Establishing a new garden or farm is an exciting adventure. There are many things to explore and learn about the new relationship. First examine the flow of the land. and the flow of energy as it travels across the land. It is important to examine what the land wants to grow and how that works with what you want to grow. Contour beds with the flow. Fortunately this field flows to the east making it easy to layout beds that run north and south. Examine tree growth and species along the perimeter as well as what grows in the field. This will give you and idea of the ecology of this place both above and below the ground. It is also important to decide how much to take on so that you can do quality work. The path of the sun, wind and water helps in planning your design.
 Develop the plan in stages. You can learn a lot by observing the land at different times of day and during the seasons. you cannot learn everything about a piece of land this way, but it will help.
  Establishing a relationship with land takes time even seasons. There are more details about this in the "Design" chapter of my book; "Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming", due out in January.

 Once I have a plan in place I start by building a compost pile where trees will eventually be planted. Plant beds with annuals that will later become perennials. This way the beds are dug at least twice before putting into long term spaces. You also want to establish your water system. If that involves a well and irrigation, you will want to get the construction out of the way and you will need it to water. Fencing will need to be set up if there isn't one. Remember the gardener and the garden grow together.

Welcome

  Welcome to my blog site. The concept is to contribute ideas and information that is detailed in my book, "Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming" (Biodynamic Principles and Perspectives). I hope to provide useful information about organic gardening and healthy land stewardship. You can also visit my Bio, http://frankholzman.tripod.com/frankholzmanresume.com  to see the work I have done through my non-profit Recovery Eco Agriculture Project. Most of the work I am currently doing is at Tierra Sonrisa. We employ Biodynamic/ French Intensive gardening along with Permaculture principles and IPM. You can visit the garden website at: WWW.Tierrasonrisagarden.com  The idea behind Tierra Sonrisa is to provide a demonstration center for research and education. It is also a working farm, meaning the produce grown on the farm provides for my income.
 I will try to contribute further posts that are timely and in order of how to develop a piece of land into a balanced ecosystem.