Big Property Have tools need tips

Hey all my parents have a 15 acre field that they currently only use for hay and they dont even need it all for the 3 horses they have i want to turn some of it into a permaculture garden/food forest we have great soil and 2 7ft tall piles of horse manure with all they hay i could ever use. as well as 2 tractors a disc, 2 rototillers and a large barn 3 horses and 30 chickens. i feel i have all of the major purchases already done and we are wasting the potential of this land with just 700 haybails a year and giving the rest to a local diary farmer for round bails . if anyone has already started a large project like this and has any tips or links to get us on our way it would be appreciated greatly.

Thank You

Steve Mosher wrote:Hey all my parents have a 15 acre field that they currently only use for hay and they dont even need it all for the 3 horses they have i want to turn some of it into a permaculture garden/food forest we have great soil and 2 7ft tall piles of horse manure with all they hay i could ever use. as well as 2 tractors a disc, 2 rototillers and a large barn 3 horses and 30 chickens. i feel i have all of the major purchases already done and we are wasting the potential of this land with just 700 haybails a year and giving the rest to a local diary farmer for round bails . if anyone has already started a large project like this and has any tips or links to get us on our way it would be appreciated greatly.

Thank You

While I don't have experience working on big property, I do recommend starting by observing and analyzing the lay of the land. The contours, the key points/ines, the soil type/quality etc. Perform any earthworks you may need before you start planting or cultivating the land. If you're not comfortable doing this, maybe have someone visit your site who has experience with permaculture earthworks.

woa thanks alot for all the information ive been researching as much as i can about the topics you guys brought up. i forgot to mention in the first post that the property also has about 15 acres of woodland that has alot of maple trees some birch it is usually wet and has alot of trillium and jack in the pulpit int the spring i would like to dig a pond for irrigation. does anyone know how i would find a good location to dig one?. also i have been reading about masanobu fukuoka and the hay field and woods on this property havent been tilled or sprayed with anything but rainwater in over 15 years i would like to slowly turn the whole 50 acres into a food forest .

Start by getting two things: 1. a soil map of your property from your local government soil people, and 2. a small scale topographic map showing contours and elevations. These two things will give you a good start on where to site your pond to take advantage of drainage and what you may need to do to get your soil in shape.

If you submit your name and email address at the Geoff Lawton website he demonstrates very well in a few different videos how to optimize the contours and water catchment opportunities and create productive and diverse landscapes :

http://www.geofflawton.com/sq/26801-absolute-in-abundance

I would think perimeter shelterbelts and maybe even avenue cropping could be rotated with some small scale animal production might slip in nicely with what you have for hay production and still give you good hay to meet your needs and then some.

Thanks all for information and links my garden didnt do so well this year so im going to be spending the fall gathering seed ,researching and trying to make a greenhouse out of old trusses .