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I am trying to figure out how important an initial tilling is for a lawn to garden conversion in relatively heavy clay soil.

Western NY, the soil has decent organic material already but it is relatively dense – I can’t easily put my finger into it. But grass is growing just fine.

Should I till the garden rows now, or will it decompact over time if I fill the rows with a few inches of compost and cover with wood chips for a couple years?

And I guess related, are there any ideal hand tools for tilling or do I need to rent a machine?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, I’m a permaculture designer from India working on food forests, edible landscapes, and water management systems. I noticed many posts here asking for help with site design, planning, plant selection, and implementation. I’d love to help where I can — even just to brainstorm or offer advice.

If anyone wants deeper consultation or a full design, I do offer that as well — usually charged per acre or per project. Rates vary depending on your needs and depth of work, and I’m happy to work flexibly.

If you’re stuck with a design challenge or just want to chat, feel free to reply or DM me.

Let’s make the world greener! Wishing everyone love and happiness 💚🏵️♻️

Nikhil Bose Back To Earth Permaculture @bte_permaculture

Hello, sub!
I’m working on a school project related to sustainable livestock management, and I’m currently focusing on the role of soil quality in pasture productivity for cattle grazing. I would like to understand, from a scientific and agronomic perspective, which criteria are most relevant when assessing whether a given soil is suitable for pasture.

Specifically:

• Which physical (e.g., texture, compaction, drainage), chemical (e.g., pH, macro/micronutrient levels, CEC), and biological (e.g., microbial activity, organic matter content) properties are typically evaluated?
• How do these properties influence forage growth, nutrient cycling, and overall pasture sustainability?
• Are there standardized protocols or recommended tools used by soil scientists or agronomists for this kind of assessment?

Any detailed explanation, scientific references, or guidance on methodologies would be extremely helpful. Thank you in advance!

Bringing Permaculture at your doorstep. With love, Nikhil

There is some noticeable erosion on the left side of the slope. Trying to determine best way to attack this. Should I terrace w/rock or stone. Or lay mulch and plant ground covers? If i do the terrace, what’s the best way to go about this?

Hey r/Permaculture,

I’m creating simple, beginner-friendly permaculture garden templates to help people to design and visualize their plans for food forests, permaculture systems, or agroforestry projects—without getting overwhelmed by design theory.

I’d love your input: – Are there specific areas you struggle with or layout problems you find challenging in your permaculture gardens? (e.g., small-space guilds, water-harvesting earthworks, etc.)
– Would you use a downloadable garden template that included: – Zone-by-zone plant lists – Rough spacing guidelines – Blank sketches to pencil in your own ideas

**The first 5 people to comment/DM me get a free custom sketch of their garden space (hand-drawn or digital) in exchange for honest feedback.

Why? I’m testing demand before launching paid products, and I’d rather build something actually useful.

Projects Examples of what I’m working on: – suburban backyard homesteads -Urban patio/balcony -Rural homestead -Community Farm Scale

My Background: I’m a landscape architect passionate about making regenerative agriculture and permaculture design accessible.

Would this help you? Brutal honesty welcome!

I have about 40 acres of raw desert land that little by little I want to green up. I will first work with the arroyos and from there start to make Earth Smiles. I made some “human” beaver dams along the arroyos. I checked them out yesterday and they slowed down the rain but also broke down (not completelt).

Do you recommend me making those dams with just rock from around the land?

What other techniques, ideas do you recommend me?

I can learn how to make adobe bricks and made actual mini dams.

Thanks

I bought a property last spring and there are 2 areas where the previous owners burned. I’m not concerned about branches, leaves and shrubs of course but more concerned about lumber (possibly treated?) and other things.

One pile has a burn barrel and looks like it was mostly sticks and small branches and what not but also noticed some bits of remains from lumber.

The other pile also had branches and stumps but there are remains of burned lumber, metal hinges and screws, a few small painted pieces, small amount of plywood, burned ash remains of papers (one page looked like it was a recipe), also small amounts of some fibrous materials that must have been insulation (I rolled it in my fingers and it just durned to dust and wafted away).

The first area is adjacent to where I would like to plant in ground garden beds. The second pile is adjacent to wetlands and is where I would like to plant things such as raspberries or perhaps out in a run for chickens.

I think there used to be goats kept there and the burned remains seems like they might be the old goat pen, but could also be old fencing or even from an old deck.

I carried a van full of lumber and partially burned lumber to the dump and paid to dispose of it. Also a van full of metal scrap to recycle. Then bagged up the ash and smaller bits and mixed it with other junk (mostly plastic, netting, broken pots etc) and brought to the dump as trash.

The soil seems very rich and healthy but I don’t know what I don’t know. The home was built in the late 90’s so lead is less likely to be an issue but treated wood could be and when someone would rather burn something than dispose of it properly then I also wonder what they did with things like used motor oil.

Any advice here? And affordable DIY tests for arsenic, metals and hydrocarbons? I don’t want to spend a fortune but do want some peace of mind and ensure I am doing things right. The property has well water which I tested and the quality is great. I didn’t pay to test for things like VOCs and PFAS though because it was like triple or quadruple the cost of testing for everything else combined.