Evaluate my "design"?

R Dell wrote:Great work on all you have planned so far.  I have little experience with plants, but last month during the -30 degree days we had in Colorado, our septic system backed up. Nope, not frozen - we found that the sagebrush bushes had sent roots into the main pipe 3 feet below grown and the cost to dig up and repair everything will be in the upper thousands. In researching septic issues, most people have problems with the leach field having plant root problems, and the advice is to plant short-rooted vegetation around septic systems (i.e. grass) or else risk having very expensive repairs down the road.

All that to say, perhaps plant your trees, bushes, and long-rooted plants far away from the septic pipes leading from the house and all the way to the leach field area.  Hopefully my expensive problem can help you avoid it on your new property. (p.s. Googling "best plants around septic system" had some fun options!)  Good luck with your gardens!!

Lauren Pfaff wrote:Your design looks good. A few things
* How much access does the propane tank need? Does it need vehicle access for deliveries?
* Consider access. Do you plan on being able to access garage/workshop from patio? Would you be okay with that being through your house or would you rather not track mud inside?

Wow! You are amazing... so much good stuff here so I will take it in chunks.

Great point on access... I should've been clear on where the streets are.

My property is on the corner bordered by two streets and also an alley way that runs behind all the houses on the block. My other two lots are behind this alleyway.

On the west side (where the tree guilds are) is a city street.
On the Northside (so (where I want to build the garage/workshop, etc) is also a city street.
On the Eastside of the property (where the propane tank is already located (and too expensive to move because I already asked), there is an alleyway.

So the only side of the property that doesn't have awesome access is the south side where the septic/leach field is.

Lauren Pfaff wrote:               "* Consider access. Do you plan on being able to access garage/workshop from patio? Would you be okay with that being through your house or would you rather not track mud inside?

               What size should the plantings be of thimbleberries, etc. so you can walk through? How does that change when you have a wheelbarrow? Consider how you will access       the back lots of your property. Do you want to go through the garage or would you want a gate where the aspen and elderberries are?
               * Will the pergola shade the greenhouse?
               * Consider the size greenhouse you want. Are you gonna start seeds there for a few months out of the year (in which case, use shelves and have a smaller greenhouse) or are you trying to grow out of season crops on a larger scale? You don't want to pay to build/heat a larger greenhouse than you need)
                * The chickens should probably have a run. It's not great for them to be in the coop all day but if they are entirely free range, predators can get to them. I would just build that off the chicken coop. You can also try chicken tractors (basically mobile chicken houses. They forage for supplemental feed) if you want something where they can be outdoors more."

Lauren Pfaff wrote:
* May also want to check on how close those fruit trees are to your house to prevent foundation damage.
* Blackberries and raspberries harbor the same diseases/pests, so I would probably separate them a bit.
* If you have property adjacent to this lot that you plan on developing at a later date, I'd focus on having higher maintenance stuff on the lot I was living on and lower maintenance stuff on the back lots. (read up on permaculture zones), you wanna have your kitchen garden/chickens closer to your house than something that needs less frequent maintenance like perennials/fruit trees. If this were my property, I would focus on annual gardens and chickens on this site and move the fruit trees back.
* If you want a shed or storage, probably build off the garage/workshop and/or use the garage/workshop as storage

Lauren Pfaff wrote:

A few other projects to consider:
* Grow an herb garden (stuff to eat, add to skincare products, and also chickens like some of them)
* Add some cold frames or hoop houses (a supplement to owning a greenhouse, also good for hardening off seedlings, also good for cold-season (you won't be growing tomatoes in January, but you can get salad greens))
* Save any wood from that house!!! You may want it for your workshop projects. If nothing else, go on Nextdoor and see if your neighbors want it.
* For the trees to shade the RV's, consider deciduous trees because you want shade in the Summer, not the Winter. Perhaps use the leaves to add biomass to your soil (shred the leaves, otherwise they will form a disgusting/anaerobic mat over the soil)
* If you want to use the RV site for extra income, I would also look into what there is that could add value to people's experience there (ex: a fire pit) that could also help you as the property owner (steal the wood ash for your plants).  

Lauren Pfaff wrote:
Good luck with your property/renovation!!!

Andria Wood wrote:

Lauren Pfaff wrote:
Good luck with your property/renovation!!!

Thank you!

Here is the update.

Lauren Pfaff wrote:I like the update. The one thing I would consider is the sizing of the plants. If your lot is 1/4 acre AND the picture is nearly proportional in terms of lot dimensions, (1/4 * 43560 ft^2  = 10,000 ft^2-ish, 80*120=9,600 ft^2-ish), we can assume your lot is about 120 feet by 80 feet. Some of the plants on the North side of the property (aspen sticks out to me) might be too large, or at least larger than the square for those plants would suggest. Mature aspen trees have a spread of 20'-30' (source: https://shop.arborday.org/treeguide/1168?srsltid=AfmBOopOam2_5LXrx7kb_wxopahmoCwWZKB2RzJgESSa0vWIog0-_KCe). If my earlier math (and the assumptions that your lot is 1/4 acre and in those approximate proportions) hold, that aspen tree might span a third of the property "height." This may be what you want, but I would double check some of the plant sizes.

Christopher Weeks wrote:Protecting a mobile enclosure with no floor from weasel intrusion seems pretty unlikely. Maybe a broad, flexible skirt of hardware cloth on the outside that's firmly attached to the tractor-walls and makes an L-bend to lie out flat on the ground would have a goodish chance of vexing them. But it seems like it would also make it hard to move.