Address and fix major drainage issues from a steep backyard that slopes towards the house. Define growing spaces and using earthworks that infiltrate water effectively and build soil (Swales and terraces).
The place:
1.3 acre suburban/ rural edge property in Walton, KY
The Permaculture:
Excavate drainage canals, french drain systems, and diversion earthworks to redirect problematic flooding areas
Clear invasive honeysuckle and brambles and replant a paw paw forest
Install 3 swales with integrated rain gardens to improve water retention and distribution
Plant food forests and tree lines on all swales and other areas to slow down water, and keep as much of it as possible from taking nutrients off the hill
Before: Looking down the steep backyard
Getting tree lines and swales installed
Looking up from a swale to an orchard
Blackberry trellises installed
Capturing the water and sending it where it’s needed
Rain garden at the end of a swale
Another beautiful swale with a pocket pond
Swales with Pocket Ponds, tree planting terrace lines
Huntington, West Virginia
The plan:
Design and develop both a permaculture trail and a vast permaculture “living laboratory” on an otherwise unused, steep slope on the side of a mountain.
The place:
Veterans Affairs (VA Hospital) in Huntington, WV
The Permaculture:
Develop an extensive food forest for veterans to interact with and help grow
Implement a fruit orchard amongst native trees growing on the hillside
Reforest a large section of dilapidated wooded areas using native fruit trees, nut trees, and shrubs
Design and construct large social gathering areas that utilize water catchment and solar systems
Design and install 4 high-density apple orchards lines on the steepest part of the sloped hillside
Construct raised garden beds for perennial herbs and annual vegetables
Construct a raised bed garden for growing root-stock
Conduct permaculture educational classes for veterans
Starting out on the steep slope
Time to get to work
Orchards starts going in
Food forest with a view of our custom benches
expanding the food forest
Raised bed construction
Laying out our terraces
High-density apple orchard goin in
High-density orchard getting finishing touches
Looking up at the terraces
Colerain, Cincinnati OH
The plan:
Collaborate with recent PDC student in order to create a fruit-tree and berry orchard to help sustain a family compound.
The place:
Two neighboring properties in suburban/historic farmland Colerain
The Permaculture:
Designed and installed a diverse, dense mix of fruit trees, native plants and guild plantings along four tree planting lines in food forest style terraces
Added native shrubbery to further diversify the landscape
Before
During
At the end of initial Instal
Food forest/ orchard hybrid
Covington, KY
The plan:
Create edible and beautiful growing spaces in raised beds to maximize positioning to sunlight and airflow.
The place:
Very small, very shaded backyard in Covington, KY with dogs.
The Permaculture:
Constructed intricate cedar planting boxes
Created a tiny food forest of espalier apple, pink currants, and comfrey in back corner
Constructed a wine-cap mushroom bed
Created a trellis extension for hardy kiwi to grow on existing pergola
Before
After
Stair Step Planter
Hardy Kiwi trellis to pergola extension
Montgomery, Cincinnati OH
The plan:
Collaborate with a budding gardener on his vision of incorporating native edges with an edible food forest that would compliment his annual gardens in his back yard and reduce mow-able grass areas. Meld a paver wall with existing landscaping plants in his front yard.
The place:
Suburban Montgomery enclave
The Permaculture:
Planted a diverse mix of native/medicinal shrubbery like paw paws, witch hazels, and spicebushes under a dense canopy of oaks trees around the back edges of the property.
Planted a food forest with apples and nectarines and interplanted guild plants all around.
Constructed trellis systems for both blackberry and raspberry bushes.
Designed and installed a rain garden with native pollinator plants.
Built paver retaining walls in front yard to enhance mulching, new bed creation, and individual tree planting terraces for pear trees.
Native Edge Reforestation Leading to Tree Crops
Backyard forest garden
Paver walls
Paver Walls, Montgomery, Ohio
Glendale, Cincinnati OH
The plan:
Design and create a fruit tree orchard/food forest Installation, and build a stone-walled herb garden to match existing stone structures.
The place:
Historic manor in suburban Glendale
The Permaculture:
Created a large food forrest consisting of apples, pears, peaches, currants, blackberries, raspberries and apricots
Incorporated agricultural limestone to create a large, stair-stepped herb garden that seamlessly blended into the existing stone walls
Stone wall build
Black locust trellis system
Food forest coming along
Westwood, Cincinnati OH
The plan:
Design the front and backyard areas to incorporate existing trees and shrubs in order to accommodate a new fence.
The place:
Suburban historic property in Westwood.
The Permaculture:
Spent several days removing invasive honeysuckle at the stump
Pruned overgrown yew and other plants that would obstruct the new fence
Processed honeysuckle for a large mulch pile
Treeyo Permaculture Design
Oxford, OH
The plan:
Develop a diverse landscape with edible trees and shrubs. Address depleted and terrible soil and drainage issues. Design productive wind breaks on the properties elevated plateau areas.
The place: New construction house on 5 acres outside the University town of Oxford, OH
The Permaculture:
Developed a zone 2 food forest that complimented existing gardens, chickens, and goat areas.
Installed a riparian zone buffer of native species for water purification as well as goat fodder.
Planted hundreds of black locust, Austrian pine, and eastern red cedar trees as a windbreak and coppice material.
Implemented key-line subsoiling on contour to help break up hardpan layers and increase water retention.
Planted tree islands for lawn development and to create more hospitable micro-climates for grazing and recreation.
Use goats to munch down and clear invasive species like honeysuckle and multiflora rose without using chemicals or machinery inside wooded sections of a public park.
The place:
Colerain Park, Cincinnati OH
The Permaculture:
Set up temporary electric netting to define goat areas
Construct mobile housing for the goats
Manually saw branches and high browse for the goats to eat
Sit back and watch the hungry goats clear out gnarly plants while beautifying public trail areas
Goats in the wild
Goat house in the woods
Goats munching
Friendly goaties
Wyoming, Cincinnati OH
The plan:
Incorporate an edible forest garden into an existing ‘traditional’ landscaped space.
The place:
1/4 suburban lot, Wyoming, Cincinnati OH
The Permaculture:
Removed non-productive shrubbery and invasive species
Removed poison hemlock from surrounding area
Planted fruit trees, berry bushes and perennial herbs throughout landscape
Redefined retaining wall spaces and edges with new plantings
Created large Hugelkultur mound to breakdown invasive weeds and promote new, more productive growth
Mission: The creation of an integrated Permaculture growing space that facilitates a multitude of yields over time leveraging our splendid sandy loam soil and past developments. Honestly, I don’t know what to call it because it’s so many things; A Permaculture Garden, Food Forest,…
Here at the Farm at Treasure Lake, the TreeYo Permaculture headquarters stationed in Northern Kentucky, lots is going on despite it being winter. First, what is not going on this year is maple syrup tapping, which usually happens right around this time. I still…
It’s that time again here on the southern range of the sugar maple trees. 🍁 🍁 🍁 We start early for sure because the rollercoaster of temperatures is quite extreme here in the Ohio River valley. I thought about waiting because of an intense…
As stated in the last blog post, we started an edible landscaping company in 2021. We have amassed the pictures into a portfolio page with descriptions. It’s been great to work in so many different parts of the tri-state and beyond but still in…