Fern Cottage Masterplan ' the pattern'

Designed using SADIMET Design begun Nov 2011 completed Aug 2013

Survey
Aim to design the site to provide food, fuel, an income and demonstration garden

Client Interview with myself

How its wor ing now !verall layout- what we had put in so far was working well Access points, paths- layout was very inaccessible if immobile paths !ust mown grass but was low input and functioned fine Structures- all structures were "#$ %orest garden shed needed some maintenance and a compost toilet adding$ &alled garden shed could be utilised better roof needs fi'ing "rees#plants- lacking maintenance they re(uired due to lack of time)energy$ *eed to prioritise looking after what we had before we planted more$ Site maintenance- trying to start too many pro!ects at once$ *eeded help with the high input nature of new pro!ects but should be manageable once established$

$eeds and %ants

+aving used ,ASE to determine what we desired from the site I identified the essential areas)elements we needed to prioritise$ *eeds %ood %uel .ivelihood)income .ow maintenance solutions &ants Areas for recreation -esearch "rnamental elements &ildlife areas

"ur priorities were growing food for ourselves and gaining an income$ The income side of things have been discussed in detail in the /usiness planning design 0 refer to Right Livelihood design) Priorities for food growing were annual herbs and vegetables as this would fulfil our immediate needs$ At the same time we would develop a perennial food system of vegetables,herbs, fruits and nuts for longer term diversity of diet. Some fruit had already been planted in the forest garden areas and the fruit garden where the priority was to maintain what was already there whilst planning for future development and planting of the under story$ The Annual vegetable garden issues a lac of organic matter in the soil led to compaction in some areas shallo! soil in some areas of "ust a couple of inches meant no!here for the roots to go large subterranean boulders beneath the raspberries led to e#cess drainage despite the !et season cardboard mulch meant slugs !ere a real problem and in the !et !eather it held the moisture near the surface causing anaerobic conditions

&orms were however plentiful so the soil was otherwise healthy$ After several years of e'perimentation we concluded that 'No-Dig' methods were not currently suitable for annual vegetable cultivation on our soil $ &e mulched for several years but almost none of the organic matter had been taken to lower levels$ "ther pro!ects were moved down the priority list until the soil problems had been solved$ $%he annual vegetable garden became a separate design)

&alues and &ision

"ur values are a very important part of what we do$ Earth care and people care were our priorities$"ur aim was to be self reliant but to buy in or barter for things we could not produce$ 'esearch was an important part of our vision to learn new techni(ues and test out techni(ues from books which are often theories and not tested or proven$ The goal being to find sustainable ways to produce food and fuel for a low carbon future$

(ifestyle
%amily was central to our vision$ "ur e'tended family either live on-site or are very much a part of activities here 0mainly free labour1$ The site is a family smallholding and whenever we have made changes to the site we have to ta e the wants and needs of everyone into consideration which can be a limiting factor but which has caused few problems so far$ !e are both professional horticulturalists and each work 2 day a week on maintenance for my parents areas of the smallholding$ "ur income is also from horticultural courses we run here and talks to groups$ &e are always onsite Andrew mostly wor s ) days a wee and we rarely take holidays$ I was limited *y childcare for our daughter ,oppy who is 23 months and another baby would arrive in March 4526$ This was our main limiting factor at the time+

,udget
These was no budget$ %e had no pot of money *ut spent#*orrowed it where necessary+ $%his is e#plored in the Right Livelihood design)

Site Survey
'efer to Fig -+ (anduse map and Fig .+ Sector analysis It is a steep NE facing slope in the Aire 7alley$ The area suffers from low light levels and our aspect reduces this even more$ %or around 6 months of the year much of the site receives little or no sun$ The site has trees all along its boundary$ The southern edge which is usually the sunniest is shaded all year *y mature woodland $ The trees along the western boundary are thinning out and no longer providing effective shelter$

The houses are located near to the bottom of the slope. &e have a stable and workshop below our house used for storage and a classroom used for teaching)work space$

Analysis 0-efer to notes in %ig 4$ Sector analysis overlay1

Identifying ey functions %unction System
%ood production Annual vegetable garden %orest garden

Element
-oots brassicas legumes potatoes green manures other annual crops Top fruit soft fruit herbs nuts root crops climbers nitrogen fi'ers nutrient accumulators bee plants Soft fruit herbs bee plants ,olytunnel greenhouse hotbeds cloches perennial vege Ducks chickens bees pigs8 Ash poplar +a9el 0for charcoal1 nitrogen fi'ing plants nutrient accumulators &ater butts water storage tanks surfaces to harvest from Mulch wind breaks fruiting plants bee plants :omposting manure leafmold green manures &oodchip leafmold compost cut grass cardboard :reate handbook trials area polyculture trial notebook of observations .awn swing slide play house willow structure %ire pit open space :ourses talks networking ,lants !am crafts

%ruit garden E'tend the season Animal husbandry %uel production Irrigation %irewood coppice &ater harvesting -educe water loss &indbreaks Soil improvement +edge "rganic matter Mulching -esearch -ecreation E'periments)trials ,lay area ;athering space Income Teaching Selling produce

+aving identified the re(uired functions I found this table to be an easy way of wor ing from pattern to detail to clearly identify the systems and elements which need to be included in the design$ Each of the elements were then be looked at in more detail once the location of each system had been decided$

'eview resources
&ith little time or money the implementation of the design would be slow 025 years1$ It was important to design in each element at the start to allow me to see how each system)element would interact with the others$

If we staggered the implementation this should allow for lac of time concentrating on the most urgent needs first$ !nsite resources were plentiful from years of scavenging$ "ur horticultural s ills were a very valua*le resource not !ust for growing crops and propagation but also for offering courses and skill shares as a source of income$ ,iological resources were availa*le close *y+ An organic beef farm located !ust over the road could be a source of manure$

/lacement of the systems#elements

%ig <$ =post-it note= map $refer to larger scale image in attached documentation) I used the we* of connections $refer to &ig 3) and input#output analysis $refer to fig ') to take advantage of as many beneficial relationships as possible$ Some elements such as the annual vegeta*le garden were easily placed *y loo ing at e0clusion methods+ "nce these elements were placed I could look at how best to connect each element for mutual *enefit$ I knew the land and site well so this felt like a very natural way to design using the permaculture principles my common sense and intuition to guide me$ I used the base map and post it notes to play with the placement$ I found this to be a (uick easy and efficient way of considering many locations and discussing them with members of the family 0see %ig <$1 Elements of the overall design were *ro en down into several further detailed designs such as &orest (arden

Annual vegetable garden )ard food production *oil fertilit+ and !ater harvesting ,usiness plan-income planning

This would allow me to concentrate on one area at a time in detail prioritising certain aspects and carrying out specific research$ This is a good e'ample of designing from pattern to detail$ 0see %ig$> schematic map1

1esign
Small beds in 9one 2 close to the house would be used for herbs and salad leaves$ All other vegetables would be grown in the relatively level and sunny areas around the site$ The vegeta*le garden remained on the plateau at the top of the hill$ It was the only area which was both level and sunny enough to cultivate annual vegetables$ This placement went against the permaculture principle of ?oning but the plan was to create another '2one -' around the vegetable garden to make it a destination which was likely to be visited daily$ This was to include the polytunnel seating and a play area $see ./egetable garden. design) The forest garden used to house the pigs$ The land has been cleared of brambles turned over by the pigs and manured$ It is a sheltered site, the southern half (uite sunny northern half shady$ The polytunnel was located ne't to the vegetable garden taking into account sun and ground levels$ /eneficial relationships would *e formed with the vegeta*le garden by provideing shelter from wind without shading$ This enabled seedlings to be grown close to where they would be planted and provide shelter for us$ The greenhouse was located in the walled garden attached to the kitchen$ This provided many *eneficial relationships between the house and the greenhouse$ The main gathering space was be located in the forest garden in an area unsuitable for planting$ This should encourage more food to be harvested by =plucking= whilst walking past$ Hedges were designed to be in various forms depending on their function$ The main hedge would be for screening wildlife and foraging$ It follows the path up from the parking area into the top field$ The main water harvesting issue was that the *uildings are *elow most of the growing area$ A design was needed for a system to harvest water further up the hill to water the polytunnel and annual vegetable garden$ $refer to .0ater and fertilit+. design) ,ees were a difficult system to place as " had yet to learn enough about them to confidently place the hive. "n particular " wanted to fill the bee 'hungry gap'$ The needs of this system

would be met by the elements of other systems within the design such as bulbs and flowering trees in the forest garden and the bee plants incorporated in the hedges and ornamental borders$ 1uc s and chic ens remained where they were as it fulfilled the need for my Dad to view them from his sofa$ I planned to research chic en#duc forage systems with a view to redesigning the field$ "eaching and research @ we hoped to *ecome a (A$1 site 0in Aug 26 we became a .A*D centre1$ /y observing interacting and accepting feedback we could use what we learn from our e'periments and trials to change how we do things here and use our teaching to encourage others to ta e up research of their own+ &e hoped this would encourage more people in our local area to embrace permaculture ideas and improve local food resilience$

%ig >$ Schematic design

Implement
0refer to %ig A$ Implementation note1 A detailed implementation plan would be provided for each detailed design as I completed them$ The implementation plan focused on priorities and precedence to see which designs needed completing with the most urgency$ Implementation would take a lot of energy but we planned to recruit volunteers, possibly in the form of Diploma weekends with wor in the mornings and diploma design share in the afternoons 0great e'ample of stacking1$

Maintain
As above detailed maintenance plans would be provided for each individual area$ $aintenance of each area#system would be designed to be reduced over time $ This meant the reliance on volunteer help should reduce over time$

3valuation
&e were both happy with the final design and felt it to be a successful design$ It fulfilled our aim for a well tought through plan for the whole site$ It was to be reviewed each year to ensure it still suited our ever changing goals and needs$ At the outset I was unsure of how to go about the design process$ I felt it went ok but see the need for further improvements to my understanding of how best to use appropriate tools and application and understanding of the principles$

'eflection
I felt the presentation of the design was too wordy to the point of being inaccessible$ I planned to try to present information using maps, overlays, charts, ta*les and diagrams to ensure the information was clear and easy to refer to$

"wea Fe* .4-5

See %ig 3$ =%inal design= below and also full scale in attached documents The nursery area was too difficult to access+ This was moved to a more sheltered and reasonably sunny part of the top field$

Fig 8 Final design of 'pattern' of site The forest garden was originally to be in 6 parts$ It now too the form of 'islands' within the top field made up of guilds the mi' of plants within each island)guild would mainly provide fuel food and materials$ This also increased the edge effect+ 'efer to Fig 6 7 2oning design for the site+ I approached 9oning by looking at each area and how often we would intervene$ ?one 2 - daily ?one 4 - weekly)monthly ?one 6 @ 4 or 6 times a year ?one B @ once a year ?one < @ rarely or never$

3valuation of each area implemented as of Aug .4-5

&egeta*le garden7 8see evaluation in .vegetable garden design.) we were very happy with its placement but it still re(uired a lot of soil improvement$ &e planned to take notes of vegetable useage to determine the best amount of each vegetable to grow$ &e always seemed to have too many mangetout but never enough peasC "he 9ard @ 0see evaluation in .)ard. Design1 this was working well !ust a few tweaks needed to the planting scheme as many lettuce went to seed$ This was because we now added many other leaves to our salads there for needed less lettuce$ &e used a ga9ebo all summer 045261 which provided shelter from both sun and rain and was easily moved about this meant we used the yard much more during the summer$ Chic en#duc s @ &e increased the amount of ducks and reduced our chickens as we found duck eggs far superior 0much larger yolk and creamier white1 to chicken eggs and easier to sell as they are a niche product$ "ur ne't pro!ect was to see how we could produce our own poultry feed for the winter$ /olytunnel @ This was still not erected$ &e began researching crops for e'tending the season and looking at soil improvement$ Meadow @ this had not been touched for over 4 years but was to be cut autumn)winter 4526 to provide organic matter for compost$ The diversity of wild flowers and grasses had slowly been increasing and was spectacular throughout spring)summer 4526$ %ater harvesting @ $see evaluation in .!ater and fertilti+. design 1 this had not been implemented as we decided the trees cast a significant rain shadow over the designated area so we began assessing new sites$ $ursery#stoc *eds @ This area was to be mulched with cardboard ready for cuttings during winter and planting up of perennial stock plants in the spring$ All other areas were still to be designed but the masterplan would stay the same as we were happy with the placement of the elements and how they would interact$ 1etail of some of the costs so far from .4-47.4-5 -egular e'penditure :hicken)duck feed D 245 )year :ompost D 245 )year Seeds D 455)year ,lants D 255)year Total D <B5)year .arge investments ,olytunnel D4555 ;reenhouse D4555 Materials for building repairs)improvements D >55 Total DB>55 9ields "he *usiness was still loss ma ing but the land provided many of our vegeta*les all of our salad for 25 months of the year and was beginning to yield products we could sell)swap$ This design would be ongoing for as long as we are here as our needs and

those of our family would change over time$ The main aim was to reduce e0penditure and to find ways of reducing inputs whilst ma0imising outputs $ Eust last week we discovered we can use our plentiful supply of dock seed as chicken feed so we will be harvesting this to dry and store for use over the winter$ %hat ne0t++++ ideas for future designs keeping pigs chicken)duck forage or growing of grains for feed childrens area forest garden guilds

'eflection
/ermaculture design has influenced every inch of the site at %ern :ottage$ &hen I began this design at the start of my diploma !ourney I thought I !ust needed to decide where to put each element$ I have en!oyed Poppy enjoying hybrid berries from the wall looking in depth at the functions and resource flows of the site and using overlays for the first time something which I have used for many other designs since$ I had stalled a *it at the *eginning of the '1esign' phase as I wasn=t (uite sure how to make the leap to final design$ I developed a system of playing with post-it notes with the elements written on and moving them around the base map$ This helped me to look at how they could interact$ "nce I was happy with this I then drew this up as a bubble diagram to show the area)dimensions of each element$ I refined this further to produce the final design$ As I e'plored design processes 0doing the =designing the design process= in parallel with the %ern :ottage design1 I had a *rea through whilst reading 3di*le Forest gardens by Eacke and Toensmeier$ They broke the Design phase into 6 stages @ concept design schematic design and final design$ I wish I had made this breakthrough earlier as it would have been a much easier process moving from analysis to final design$ I have since used this 6 stage approach with other designs and found it to be very successful$ "his design is the pattern of Fern Cottage$ I am currently working on the details as mentioned above but remembering the importance of the all the elements working as a whole$