Here's the main part of a map we created as a starting point. It's a copy of the surveyors plat of the property, overlayed with compass directions, outlines of what seemed to us like microclimates, natural paths and other notable features.
I got out my compass to determine where exactly south was, and drew that colorful arc to get an idea which areas the sun would reach throughout the day at different times of the year. Surprisingly, no matter where you are in the mid latitudes, the summer sun will rise and set at about 23.5 degrees north of due east and west, respectively. Likewise, the winter sun rises and sets 23.5 south of due east and west. The big difference your latitude makes is the height of the sun during the summer and winter. Here is an easy to use link from NOAA so you can knock yourself out on these calculations if you want. And unlike some even more nerdy astronomical sites this one comes with a complete glossary.
With map in hand, we did our first "walkabout" to get a feel for each area. We'd stop every few feet and make notes about slope, sun, water, shelter and anything special about that spot. We are both a bit nerdy so this process was actually fun. This is the 2nd map that came out of our analysis:
Notice the transparent overlays, spreadsheets and maps of paths. The circles represent individual "keyhole" beds... wow! I can't believe we did all that. Anyways, it became obvious where the prime crop growing areas would be and that we should have a perennial herb and flower border to provide homes and food for beneficial insects that we wanted to attract. Gradually some of those areas are becoming established, while some are still wild.
At that time we were reading about yard-scale permaculture, plant guilds, raised beds and cover crops while I found places to get free manure, bamboo for construction and more wood chips for mulch and paths. Over the next few years the yard went through dramatic changes ... more than once. Here's a quick summary of the first construction phase (with descriptions under the pictures).
We spent enormous amounts of energy moving dirt around, building trenches and berms to catch runoff water. Those are more sapling fruit trees planted among that mess.
An example of a double dug, compost enriched "keyhole" bed with a variety of things planted and mulched in the spring. Planting in numerous, small beds like this is an idea we later abandoned (when the little log border disintegrated and the bed became overrun with weeds.
Of course we had to start the hundreds of seeds we planned on setting out as the beds were created. Among those are many extra heirloom tomato plants that we sold from our driveway. That was our first experience with actually selling something that we grew. I think that's the bug that bit me because I was so incredibly proud to sell them to the neighbors who were very happy to get such healthy plants. These pictures are all from spring 2004.
Here's a view of our first year, upper garden showing part of the perennial border and some beds with tomatoes on the right.
Over time we became less focused on efficiently using every square foot and more on low maintainance, pleasure, variety and harmony. The walkabout is one simple but very important practice we learned early and will continue. It's both a reward and inspiration to regularly visit every place in the yard using all your senses to observe and discover what's happening. It's good medicine for the plants too, since "the best fertilizer is the shadow of the gardener".
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