Do you dream about having your own vineyard? Or apple orchard? Or maybe pasture for horses? When creating your permaculture design, you can include them in permaculture zone 3!
In this article, we are going to go over the permaculture zones and why we use them and then dive into permaculture zone 3. We’ll talk about this zone’s needed care, expected yields, crops and plants, animals, buildings, structures, and water sources.
The Permaculture Zones
So what are the permaculture zones and why are they important? The permaculture zones are a system designers use to organize the landscape. There are six in total, starting with zone 0 inside the home. From there, each zone surrounds the home getting further away with each transition into a new zone.
This system is designed to create ease and efficiency across the design. We place the high-maintenance elements that need a lot of attention closest to the home where they’re easiest to access. And we place the low-maintenance elements that rarely require our attention furthest away from the home. This system ensures that our energy is spent efficiently and that all elements get the attention they need.
For example, tomatoes often need daily attention, whether that’s harvesting, pruning, mulching, planting, pulling, or picking off hornworms. If the tomatoes are on the opposite side of the property from the house, it’s likely some of those needs will be neglected because they’re such a trek from the house. However, if they’re closer to the house, they’re much more likely to get the attention they need because they’re easier to get to them.
Permaculture Zone 3
This zone is the middle permaculture zone. It’s still pretty domesticated but requires very little attention compared to the first three zones. Permaculture zone 3 is dedicated to all of the elements that require a lot of space but only seasonal maintenance. This includes your orchards, vineyards, grain crops, cash crops, and pasture. Let’s get into some detail.
Zone 3 Needed Care
Permaculture zone 3 only needs seasonal care. When tending to an element in this zone, you should only have to do it a few times in a season. Here are some examples of the care needed in this zone:
- Seasonal pruning
- Seasonal harvesting
- Cover cropping
- Occasional watering (like in a dry period)
- Moving grazing fences
- Mowing
Zone 3 Yields
The yields you reap from his zone are usually pretty large but are only reaped a particular times of the year. These yields can be large in terms of physical space but also in profit. Here are some examples:
- Cash crops
- Pasture
- Orchard crops
- Vineyard crops
- Grain
Zone 3 Crops & Plants
The crops and plants in zone 3 are those that take up a lot of space but only need occasional attention. Some examples are:
- Grain
- Pasture
- Orchard crops
- Vineyard plants
- Blueberry fields
Zone 3 Animals
Permaculture zone 3 is where your large animals will spend lots of their time. Of course, their feeding and watering will take place closer to their shelter in zone 2. However, this space is for them to graze and get the space and exercise they need. Because we’re talking about permaculture design, I’d like to note that lots of integrative farmers will let some of their animals graze in their orchards as long as they don’t threaten the safety of the orchard crops. So don’t think the pasture and orchards have to be separate! Anyways, here are the animals that would love to take up space in this zone:
- Horses
- Cows
- Goats
- Sheep
- Other large pasture animals
- Production poultry
Zone 3 Buildings & Structures
Because this zone isn’t really intended for people use, there aren’t many structures in this zone. But, depending on the elements in your design, there may be some! Here are some examples:
- Animal feeders
- Animal shelters
- Animal fencing
- Vineyards structures
Zone 3 Water Sources
Because of its distance from the house, this zone doesn’t rely much on domestic water sources, although it relies on some, such as:
- Ponds
- Streams
- Swales
- Rain
- Irrigation
More About Permaculture and Permaculture Zones
There are five more permaculture zones to explore, each one with an exciting variety of options. If you are interested in learning about these other zones, read this article on the permaculture zones. In this article, I go over the rest of the zones and which elements to place where.
If you are interested in learning more about the permaculture design process, you can click the highlighted link. In this article, I break down permaculture design into 5 simple steps. Plus, I give you some workbooks and resources to help you on your journey of permaculture design.
There is also an abundance of permaculture books and resources available. If you are looking for more of these resources, check out my Bookshop. On my Bookshop. you’ll find all of my favorite books available to you at a discount. This includes a list of permaculture and regenerative farming books.
Summary
Permaculture zone 3 is home to the elements that take up a lot of space but don’t take up much time. In this article, you learned about the basics of this zone. We defined the permaculture zones and why their important, and then we went over the elements of zone 3. This includes the needed care, expected yields, animals, plants, crops, structures, and water sources.
What are you including in your zone three? Anything you’re really excited about? put your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading and happy designing!
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