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Year-Round Planting Calendar for Six Market Garden Beds in Gaeiras
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Guiding Principles & Philosophy – A short statement outlining vision for food independence.
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Resources & References – Links to books, articles, videos, or courses on permaculture, self-sufficiency, soil health, food preservation, and sustainable practices.
TO DOs:
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Skills & Knowledge Hub – A list of skills you want to develop (composting, grafting, seed-saving, fermentation, etc.), along with notes on your progress.
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Seasonal Planning – A calendar or timeline for planting, harvesting, and maintenance tasks for both the garden and orchard.
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Experimentation & Notes – Space for tracking experiments, documenting successes, failures, and lessons learned.
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Community & Collaboration – Contacts or networks for local growers, seed exchanges, or like-minded individuals who might help your journey.
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Self-Sufficiency Goals – Specific milestones beyond gardening, such as rainwater harvesting, renewable energy use, or food preservation techniques.
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Challenges & Problem-Solving – Common obstacles in food independence and your approach to overcoming them.
🧭 Purpose
The garden at Gaeiras is a permanent living system — productive, resilient, and integrated with the property’s energy and water resources. Permaculture principles apply.
🚦 Dashboard
- Current focus: Spring planting season
- Health: good
- Last reviewed: 2026-04-22
- Key metric: Weekly tasks done, seasonal plan on track
📐 Standards
What does “good enough” look like?
- Seasonal tasks done on time (planting, pruning, harvest)
- Water use minimised — rain + grey water preferred
- Soil health improving year on year
- Orchard producing fruit
- No chemical inputs
🗓 Seasonal Calendar
| Season | Key Tasks |
|---|---|
| Spring (Mar-May) | Plant tomatoes, peppers, courgettes; prune fruit trees after frost risk |
| Summer (Jun-Aug) | Irrigation management; harvest; mulch to retain moisture |
| Autumn (Sep-Nov) | Plant garlic, broad beans, winter brassicas; compost |
| Winter (Dec-Feb) | Pruning; soil prep; cover crops; plan next year |
🌱 Plantings Map
Orchard
| Tree | Location | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Vegetable Beds
| Bed | Current crop | Planted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Perennials
| Plant | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
💧 Water & Energy Integration
- Solar surplus >4kW → run irrigation pump (free energy window)
- Rain >10mm → skip irrigation (auto-flag from weather.md)
- Greywater from house → [Phil to add routing]
- Compost from kitchen waste → closed loop
📊 Metrics / Indicators
| Indicator | Target | How tracked | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonal tasks | On schedule | This note | Weekly |
| Orchard yield | Increasing | Harvest log | Annual |
| Water use | Decreasing | Manual | Monthly |
| Soil health | Improving | Observation | Annual |
🔗 Energy Flags for Garden
- Rain >10mm → skip irrigation
- Rain >15mm → check drainage
- Wind >50km/h → secure structures
- Temp >35°C → water morning/evening only
- Solar surplus >4kW + battery >80% → irrigation window open
📚 Key Resources
- Comprehensive Permaculture Orchard Design
- Intro to Permaculture mindmap
- cover crops
- weather-summary — rain and temperature
- energy-summary — solar surplus for irrigation
📓 Garden Log
2026-04-22
- Garden area note created in Knowlden
- [Add current state of garden here]