What are permaculture Zones? Designing a suburban homestead – using permaculture Zone Analysis

Designing a suburban homestead – using permaculture

Zone Analysis

Today I am continuing on my journey of designing a permaculture property. Picture this: a typical corner block in suburban Australia, quarter-acre with a 70’s house and a 90’s shed/workshop and some beautiful rose bushes. It’s brimming with potential and ready to be transformed into a homestead full of sustainable abundance. Today we are going to focus on Zones, so let's get started!

First things first, let's talk about permaculture zones. These zones are an easy common sense way to divvy up your property to help organize the placement of things based on how often chores need to be done! It can also be used inside your house. It starts with zone 0 being constant chores, we try and put these in the home to be nice and close to the people doing the chores (efficient right?). Then zone 1,2,3,4 radiate outwards from the home until you get to zone 5 which is zero chores that need doing (hopefully this is the furthest away from your home and is usually designated wilderness).

This makes sense to me because if I need to feed the sourdough starter once per day, I’m not going to put it up the back of my block hidden under a bush am I? It’s just common sense to put things you need often close to you, but unfortunately I see this online all the time, property designs that look really nice on paper, everything is square and pretty but the chicken coop is 2km away from the kitchen, ummm what? I’m a normal person (read lazy!) I’m not going to walk 2km to go get the eggs every Moring from the chicken coop to make an omelet for breakfast!

You can apply this idea to any area like an office or planning a city but in permaculture the language is based around a small organic farm situation but I'm going to try to use some house/small holding/homestead type examples here.

Zone 0, the heart of your permaculture property/homestead, is your home. This includes things that need doing or checking multiple times per day, the steady work not the heavy work. It is where you'll find your kitchen, window microgreens, sourdough starter, wood stove, (your kids!?! hahahaha) and other essential elements that require almost constant attention. It's the hub of activity and the starting point for the zones.

You can apply the zones to inside your kitchen as well. with zone 0 being the things in your kitchen  you use constantly, like getting filtered water or spices when cooking. These things should be out on the counter not hidden in the back of a cupboard.

Moving outward, we enter Zone 1, often called the ‘kitchen garden’ It should be close to your house and include things that requires a couple time a day monitoring and care. Here, you'll find your kitchen garden of course, but many more things too! It usually includes herb and vegetable gardens, seed starts/seedlings, kids play area, a holding pen for sick animals that require regular checking as well as perhaps a small greenhouse. Unfortunately for me this also includes the laundry as I do a wash and line dry once per day to stay on top of the chaos! This zone is all about things that need regular attention, so easy access and convenience is a must. Check out the concept board for some ideas!

A quick side note - I often see pictures of the zones as concentric circles, but this is misleading, nothing in real life is that pretty! In reality, zone one will encompass all the paths you take multiple times per day so it will look more like organic blobby shaped strings all over your property and neighborhood. If you walk your kids to school every morning and pick them up every afternoon, that footpath you use is part of your zone 1. Make use of it!

As we venture further from the home, we enter Zone 2, often called ‘the productive garden’. It should be close to your house and include things that requires once a day or a few times per week monitoring and care. It is perfect for growing a wide variety of annual crops and animal shelters that require once a day watering/feeding or checking. For me this zone includes the neighborhood footpath as I walk to the local school to drop off my daughter twice per week. Check out the concept board for some ideas!

Don’t forget about the edges! Permaculture tells us that’s where the excitement happens, so the edge or border between zones 1 and 2 is porous, it’s a great place to put things that need regular checking on but not necessarily regular chores or maintenance. Want to just keep an eye on your chickens throughout the day but don’t need to actually do anything? Put their run or free range area perpendicular to a path you travel several time per day (this will be on the border of zone 1 and 2).

Next up is Zone 3, in permaculture its often called “the Food Forrest”. It should be walking distance to your house and include things that require once a week or a few times a month monitoring and care. Here, you can grow larger crops like grains, orchard trees, and berry bushes or plant your food forrest. It’s also a great place for the pizza oven for Friday night pizza night! This zone requires less frequent maintenance but still benefits from occasional visits. It's all about finding the right balance between productivity and allowing nature to take its course.

Zone 4, the “semi-wild area”. This is where your homestead and nature mingle and should include things that require care only occasionally and you visit once a month or once a season. Consider planting native species, creating wildlife habitats, and preserving natural ecosystems. This zone requires minimal human intervention, allowing biodiversity to flourish. Because it doesn't require much work from you it can be driving or biking distance from your house. For me in suburbia, this area is not on my property it’s actually my local park which is walking distance away and the local fishing hole which I ride my bike too. If I had a big property in the country or bush somewhere, I would put a ‘hippy hottub’ in zone 3 as I like having a relaxing bath every 3 months or so (don’t worry I have showers daily!).

Zone 5, This is the farthest zone from home in a permaculture design. It represents the wild or natural areas of the property that are left untouched by human intervention. You would only visit Zone 5 every once in while/annually for recreation not chores. Zone 5 is all about preserving and enhancing biodiversity, allowing native plants and wildlife to flourish undisturbed. It serves as a sanctuary for wildlife, providing habitat, food sources, and protection. This zone requires minimal management and is often used for observation, education, and inspiration. For me living in suburbia this is actually not on my property, it is the nature reserve which is walking distance from my house (lucky I know!).

So that’s a quick run down of the zones, but how do you actually do this zone mapping business? Well you will have to read the next blog to figure that out!