Mapping Update

Hello again.  I want to share some maps I've made of the property.  Mapping is a nice way to see everything and focus on specific things.  But for me, the biggest benefit is seeing beyond the current season.  It's kind of difficult to remember what things were like last Spring, or even how things looked just 3 or 4 months ago.  I find that when I look at the maps I have a better all-season understanding of the property.   These maps are drawn on the property survey map that was done when we bought the house.  I made several copies.  It was a drag to pay for that survey at the time, but the map has been quite useful now.

Click on the images and you should be able to see a large and legible version.

First I did an update of the base map.  This map is just a general map with buildings, vegetation, etc.  We moved the rain barrels and the strawberry patch.  On this map there is a 30 gallon rain barrel in the strawberry patch collecting water off of the carport.  I have the barrel, but will wait until Spring to install it.  The pollinator gardens are where I've planted native perennial flowers.

Here's the sun map.  What I've done here is mapped the sun angles as well as any particular shady or hot spots, which can be useful when decided where to put specific plants.  Notice the hot spot on the southeast side of the garage.  I planted peas there this Spring, thinking that the warmth radiating from the cinder blocks could give them a head start.  But it ended up being too warm there, and they dried out fast.  Note taken.  My poor soil was probably a factor too.

This is a water map.  Here I mapped the flow of water around the property and anything else I could think of regarding water.  Our entire property is kind of in a low spot.  To the South East we have Mount Beacon, with the highest peaks in the Hudson Highlands Range - 1611 feet at the summit.  To the Northwest is another hill - but it puts us in a little valley.  In our well in the basement the water level has been between 3 and 6 feet below the basement floor.  That might indicate the level of the water table.  Add the 4-5 feet depth of the basement, we're looking at a water table that is 7 to 11 feet below grade.  That might be pretty shallow and might be of concern if I want to build some swales.  I'm not sure we have enough slope for swales to be effective anyway.  But I do have ideas of creating some kind of irrigation channels for roof runoff to water future fruit trees.  

Next would be a wind map.  I've made a wind map, but it is blank.  I really don't have a handle on the predominant winds through the property.  I think that the wind here is affected be our proximity to Mount Beacon.  It seems to blow near equally from every direction at various times.  One thing that I have noticed is evening winds.  Quite often we'll get some very gusty winds that blow for an hour or two just after dark.  My guess is that this could have to do with cooling temperatures on the mountain.  Also, the Hudson River, about 2 miles to our west, affects the temperature too.  In the Fall warm breeze comes off the river at night, while in the Spring it acts like an air conditioner.  You can observe how large bodies of water work to narrow temperature ranges.  I've noticed that the leaves on our side of Mount Beacon change color later in the Fall, than those on the other side of the range.  My guess is that this has to do with the warm Fall waters of the Hudson.  

Below is just a simple map that I made when planning New Annual bed (see my previous post about sheet mulching this garden).  Note that this map is drawn upside down.  It made sense to draw it that way based on how we access it and see it from the house.   A common permaculture technique is called keyhole beds - the walking paths are shaped like keyholes with a wider circle at the end.  This allows you to reach further into beds without stepping on them.  I didn't put the circular part in because I thought I could reach just fine.  My beds are 3 feet wide and they go around most of the perimeter of the garden.  3 feet is a good size to be able to work without stepping on.  My paths are only 18" wide, which will seem like nothing when we've got larger plants growing.  But I'm interested in getting as much growing space as possible, and keeping bare soil to a minimum.  My paths are mulched with wood chips to help keep the soil covered too.  We'll see how the 18 inches go.  If I need to adjust in the future I can.  But you can see how much growing space we gain by this kind of layout, as opposed to rows and paths that would go all the way from one end to the other.  Along the right side of this map you'll see the trellises.   This is the north west side of the garden.  I decided that they would get good sun there and will provide the hens with some shade in the summertime - they're pasturing just to the right of the trellises.  

So these are my maps.  They're quite enjoyable to make and fun for me to look at.  Thanks for reading!