One thing I really enjoy at a permaculture garden is that you can litter without feeling guilty. Growing up in spick-and-span Singapore we have been taught since young to put litter only in the rubbish bin. Any piece of trash left on the concrete floor is an eyesore and has to be cleaned up by someone else. This is why it felt so liberating when I could throw my organic waste anywhere in the farm. In fact, my act of littering will be adding to the fertility of the soil and if I was lucky it might even be seeding a tree!

The banana circle is a simple yet effective design for permaculture in the tropics. It is basically a circular trench with bananas planted at the rim of the trench. All kinds of organic waste can be thrown into the circle, including dead leaves, garden prunings, kitchen waste, hay, rice husks, even short logs. Anything that will rot can be thrown in. As the organic matter breaks down, the hungry banana trees will readily suck up the nutrients and turn the waste into yummy bananas. The depression into the ground helps to retain moisture that the bananas love and also speed up decomposition. Continue reading →