Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Heather S on May 18, 2012 at 10:27am

Hi Carolyn - Congratulations on the big move a head - very exciting! 

In terms of the land, you don't say how much of it there is - is it pretty well what is covered by the septic bed and an area for your meditation garden and chickens? 

My feeling is to make a plan - a bit of a brain storm on all the things you want to do and all the resources they'll require and then prioritise and link them (markers on poster board works well and lots of post-it notes that you can change your mind and move around works for me - but I work at planning.. ). It definitely helps to know where you want to go - which can change over time as your learn which is totally OK.

There's some definite synergies in what you're wanting to do - the chickens, for example, can help a lot with soil fertility. One point though is that the manure needs to be well rotted before putting on any plants that you'd want to eat - or the nitrogen will be too strong and burn them. So - you can either get busy and construct some compost piles to put that chicken waste into (along with their bedding) and work it that way - or for general application you could put it directly on the ground liberally over the early autumn and let it help the soil in a general way. In general - getting those hens early on can be a sensible move (though not before you've figured out and got a house and plan for their daily grazing).

I'd let yourself be there at least a little while before deciding on where to put your meditative garden - as you'll want it to be a spot with appropriate light, wind (or less of) etc. You'll probably want to be designing a planting plan for that area, which is best figured out once you've been on the land.

The same goes for deciding on where you might have future herbs and veg - the land will probably tell you the best spot for this, which you'll need to reconcile with your own practical needs (i.e. the soil might be best a good distance from the house but you might not want to be trekking there everyday..). You might also have a look at what growing zone you're in and have a look at folks in the same that grow stuff - to see some options. And also do a few soil tests to figure out exactly what's going on there and what it needs. The Ontario govt probably provides that service if the local university doesn't (am thinking Guelph should and you can post it to them..). 

Anyway, hope that's generically helpful. If you have any specific questions or can provide more info happy to help! 

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Carolyn McBride on May 18, 2012 at 11:12am

Heather,

I intended to say that the property is just shy of a 1/2 acre, and has a house already on it. My fingers got ahead of my brain!

Heather S said:

Hi Carolyn - Congratulations on the big move a head - very exciting! 

In terms of the land, you don't say how much of it there is - is it pretty well what is covered by the septic bed and an area for your meditation garden and chickens? 

My feeling is to make a plan - a bit of a brain storm on all the things you want to do and all the resources they'll require and then prioritise and link them (markers on poster board works well and lots of post-it notes that you can change your mind and move around works for me - but I work at planning.. ). It definitely helps to know where you want to go - which can change over time as your learn which is totally OK.

There's some definite synergies in what you're wanting to do - the chickens, for example, can help a lot with soil fertility. One point though is that the manure needs to be well rotted before putting on any plants that you'd want to eat - or the nitrogen will be too strong and burn them. So - you can either get busy and construct some compost piles to put that chicken waste into (along with their bedding) and work it that way - or for general application you could put it directly on the ground liberally over the early autumn and let it help the soil in a general way. In general - getting those hens early on can be a sensible move (though not before you've figured out and got a house and plan for their daily grazing).

I'd let yourself be there at least a little while before deciding on where to put your meditative garden - as you'll want it to be a spot with appropriate light, wind (or less of) etc. You'll probably want to be designing a planting plan for that area, which is best figured out once you've been on the land.

The same goes for deciding on where you might have future herbs and veg - the land will probably tell you the best spot for this, which you'll need to reconcile with your own practical needs (i.e. the soil might be best a good distance from the house but you might not want to be trekking there everyday..). You might also have a look at what growing zone you're in and have a look at folks in the same that grow stuff - to see some options. And also do a few soil tests to figure out exactly what's going on there and what it needs. The Ontario govt probably provides that service if the local university doesn't (am thinking Guelph should and you can post it to them..). 

Anyway, hope that's generically helpful. If you have any specific questions or can provide more info happy to help! 

Good luck!