Gardens, forests and fields
Once we have a site, we will have to find the best ways to utilise it.
The fields down by the river are not very suitable for growing Gardens, because of flooding: In winter rivers frequently flood valley fields. Heavy rainfall also washes the grain and soil down from the fields.
Their position down in the valley also makes them real frost holes, as we fruit growers would say. In the clear Spring nights, the warm air goes up, cold air flows down, and when it comes to the bottom of the hill it can't go further, and so it stays there. This makes these fields unsuitable for growing fruit and any plants or trees on the edge of their normal temperature range.
Since it would be best to keep these fields permanently covered with plants, we have three options:
- grow grassland with wild flowers
- grow permanent crops
- plant forests
It would likely be best to do a mix of the above. By the river - because of the floods - it would be good to have wildflower meadows, with some groups of native trees. Here we could graze deer, or cows and possibly some horses. The trees provide shelter and extra greens when the grass isn't growing much in dry summers.
A bit further from the river we could grow crops like
- nettles, for nettle fibres. They make very strong and soft clothes, and need very little input
- perennial food crops
- crops like grains, rapeseed or Lucerne with something like clover sown under it, to make sure the soil stays covered, and adding some Nitrogen at the same time.
The grassy fields at the very top of the farm are windswept and as such also not ideal for growing Gardens. Them being high up means they are likely to get colder in winter than lower lying fields. Tender plants, as well as tender people, will not feel at home there.
This area can again be used to graze animals, or we could decide to turn them into forests. Planting crops is unpractical, because it is quite far from the farmyard and most crops won't like the wind much either. The advantage of grass and grazing is that we would have a clear yield (in the form of meat or wool) from them. But perhaps we need to decide that the world needs forests more than we need meat.
The fields between these two extremes of valley and hill top are the most suitable for growing Gardens. Here there is less wind and frost, so an ideal climate for our Gardens.
An additional benefit of growing Gardens on the hills is that when we plant our trees and hedges and are also growing perennial plants, the soil will be covered in the winter. This means winter rains won't wash the soil down anymore. Now we are building up fertility every year, instead of seeing it washed away by the rains.