ridgedale PERMACULTURE Design Overview A brief look at the farm and conceptual patterning
Åsen 20 Västra Ämtervik Sunne Sweden 686 95
www.ridgedalepermaculture.com
Farming, innovating & educating for the benefit of all...
Site Specifics This is a brief overview of the design concept at ridgedale PERMACULTURE to orientate the reader to key considerations. The farm is situated 3 hrs drive from Oslo, 4 hrs from Stockholm & 3.5 hrs from Gothenburg.
of 16.1 ° C (60.98 °F). •February is the coldest month (slightly cold) having an average temperature of -4.7 ° C (23.54 °F). •Average 120 days frost free (1- 30 day variance) •Southerly Aspect •Swedish Climate Zone ¾ •Latitude: 59°50’15” N, Longitude: •Wind, predominantly S but quite 13°08’34” E, sheltered by surrounding forest •Land area of 10.6 ha (26.1 ac) •Soil: Moderate Clay loam. Depth •Perimeter 1892m between 10- 30 cm with both sand •Elevation between 120 – 167m (upper ridge) and clay subsoils 20above sea level 300cm+ •Cold Temperate/Humid Continental •1.5 ha 90yr+Spruce plantation Climate •0.2 ha 25 yr Spruce/ Larch/ Birch •Approx. 634 mm of rainfall per year, or 52.8 mm per month. •Average 147 days per year with more than 0.1 mm of rainfall or 12.3 days with a quantity of rain, sleet, snow etc. per month. •The driest weather is in February when an average of 31 mm of rainfall occurs. •The wettest weather is in August when an average of 73 mm of rainfall occurs. Contextual location of ridgedale PERMACULTURE •The mean temperature is cool at 5.4 Local wind data °C (41.7 °F) •Mean monthly temperatures have a variation of 20.8 °C (37.4°F) The average daily temperature range/ variation is 7.9 °C (14.3 °F). •The warmest month (July) is very mild having a mean temperature
Climate Zone map of Varmland Property boundary and sloping topograpghy at the farm
From the previous overlay you can see the property boundary, the perennial streams that flow through the site and get a sense of the sloping topography, which faces South down the wider valley. Water on the farm Having two perennial streams with a height drop of 47m across the farm is a real blessing. With animals constantly moving on pasture and perennials being established in keyline strips throughout the pasture, we need to be able to have access to good quality water all over the farm. RAM pumps provide a way to pump a small amount of the flow- through of a stream up considerable height as well as distance with no electricity or oil. Green & Carter are the world leaders in this technology and have units that have been running consistently since the 1800s. Their units also come with a lifetime guarantee, which is a product worth investing in! The pump will be installed in the creek and supply a line to the barns in a circuit around the farm that leads back to the stream. Innovative plumbing fittings mean with a reel of hose and quick connectors we can have constantly flowing water anywhere on the farm without using chemical or electrical power. In the winter the system conveniently drains out through a single valve.
Water from roof catchments will supply ferro-cement tanking before spilling over into a natural swimming pool and further ponds and dams aided by graded access tracks placed on the center of a smaller ridge to slowly harvest the water naturally and passively. In the NW paddock surface water will be developed and overflow along graded access to fill dams before overflowing passively back into the gully. An added benefit of constantly flowing water, besides the inherent health benefits for stock, include longer flow into the winter before freezing. Running water integrated into troughs can remain free of ice for several weeks after stand alone troughs are inaccessible.
Riparian Buffers and Forestry The riparian strips protecting the stream will be fenced off from livestock and managed by both selective planting and natural succession. Beneficial medicinals like Elderberry cultivars, Rowan cultivars and Aronia will compliment edible mushroom production in these protected zones. The spruce plantation to the north of the site is 90 yrs+ and with the aide of a mobile sawmill this will be selectively managed and processed for our infrastructure needs as well as sold. The cut forest will be pig pasture, with selective planting of mixed leaf trees over the following years. This is what we call the inheritance plantings. Note the cleared access way for electricity pylons. Whilst this cannot be planted to forestry, it makes ideal pig pasture, and will be included in their rotation as an integrated part of the clearance management. Fencing Surrounding the farm we have elk, deer, wolves, wild boar, foxes, badger and aerial predators we need to design for. The main paddocks will have permanent fencing to keep unwanted animals out and serve as security if any of our highly portable mobile fencing we use for rotational grazing fail. These fences also protect the riparian buffers. For rotational grazing we use various size high quality portable electric netting & wire systems and solar energizers. We also use portable housing structures for our egg layers and portable pens for broilers. This means as we expand onto the surrounding pastures, which lie fallow, we can instantly upscale and expand. Permanent fence , riparian strips, water harvesting tracks, dams & water lines laid out on the landscape
A mobile sawmill is a great investment for a farm with forest - timber is the #1 value added product on the planet. Our timber, once planked, is worth more than we paid for the farm...
90 yr Spruce
Pig pasture and leaf tree replanting
Riparian Buffer strips
Alley cropping between tree lanes
HIgh quality tree prep on Keyline Pattern
Offsets & Keyline Guides Our Yeomans 6SB Keyline plow, used in the correct relationship to topographic geometry lifts compaction and deals with water distribution across our sloping landscape. The next step in design is establishing guidelines for Keyline Pattern cultivation as well as field offsets to allow the machinery we will use to turn easily. Read more about Keyline Design. Tree Planting We are planting perennial polyculture alley strips on 12m spacing’s over two of the paddocks. These will be a diverse mixture of fruit, nut, berry, herb and support plants in quite high-density plantings to maximize photosynthesis and biomass creation on site. Conveniently our Keyline patterning means the tree lanes are generally N to S in orientation, which is ideal. In the NW paddock we are planting more of a grassy savannah spacing. To the south of the site we are establishing short rotation coppice willow for firewood whilst making use of a marginal drainage ditch and relatively wetter area of the site. Keyline guidelines established to design tree plantings
Photo courtesy M Sheppard
Our Yeoman’s 6SB Plow
Photo courtesy D. J. Doherty
Photo courtesy Joel Salatin
Animals We pasture a few cows for farm consumption along with sheep, pigs, turkeys, chicken (layers and broilers) and meat rabbits. All our animals are raised “beyond organic� and are allowed to express their unique physiological selves and are constantly moved as part of our Holistic Management strategy. We sell produce directly to customers via buying clubs within a 25km radius of the farm. We stockpile pasture to graze latter into the winter and select hardy breeds than can be outdoors all year as far as possible. Any hay we need to feed is high quality small square bale hay- we do not feed silage to our ruminants. Gardens Our contoured kitchen gardens primarily supply the farm with food. Most farmers eat little from their own farm, which does not make much sense to us. Annual production is a lot of hard work and we want to supply as many of the farm needs on site as possible. Contoured strip cultivation and a Jean Pain compost heated earth mounded greenhouse will ensure our supply of fresh vegetables. We also experiment with perennial vegetables and unusual crops for fun.
100% woodchip- compost heating & soil creation
ridgedale PERMACULTURE farm layout Cadastral Line
0.96 ha 0.66 ha
Through Access (1 farm above lying abandoned) Laneway Fencing for effective movement between grazing
Farm tracks harvest and direct water whilst minimizing erosion to their surface
768m/ 1.36 ha
20 yr Spruce & Larch
0.2 ha
Grassy Savanna planting on Keyline layout Permanent fencing (Animals moving in portable electric netting)
666m/ 1.84 ha
Perennial Streams
Polyculture Perennial Stacked Plantings on Keyline layout inc. Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Hazel, Chestnut var, Walnut var, Seabuckthorn, Raspberry, black/ red/ white currant, Gooseberry, Herbs and support plants Riparian Buffers both planted & natural regeneration. Edible/ Medicinal mushrooms, Elderberry, Aronia, Rowan, etc Pasture strips for rotational grazing of cow, sheep, turkey, chicken & rabbit plus strip cultivation for annuals on long rotation
555m/ 1.58 ha Willow Coppice (Firewood)
Tilia Pollards
Natural swimming pool
Biological Sewer Root Cellar
Pig Pasture & Leaf tree planting RAM pump supplies running water around the farm in a continuous loop with quick connections
338m/ 0.4 ha
741m/ 2 ha
Main House with additional GH
90 yr + Spruce
JP Compost heated earth sunken growing spaces Annual Gardens
0
50m
Maintaining Fertility & Building Soil We make Actively Aerated Compost Tea’s (AACT) and BioFertilisers to maintain nutrient and biology levels that make our production systems rubust. Putting life back in & on the soil breaks disease/ pest cycles, spreads and unleashes plant available nutrients whilst allowing us to stack production systems together for diverse multiple and resilient yields. We also make a lot of aerobic compost for annual vegetable upkeep as well as high quality worm compost systems. Our Keyline subsoil development is focused on lifting compaction in our heavy soil in the first 2 years of development. This also takes care of evening out water distribution and combined with Holistic Management Planned Grazing means we can sequester carbon and ensure deeper rooting, more nutritious and dry summer tolerant pastures. By integrating perennial plantings throughout the pasture we create self mulching symbiotic systems that yield produce and fodder for our animals. Everything at ridgedale PERMACULTURE is designed for synergistic functional interconnectedness. Thats the product of effective design. We are also experimenting with pasture cropping and can rotate strip crops between our tree alleys on a very long term rotation. This will allow us to scale up annual production for commercial reasons should we decide to in the future.
Waste All kitchen & crop waste is juiced, fed to animals or composted by worms or in our compost piles. Mixed animals moving constantly and symbiotically on pasture in a leader-follower system ensure effective grazing and nutrient cycling. Evisceration products on site are composted. Any over wintering indoors will be deep littered and pigaerated into compost in the spring. Sewage from the main house flows into sealed mulch planting for biomass creation. Compost toilets are fed into tree strips to close our nutrient cycles further. Energy Initially the livable buildings are heated by wood with accumulators and piped central heating. This can be connected to solar water heating in the second season. We are also waiting for an affordable biomass gasifier with integrated heat take off to produce power for the farm at the same time as heating/ lighting a glasshouse and producing biochar. All Power Labs http://www.gekgasifier.com/ have a promising development available.
Having experimented with Jean Pain compost we will carry on these experiments in the way of shower heating and greenhouse heating. Currently we use a large communal sauna as our primary bathing facility. Our RAM pump supplies livestock and plantings with their water needs. The house is connected to a deep drilled well, which we can minimize the use of by collecting rainwater. Compound RAM pumps can also pump up a separate clean supply of water using stream power, but the cost of replacing an existing working system makes this a low priority. Given oils’ limited future we would like to see the farm running offgrid as far as possible in water, fuel and power within the next 3 years. Sunken “Walapini” inspired greenhouse with compost/ gasifier heat
Teaching Teaching Facilities Facilities We built We2have x 9m 2 xyurts 9m yurts, last year which which provide provide beautiful, beautiful, lightlight and airy and airy classroom classroom and and communal communal dining dining areas. area.We We also have have a small incredible workoutdoor shop space. and barn We have spacea as small wellworkshop as a large communal and barn space sleeping as well loft as a large for 20 communal people insleeping one of the loftbarns. for 20 people Visitorsinare one welcome of the barns. to camp Visitors anywhere are welcome reasonable to camp on the anywhere farm. reasonable on the farm.
Managing Holistically at ridgedale PERMACULTURE We believe that financially sustainable and socially beneficial livelihoods are founded on regenerating the world’s biospheres. We believe these three aspects that make up our triple bottom line are totally inseparable and so our decision-making consistently reflects this. Ridgedale PERMACULTURE’S primary responsibility is regenerating landscapes, ecosystem processes and soils through replicable, scalable and profitable symbiotic farm enterprises. Our secondary responsibility is to educate, facilitate, inform and empower people into action through regenerative design, enterprise and holistic decision-making that fosters and stimulates local community, economy and resilience. Outcomes we are managing holistically towards; We use testing questions to ensure our decisions are consistently aligned with our Holistic Goal. Below are 12 of the key outcomes we are managing towards related to our triple bottom line; 1. Build topsoil via intelligently integrated planting/Keyline soil development & animal disturbances 2. Maximize photosynthetic energy captured on site 3. Restore water, carbon and nutrient cycling by mimicking natures processes 4. Create habitats that fully support organisms physiological needs 5. Increase diversity of wildlife species and natural “feedback” loops 6. Demonstrate socially just and sustainable profit with open gate policy 7. Support world-class education in all aspects of regenerative systems design and holistic decision making 8. Develop local food resilience & facilitate access to better than organic food by connecting people to local farmers 9. Prevent wasting of fiscal, human and ecosystem capital 10. Utilize regenerative technologies to minimize oil dependence 11. Create & demonstrate robust decentralized energy production 12. Continually reassess our holistic objectives and management process with decision makers
What we value; • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Animals provided correct habitat for physiological needs Bio Mimicry to optimize health & efficacy Perennial crop research and development Soil creating agriculture On- farm closed nutrient cycling Intact watersheds and riparian zones Diversity & stability of wildlife populations Seasonal and local produce & consumption Effective whole farm planning (PC design/Keyline/HM) Innovation in farming, marketing & education Supporting others to participate in regenerative enterprises Sustainable & meaningful income aligned to our triple bottom line (Farmer led responsible decision-making) Accountability Integrity Transparency Professionalism Inclusivity Striving for excellence Participatory in local community Collaboration for regeneration of soils, land and communities
www.ridgedalepermaculture.com