The document outlines Cady Arruda's goals and plans for designing a homestead site in Westport, MA. The goals are to maximize yields for self-sufficiency and a small flower business. Cady analyzed the site and identified areas suitable for different purposes based on sun exposure, soil drainage, and proximity to other areas. The final design incorporates raised beds, a greenhouse, duck housing, berry bushes, and other elements placed strategically across the property. Cady's design is informed by permaculture principles like minimizing waste, cultivating diversity, and choosing small-scale solutions.
2. GOALS ARTICULATION
• My goal for this homestead is to design and manage a site where
I can maximize yields of flowers, vegetables and fruit for self-
sufficiency and for a small-business perspective regarding flower
production. The site will make little to no waste, using waste of
one subject to benefit another. The site will be visually pleasing
and a place to welcome guests for outdoor healthy dinners made
from harvest from the garden. Lastly the site will be well-
balanced and accessible to spring and summer bouquet CSA
members.
3. SITE ANALYSIS
• My site analysis helped me see the full potential of my property. I began
to piece together elements of the property & using resources to their
fullest potential.
• Instead of focusing on just the backyard garden as the primary spot to
grow and focus my energy on, I started planning for the property as a
whole and saw how to utilize everything on the site for some purpose.
For example, the picture above shows the North-West portion of the property that receives close to full sun, but has
rocky
soil and is an area prone to flooding. The left corner receives less sun and water and has more shade. This is the
farthest area
from the woods. After putting this all into consideration I decided the left corner would be a ideal spot to place a
house for ducks and a pen for them. I would like to make raised beds for vegetables and spiral herb gardens on
4. SCHEMATIC DESIGNS
• In this sketch I placed a greenhouse for seed
starting in an area that receives full sun but
has bad soil. I put climbing rose bushes along
the rock walls, and strawberries on raised beds
in front of a road-side farm stand.
In this sketch I placed a duck house/ fenced in area
in a shaded, far from woods area that tends to be
wet. I put raised beds in the remaining area in the
field for veggies and berries. I put rain barrels at
the top of the hill.
These two sketches place
elements in certain areas due to
the amount of sun they receive,
how well the soil drains and
how close they are to a water
source.
The final design incorporates all
these factors and ideas.
6. PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES
•1. Make No Waste: “In nature nothing is wasted.” (Bane) Everything
can be consumed by another life form. “Ordering the movement of
resources down the cascade of function is one of the most important set
of skills that a good garden farmer or post-industrial citizen
needs.”(Bane) I value this principle very highly and plan on making very
little to no waste on my homestead. Some ways I plan on doing this and
have already started practicing are; keeping a compost bin in the
kitchen, cutting plastic bottles in half and using them as a “mini
greenhouse starter” for transplants, using the ashes from the firepit in
my soil mix, using the leaf piles in the Fall for a mulch-like protection
over winter for plants and spreading chicken manure as fertilizer on the
garden.
7. PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES
CONTINUED
•2. Cultivate diversity: “…diversity is one of the most
important energy storages in any ecosystem and a good
measure of the level of available information.”(Bane) I have
always found it very important to grow a large variety of
mixed heirloom plants. I want to explore the limits of the
system I live in and see just how much diversity I can grow.
This diversity will not only make for a healthier and stronger
homestead, it will also support the environment. Practicing
seed saving and local seed exchange is imperative. On a
personal note, I have worked on a lot of farms. Most of
these farms practiced many organic methods but not one
farm seed saved! When I started growing my own plants at
my house I ordered from Bakers Creek for heirloom seeds
and they didn’t disappoint! I made sure to put aside some
time to seed save from those special varieties and those very
seeds are stored in my basement for next year at this very
moment.
8. PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES
CONTINUED
•3. Choose Small & Slow Solutions: “Small and slow
means local, human-scale, intimate and familiar. (Bane) I will
have an intimate relationship with my property and
everything growing in it/living on it. Daily chores gives me
the chance to walk around and assess situations around the
property every day. My small CSA program will allow me to
provide flowers to local customers and business’s. On site
pick-ups will allow a more intimate experience where people
can see where their flowers/food is actually being grown and
hopefully inspire them to try growing their own food or
supporting local food sources. I will grow flowers and
vegetables that are familiar to this north east region like some
of the varieties pictured to the left that came from my garden
last year. Cultivating and harvesting slowly (without
machinery) by hand will be better suited for my small-scale
garden.
9. CONCLUSION
• A lot of my final decisions for the site revolved around making the
best setting to continue running my small homegrown flower
business and self sufficiency. I decided to plot a new flower
workshop/CSA pick-up area to the right of the house and attach a
greenhouse to start seeds to it. Behind this workspace just so
happens to be the main flower garden that I’m welcoming CSA
members to walk through this spring/summer. This is also where the
blueberry/raspberry bushes are placed. On the opposite side I
finalized a plan that uses the field to the North West to its full
potential. The entire site is prone to flooding, has bad soil but
receives a good amount of sun. The more shaded area further from
the woods will be a site for a few ducks. I will place raised vegetable
and fruit beds on the opposite side in the sun and have movable
fencing to let the ducks roam in and out of the rows. I will be
placing rain barrels on top of the two hills and digging more swales
to prevent flooding. As for the rest of the yard I will place heirloom
rose bushes along the rock walls for visual attraction and clean up
the porch area that use to be my flower workshop and retire it into
an outdoor picnic area to hosts dinner made with fresh, homegrown
food.
10. REFERENCES
All pictures are mine
Book:
Bane, Peter. Permaculture Handbook Garden Farming for Town and Country.
New Society Publishers, 2012.
