Final Design ProjectWindy Oaks Farm - Integrated Homestead Design!

Cristie Kenney - Week 6

Goals

• Improve the quality of our lives: mind, body, and soul.!

• Set up our homestead in a way that is beautiful, inviting, functional, and cohesive.!

• Feed my family a variety of fresh, healthy whole foods that we grow ourselves. Reduce our dependence on outside food sources. !

• Design and build a potager garden based on permaculture principles. Garden will include vegetable beds, herb beds and spirals, and edible perennials. Create a mostly self-managing food forest using a mix of herbs and perennials.

• Use surplus as a potential cash income. While we are not intending to use the farm as our total source of income, we would love to get to a point where the farm can sustain itself financially. !

• Give part of the surplus to those in need locally through charitable organizations. !

• Provide learning opportunities for my children in our homeschool.

Goals

• Provide educational and social opportunities for other homeschool families and groups in my area.!

• Protect the existing soil and ecosystems and regenerate the damaged ones

• Reduce our waste output.!

• Provide most of the feed for the animals on site

• Build a hoop house to extend season.!

• Plant more fruit trees and create an orchard.!

• Preserve harvested produce !

• Save heirloom seeds

Site Analysis

• Location - 6 acre homestead in Middlesex County, MA. Open pastures with full sun, backs to 200+ acres of wooded conservation land.!

• Zone 5b: -15F to -10F. The average first frost is September 22nd while the average last frost is May 20th. The average high temperature is 59°F, and the average annual low temperature is 36°F. The average high temperature in July (Summer) is 81°F, while the average high temperature in January (Winter) is 34°F.

• The area that I live in receives about 46.7 inches of precipitation annually. (NOAA)!

• Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year with 11.6 inches in Spring, 12.2 inches in Summer, 12.4 in Fall, and 10.5 in Winter. (NOAA)!

• The type of soil that we have is Montauk fine sandy loam. We seem to be situated between 8-15% slopes, extremely stony and 15-25% slopes. Not ideal for farming nature. It can be useful for pasturing animals but we need to be mindful of overgrazing because it is slow to regenerate.

Site Analysis

• The land was previously used for grazing horses and alpacas. The former owners also had ducks. There are many overgrown planting beds with herbs and flowers. An overgrown “secret garden.” A small orchard area, also overgrown, with apple trees, pear trees, and quince. There are berry bushes staggered throughout the property.!

• Prevailing winds come from the northwest. (

• Sectors!

• Wind and bringing cold air in through the windows.

• Snow

• Sun - Pastures and front yard get full sun all day. Considering solar panels source and a greenhouse for both season extension and ability to grow a larger variety of plants.!

• Waterminimizes flood risk, but it has flooded previously.

Site Analysis - Strengths

• Existing plantings: and perennials. We should be able to use these to help establish a food forest and herb gardens, and to provide forage for our animals and a habitat for beneficial insects.!

• We currently have fruit trees, a black walnut tree, grape vines, and berry bushes on the property. With proper pruning and care, these can be revitalized and become productive. !

• Full sun/shade:vegetables. We can also erect a hoop house or greenhouse to extend the season and allow us to grow crops not normally grown in this colder climate. We can install solar panels to help provide an alternate energy source and minimize our grid usage. Our backyard and barn pasture get mostly shade and provide a nice respite from the hot sun for people, animals, and less hardy plants. !

• Existing infrastructure: garden shed (needs to be reinforced and moved), storage shed/playhouse, three sided animal shelter, fenced pastures and chicken yard. These buildings are all useable and functional.

Site Analysis - Strengths

• Forest:firewood, foraging, shade, and maple syrup. I do not believe that hunting is allowed in the lands but we do have hunting lands just down the road.!

• Room for expansion:acres of common lands that we can use but not build on. Possibilities are hay production and grazing for animals. I still need to investigate restrictions.!

• Access to a 2 acre pond: on our private road. I am unaware of any restrictions at this time and possibilities include: potential food source (stocking fish) and potential water source.

Site Analysis - Challenges

• Overgrowth: purchased it and we have our work cut out for us in regards to invasive plant removal and pruning.!

• Soil: extremely rocky and difficult to dig. We can overcome this by using raised beds for vegetables and using compost, manure, mulch, and planting cover crops to improve the soil quality. !

• Water distribution: freezes in the winter to provide all water for animals and plants. We can overcome this with a water management plan that includes swales, a water tank, and rain barrels.

Site Analysis - Challenges

• Wind: trees and plants. This could also prove to be challenging for a hoop house. We can overcome this by planting wind breaks. !

• Predation: both our animals and our garden. We have already lost chickens to a fox and a hawk. The previous owners experienced coyotes coming onto the property and the occasional bear is seen around our area. We also have rabbits, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and groundhogs, and a variety of birds that bring danger to our crops. We can overcome some of this with secure fences, dogs, cats, motion lights, and scarecrow type figures.

Permaculture Principles

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• Redundancy: Being prepared, having a backup plan.!

• Water:

• Food: of famine. Eggs from chickens, meat from chickens and pigs, honey from bees, dairy from goats. Save heirloom seeds for future planting.!

• Heat:

• Barter/Income: from goats, goat’s milk soap and skin products, kids from goats, eggs, honey, meat from chickens, and pigs. !!

• Labor: the harvest. Possibly have an intern.

Permaculture Principles

• Multiple Functions: Synergy, stacking functions.!

• Orchard/Gardens!

• Trees provides fruit, shade, forage for wildlife, attracts pollinators, oxygen, firewood.!

• Garden provides fresh healthy food for family and animals, forage, compost.!

• Herbs for cooking and healing.!

• Food Forest Garden:!

• Provides fresh healthy food for family and animals, self sustaining, each layer protects and benefits the next, high yields, a diverse forest garden can produce food throughout the year, natural mulch, natural pest control, biodiversity with companion planting, “chop and drop” mulches and repairs the soil.!

• Livestock:!

• Chickens - food (meat, eggs), manure, pest control, turning compost and cleaning up beds after harvest.!

• Goats - food (dairy), manure, brush clearing and pasture management, soap and skin care products, baby goats for income.!

• Bees - food (honey), wax, skin care products, pollination of plants to aid in increased yields and healthy ecosystem.!

• Pigs - food, manure, piglets for income, digging up roots and stumps, pasture management, minimize waste by consuming slop. !

Permaculture Principles

• Produce no waste - Reduce, reuse, recycle, repair!

• Producing no waste is challenging in modern society. My goal is to produce as little waste as possible. Waste is an unused output. !

• We have been trying to reduce by moving towards a “back to basics” attitude. Less is more. Donating clothes, toys, and things we are not actively using.!

• We currently reuse by passing clothes down and on to others, shopping at second hand stores, repurposing furniture and clothes, and really anything we can. !

• We have a private trash contractor and need to make an effort to recycle. We can and will do a better job about collecting recyclables and getting them to the proper place. Ideally I would like to reduce the use of these things as well.!

• On our homestead we will use a compost system.!

• First we will provide food for our family, then we will donate a portion to the needy, then we will try and sell some for income, then we will supplement our animals with scraps and forage, then the remainder will be composted. !

• We will maintain and repair our tools and consider what “waste” items can be used around the farm. Cardboard can be used for garden beds, leaves for compost, sticks for kindling, rocks for edging, wood chips for paths, and so on.

Crop Choices

I have chosen the following plants for their nutritional value, hardiness, variety, and their ability to work together in companion planting to maximize yield, regenerate the soil, provide windbreak/shelter, and deter pests. Our land should support all of them as many are on the property. The annual veggies will be planted in beds due to rocky soil conditions.!!

•Edible Perennials •basil, catnip, summer savory, chives, fennel, tarragon, lavender, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, bee balm, dill, lemon balm, lemon verbena, valerian, violet, ramps, asparagus, jerusalem artichoke, rhubarb, sorrel, comfrey, garlic, marjoram, cilantro, echinacea, purslane, sunflowers, chamomile

•Berry Bushes!•raspberry, black berry, blueberry, elderberry, gooseberries, strawberries!

•Vines!•concord grapes, white table grapes, red table grapes!

•Tree Crops!•apple trees, pear trees, asian pear trees, cherry trees, peach trees, mulberry, oak!

•Kitchen Garden Beds and Planting Areas!•tomatoes, salad greens, spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, peppers, carrots, onions, eggplant, winer squash, beans, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, beets, cabbage, watermelon, melon, corn

•Animal!•Chickens for eggs and meat, Pigs for meat, Bees for honey!

•Animal Forage, Mulch, Pest Control, Nitrogen fixers!•Hay, legumes, peanut, marigolds, clover!!!!!!!!!

Food Need and Yields Analysis

Crop Servings/year Pounds/year Number of 100 sq. ft.

beds (approx)

Whole Family

Number of Beds

(Calculating for 6 people)

Tomatoes (eating) 104 45.2 0.5 3

Tomatoes (cooking) 104 45.2 0.5 3

Salad Greens 78 11.8 0.25 1.5

Spinach 52 4.4 >0.25 1.5

Broccoli 156 50.3 1.5 9

Cucumbers 260 59 1 6

Zucchini 104 50 0.25 1.5

Squash (summer) 104 50 0.25 1.5

Red Peppers 104 17.9 >0.25 1.5

Carrots 104 37.1 0.5 3

Onions 260 12.6 >0.25 1.5

Oats 208 13 2.5 15

Rice 208 13 1 6

Wheat 730 45.6 7.5 45

Corn 104 61.2 2 12

Chick peas 52 4.4 1 6

Black Beans 52 3.4 1 6

White beans 52 4.4 1 6

Eggs 208 1 laying hen per person

8 chickens

Chicken 104 6.5 chickens per person annually (3

oz. servings)

39 chickens per year

Watermelon 104 38.5 1/2 + 3

Canteloupe 104 40 3/4 4.5

Apples 260 92.9 2 12

Grapes 104 54.7 2 12

Pears 104 30.6 0.5 3

Nutrient Cycling

• Fertility will be provided to the system through crop rotation; applying compost; manure from chickens, goats, and pigs; companion plantings and nitrogen fixers; swales to collect and contain water and nutrients; and mulching.!

• Healthy soil will provide healthy plants for people and animals, animals that forage on these will provide healthy meat and eggs as well as healthy manure to return to the system. !

• We do have the space to grow fertility crops and will integrate into our design.

Integration and Connection

• “Permaculture is a Vision, a Design System, and a Network.” - Holmgren)

• The Vision is of regenerative abundance, where all humans can provide themselves with their own food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs to survive and thrive.

• The Design System is a holistic set of teachings that allow us to plan and create productive, cost-effective, and regenerative systems for our own families and communities.

• The Network is a global movement of farmers, gardeners, students, teachers, and everyday people. with over 5,000 projects in more than 140 countries.

Integration and Connection

• The principle of interconnection is one where the natural products of one element meet the inherent needs of other elements.“Integrate rather than segregate”!

• Guild plantings - when choosing plants for our homestead I have chosen plants that will work together to provide nutritious food, encourage pollination, confuse pests, improve the soil quality, discourage weeds, and attract protectors.!

• My design will include trellised entryways to accommodate grape vines, and we will utilize the fencing around the garden for protection and to provide a place for certain plants to climb.!

• Many hands make light work - we are undertaking this project as a family. My kids even have their own tools of the appropriate size so they can jump in and we can all work together. One of my possible future goals is to have a small CSA program here. I would invite participants to work and help in the garden to be a part of their food supply. Making foods that are more labor intensive to harvest (beans, peas, berries…) “you pick” items is a way to help families to take what they can use and also help in working the harvest.!

• Designing for short-term and long-term yields. Planting tall trees first, to develop root systems and hold soil, then dwarf trees, then other plantings and ground cover. Mature systems have more mutualistic and symbiotic relationships.

• I plan to allow my chickens access to the beds before planting and after harvesting. This will provide them with forage while depositing manure into the system.!

• Using the principles laid out by Joel Salatin of Polyface farms, I can utilize the animals we have (chickens and goats) and the animals we plan to acquire (pigs, possibly horses) for healthy pasture management. !

Integration and Connection

• Social Connections!

• Future CSA (community supported agriculture) plan:community, probably starting with the homeschool families in our co-op group. This will give us an opportunity for income, to bring awareness, and for help with labor.!

• Children’s Garden: here. I found new inspiration while visiting the Strawberry Banke museum in Portsmouth, NH. They have a gorgeous children’s garden with flowers, herbs, perennials, a gazebo, fairy gardens, and play areas. This will provide not only a place for my children to learn, grow, and play, but also a place to entertain others.!

• Teaching Gardens:homeschool co-op. I want our homestead to be a place where small groups can come to learn about science and nature. !

• Community Outreach: neighborhood in Boston. He, and his brothers take a vow of extreme poverty and they serve the poor and suffering.those who are served by this Order. I would also consider bringing the children from those neighborhoods here for an afternoon of gardening, animal care, swimming, and learning about life on a farm.!

Resources

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• The Permaculture Handbook

• Gaia’s Garden, A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

• www.patternliteracy.com

• permaculturenews.com

• motherearthnews.com

• Most of the pictures are my own, but some were found online. All flow chart pictures were taken from various permaculture websites.!

• Some design inspiration and information on local plants found at Strawberry Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH!

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