I’m planning my homestead, and trying to figure out its layout, especially the orchard and garden by the pond, where the soil (clay loam) and sun exposure are best, but the area is exposed to winds.
The land and buildings have been neglected for many years an I have freedom to do whatever I want, including rearraning new buildings. The plot is theoretically in zone 7, but trending towards 8/9. Here’s the map:
Each square is 10 x 10 meters. The contour line marked ‘0’ indicates ground levels around buildings not the actual elevation. The hill is 20m high at approx 20deg.
My ideas are:
- restore peat pond (approx. 1000m2), and use it for rain water collection, irrigation and reflecting light on plants,
- raise the ground north of the pond to create terraces with two or three lines of beds with retaining walls out of reclaimed stone, or brick to store heat (alternatively hugels?),
- fill the beds with wood, leaves, peat and topsoil from pond and road construction,
- create a small orchard to protect the beds from wind with fruit trees (apples) and bushes,
- plant windbreaker on the west to protect the orchard,
This should result in:
- great microclimate around the pond
- improved soiled and no water-logging
- easy access to beds without back-bending
- fruits and vegetables for my family + maybe some extra
- increased biodiversity
- nice landscape
I have time, and money to make it happen, I’ve read lots of books but my first-hand experience amounts to exactly zero. I have tried to find example of gardens with similar layout to validate my concept, but couldn’t find any.
I have plenty of questions, but perhaps the key ones are:
- does it make sense to raise the ground around pond and how high should I raise it to create wind-free climate for my beds?
- should I go for raised beds or hugels? if beds would work are better how to provide access along them?
- how do I protect fruit trees from wind before the windbreaker is fully grown?
- how do I future-proof for warming climate?
… - does it make sens to keep fish in a pond that size (there is 5x bigger pond too on the land) to increase nutrients for irrigation? I could instead try to keep it clean and collect duckfeed for composting.
Any help would be appreciated!
submitted by /u/AdFederal9540
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