7. Land management
Creating a plan for using our eleven acres of land
Design framework: OBRADIMET
Observation, boundaries, resources, analysis, implementation, maintenance, evaluation, tweak
Dates
March 2018 - October 2019
The headings in this section are mostly taken from Aranya’s book Permaculture Design: A Step by Step Guide.
Primary land use
We have 11.34 acres of what we have been told is ‘poor quality grass land’.In the past few years, most of this has been used as grazing for cows from the neighbouring dairy farm. The previous owner also at various points kept horses, pigs, goats, rabbits, and grew Christmas trees. The field closest to the house was traditionally a hay meadow, but this too has been grazed over the last few years.
We are within the Peak District National Park, around 1300 feet above sea level, and the surrounding area is mostly agricultural, primarily grazed by dairy cows and sheep.
Our boundaries are dry stone walls, which are common in the area. We have approximately a mile of walls, both internal boundaries between our fields, and external between us and neighbouring land. Some are in a good state of repair, having been rebuilt in the past few years, but many are not, and in some places (between our fields) there are gaps. The farmers at the neighbouring dairy farm have said they will be responsible for maintaining the ones on our joint boundary.
Plants
Grass (lots). Some signs of positive species-rich areas in the hay meadow in particular, including ox eye daisies, but also plenty of thistles, docks, nettles. Two fields in particular have a lot of rushes. We are within a National Park priority grasslands area, and there is a local grasslands project officer who has said she will organise a plant survey, but this has not happened in the last year. (Update July 2019 - she has now visited briefly and informed us our hay meadow is ‘restorable’, and that we have at least one small pocket of yellow rattle, but that the other fields are quite degraded and are likely to be very difficult to restore).
Near the house are several trees - around ten sycamores, several different types of conifer, and two elm trees.
One field has several hawthorn trees, and another has a willow in a rather wet area.
Animals
From April to November, 10-14 pregnant cows from the local dairy farm. Occasional sheep escaped from another nearby farm. From Sept 2018 we have also had our own chickens (we currently have five).
We regularly see hares, curlews, skylarks, buzzards, grasshoppers, goldfinches, bullfinches, spotted flycatchers, bats and occasionally see owls, toads and woodpeckers. We have also seen a fox (once) and a stoat (which killed two of our chickens).
The house itself is detached with two extensions. There is a long tarmac drive (in poor but usable state of repair), and tarmac extends right up to the house itself, although a grass lawn is growing on top of this in the front garden.
We also have
- Small garage (asbestos, in poor state of repair)
- Large garage (structurally sound, some small holes in roof)
- Stone coal shed
- Small breezeblock dairy building (we knocked this down in March 2018 as it blocked a lovely view from the living room window, but the concrete base is still there)
- Large derelict barn, in very poor state of repair and now dangerous
- Corrugated iron ‘lean to’ on the side of a non-derelict portion of the barn
- Stable block (structurally sound but several holes in asbestos roof, has light, power and water supply)
- Two small greenhouses (one plastic, one glass)
- Chicken run
Several electricity poles and telegraph poles, septic tank, lpg tank.
Events and activities
This is our home, and as we both work, we do not need to use it to generate an income. Our main use is therefore leisure, and the local dairy farmer uses it to graze his pregnant cows.
Access points and routes
Access to the house is down a long driveway (approx 0.3 miles) - this only gives access to our house, so there is no through traffic. There are two public footpaths, one down the drive which runs past the house, and another which goes through a couple of fields.
When we bought the house, we were given a photocopy of the Land Registry title plan. I used this as the basis of the base map, shown below with public footpaths and current zones marked on it.
As there are just the two of us, we have not had a ‘client interview’ as such, but through many, many conversations since we moved we have identified several key themes
Our vision
We would like a welcoming space that is good for wildlife and people, and we would like to have friends to visit more regularly than we do now. We would like to grow our own food, although we are not aiming for self-sufficiency. We are open to the idea of having someone else’s animals on our land (as we do now with the cows), but we do not want our own livestock while I work full time. We are fortunate that we do not need to earn a living from this land, but whatever we do with it needs to be compatible with our existing work.
Our commitment
It is very likely to be me doing most of the regular outdoor work, although Peter will join in with larger tasks, and also loves strimming, so is happy to do this when necessary.
Outbuildings
The outbuildings are not being used to their full potential.
Peter would like a wet weather workshop with tools organised and easily accessible. The large garage would be a good space for this as it is close to the house, but it is currently storing things that will eventually go into the house when the building work is finished. The stable would be a good place for storage, as it is large and further from the house, but the roof has several holes in, and because it is asbestos, it is not easy for us to deal with ourselves.
The small garage is in a very poor state of repair, and blocks a lovely view from the house. It is currently only used for storing rubbish before we take it to the tip.
Minor annoyances
Several things about the garden and land annoy us regularly and we consider them mental energy drains.
- The path to the back door was put down very quickly when it was muddy, and is uneven and often covered in chicken droppings.
- There is no path to the front door, meaning that we, and the postman, must walk across the grass, which is often muddy (there is also no letter box, meaning post is left in the porch, where it often gets wet).
- There are several unkempt patches of thistles and docks near the house which look scruffy.
- Peter doesn’t like being able to see the LPG tank from the house, but this must still remain accessible for being refilled.
- I don’t like being able to see the cars from the house.
- There is a bank opposite the house (which we call Chicken Mountain) - this consists of rubble and rubbish dumped over many years, and is overgrown with thistles and nettles which block some of the view from the house. We would like to turn this into an asset.
Water
When there is heavy rain, water flows down the drive and gathers in a pool outside the garden gate. Water from the roof of the house just drains directly into a field. The front lawn can get very muddy, and the path is not really wide enough to walk on, meaning in the winter the shoes I wear for work are often muddy just from walking to the car.
Neighbours and local community
I very much want to be part of the local community, and at the very least not to annoy anyone. I am very aware we are incomers to an area where people have lived for many generations. Our neighbours at the dairy farm have been very welcoming and we see them regularly. Previous generations of their family lived in our house. I’ve been very careful to admit that we know very little about land management, however that does mean that they occasionally spread muck in our fields and cut down the thistles, rushes etc without mentioning it first when they are doing their own fields.
Other preferences
- Peter prefers not to have cows in the field closest to the house
- We like having tall trees around the house and garden
- We’d like to make further improvements to the chicken run (more space, more perches etc)
- We would like to keep one small field as a ‘sanctuary field’ which does not have cows in and where we can just go and sit and look at the view
- Peter would like space to experiment with large sculptures etc
I feel uncomfortable with the idea of ‘land ownership’, but also feel like it’s not ‘ours’ - our mortgage has conditions about not using for agriculture which I feel slightly anxious about, and also other people use the fields for cows and I would feel uncomfortable telling them they couldn’t without a good reason.
Livestock
Peter doesn’t really like cows close to the house. We have been vegetarian for over 20 years, and while I would be willing to consider experimenting with growing our own animals to eat on a small scale, Peter is not, so this is not an option.
National park
We are in a national park so are likely to need permission for certain things.
Public access
We have two footpaths, one down the drive (going past the house) and another across two fields. People walk down these regularly and we need to keep to keep them clear.
Time
I work full time during the day, and Peter is mostly busy during the evenings. I do get quite a bit of time off over the summer.
Finances
We have some money to spend on smaller projects and materials, but prefer to do things ourselves for minimal cost if possible.
Stubbornness
We prefer to do things ourselves (see above) but this can sometimes lead to projects being delayed for a long time causing frustration.
Elevation
We are 1300ft above sea level, and on a slight north east facing slope. The slope is not really noticeable at the top (where we spend most of our time, and where the house and garden are), but the site is windy and exposed.
Knowledge
I have some knowledge and skills, but these need to be vastly increased. I don’t know many other people who own land.
I can be a worrier
Not too problematic, but I do worry about what people think, and I don’t want to annoy people, which leads me to be quite cautious on occasion.
I love to read and am quick to pick up new knowledge. Definitely an asset.
We already have chickens
Eggs, manure, cheerfulness
Veg growing experience
I've been growing my own veg in a tiny garden for over a decade (see Design 2: Our small city garden). I was also involved with a community garden for a few years, so I do have a bit of veg growing knowledge.
Finances
We have some money to spend on small projects if necessary.
Other people
We have friends and family who occasionally come and help us with small projects. People do offer more, but I find the prospect of trying to co-ordinate larger work parties daunting, especially when I'm not sure what I'm doing myself. Our neighbours are supportive and lovely, and loan us cows to keep the grass down. They've also offered machinery if we need it (for example a mini digger).
My permaculture diploma!
I have learned SO much through my diploma already, and now have a good insight into the books and other resources that are out there that I haven't read yet.
Savory and Butterfield explain how analysis and decision-making must always take into account (at the very least) (a) the decision makers (in the widest sense); (b) the resource base (physical and people); and (c) the money. The diagram below shows these categories for our land. For example, our primary decision makers are me and Peter, but as we are within a National Park there are certain things we would need permission for, and we have a mortgage on our house and land which has certain conditions attached, meaning that any plan for use of the land may also need to satisfy the building society or national park authority.
The holistic context takes into account both how we want to live our lives, and what we want to create in terms of a future resource base for the land. This is the overall context in which decisions need to take place. Savory and Butterfield (page 79) explain that
Where the context for our goals and actions may once have been focused on immediate needs, desires, or a problem, the holistic context shifts the focus beyond them to a conscious awareness of the life we want to lead and the life-supporting environment and behaviours that help ensure it. You will find that in framing your management and decision making within a holistic context things rapidly change for the better because many of the problems we face are really symptoms resulting from the unintended consequences flowing from past management.
Savory and Butterfield (page 65) suggest making decisions about which actions to take based on
the same commonsense criteria you've always used: past experience, expert advice, research results, cultural norms, peer pressure, expediency, compromise, cost, cash flow, profitability, intuition, laws and regulations, and so on.
Function |
Systems |
Elements |
Growing food |
Veg garden |
Raised beds |
Orchard |
Fruit trees and bushes |
|
Edible windbreak |
Fruit trees and bushes |
|
Chickens |
Eggs |
|
Bees |
Honey |
|
Dairy?? |
Goats?? |
|
Biodiversity |
Wild flowers |
Hay meadow |
Smaller meadow in garden |
||
Wild areas |
Sanctuary field |
|
Fuel (longer term) |
Coppice |
Hazel (need to learn more!) |
Boundaries |
Dry stone walls |
|
Fences? (Sheep/chickens?) |
|
|
Use and safety of outbuildings |
|
Barn (dilapidated) |
Removal of asbestos garages |
||
Fix stable |
||
Make decision re lean to and garage |
||
Community/visitors |
Regular events |
Invite people more often! |
Camping space |
||
Fire pit |
||
Outdoor BBQ |
||
LAND centre? |
|
|
Other events/courses |
Dry stone walls? |
|
Scything? |
||
Management of grass |
Animals |
Cows |
Sheep? |
||
Llamas?? |
||
No management |
|
|
Water management |
Collecting rain water |
Water butts |
Drainage |
Movement to where it’s useful |
The next stage for Savory and Butterfield is to run potential design elements or decisions through a series of 'context checks' to ensure they sit within the holistic context for the design. I see the three permaculture ethics of earth care, people care and fair shares to be an inherent part of this process. The seven context checks they suggest (on page 264) are
1. Cause and effect - does the action address the root cause of the problem?
2. Weak link
(a) Social - could this action create a week link between us and those whose support we need?
(b) Biological - does this action address the weakest link in the life cycle of this organism?
(c) Financial - does this action strengthen the weakest link in the chain of production?
3. Marginal reaction - which action provides the greatest return towards the goal for each additional unit of time or money invested?
4. Gross profit analysis - which enterprises contribute most to covering the overheads of the business?
5. Energy/money source and use - is this derived from the most appropriate source in terms of our holistic context? Will it be used in line with our holistic context?
6. Sustainability [and the three ethics] - if we take this action, will it lead toward or away from the future resource based described in our holistic context?
7. Gut feel - how do we feel about this action now? Will it lead to the quality of life we desire? Will it adversely affect the lives of others?
The diagram below shows a few of my potential elements against each of the context checks as examples.
Element |
Cause and effect |
Weak link |
Marginal reaction |
Gross profit analysis |
Energy/money source & use |
Sustainability |
Gut feel |
Wildflower meadow |
Yes – addresses what to do with fields without cows |
Financial – will cost, and also surplus hay? |
Depends how we harvest |
Will cost, but could sell hay |
Pay either local contractor (money staying locally) or scyther (no fossil fuels) |
Leads towards future resource base for wildlife |
This feels like an easy win. We already have some good meadow plants, this is relatively low maintenance, and we don’t need the field for anything else. |
Coppice |
Yes – biodiversity, increasing skills, reducing outgoings and dependence on fossil fuel |
Possibly biological – is land we have available appropriate? |
Lots of effort… but will ultimately result in more positive effects for biodiversity and for us |
Longer term benefit of reducing reliance on LPG for heating |
Upfront cost (could we access grant for woodland?) but renewable energy in the future |
Yes – producing own fuel, potential resource for others |
This feels like a lot of effort, but a good long term solution that needs to be started now to be beneficial. Need to get more information about grants etc |
Bees |
May help with biodiversity and food production, may be a way for others to use our land |
Financial – cost of set up Biological – we are relatively high altitude and exposed – not ideal for keeping bees |
Minimal effort if we let someone else keep bees here rather than having our own |
Not really. Potential very small rent for land. If we keep our own potential honey/beeswax in future but not likely profitable |
Would have to use existing income to supplement for long time. |
Would lead towards food production and increasing biodiversity. |
Not now. Costly and an effort to learn, not a priority, not ideal land to rent to others. Potentially in the future (perhaps combined with coppice when more grown?) |
Savory and Butterfield's book doesn't explicitly mention permaculture, but the principles of permaculture, of working in harmony with nature, are threaded throughout. These are the key principles I'm working with as part of this design.
Observe and interact
We are learning so much as we go along. We vowed when we moved here to make no major changes for at least a year, and we've done this. We are trying to keep an open mind and open ears and learn from those around us.
Design from patterns to details
We have a lot of space, particularly considering we have only ever had a small garden before. It is overwhelming to think of it all at once, so we will keep our holistic vision in mind but work on small sections at a time to keep things manageable.
Make the least possible change for the greatest effect
We don't have endless time, money or experience, so we will be working out the most effective small changes to put into place first and working from there.
We have accepted that we cannot do everything at once, and so following the principle of 'designing from patterns to details' we have made several key decisions.
- We will start small, and near to the house, working on projects which will make an immediate difference to our lives and will make other jobs easier. This includes planting an edible windbreak to shelter the veg garden.
- Each year we will 'adopt' one of our fields, and make that the focus for the year. The house sits in the middle of our fields, so this makes sense. We have started with the hay field - closest to the house and requiring the least amount of effort and new knowledge. Working in a clockwise direction will allow our neighbours to have easy access to their cows that graze in the rest of our fields, and will also allow the cows access to a natural water source (until we get to the final two fields, which won't be for another six years or so).
- We will have a separate annual maintenance plan for projects such as maintaining dry stone walls, painting the chicken run etc, to allow these tasks to be scheduled in before they need doing. This will also recognise the seasonal nature of some tasks (for example maintaining walls over the winter when the cows are not in the fields).
The Gantt chart below shows the overall plan for the next few years - this is very much a 'pattern level' plan.
|
|
Year
1 |
Year
2 |
Year
3 |
Year
4 |
Year
5 |
Year
6 |
Year
7 |
Year
8 |
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
Primary focus |
Observe |
House, garden and field 1 |
Field 4 |
Field 2 |
Field 3 |
Field 5 |
Field 6 |
Field 7 |
|
Major projects |
Chickens |
Get
chickens |
Weather-proof
run |
Extend
chicken run |
|
|
|
|
|
Edible
windbreak |
Plant
edible windbreak |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
House
renovations |
|
Major
building work DIY
(hall, kitchen, bedrooms) |
DIY
(kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom) |
DIY
(living room, music room) |
|
|
|
|
|
Hay
meadow (field 1) |
|
Plan Harvest
some hay |
Plant
survey Proper
harvest |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sanctuary
field (field 4) |
|
|
Reclaim
from cows Scythe |
Create
small structure or seating area |
|
|
|
|
|
Coppice
(field 2 & 3) |
|
|
Plan
Investigate
grants |
Apply
for grants |
Plant |
Maintain |
|
|
|
Maintenance tasks |
|
|
Walls Paths and drive Remove small garage |
Walls Re-roof stable block |
Walls Insulate large garage |
Walls |
Walls |
Walls |
Walls |
- Harvested our own hay (see Design 9: Restoring a traditional hay meadow)
- Decorated the hall
- Employed builders for our major house renovating project - they have now almost completed their work (replacing joists and fitting new windows), and then we can move on to the rest of our DIY tasks
- Had a quote for removing the small asbestos garage (we will do this in the new year once the building work on the house is complete)
In the rest of 2019 we will focus on DIY in the house. We have removed a wall, and had joists replaced above the kitchen and dining room (now open plan). The builders are doing only the structural work - we will do everything else ourselves. There is a lot to do - first of all we need to reinstate our kitchen (which does at least now have a ceiling, but not much else).
Our next priority (once we have a functioning kitchen, and slightly less soggy chickens) is to plug some energy leaks. This will involve
- repairing and replacing paths across the grass to the house (I spend far too much time cleaning mud off my work shoes)
- a new design focusing on water - in the summer we don't have enough to water plants, and in the winter we have a river running down our drive and collecting in a pool outside the gate (which also doesn't help my muddy shoes)
We will also be careful to design round limiting factors. So, for example
- cost - the building work is rather expensive, and will use up most of our savings. We will not be able to do anything else requiring a major outlay of money for several months while we build these back up again
- cows - fixing dry stone walls will be a lot easier without cows in the fields, so I will do this over the winter
Spring
- Spring clean chicken run and associated food and bedding storage, and repair if necessary
- Wall repairs moving through one field a month until the cows return in early May
- Spring clean greenhouse and sow seeds
- Necessary repairs to outside of house (guttering, paintwork)
- Repairs to driveway and paths
- Clear any accumulated piles of rubbish to the tip
- Necessary repairs to outbuildings
- Harvest veg and mulch beds ready for winter
- Wall repairs moving through one field a month until the cows return in early May
- Plan veg beds for following year and order seeds if necessary
- Plan major projects for next year
This reflects the seasonality of my own paid work (see Design 5: Effective work and a pay rise) - I am usually very busy in autumn and winter, but have a lot of flexibility in the summer and often work at home.
I love to spend some of the Christmas/New Year period planning, so this seems like a good time to set priorities for the next year.
Having this overall 'umbrella' design has already enabled me to focus on more specific designs as part of it, for example Design 8: Edible windbreak and Design 9: Restoring a traditional hay meadow. It's also allowed us to finally prioritise the building work on the house, and to avoid having any other major projects on the go at the same time. It feels good to have a plan for the next five years, and to know that maintenance tasks (including maintaining and fixing approximately a mile of dry stone walls) will get done in good time.
I don't like OBRADIMET. I've said it before (in Design 2: Reducing my soap footprint) but somehow I was persuaded to use it again by Hannah Thorogood. I feel better when I use 'Analysis' instead of 'Evaluation' but having observation, boundaries and resources separated at the start somehow feels counter-intuitive and repetitive, and having separate sections for decision, implementation, maintenance, evaluation towards the end doesn't feel right either somehow. Perhaps that's because I've not left enough time to have a proper period of maintenance before evaluating and tweaking? I'll see how I feel in another year.
I really liked the use of Savory and Butterfield's Holistic Management as a structure for the analysis part of the design. In fact I think it could stand alone as a design framework in its own right (but I'd already started with OBRADIMET by the time I came across it in detail so have mostly put it in the analysis section here). Some of the content isn't necessarily relevant for me since we don't have our own animals (and aren't planning to), but the process of taking account of the holistic context when decision making has been really helpful here - it's allowed me to feel justified in including my own concerns about land ownership and not upsetting neighbours (not that any have shown any signs of being easily upset). I love the context checks too, and will likely be using those in the future.
Overall I feel I could have spent several more years tweaking this design before it was 'ready'. I've not included all the photographs I wanted to, all the lists, diagrams, map overlays and plans that I would have liked to. But I hope it demonstrates the amount of work that has gone into making plans for this land, and how much we intend to put into learning about each element as we come to it.