- Wildhaven Permaculture Design

Contour Beds - Dallas Farm Location
"Observe and Interact, Catch and Store Energy"

In 2014 we "broke ground" on the farm in Dallas. The land had been used as pasture for grazing horses in the past and was currently just being mowed as an estate sized lawn. It was quite compact. We tilled up the area to get started with the intention of forming permanent beds and then maintaining them as no till. That first year I just made wide, long rows in straight lines. As I worked with the land it became obvious that the western section of the garden was on enough of a slope that water (mainly from sprinklers but also occasional heavy rain storms) was eroding parts of the beds. I decided to reform the beds to run on contour instead. The beds for the flat section remain as straight lines as the slope is very minimal. The result is an attractive section of beds that captures water and allows it to soak in rather than running off and causing erosion.

Over the past 4 seasons we have had to do some additional tilling due to the invasive couch grass but these contour beds have remained no till. The addition of layers of mulch several times each growing season has resulted in some very nice soil that is lovely to work in and easy to keep weed free.