Setting up a Natural Farm UK

Hey all!

Looking to probe the knowledge of this huge reservoir of people here, hope you can help.

I've purchased 16 acres of land in SW England to start a natural farm, based on Fukuoka's principles of observing and following natures prompts as much as possible.

Original plan was to start a small area of around an acre to kickstart the area, land has been heavily ploughed and sprayed and is in a poor condition right now.  Loamy soil, South facing and gently sloping to drain.  I've been focusing on growing some trees like Alder and other quick growing nitrogen fixing species and have planted some fruit trees.  It's a temperate and generally moist area of the UK, not too hot or particularly cold in Winter (maybe max -5c as a norm).  I've been adding mulches, manures and peas, vetches, field beans, alfalfa and other green manure type seeds to to overcome the grasses and docks/thistles that are covering the ground just now and give a better chance for micro organisms, from where like starting a fire I'm expecting it will spread out.  Best results so far actually are with clovers and these are assisting the other introduced seeds to begin to establish.  Plus as it's only been 9 months here a lot of my time is just observing and getting into tune with the land anyway.  For anyone interested I've started a substack to document the journey and publish some of the research and discoveries I'm finding out about. https://thenaturalfarmer.substack.com/publish/home

Would welcome any feedback or tips and thanks in advance!  Adam

Hi and welcome to permies!
That sounds like a wonderful adventure, and an ideal spot to start with.
I looked at your substack link, but it seems to need me to sign in.

I love alder - for me it is the key to getting some shelter relatively quickly as well as being a Nitrogen fixer and biomass/woodfuel producer. I have mostly common alder, but if you are in the South, you may find Italian alder also good as it copes with drier soil. I have planted some where the soil is shallower/drier here and it is doing fine.

Are you hoping for self sufficiency or a cash crop?

It sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things, including observing, knowing that helping heal the land takes time, focusing on trees first and plants that help repair and enhance the soil, etc.

Hi! Great news, thanks. Yes I'm procuring common, red & green alders for the wetter areas. But I have a south facing & sloping field with drier & damaged soils, so I've got some Italian seedlings growing to help establish my first wind break & to improve the soil too...good to know I'm on right track. Well I was planning on business but government here have blocked my polytunnel, so it will be a slow burn natural farm only which I'm guessing is at least 3 yrs to start turning it around?

You should have reasonably warm summers in the SW UK (hopefully not too warm!) so many summer crops that I need protection for, like sweetcorn and tomatoes, will probably be fine outside for you. There is a lot one can do with earthworks too. I'd love a crater garden, but decided it was not practical in the end. Think what they achieve with the Eden project, which is basically a big crater garden!
You could consider berms and rocks to create microclimates too. Fast growing shrubs like elder and bamboo (or miscanthus grass) can also provide shelter pretty quickly. I visited Sagara in East Devon and he had olives and lemon fruiting outside there through use of microclimates.

olive tree in stone heat trap

source

It does take time, but better to go slow at the start and get things right, than wish you have laid things out differently. It all depends on what you want to achieve of course. I wish I had been more ruthless in soil building when I started (from compacted sheep paddock) A bit of ploughing and bulky green manures at the start, rather than evicting the sheep little by little, would in retrospect have been better.

Think about basics like watering and access, whether you are manually harvesting or letting people pick their own, income from products (virtual or physical) or experiences....

Thanks Nancy, all great ideas & I'll bear these in mind for future research too...