The project started as a loose collection of notes from two very different gardens. Over time those observations became a structured reference for anyone working with local rainfall, soil, and seasons.
Early 2019
A winter-rainfall garden with heavy clay and a slope that flooded every July. The first swale was dug by hand, and the water retention data from that season became the basis for the suburban water harvesting chapter.
Late 2019
A grassy plot with summer downpours and humid heat. Pioneer species went in first, then the canopy and understory layers. The three-year record from this site shaped the layer-by-layer planting guide.
Mid 2020
Side-by-side compost bins tested different carbon sources, from dry maize stalks to pruned hedge material. The results informed the soil regeneration section, including what breaks down fast in cooler coastal winters.
2021
A simple laundry-to-landscape setup with a diverter valve and mulch basins. The system watered citrus through a dry summer, and the maintenance notes became a standalone guide for households on municipal water.
2022
Indigenous herbs and flowers were introduced between vegetable rows to test pest pressure and pollinator presence. The seasonal checklists in the guide draw directly on these plant pairings.
2023
The full reference collection was reorganized around the zone system, with rainfall-specific adaptations for winter, summer, and year-round growing regions across South Africa.
PermaRoot started with two gardeners comparing notes on winter rainfall and citrus dieback. That conversation turned into a shared journal, and the journal grew into a small network of growers who document what actually works on their plots.
Field researcher
Western Cape
Thandi spent eight years managing a community food garden in the Cape Flats before joining PermaRoot. Her focus is swale placement, mulch depth, and how to keep fruit trees alive through the dry months without borehole water.
She has documented over forty suburban sites and maintains a seasonal checklist for winter-rainfall gardens.
Soil and compost specialist
KwaZulu-Natal
Pieter runs a small nursery outside Pietermaritzburg and tests compost recipes on his own beds before recommending them. His work covers thermophilic piles, worm bins, and the slower fungal composts that suit food forest floors.
He has helped set up composting systems at twelve schools and several homesteads across the province.
Design and water systems
Gauteng and Mpumalanga
Nomsa trained as a landscape designer before shifting to permaculture. She plans zone-by-zone layouts for tight plots and specialises in greywater diversion systems that keep plumbing simple and plants safe.
Her greywater guides have been used by more than two hundred households in low-water areas.
Site visits first
Every guide starts with a real garden. We measure, dig, plant, and record what happens over at least two seasons before writing anything down.
Local plant focus
We test indigenous companion plants and hardy perennials that tolerate both drought and the occasional wet winter. No exotic species unless they prove themselves.
Plain language
Our notes avoid jargon. If a technique needs a diagram, we sketch it by hand and explain the steps in the same way we would show a neighbour.
PermaRoot started as a set of handwritten observations from two working homesteads, one in the Western Cape and one in KwaZulu-Natal. We kept track of what survived dry summers, which companion plantings actually reduced pest pressure, and how simple earthworks changed the way water moved through tight suburban plots. Over time, those notes became the practical reference we wished we had when we started.
This foundation is for small-scale growers who want to work with their rainfall pattern rather than against it. We document real site conditions, seasonal checklists, and the kind of troubleshooting that only comes from digging in and observing the results. No theory without a test bed, no plant list without a note on how it behaved in local soil.
Homesteaders, food gardeners, and small-scale growers who are past the inspiration stage and need clear, workable steps for their own patch of land.
Every guide is grounded in site visits and seasonal records. We test approaches in real gardens, note the failures as honestly as the successes, and share what can be adapted elsewhere.
Direct, practical, and a little weathered. We would rather tell you which mulch held up through a dry February than promise a perfect food forest in one season.
The guides in this journal are grounded in what we see on the ground. We work alongside nurseries, community gardens, and water stewardship groups across the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and their observations shape the seasonal checklists and troubleshooting notes we publish.
Cape Flats Nursery
Supplies hardy perennial seedlings and runs a monthly open day for homesteaders in the Cape Town metro.
Mkhambathi Food Garden
A community plot on the KZN south coast where we trial indigenous companion planting under humid subtropical rainfall.
Karoo Water Keepers
A small collective documenting greywater reuse and swale layouts on semi-arid smallholdings.
Boland Seed Exchange
Maintains a regional seed bank for drought-resilient crops and shares propagation notes with our readers.
Trusted by growers at
Oranjezicht City Farm
Langa Food Forest
Howick Permaculture Hub
Stellenbosch Slow Food