North Coburg – 4 years later

The garden has been very productive since the permablitz. Before the blitz we had one bed and a chook shed that dated back from my grandparents days (the house was theirs) but had fallen apart and was in need of repair. There is an area near where the veggie beds were created that pre-permablitz was covered in weeds.

Before the blitz

During the blitz

After the permablitz we had 5 veggie beds, the chook shed was close to ready for chooks and the area near the veggies was free of weeds and fruit trees had been planted. We then finished the chook shed and run and have 2 happy chooks that produce enough eggs for a family of 3. We’ve planted more fruit trees near the ones that were planted at the permablitz and also created more areas for growing veggies but have planted straight into the ground (ie- not bothering with creating more wooden beds).

Well after the blitz

In terms of what didn’t work – one of the beds was filled employing the hugelkultur technique. Unfortunately, as the soil on top of the branches broke down, holes formed in the soil and the branches protruded out of the bed. We would regularly attempt to address this by putting more compost, soil and mulch into the bed but without success – the branches seemed to be too big to work as a base. The technique has its merits but perhaps wasn’t implemented as well as it could have been.

The permablitz has enabled us to grow lots of veggies, keep chooks and have an aesthetically pleasing garden much sooner than would have been the case had we been working on it alone. We’ve learned a lot about gardening during and since and really enjoyed getting our hands dirty and that meditative experience that being in the garden enables. Often we’ve sat down to a meal and felt good about the fact that most of what is on our plates has come from the garden.

It was fantastic to have so many people help us with great enthusiasm and to see how quickly the work was done with so many involved. It was nice to think that people were also potentially benefiting from the experience at the same time- gaining new knowledge and skills while having a chat and a laugh.

We’d recommend having a permablitz to others without hesitation.