Advanced Permaculture Course Online | Learning Cloud New Zealand

This course is intended for:

Graduates of other Permaculture courses
Garden Designers, Landscape Architects, Horticulturists, Ecologists or other professionals who understand aspects of permaculture; but want to take their knowledge to the next level.

Complete this course after Permaculture Systems and you are ready to create a design for a range of situations - as a consultant to others or for your own property.

Learn to plan and manage the detailed development of a permaculture system.

There are 10 lessons in this course:

Evaluating Design Strategies
- Introduction
- The need for sustainability
- Low input farming
- Regenerative farming
- Biodynamic systems
- Organic systems
- Conservation farming
- Matching enterprise with land capability
- Polyculture
- Integrated management
- Permaculture planning
- Observation
- Deduction
- Reading patterns
- Analysis
- Mapping overlays
- Sectors
- Zones
- Design strategies and techniques
- Undulating edge
- Spirals and circles
- Zig zag trellis
- Temporary shelter
- Small scale sun trap
- Small scale sun shading
- Pathways
- Keyhole beds
Understanding Patterns
- Understanding patterns
- Know your land: evaluate a site
- Weather patterns, soil pH, EC,temperature, water etc
- Electromagnetic considerations
- Herbicide or pesticide consideration
- Land carrying capacity
- Assessing land capability
- Checklist of sustainability elements
- Indication of sustainability
- Log books
Water
- Water supply
- Water saving measures
- Tanks
- Dam and pond building
- Edges
- Construction; concrete, brick, stone,
- liners, earth construction
- Collecting rainwater
- Recycling waste water
- Using farm waste water
- Town water supply
- Well drilling
- Pumping subterranean ground water
- Pumping from natural supplies (eg. lakes, rivers)
- Pumps and plumbing supplies
- Water use: power generatyion, deisel generators
- Fish culture: land and water, dams
- Water plant cultureWater plants to know and grow
- Seasonal changes in a pond
- Sweage treatment: reed beds
- Problems with water
- Wating water and conservation
- Swales and keylines
- Keyline design
Earthworks
- Site clearing
- Levelling
- Drainage
- Solving drainage problems
- Surveying techniques: triangulation, direct contouring, grid system etc
- Levelling terms
- Levelling procedure
- Levelling a sloping site
- Loss of soil fertility
- Erosion
- Salinity
- Sodicity
- Soil compaction
- Soil acidification
- Build up of dangerous chemicals
- Improving soils
- Using lime, gypsum or acidic materials
Humid Tropics
- Climatic systems
- Precipitation
- Wind
- Radiation
- The wet tropics
- Sources of humus
- Mulches
- Soil life in the tropics
- Barrier plants
- Animal barriers
- Permaculture systems for the wet tropics
- Garden beds
- Tropical fruits to grow
Dry Climates
- Introduction
- Water storage and conservation
- Dryland gardens
- Dryland orchards
- Planting on hills
- Corridor planting
- Overcoming dry soils
- Drought tolerant plants
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Vines
Temperate to Cold Climates
- Introduction
- Characteristics of a temperate biozone
- Cool temperate garden design
- Useful crops for this zone
- Crop protection
- Soils in a cool temperate area
- Growing berries
- Orchards
- Soil life
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Nuts
- Herbs
Planning Work
- Alternative planning procedures
- The planning process
- What goes where
- Equipping the environmentally friendly garden
- Barriers, walls and fencin
- Gates
- Rubble, brick and concrete walls
- Retaining walls
- Trellis
- Hedges
- Changing an existing farm to be more sustainable
- Monitoring and reviewing
- Contingencies and seasonal variations
- Planning for drought
- Excessive water
Costing
- Property costs
- Making cost cutting choices
- Planning for the cost conscious
- Likely costs to establish a garden
- Socio economic considerations in farming
- Production planning
- Economies of scale
- Materials
- Equipment
- Value adding
Sustainable Systems
- Other sustainable systems
- Working with nature rather than against it
- Minimising machinery use
- Only use what is necessary
- Different ways to garden naturally
- Organic gardening
- No Dig techniques
- Biodynamics
- Biodynamic preparations
- Crop rotation
- Bush gardens
- Succession planting
- Seed saving
- Hydroponics
- Environmental horticulture
- Sustainable agriculture around the world
- Integrated pest management
- Cultural controls
- Biological controls
- Physical controls
- Chemicals Quarantine
- Controlling weeds without chemicals
- Animals in sustainable systems
- Chickens
- Turkeys
- Ducks
- Geese
- Pigs

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

For more information about the Advanced Permaculture Course, please request your free course information pack.