Permaculture & Regenerative Design

Western Colorado High Desert Sustainability for Home, Farm & Urban Settings

Learn

Kick-start your project with a professional consultation.

Design

Save time, energy and money with detailed, proactive design.

Thrive

Combine inspiration & knowledge into an actionable plan.

Permaculture is guided by the values and intent to care for people and care for the earth.

It is a design process that moves cyclically through big picture goals toward detailed design that is grounded in practical application in day to day life. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, it is always a dialog between what people need and how to meet those needs in a regenerative way in relation to the earth.

Serving Western Colorado including:
Grand Junction, Montrose, Glenwood, Gunnison, Delta, Paonia, Hotchkiss, Cedaredge and Crawford.

Home garden and farm consulting
Garden and edible landscape design
- Species selection, placement and pricing
- Detailed 2d and 3d visualizations
- Virtual walk-throughs
- Mapping & site surveys
Drip irrigation design
- Field and garden
- Low pressure & gravity systems
Installation
- I'll work with you or teach you how to implement your design.

Aaron Jerad Colorado Permaculture Designer

Aaron Jerad - Owner

What is a permaculture design? Learn about the Design Process.

A design project can be looked at in multiple phases:

Phase one: Questionnaire.
The design questionnaire is intended to gather as much information as possible about the project: the vision, wants and needs around it.

Phase two: Onsite consultation.
Review and evaluate the questionnaire onsite at the project location. (Or virtually online in some cases.) The consultation is usually 2-4 hours. The consultation is a stand-alone service. During the consultation the scope of further design work can be discussed and agreed upon.

Phase three: Detailed design project initiated.
At this phase the scope and goals of a design project are agreed upon.

Phase four: Base-mapping
The base map is a detailed accounting of what is already existing on the site. The mapping phase can include contour maps, geological maps, climate maps, etc.
The site survey is an accounting of all other relevant data that may pre-exist on the site but can not be included on the base map.

Phase five: Design work
This is a cyclical process of applying design methodology to create the design. It will include on-site or online meetings to discuss options and decisions and review the draft design as it is developed.

Phase six Final designs
The final design will be presented according to the needs of the project. Possible assets include: detailed write ups, photos, videos, a web-site, diagrams, maps, implementation and maintenance prioritization and time-lines, species lists and plant source lists, costing analysis etc.

Fill out the project intake form to get started:

Project intake questionairre

Contact me :

Let's Talk

Recent design projects:

grand-junction-urban-permaculture-design

Urban Homestead

Grand Junction, Colorado

Rain harvesting for small-scale edible forest garden in the high desert. Includes chickens, veggie gardens, fruit and drip irrigation design.

glenwood springs permaculture design map for suburban home

Suburban Sustainable Landscaping

Glenwood Springs, CO

Windbreaks, edible hedges, veggie gardens

Transitional Farm Design

Crawford, Colorado

Design for transition from conventional hay production to regenerative retreat center with shelterbelt, camping, animals, orchards & veggie gardens.

palasade colorado farm and bnb permaculture design

Suburban Farm

Palisade, Colorado

Homestead farm with sustainable rental housing development.

paonia colorado drip irrigation for veggies

Drip Irrigation Design

For veggie production in Paonia CO

Perennial herb production garden

Crawford, Colorado

hotchkiss co vineyard rotational grazing

Vinyard & Rotational Grazing

Hotchkiss, Colorado

Medium size irrigated farm with forest gardens.

Home Gardens & Greenhouse

Delta, Colorado

Sustainable homestead with terraced gardens, windbreaks, 4 season greenhouse.

Windbreak & Snow Control

Gunnison, Colorado

Protect small farm infrastructure from wind & include edible and productive trees in inner rows.

Plan and Plant Layout Example

3d Visualization

Recent Permaculture Articles:

Forest Gardening in Western Colorado

What is forest gardening? Forest gardening is a way of gardening that mimics natural ecosystems. Through observation and study we learn the patterns and principles that make a living system … Read more

Edible, Cold & Drought Tolerant Plant List for Western Colorado Landscapes & Gardens

Edible Landscaping and Forest Gardening in the High Desert Steppes

Direct seeding is best in the fall or early spring as soon as the ground thaws. Transplanting can be done in the fall or early spring as well, however coniferous trees and some deciduous trees and shrubs like lavender, and hazelnut require winter water and are prone to failure if planted in the fall and left without water.

Some super benifical fall-planted cover crop plants: daikon, vetch, rye and wheat.

The late summer/early fall is the perfect time to think about fall planted cover crops. Cover cropping is not just for big acreage, it’s great for gardens and even small container gardens.

The main objectives of planting a cover crop are to maintain soil fertility by holding or adding carbon and nitrogen in the soil and by controlling weeds. Cover cropping also attracts bees, other beneficial insects and can prevent erosion.