PermaplanT

PermaplanT is an app for

• Web: Firefox, Chromium
• Larger mobile devices like tablets: Progressive Web App (PWA) Android 9+

Goals

The overall goals of the app are to enable planning:

1. vital growth of delicious edible crops, while
2. providing a diverse and functioning ecosystem, and
3. creating outdoor living spaces for both animals & humans.

To achieve these goals the app provides, e.g.:

• visual indications for permaculture:
  1. makes sense according to known and easily measurable natural constraints
  2. is practical for the gardener
  3. enhances diversity and supports the ecosystem
• suggestions for:
  • what is seasonal
  • increasing diversity

Main Features

• users have any number of maps
• maps have any number of layers (see below)
• users can work on the same map or on alternatives of layers together
• undo/redo and versions for changes in the map
• copy&paste of selection including succeeding crops across maps
• zoom
• internationalization: English, German
• algorithms for polyculture, considerations of natural constraints and automatic suggestions
• Nextcloud integrations (calender entries, Deck tasks)
• social network features (e.g. notification that someone entered your garden)
• GPS coordinates
• privacy: no tracking, analytics, external JavaScript, fonts, etc.
• differences of versions of the same garden

Layers

In all layers --- except for base --- past, current or future entities might be intermixed. While editing any layer other layers might be displayed or hidden.

• Base¹ (import orthophoto or site plan as base image, define borders, scale, orientation)
• Terrain
• Landscape¹ (height&sketch of permanent structures like walls, ponds, constructions, beds)
• Labels (allows to put text labels, e.g. names for beds)
• Trees (taxa, stem position&height&sketch&type of forest, trees, hedge, bushes etc.)
• Wind (more or less windy places, wind orientation)
• Shadows (more/less sun exposure)
• Infrastructure (outlets, wifi spots, taps, water storage tanks, irrigation systems, ...)
• Hydrology (surface water runoff, natural reservoirs, gullies, rills, ...)
• Soil (pH Values of topsoil, subsoil)
• Paths (ways, fences, stepping stones)
• Habitats (taxa, areas for (wild)life, nesting aids, heaps of stones or leaves, perches)
• Zones (of different visitation frequency)
• Plants¹ (taxa, individual and fields of plants)
• Warnings¹
• Photos (sharing of photo with GPS coordinates and a Nextcloud chats per photo)
• Fertilize
• Todos (creates Deck cards in Nextcloud)
• Drawing (for anything else)

¹ Essential (most used) layers: are more prominently shown than others.

Later Versions

Later features, i.e., out of scope for first version:

• import/export
• weather data (warnings on frost etc.)
• hints&tips about pest control, fertilizer, care, etc.
• automatic shadow and moisture calculation
• 3D modes (forest garden), contour lines etc.
• timelaps of historic garden development, simulate growth

Non-functional Goals

1. easy to use (aesthetic UI, collaborative use)
2. uptime (robustness, no restarts)
3. performance (serve many concurrent users)