spent, in zone one. It’s too easy to forget about the garden that grows out of sight. “Design around the life you already live,” he says. Building raised beds rather than planting directly in the ground is typically worth the initial time investment, Gutzmer says. “It’s going to have more aeration. It’s going to have less compaction.” At Sundog, plants in raised garden beds are nurtured by what Gutzmer calls “pee-pee-ponics.” Urine is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, making it a great natural fertilizer and a substance that fits squarely in with the prime permaculture tenet of maximizing what can be found in the surrounding natural environment. “You’re getting all the benefits of taking a leak outside,” Gutzmer says. Pee-pee-ponics at Sundog is essentially a subirrigation system that receives urine and water through a waist-high cone that’s attached to a frame constructed around the garden beds. Urine travels from the cone through a tube that’s wrapped in old blue
The trick for learning permaculture is to start small with a raised bed or two, then expand.
Homesteader 2013
Missoula Independent
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