Straight answers about the formats, site visits, and materials we offer. If your situation is not covered here, the contact page is the quickest way to reach us.
We start with a walk-through of your property to map sun exposure, slope, existing soil, and water flow. From there we sketch a zone-by-zone plan that fits your rainfall pattern and the space you actually have. Most visits last two to three hours, and you receive a written summary with plant suggestions and a seasonal task list.
Most of the gardens we document sit on standard suburban erven in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Tight plots are often the best candidates for swales, greywater diversion, and layered food gardens because every square metre can be used deliberately. We adapt the design to the size, not the other way around.
Yes. We regularly troubleshoot established beds where drainage is poor, fruit trees are not thriving, or pest pressure keeps building. The first step is usually a soil assessment and a look at how water moves through the site. From there we suggest targeted changes rather than a full redesign.
Our field journal is written as practical reference material with seasonal checklists, yield notes, and troubleshooting sections. We also produce step-by-step setup guides for specific systems like swales, compost bays, and greywater layouts. The content is drawn from real site observations, so it stays grounded in what actually works in local climates.
A single visit gives you a solid starting point, but gardens change through the seasons. We offer follow-up check-ins, usually timed around planting or the start of the rainy season, to adjust the plan based on what has happened on the ground. This is especially useful for first-time food forest setups.
The material on this site is organised so you can move from reading to digging without losing context. Each format below serves a different stage of planning, and you can combine them as your site develops.
A structured walkthrough of the permaculture zoning method, adapted for South African rainfall patterns. It starts with the house and works outward, helping you decide where swales, compost bays, and food forest layers belong before you break ground.
A running record of what actually happens in working food gardens across the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. These entries track yield notes, pest pressure, and how plants respond to drought, so you can compare your own observations against real data.
A practical directory of suppliers for hardy perennial seedlings and indigenous companion plants. It focuses on sources that reliably stock species suited to local climates, with notes on what to look for when buying bare-root or potted material.
The library is built around field notes and reference material that you can actually apply on a small plot. Below is the range of formats and how each one tends to be used, whether you are planning a new food garden or troubleshooting an existing one.
Start with the layout of your homestead rather than a plant list. These guides walk through dividing a property into zones based on how often you visit each area, then matching water access and perennial plantings to that pattern. Adapt the approach to your rainfall, whether you are in a winter-rainfall corner of the Western Cape or a summer-rainfall region inland.
Includes seasonal checklists for each zone.
Practical guidance on setting up swales, mulch basins, and simple greywater diversion on a tight suburban erf. The focus is on low-cost materials and straightforward layouts that hold winter rain long enough to carry trees through dry months. Notes cover overflow points, pipe sizing, and which plants tolerate the moisture patterns these systems create.
Based on site observations from Cape Town backyards.
Three-year records from KwaZulu-Natal homesteads showing how a grassy plot becomes a layered food forest. Each entry tracks which species were introduced first, how the canopy and understory developed, and what was pruned or removed along the way. Useful if you want a realistic sense of timing and plant behaviour rather than a theoretical diagram.
Includes yield notes and weed pressure observations.
Straightforward methods for improving soil on small plots, from sheet mulching to managing a three-bin compost system with whatever organic matter you have on hand. The notes compare what works in sandy coastal soils versus heavier clay, and how to adjust carbon-to-nitrogen ratios without overcomplicating the process.
Troubleshooting for common compost problems included.
Reference lists of local plants that support vegetables and fruit trees, whether by attracting pollinators, hosting beneficial insects, or improving soil structure. The focus is on species suited to South African climates and nursery sources for hardy perennial seedlings, so you are not left chasing plants that struggle in your area.
Arranged by climate region and purpose.
Field notes on the pressures that actually show up in Southern African homesteads: fruit fly, aphid build-up, and extended dry spells. Rather than generic advice, each entry describes the situation as observed, what was tried, and whether it held up over a season. Good for comparing against your own experience before you change course.
Updated as new site observations come in.
Want to see how these formats play out in practice?
Read a field note from a recent planning session