1) The document discusses mapping out a future homestead site using Google Earth measurements, site measurements, and builder plans. 2) Creating a base map of the 90'x90' garden space at a 1'=20' scale proved problematic as the site did not fit on tracing paper and the split map did not fit in the scanner. 3) The author provided a 0.75"=20' scale reference map and examples of piecing together map sections, noting that mapping the blank slate site was both freeing and intimidating due to its development potential but lack of existing features.

1. BASE MAPPING
Serena Crosina
May 22, 2015
L. Silva – Integrated Backyard Homesteading

2. The (Construction) Site
Google Earth has satellite images of our future homestead that date back to
September of last year. The barn is just a foundation and there are no stone walls yet.
This was still a useful step to get the measurements of our garden space, which will be
roughly 90’x90’.

3. Here is a more recent picture showing the barn (which finally has a roof but is still missing
siding) and the almost completed walls separating the lawn/garden from the driveway. None
of the grading is final. If anybody wants rocks we have plenty to spare.
I decided to map the site using both google earth measurements, site measurements, and
our builder’s set of plans. The scale and condition of the site are a little intimidating for just a
measuring tape. This brought home just how big of a farming area this is, compared to my
little urban yard.

4. 1st problem: At a 1’=20’ scale, the site doesn’t fit on my tracing paper.
2nd problem: the split up base map of the site doesn’t fit in my scanner.
3rd problem: it is now a taped together scroll that will not be very practical, so I
am making a lot of copies of the original in various configurations for use in the
field.
For reference, here is the site at a 0.75”=20’ scale.

5. My best attempt at
pasting the various
sections together.

6. The fact that this site is a blank slate is both a blessing and a curse. There is no
detail on the plan because there is still no detail at the homestead. It is both freeing
and intimidating to realize the amount of potential that is hiding in the dust.

7. At the same time, I really wish there were something – an old apple tree, a brook, a
coop to fix up – that might anchor me to the land. The only pre-existing structure
left on our property is an old garage which was used to store farm equipment (there
used to be greenhouses where the clearing is now). It feels too new and too
untested, if that makes any sense, as if all my excitement might be a little dangerous.
Thinking of sectors made me realize that I do not know this place at all. I have yet to
wake up here, I have yet to see where the snow drifts pile, where the wind blows
from. The lack of final grading – and the lack of rain – hasn’t even allowed me to see
how the spot earmarked for the orchard will drain. And yet, academically, I know
there is a vernal pool in the NW corner and that our woods are very wet. The water
table is high, so I’m going to have to test the drainage before I plant any trees.
Sunlight is not a problem for most of the site but the pines to the SW are tall, very
tall, and in spring and fall they cast long shadows. There was still snow piled along
the shadowline well into April; there I will have to rely on sturdy plants that don’t
mind part-shade during the transitional seasons. I do not know how the predators
behave at the edge of suburbia, but I have seen coyotes, foxes, and hawks. If the
winds blow from the N/NW the forest will shield the plantings and hopefully if the
winds blow from the S/SE they will be kinder to any tender buds.
Realizing I do not know, though, made me even more thankful for the possibility of
learning. Learning both my farm - my soil, my sun, my winds, my wildlife – and how
to farm. I can’t have made many mistakes if there’s nothing in the ground yet.