The Land, The Plot, The Bed and The Plan A four part series on land development-Part 2 The Plot

The Land, The Plot, The Bed and The Plan
A four part series on land development

In July of 2017, I took out a long term lease on a piece of land which needs some prudent management. It has been in my family for over 60 years, during which little care was taken into account for the long term development.

I have already started some work on restoration, reclamation and development of access ways, gardens, grazing areas and hydrologics.

This is a four part blog on the development plan and techniques I am using for the improvement of the property.

Some parts will be dry and technical, but a basic understanding of the process for is necessary a person to apply or modify such techniques on their own property.

link to part 1 of 4
https://steemit.com/permaculture/@torquewrench1969/the-land-the-plot-the-bed-and-the-plan-a-four-part-series-on-land-development

Part 2 of 4: The Plot

A plot is a land management measurement designed to allow the agriculturalist to determine fertilization, watering, production and manpower usage. The size of a plot is not arbitrary, but a personal choice with many attributes taken into account.

The existing geography of a piece of land, prevalent winds, rainfall, irrigation availability, sun exposure, noise, equipment to be used, fire potential, production goals, time available to work and many other factors can influence the size of a plot.

Each agriculturalist will have their own peccadillos when laying out a plot. None of the are wrong and all of them could be further optimized for a given goal.

For this particular piece of land, I have chosen to go with six 30 inch beds, 50ft long on 4 foot centers, allowing for an 18 inch walkway between each bed. This will make the plot approximately 24 feet by 50 feet, totaling 1200 square feet.

The actual cultivated area (production area) is only six rows, 50 ft long and 30 inches wide , for a total of 750 square feet .

Prudent placement of plots on the landscape is essential to success. Placing plots without forethought can lead to soil erosion, water loss, flooding and a plethora of other negative aspects which you and your neighbors may not enjoy.

Placing plots with the rows on contour may be beneficial in dry areas, but can lead to excess water in areas of high rainfall or high clay content.

I generally layout my plots to have 1-3 inches of drop (slightly off contour) over the length the beds. This allows excess water to drain off and also allows for flood irrigation if necessary during the 3-4 month dry summer months.

To determine the drop of a piece of land I use a homemade water level. Ill write up a piece on the construction and use of a water level at a later date.

Placing a plot with the rows running north-south can lead to excessive evaporation in areas with prevailing north-south winds, but if the slope of the land is to the east, arranging beds on an east-west orientation can lead to erosion.

30 inches is not an arbitrary number for a planting bed width. That is the size my equipment is designed to make, the beds are narrow enough to step over if necessary, irrigation lines are short enough to be placed and removed by one person and calculating water, fertilization needs and production is fairly easy!

Example of water demand calculation:
Calculate bed area in inches (length X width in inches):
50 Ft= 600 inches

600 inches X 30 inches = 18,000 inches^2

Weekly water demand: 1.5 inches

Water needed per bed:
1.5 inches X 18,000 inches^2 = 27,000 inches ^3
27,000 inches^3 = 15.625 Cubic feet
15.625 Cubic feet X 7.481 gallons/cubic foot = 116.9 Gallons

Water needed per plot: 116.9 gallons X 6 beds = 701 Gallons.

Its much easier using the metric system, but old habits die hard.

Example of Production Calculation:

A 50 foot row of Contender green beans will generally have two harvests.

The first harvest averages 25 pounds and the second harvest will yield about 15 pounds: (25+15) X 6 = 240 pounds

Having a standardized bed size for a production farm also allows a farmer to calculate profitability and plan production:

50 ft X 2.5 ft X 6 = 750 square feet in cultivated area.

Green beans 240 pounds @ $1.75 per pound = $420

$420 / 750 square feet = $0.56 / square foot.

As an economic baseline goal I aim for $1.25 per square foot per year cultivated, so beans may not be economical unless a different crop can be planted and harvested before and after the beans.

In this case, an early spring planting of lettuce, radish, beets or kale may be in order, then plant beans, with a late planting of garlic or carrots after the bean harvest. This can boost production per square foot per year dramatically, making the endeavor more productive and more profitable.

Now for some crappy videos of me prepping, planting and harrowing some beds for winter production of wheat and sorghum in an attempt to draw deer into bow range for my winter meat supply.

If you don't like the video, don't gripe... volunteer to make my videos better!
I'll pay you in Steem.

End of Part 2

Note: All proceeds from this blog go to land restoration and agricultural development!