Cornucopia Designs
Easy Maintenance, Low Cost, in Accordance with Nature, Abundant
FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions. If you have any other ones, do not hesitate to contact us.
Can I become self-sufficient for my own food?
That depends on the size of your property, your needs and the design. It is possible to grow most of your food on as little as a tenth of an acre (400m2), but you may have to change some of your eating habits. You won't be able to grow bananas in Ireland, but you may discover other exotics you haven't even heard of and find them equally delicious. Large scale grain production for bread is also unrealistic unless you have a lot of land. But even a balcony can provide you with a dose of something fresh every day.
How much will it cost me?
This is entirely up to you. As for our costs, you give us a budget including plants and materials and our job is to stay within it. The survey and design process are quite time consuming and of course we have to make a living too. We may be open to bartering too! Once the system is mature though it will save you money on your grocery bills and you should never have to import any further materials into your garden as you recycle any waste. For materials we use locally available and recycled materials, also keeping costs down and saving the environment. To keep the costs down you may decide to implement the design yourself and we will give you a complete set of instructions and we are able to give continued advice throughout the process.
Will slaving in my garden be a thing of the past?
It would be wrong to say that a permaculture garden is completely maintenance free, however the trick is to let nature do most of the work. Once the system is mature you should not need to pick up the spade again except for harvesting root crops and planting trees. Weeding is kept to a minimum as ground cover plants and mulches surpress unwanted plants. Pests and diseases are controlled through complimentary planting and attracting beneficial wildlife. Your main job will be harvesting the abundance!
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Will I not need to water my garden again?
This depends on your particular climate, but permaculture systems are based on conserving and collecting water, slowing it as it traverses your property. This certainly reduces the need to water and making the system more resilient to adverse climatic influences.
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How long will it take for a design to mature into such a resilient system?
This depends on the size of the project and what is already in place. A balcony design would take just a few weeks, whilst a fully fledged food forest takes some 5-10 years to fully mature.
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