I am working on a half acre plot of land. Aprox 25000 sq ft. I am planning on building a large number of hugulkultur beds (with
drip irrigation, aka 30 yr garden beds), live fences (berries, bamboo, sages, and various beneficial plants), creating 3 paddocks with cover crops and orchard
trees for human and animal consumption, a green house for
root stock, aquaponics, startings, sprouts, a
chicken coop (maybe 30
chickens), 2 top bar beehives, 2 pigs (possibly American guinea, or Tam Berk cross), composting area (4x16), vermicomposting area (4x16), animal
shelter (
sepp holzer style), beneficial herb and plant garden mixed about, 2 separate corn, bean squash fields (20x20).
The current well is about 60’ deep, has a 3 hp 240 volt motor supplying a 300 gallon tank to about 60 psi. I know this is could be possibly converted to a
solar well pump.
The back
yard or available land is located with a good amount of south facing land. Located in zone 9a I think, Lockeford, Ca
This
project has many purposes. Provide food to immediate families of land owner and leaser of land (me), provide educational workshops free of cost to permies, provide biodiversity in the area land is located, provide a sample small scale farm for LOCAL GROWN (
sustainable ag and food system incubator program geared for low income, minority (
native American, Mexican, chicano, latino and African American descent)) possibly provide a few shares of food in a CSA to EBT or low income families.
Current ideas for crops are going to be greens, onions, leeks, potatoes, corns (oaxacan green, hopi blue, Aztec black, yellow sweet), squashes, tomatoes, peppers, okra, sunchokes, mashua (if I can find it), blue berries, black berries, bok choy, cabbage, lettuces, beans, pumpkins, garlics, artichokes, basil, lavender, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, watercress, broccoli, kale, whew… I know there will be more.
Bee’s will be local swarms saved from sites and fed with only excess
honey.
Chicken, pigs and any other live stock will be fed when needed to supplement with organic mixed feeds, and sprouts. Looking into Modesto grains for the
feed as well as Adzure. As well as left over veggie and fruit waste from juicers. Fish will be fed grasshoppers farmed, and worms, with a mix of pelletized organic food.
Fence lines between paddocks will be recycled fencing and possibly
pallets if available. Green house was a used 20x40. Scrap
wood and old orchards will build our beds, and chicken coop.
I am also involved with a 5 acre urban community farm aimed at serving the poorest unserved community in Stockton, Ca and a 10 acre naturally unreated farm in French Camp
I will write up a post for each of those seperatley.
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