Working bees are the model for Permablitz, which is converting backyards to vegetables beds. Gillian Vine reports.
''The thing about Permablitz is so much happens in one day. We blitz a backyard in a day,'' Jon Foote says.
Mr Foote, co-ordinator of Dunedin's Permablitz scheme, is committed to helping convert unproductive backyards to gardens full of edibles.
Permablitz, which uses volunteers is, he says,''very much food focused''.
It is based on a reciprocity model, whereby people who want their gardens ''permablitzed'' are expected to help in at least two other gardens. Asked what happens if the garden owner was not physically able to do so, Mr Foote said there can be other ways of helping, such as providing morning tea or lunch for the volunteers.
Helpers provide the labour, while the garden owner sources everything from edging to pea straw and compost. Nor does the group do hard landscaping, such as walls and paths.
''It's absolutely not about landscaping,'' Mr Foote says.
Most of the gardens are individually owned but in some cases, neighbours get together to create a mini community garden.
Permablitz was launched in Dunedin in February 2012 and really got going last August. It has just completed its seventh garden, that of Matthew and Vivien Dwyer.
Asked how they got involved, Mr Dwyer explains:''I heard about one [Permablitz] that was on and went and had a great time.''
Until then, says Mrs Dwyer , it had not occurred to them that they could use Permablitz to revamp their own property.
Their main problem, as for many gardeners trying to tame an overgrown backyard, was the daunting scale of the work.
Mr Dwyer sums it up, saying: ''I couldn't have achieved this myself. I wouldn't have had the vision.''
The couple have lived in their Baldwin St house since 2004. The garden of their cottage, built in 1912, had some pluses, including a flourishing gooseberry patch and an old cooking apple tree - ''It makes wonderful jelly,'' says Mrs Dwyer, handing her son, William (14), two buckets to pick more fruit.
The drawbacks were clay soil and, as one would expect in Baldwin St, a steep slope.
Mr Dwyer's ultimate aim was to have a low-maintenance vegetable garden that was easy to weed and retained water, not at first glance achievable, given the terrain and soil. However, the sheet-mulching permaculture approach would make it work, Mr Foote told Mr Dwyer on the first of his two visits before the Sunday working bee.
Usually about 10 people turn up for a Permablitz. The Dwyers' makeover attracted seven or eight, not all of whom were able to be there for the entire four hours it took.
They started by chipping away at the bank to make a more manageable slope, used rocks Mr Dwyer provided to edge the beds, then watered the soil to encourage good bacterial activity. A thick layer of newspaper went on the damp ground to act as a weed barrier. The paper - cardboard can also be used - will break down over time and add to the garden's fertility. Compost and pea straw were added, then it was ready to plant.
Mr Dwyer says: ''All you're really after is the centre of your mound should remain damp.''
These are not typical raised beds but are intended to mimic a forest floor, the guiding principle of this type of no-dig permaculture garden. Less, if any, watering is required, as run-off is trapped but, conversely, the ground does not become waterlogged.
''It's great. I'd happily do it again at other people's places. It's been great fun and I'd thoroughly recommend it,'' Mr Dwyer says.
As for what goes into the new garden, Mrs Dwyer says: ''I'm leaving it all to Matt. I merely cook it.''
Although winter is looming, Mr Foote says there may be Permablitz projects over the cold months, but he is expecting a resurgence of interest in spring.
He is happy with the seven projects undertaken so far - and so are the gardeners.
Emma McGuirk, of Opoho, was ''permablitzed'' in October and was delighted at how much was achieved in one day.
Since then, she has harvested beans, peas, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, spinach and sunflower seeds, as well as herbs from a herb spiral.
''I'm very, very happy,'' she says.
What is Permablitz?
Permablitz is a worldwide movement, based on a one-day working bee to convert or enhance a garden to make it suitable for food production. It originated in Melbourne in 2006, when permaculture designer Dan Palmer saw a way of encouraging people to grow their own food, using permaculture principles.
In New Zealand, the first Permablitz was held in Whanganui in November 2007.
For more about Permablitz, visit www.permablitzotago.co.nz or email Jon Foote jon@barefootegardener.com
