Periodically there are advantages to being a blogger.
I fell in love with these stunning Permaculture Playing Cards and was about to buy myself a pack on Amazon when I remembered that I knew the guy who made them.
So I emailed Paul Wheaton, the founder of Permies.com, and said, “Hey, before I buy these gorgeous Permaculture Cards, you wouldn’t have an extra deck kicking around you’d wanna send me as a review copy? Wouldja, wouldja?”
I hear back from him: “Twelve decks will be to you on Tuesday.” (Paul is like seven feet tall and sometimes I think that makes him want to go bigger with everything he does.)
“What the hell, Paul? I mean, a huge thank you, but I don’t really need a dozen decks of cards!”
“So give some away if you want.”
And so here we are. I’m keeping two decks for myself, which leaves ten decks of Permaculture Playing Cards to give away, courtesy of Permies.com.
Perma-wha?
You’ve heard of Permaculture, surely. This work-with-nature, systems-design-approach to growing (and, according to some practitioners, life), is working its way towards mainstream.
Thanks to books like Gaia’s Garden and The Vegetable Gardener’s Guide to Permaculture and the popularly of practical, accessible techniques like hugelkultur and keyhole gardens, more and more gardeners are incorporating aspects of permaculture in their garden.
I, myself, am Perma-curious. My garden is not designed top-to-bottom according to permaculture principles but as I find out how effective the practical techniques are, I move in that direction.
And that’s where these Permaculture Playing Cards come in. The deck of cards is a whimsical way to make “bite-sized” bits of permaculture accessible to people who aren’t quite ready to commit to, say, the 500+ pages of intense study required by Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual.
The cards are stunningly beautiful. I know I keep harping on that, but for real – the artwork and design is simply inspired. The cardstock is thick and will wear well and the size is nice for holding.
Each card has something notably important to Permaculture on it: key people, techniques, plants, animal husbandry techniques and more. Surrounding the image on each card are little facts about that Permaculture concept. It’s just enough to suck you in and make you want to read your deck of cards and go on and learn more, but not so much that the cards become unusable as actual playing cards.
Oh yeah – did I mention you can actually play poker with ’em? Cool.
I think these things are great on multiple levels – as art, as education, as subtle propaganda for a better world. Highly recommended as a gift for your favorite Perma-curious or Perma-fanatic people.
Enter To Win A Deck of Permaculture Playing Cards
To enter to win one deck of Permaculture Playing Cards leave a comment on this blog post telling me what you like most about Permaculture, or (if the whole concept is a bit new to you) what about Permaculture you are most interested in learning.
Ten winners will be selected at random. Contest closes this Saturday, December 14th, at 6 pm PST so that I can mail the cards out to the winners next Monday. If you are a winner you will be notified be email. You have 24 hours to claim your prize. Sorry to be so strict but we are on a holiday timeframe here. Contest open to addresses in the United States only due to shipping. Sorry international readers.
Good luck!
Related Permaculture Stuff…
Permies.com – Huge resource for Permaculture enthusiasts. The forums are extensive, helpful and well-moderated so they stay that way. For more info on the Permaculture Playing Cards, check out this thread on Permies.
Half-Assed Hugelkultur – my post on attempting this funny-sounding Permaculture garden-bed-building technique. Foot-for-foot my hugels typically out-produce my traditional beds with watering four-six times a summer.
Permaculture Playing Cards on Amazon.com – Check out reviews, see what other people have to say.
The Vegetable Gardener’s Guide to Permaculture: Creating an Edible Ecosystem, by Christopher Shein – A fairly recent release focusing on Permaculture basics and how to apply the Permaculture concepts to a more traditional garden. I particularly recommend this book to beginning urban Permaculturists. It has great design and a modern layout.
Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, by Toby Hemenway – a slightly more technical, but still very accessible look at Permaculture at the gardener’s scale.
Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual, by Bill Mollison – for the hard core student of Permaculture. This is considered the classic text of Permaculture, but I wouldn’t personally recommend it as your first text on the subject unless you are pretty NerdCore about gardening.
All images in this post courtesy Paul Wheaton / Permies.com.
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Just found your website today. Permaculture , a never ending project on our acreage. Those cards are beautiful and thank you for sharing.
Those are perhaps the most beautiful cards I have ever seen and I have some Shakespeare cards floating around – also more informative than my tropical drink cards. We are perma-curious so the cards would come in quite handy!
I’m still in the curious stage..The whole economic system working together instead of against it.. and re teaching myself..after years of learning the old ways..I grew up and still live in a farming community..so I find this really interesting. .The changes we have been making have been working!
I took my PDC this past year, I can’t wait for spring to really start implementing the principals.
We let go of the rope a year ago and have devoted our lives to setting up a small scale farm utilizing permaculture practices. What I love most about permaculture is the community associated with the design theory. Every time I spend time with permies, I feel so enriched, learn something new, and most likely get my hands covered with soil. So blessed to be a part of this community.
i’m a newbie to permaculture but what a fun way it would be to learn about it with the playing cards!
I just love the idea of working with the rhythms of nature in a garden. I can see how these practices could definitely change how you live your life in general.
I don’t know much about Permaculture but the cards are awesome! I’ll be learning from the cards. =)
I have been gardening my whole life and started organic gardening several years ago. Once I learned about organic gardening, I was amazed at how much I was destroying. With the Permaculture concept, I am very eager to learn all about it and incorporate the aspects. I am so excited about learning this new adventure. With the playing cards, this will get the attention of other people and you never know, they just might jump on board. What a fantastic idea!!!
I am fascinated by the idea that many people are returning to the practices of the past — both because they work and because they are kinder to our planet. These cards are positively gorgeous, and I would love to have them. I know I would learn a great deal (and they might help my poker game as well…)
Oh wow those cards are gorgeous! Pick me!
I love compost and microbes and the way animals (from bugs to yardbirds and more) fit into permaculture. Great give away! Thanks to you and Paul Wheaton both!
I helped my wife build hugel beds in our backyard and they produced a stunning amount of tomatoes and kale this year. I was skeptical of all the logs at first, but I think they proved themselves.
I’ve been eyeing these cards myself since I first saw them on permies. I would love a deck! I am probably perma-curious like you. My vegetable garden is 500 sqft of hugel beds and I built smaller HK beds to plant my fruit trees against. I covered my beds in nitrogen fixing cover crops and have attempted to create a more self-sustaining garden environment that won’t require much weeding, irrigation, or fertilizing over the years. But, I didn’t go all Sepp and throw a mixture of edibles everywhere such that I had to forage in my own garden to find anything. And I opted for wood chip mulch to keep things neat and tidy a la Back to Eden. At any rate, I saw the bounty that some permaculture techniques can create and I’m hooked for sure. I’d love to learn more!
I’m a complete noob to all of this even though I spent many of my younger years being obsessed with growing herbs. I’ve longed to have a beautiful yard aligned with nature. That’s one of the things I love about living up in the NW – it seems to be more mainstream up here than other parts of the country. I think if I could learn more about permaculture, it would help me convince my husband that it’s worth putting effort into our yard because once it’s established, it’ll be less work than a yard that is out of alignment with what should be here. Maybe these cards would be a fun way to teach both of us. My soul longs for a vegetable garden, too, but I’d settle for any kind of planned yard that works with nature.
I am new to everything and trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can about homesteading, chickens, gardening, real whole foods so Permaculture sounds right up my alley. Thank you!
I’m fascinated by the way that permaculture works to create self-maintaining systems.
Gorgeous design! I was sold as soon as I saw the honey bee card. We are getting bees in our suburban backyard next spring and have been building up the soil in several areas of the yard for more garden space dedicated to providing for the bees (and in turn, us!).
I want to know more! I am gardening “in extremis” on a rocky mountain at 9000 feet, and would be thrilled to find techniques for success with even the simplest garden.
I’ve only dipped my toe in, but it seems like permaculture demands a lot less ripping and tearing of earth and a lot more paying attention to the plants, trees, bees and other fauna that are naturally suited to thrive in a given place. It’s clear ripping and tearing and wrenching nature to fit our plans can’t last forever. Permaculture ideas are certainly worth trying.
I love these cards! and would be an intro to permaculture!
Permaculture = crunchy gardening (I know that it is much more, but that is what it means TO ME).
I live in an apartment now, but have been researching what to do when I actually have dirt to dig in again.
New to the whole concept, but I’d say the thing I want to learn most about is pests and pest control.
Wow, you’re going to have a lot of reading to do! I like this ‘new’ method of gardening because it has a lot of methods that everyone used to do in the old days.
I like learning about nature and how to fit seamlessly into it so this Permaculture idea seems a great thing to find out about.
I like that it works with nature, not against it.
I joined a permaculture meetup group about two years ago. Although I also consider myself perma-curious, I have met SO many wonderful people with whom I share many interests and values. I don’t feel quite so out of the main stream with these folks. 🙂
I had been following your blog before I found the group and only later learned that much of what I loved about this blog was also part of the permaculture philosophy.
Both this blog and my permaculture group have so enriched my life!
Beautiful cards – a chance to learn something new – what’s not to love!
My real life introduction to permaculture (as opposed to just reading about it) was when our Community Garden program built several Hugelkultur beds in a new garden site. It was really interesting to see, and to see how the beds thrived. I’d love to have these cards. Not only are they beautiful, they’re also full of interesting information! Not sure I’ll be using them for poker though.
I’d love a set! I saw Paul put these up on Kickstarter and should’ve thrown in a few bucks then, but other things came up. 🙁
I’ve been consuming as much Permaculture/Sustainable info as possible over the last three years. I’ve done quite a bit to the 5 acres we just moved to, but have a long way to go. I’m finished a full design soon – swales into ponds, food forest, chicken tractors, maybe a couple hogs in the woods………. so much cool!
Permaculture is everything!! Its a way rhat energy, nature and us can work together not against eachother. Growing is a natural process, with allthe “extra” stuff we do in commercial growing of veg or meat the energy is wasted. Permies cooperate with the changing world and help it when needed.
Mostly a dabbler and reader right now, but the cards look beautiful
I have this day dream of starting a homestead that both terrifies and grips me with excitement. I love the idea of taking knowledge, techniques, and planning and trying to come up with a symphony of restorative life while being challenged by the unpredictability of nature.
I have recently moved to a new area where I don’t know a soul and have decided to take on the master gardener program here. Not only will I be learning a lot but I will be making friends and doing something for the community. My end goal is to finally grow vegetables – I have always been a “city” gardener and had a terrific perennial garden. Permaculture sounds like a great topic to fit into my desire to grow vegetables. BTW, I love this site!!
I am starting to learn about permaculture and I think the overarching premise is that you must design systems to work together. I do find that some concepts are a bit overly complicated when really it is mostly based on commonsense.
I am new but very fascinated with permaculture as I want the land to work for me while I am working with the land 🙂
I’m learning to farm and I am pursuing the experience to create a farm that embodies permaculture principles like restoration agriculture. There are so many ideas and strategies, that it makes my brain hurt sometimes. Good reminders are always appreciated.
By the way, thank you for everything you do.
As a master gardener here in Phoenix, permaculture plays large in many discussions, lectures and projects. I am passionate about promoting the family garden in inner city locations! Love Love Love these cards! Love your blog too! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I just sold my city house with the big double lot where I built & planted my first hugelkultur beds, blueberry bushes & cherry trees. Looking forward to moving back home to the country, where I can put these principles to work again, deeper and better.
I have been reading about permaculture for months now and trying to figure out how to make it work in northern mn. As a concept, it makes SO much sense. But these cards are just lovely – what a way to spread the word 🙂
COVETING! If I don’t win, I will strongly encourage my husband to order these.
I got my first taste of permaculture when a college professor gave us a slideshow review of his year-long permie adventure studying method all over the globe. The pictures of Samoa…I want to go to there!
this is the first time i have ever heard of permaculture. but since i am “soil” challenged, i am so interested to learn! i love coming to “school” and learning in your classroom/blog. i so appreciate you. these cards are beautiful and i am excited to have the chance at winning some!
best of the holidays to you and your family!!!
I think these cards are beautiful! While my husband is good at poker, I need a little help. We both like to garden and these would surely fun to read and learn . Grand idea.
oops… be fun to read, 😉
I was just viewing these lovely cards myself on Amazon the other night! I am fascinated with Permaculture. The word is somewhat new to me, but the concept is something I am finding I already do here and there and am pressing towards learning more about it so I can do it on purpose. 😉 We have just moved to the country to live a more sustainable lifestyle so I am interested in nearly all the various categories, but if I had to pick one I would say Chickens since we just got 5 hens and a rooster and are planning on getting 50 more in the spring. I want their help rehabilitating our pastures and need to “get it” over the winter.
What a lovely deck! I’ve been practicing permaculture (informally–I don’t have a PDC or anything) on our farm for the past few years, especially in regard to herbs. I’ve been trying to grow all of our perennial herbs (and some of the annual ones) in no-till beds for about three years now and I LOVE how new herbs start to grow in these untilled areas without me having to plant them, and how many of the annuals will reseed themselves year to year, also resulting in me not having to plant them again. I even had a single solitary Queen of the Meadow (Eupatorium perfoliatum) volunteer in the garden this year what with all the rain we got, which was thrilling. And I haven’t had to plant any lemon bergamot (Monarda citriodora), a vigorous self-seeder, for several years. Perhaps best of all, maintaining the no-till beds for all the perennials is slowly breaking me of my perfectionistic “everything must be in straight lines and in its own place” tendencies.
Oops, I mistyped–Queen of the Meadow ought to be Eupatorium purpureum…Eupatorium perfoliatum is boneset, which also volunteered this year, just not in the garden.
My favorite thing about permaculture is you’re allowing nature to do the work for you.
Permaculture gives me a framework on how to improve my .75 acre property. Especially important are the ‘zones’. That and Korean Natural Farming are my two big studies right now. Last year was Nutrient Dense gardening.
Paul has permies.com site and I recommend getting on his dailyish emails. He just got a 200 acre property and is welcoming volunteers and even paid positions. I also recommend his podcasts – I’m currently listing to the podcasts on Sepp Holzer’s book. Great for the commute to work!
I really enjoyed creating a Hugelkultur out of some tree branches when we were chopping down a tree. Two years of stuff growing in that bed without any amending of soil was great, and the plants stayed producing longer due to the warmer soil (decomposition is an amazing thing).
It has been an education just reading all the comments – I began a hugelkultur bed last fall, and intend to plant it this spring. Can’t wait – but these cards would help to pass the time till spring comes to Nova Scotia!
My wife and I play canasta two or three times a week. Its really addicting… as is learning more about permaculture along with other aspects of urban homesteading, organic gardening, DIY, sustainability simple living, etc. I think playing with these cards would be inspiring and help remind us to continually work towards our goals. Some day I would really love to have bees and chickens in addition to our little veggie beds and condo composting operation. You need two matching decks of cards to play canasta so if you send me one i’ll likely buy another to support our habit. Thanks for the inspiring Blog!
I’m saving for a home and can’t wait to start some permaculture plotting! For now though, I’m just enjoying permaculture research.