you start by planting foods you actually know you and your  family enjoy 
and will use – and that you know how to prepare.  If you don’t like zucchini, 
don’t plant  zucchini! 
11. LEARN HOW  TO COOK WHAT YOU GROW.  
Radishes are  a perfect first plant to grow, for both kids and adults. They’
re quick and easy,  and of course we all enjoy those cherry red roots in 
our salads.  But we’ve recently learned that radish  tops are delicious when 
chopped and sautéed with garlic, onions and oil.  Like many other greens such 
as kale,  beet tops, nasturtium leaves or chard, radish leaves can become 
the “greens” for  your meals or they can top some delicious pasta.  Finding 
creative new ways of using what  you grow is part of the fun of an edible 
landscape (but of course check  carefully before eating unfamiliar plant 
parts). Harvest rose petals for your  salads (snip off the white part near the 
center of the bloom). Learn to stew up  various fruits (including quinces and 
blemished fruits) into sauces that you  freeze to use over winter pancakes. 
Discover how to use baby veggie leaves and  thinnings in your soups and 
salads. Delight in topping your salads and  stir-fries with edible flowers 
(again, check carefully that they’re actually  edible). Chop up baby fennel 
fronds for a delicious Greek ricotta-fennel pie.  
Cooking is  the other half of edible landscaping and neighborhood 
exchanges, so trading  recipes is as important as trading food!  Also, we highly 
recommend the “Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers”  cookbook for inspiration. 
12. THEN  PLANT A FEW LESS FAMILIAR EDIBLES AND LEARN TO COOK AND EAT THEM 
TOO.   
After you’ve mastered the usual tomatoes,  chard, plums, beans and 
zucchini, try a few veggies or fruits you’re not as  familiar with and learn new 
ways of enjoying them. Amaranth is beautiful and has  edible leaves and seeds. 
Passionfruit vines produce exquisite flowers and  juice-filled “eggs.” 
Spicy hot peppers look like little Christmas trees and put  zip into your meals. 
Quince trees are gorgeous in the spring and offer fragrant  yellow globes 
in the fall to be cooked into sauces. “Bountiful Gardens”  
(_www.bountifulgardens.org_ (http://www.bountifulgardens.com/) ) offers a  great seed catalog 
and lots of inspiration. Relaxing on a rainy day sipping a  warm cup of tea 
and reading organic seed catalogs is irresistibly decadent. The  gardener’s 
mind wanders… maybe this year I should plant some gorgeous Red Giant  
Mustard (Brassica juncea) which  offers “Sweet zesty lime-green leaves 
beautifully overlaid with bright  purple.  Good in salads and also  makes a good 
cooked green, sweet and mild, full of vitamins and minerals”?  How can you 
resist? 
13. FOCUS ON  PLANTS THAT GIVE MULTIPLE YIELDS.  
Permaculturists call this “stacking functions.” Most of the plants  in our 
conventional gardens (aka “ornamental deserts”) offer only one or two  
yields at the most.  Usually they  deliver some form of beauty and not a lot 
more.  It makes more sense to use precious  garden space and scarce water for 
plants that offer multiple yields in return  for the moisture and fertilizer 
we provide them with, providing food, shelter,  sensual and aesthetic 
pleasure, water thrift, nitrogen, timber, wildlife  habitat, etc.  For example, 
the  radish or beet greens mentioned above offer delights above and below 
ground.  Another example is lavender, which not only offers drought-resistant 
beauty, but  fragrant blossoms that are also edible and leaves that can not 
only scent your  linens in sachets but also repel certain insects. Lavender 
can be used as a  kitchen herb and is an important component of herbes 
province. Lavender oil can also  become a sellable product, as can lavender wands, 
soaps etc.   
Other edible  plants that offer multiple yields include beets that provide 
baby leaves for  salads, mature leaves for cooking and sweet roots for 
cooking, canning and  storage…nitrogen-fixing fava beans with lovely flowers that 
attract beneficial  insects plus offer meaty, tasty beans… 
beneficial-insect attracting carrot  fronds… beautiful grey-green artichokes whose deep 
roots break up sub soil and  are nutrient accumulators… gorgeous and tasty 
rainbow chard… and deciduous fruit  trees that offer beauty and bounty in one 
package. In fact, we wonder why anyone  would want to plant a merely ornamental 
fruit tree when they could enjoy not  only the spring blooms but also the 
pretty and delicious summer  harvest? 
14. BE AWARE  OF THE WATER NEEDS OF YOUR PLANTS.   
Most annual  veggies need regular water – daily at first -- which is why 
they’re put in Zone  1 where they won’t be forgotten.  Many fruit trees, 
perennials and food-bearing shrubs need regular water  only when young, in 
adulthood are very water-thrifty, with deep  roots. 
15. START  WITH A SMALL AREA, THEN EXPAND 
It is much  more effective to work on a small area first and then expand to 
further areas if  you find you can manage them in the time you have 
available for gardening.  Usually it’s best to start with Zone 1  and work 
outwards. But sometimes folks just plant one or two fruit trees in Zone  2 of their 
existing garden and expand from there. 
16. SHOP FOR  BARE-ROOT BARGAINS IN JANUARY 
The most  inexpensive way to get fruit trees, deciduous shrubs and even 
artichokes and  strawberries is to purchase them “bare root” in January.  If 
you live in a warm climate, don’t  forget to focus on plants that are “
low-chill” and don’t mind our mild  climate.  There is a good list of  low-chill 
varieties at the Bay Laurel Nursery  (Atascadero,  CA) website.  Norm Beard 
of Beard Tropics Nursery in  Goleta, CA  gets in good selections of bare 
root fruit trees each January.  The local chapter of the California Rare  
Fruit Growers association also periodically offers grafted seedlings at an  
excellent value. 
17. JOIN OR  START A NEIGHBORHOOD EXCHANGE AND GROW SOME PLANTS THAT YOUR 
NEIGHBORS DON’T  GROW 
Visit _www.sbfoodnotlawns.org_ (http://www.sbfoodnotlawns.org/)  for more  
info on the rapidly-multiplying local Neighborhood Exchanges, where people 
share  food, seeds, baked goodies and extra stuff as well as good company. 
And put in  some plants that you can bring to your neighborhood exchange – 
things that  everyone else doesn’t grow.  For example, most local neighborhoods 
on  the Central Coast of California don’t need more citrus or avocado 
trees, but  could really benefit from other fruits (for example, plumcots, 
apricots, pluots)  and protein-rich nuts as well as fresh veggies other than 
zucchini. Part of the  fun is discovering new things to grow to exchange with 
your  neighbors. 
18. PUT IN  SOME FOOD FOR THE NEEDY (PEOPLE AND ANIMALS) 
Some  gardeners like to plant “a row” to give to the Food Bank. Others 
designate an  area of their garden as wildlife food or butterfly habitat.  One 
of the Permaculture Ethical  Principles is “Share the Surplus.” (The other 
principles: Care for the Earth and  Care for the People). 
19. PLANT  SHRUBS AND FRUIT TREES IN WELLS 
Create a well  or doughnut shape around your new food-bearing shrubs or 
fruit trees, to hold in  water.  Not only does this keep  young trees moist, 
but it also creates a nice planting area for moisture-loving  plants 
(especially annuals) that can become part of the fruit tree “guild.” Some  of these 
can be nitrogen-fixing plants like beans, peas or other legumes that  will 
feed the soil and the tree.  Beneficial-insect-attracting, flowering plants 
are a pretty touch, and  some people like to put in onions and garlic. A 
circle of daffodils is said to  repel gophers.  As the tree grows  up, this area 
will of course be more shaded, but in the early years you can  provide a 
moist, sunny location for herbs and veggies. 
20. GO FOR  “FOSSIL-FREE” LANDSCAPING 
Fossil-free  landscaping has been promoted by local landscape architect 
Owen Dell, author of  the excellent “Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies” 
book. Modern gardening has  become mechanized with obnoxiously noisy, 
oil-dependent machines like blowers,  gasoline-driven lawn mowers, weed whackers, etc. 
Imagine how             quiet and peaceful our neighborhoods would be 
without these annoying  sounds.  Yes, you may occasionally  need an electric saw 
to remove huge limbs and occasionally even permaculturists  use earth-moving 
equipment to create ponds or swales, but mostly on a home  property you can 
do just fine with hand tools like rakes, shovels, trowels and  secateurs 
(clippers).   
21. CONSIDER  HAND WATERING. 
If you really  want to be super fossil-free, also try hand-watering to 
avoid putting toxic PVC  “black snakes” all over your property. 
We’re a  time-starved, technology-loving culture and many of us had hoped 
that drip  irrigation and a computerized irrigation system would solve all of 
our problems,  making gardening a “hands-off” business.  The truth is that 
unless you have a very large property, you may well be  better off and more 
water-wise if you spend a few minutes hand-watering as you  observe and 
tend your plants. That way you water only when plants really need  it.  If you 
plant in wells this is  especially effective. We find the time spent 
watering is a kind of meditation  and even ecotherapy. When you’re really relaxed 
you may find yourself observing  your plants and garden with new eyes.  Also, 
your taste buds will appreciate the difference between fruit  produced by 
trees that only receive water when they need it.  The bloated, watery fruit 
in  supermarkets is often the result of computerized, water-wasteful  
irrigation. 
22. COVER THE  GROUND WITH GREEN OR BROWN. 
Nature abhors  a vacuum.  Try not to leave  uncovered ground between your 
larger food-bearing plants.  First, consider edible or otherwise  useful 
low-growing plants. And you may want to consider water-wise native or  
Mediterranean plants or even ground covers like succulents that hold in water  plus 
shade and protect the soil.  Another option is a heavy layer of mulch (except 
around the trunks of  trees). The goal is to avoid exposed bare ground 
which calls in the pioneer  plants we sometimes call “weeds.” 
23. WATCH FOR  UNWANTED CRITTERS 
By removing  their predators we have “created the conditions for pests to 
happen.” Talk with  others in your area about least-toxic and most-humane 
ways of controlling our  area’s overpopulation of rats and gophers. 
25. GET FREE  GARDENING HELP FROM WORKING BIRDS 
Creating  welcoming habitat for songbirds and other birds not only provides 
the joy of  their music but also calls in handy helpers who will happily 
eat those pesky  bugs that want to share your harvest. Put out water and plant 
a few things “for  the birds” and they will respond.  We also leave the 
top layer of our fig tree for the birds, with plenty  left over for ourselves. 
26. BEAUTY IS  AN IMPORTANT YIELD! 
Especially if  you’re putting edible landscaping in a front yard, be 
conscious of creating a  beautiful garden.  Add  beneficial-attracting or edible 
flowers, and keep up the garden “housekeeping.”  “Obtain a Yield” is an 
important  Permaculture principle, and beauty is a valuable “yield.”  And as 
we mentioned above,  permaculturists also encourage us to obtain multiple 
yields from one plant. So a  beautiful plant that also yields a tasty flower, 
leaf or fruit is a  win-win.  Flowers can also be a  sellable crop. We’ve 
been told that flowers sell as well as veggies at the  Farmers Market. 
27. PAY  ATTENTION TO INVISIBLE SYSTEMS. 
If you’re a  renter or are helping a renter get started with a garden, it’
s wise not to  forget that it can be a big mistake to make any substantial 
changes on a  property without the permission of the actual legal owner.  
Considering social, economic and legal  systems is part of any successful 
permaculture or edible landscaping  design. 
28. DON’T  FORGET TO SMELL THE ROSES 
Gardening is  almost a spiritual meditation practice for those who love it. 
 In addition to tending your garden, try  to find time to just “be” in 
your beautiful, edible landscape.  Put in some seating where you can smell  the 
wafting herbal and floral smells, listen to the birds and enjoy your  
lemonade or wine in the cool of the early evening. Delight in the delicious  
sensual pleasure that now surrounds you… as the bees follow their age-old ritual 
 of dipping into the hearts of fragrant flowers… the scrub jays squawk for  
peanuts…the hummingbirds dip their bills into brightly-colored trumpets or 
chase  the spray from your hose… the colors of the swelling pumpkins call 
out to your  eye… the flocks of baby bushtits discover your birdbath and 
indulge in an orgy  of splashing… the native wasps perch on the fennel or carrot 
umbels, catching  the last rays of the waning sunlight… and the fragrance of 
fresh earth, fragrant  blooms and tangy herbs reminds you of the eternal 
truth that, as religious  teachers have always told us, paradise is  a garden. 
Happy  gardening! 

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