The Plan
Permaculture style sustainable farming is a very inticate system of organic farming and so it requires careful planning. The farming will not be done in the monoculture style of using large fields to plant single crops. The fields will be divided into smaller beds which will be devoted to a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, allowing each bed to be managed for optimum soil conditions for the intended crop. Along with maximizing soil health these smaller beds allow us to create micro-climates which enable us to make small areas that simulate the conditions of various growth zones This also lends itself well to a system of crop rotation and crop blending which maintains the health of the soil. We will also be focusing on using heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables, minimizing the presence of modern hybrids with absolutely no Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) plants or seeds.
Along with the bed design, there will be an orchard established along the edges of the property to make better use of the space. The plan calls for three to five trees each for many different varieties of apple and multiple varieties of pears and peaches. Cherries and other fruits such as kiwi will also be grown. Also on the edge of the property two or three varieties of grapes will be grown along with establishing chestnut trees. Finally, the edges of the property will be finished with blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry bushes. These trees, vines and bushes will take several years to reach full productivity but once they are planted they will produce fruits and nuts for many years with proper care. Our intention is to establish our orchard in the first year, planting each variety under optimum conditions.
We plan to use the late summer and fall of the first year in order to establish the beds which will then be planted throughout the following spring. The bed system allows us to stagger our planting schedule in order to stretch out our harvest period for each variety. Most plants will actually be started indoors some weeks before the last frost so that they may be ready to go into the ground and again shorten the time until the first fruits are ready. We will also mix early maturing, standard and cold tolerant varieties so that our harvest will start early and extend into the autumn as far as possible. This will keep the farm stand open and well supplied from late spring through early winter. We will also establish numerous beehives to support healthy pollination of plants and to supply honey for table and market.
We will also have chickens and ducks in order to produce a supply of farm fresh eggs for our own table and for sale in our farm stand these along with guinea fowl and geese will help provide natural pest control. There will be a pumpkin patch growing so that kids can come and pick their own jack-o-lanterns during the harvest festival season. We also plan to host events for the local community. Once the farm is well established we will be conducting classes in permaculture style organic farming and bee-keeping. We will grow and offer many vegetables and the items in the farm-stand will also come with suggested recipes.
The first year will be devoted to creating a working farm and getting everything ready. After the farm is well established, we will go into our second year and open the house up for foster children to have a nice home. As things progress, if a foster child who has been on the farm comes up for adoption we will consider adopting if that is what the child wants.
We are currently raising the funds to get onto a small farm with a house and barn. We have looked at a few small farms in Maine and Rhode Island.
Ultimately we want to to provide a safe healthy atmosphere for children who are in foster care and possibly a strong adoptive family for some children. It will give them love, a healthy life on a farm with good fresh food, animals to love and a family. We want a large farmhouse or one that we can expand to offer a home to sibling groups who would otherwise have to be separated to be placed into diffferent foster homes.
All of the money raised will be going to cover the costs of a down payment, moving into and equipping the farm. The list of things needed is enormous. We will need a farm vehicle, a roto-tiller, hand tools, wheelbarrows, fencing, edging materials, initial seeds, trees and vines for planting. Bee-hives and colonies, material for chicken and duck coops, new chickens and ducks along with feed and bedding materials. Many sizes of containers for storage. Appliances for the house. Heating and cooking fuel to start, getting the electricity on again in the house and farm-stand and a load of wood for heating in emergencies. Egg incubator, dehydrator, small grinding mill and a pea and bean shelling machine. Soil testing materials and various organic soil additives to condition and prepare the soil. Materials for bat-boxes to attract bats to help control pests naturally and guinea fowl in the first spring for the same reason. And lots of cleaning supplies.
When it is time to open the farm-stand, we will need scales, bags and containers, egg cartons, jars for honey, jellies, jams and pickles. We will need baskets, tables, benches, hooks and shelves for display and materials for making signs. A small fridge for eggs and more delicate fruits.
When it becomes time to open the house for foster children we will need to furnish their rooms with beds, desks, sheets, blankets, towels, wash-cloths and computers for school with an internet connection. They are going to need phones, shoes, clothes, book bags and school supplies along with the thousands of little things that other parents will understand. Imagine that you are a child with very little and you are moving in to a new room and a new school and think about all of the things that you would need.