If you have read through the previous 3 articles about the site (see above) and 60 DEGREES NORTH, 23 EAST you should have a pretty good picture of where we are and what has happened so far (until January 2021). In this article I will analyse the site from one more perspective: what are the different planning areas we should look at either as a part of the master design or as separate designs. Here below I will give a short description of each, including elements and functions, what we have done and possible plans we have already contemplated.
PA1: Around the House
This is the area around the house and the garden to SE mainly including the area that was originally young deciduous forest (similar to PA9). It is Zone 1 and 2 with a bit of Zone 5. Much of this area was radically changed due to digging the foundation, building the house and making the road up to the house from the SE. Part of it was not dug and that is partly now preserved in Zone 5. Partly in 2019 but mostly in 2020 we started some garden work in this area. The dug area is very clayey so some soil and compost has been brought there for planting plants.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| The House (zone 0) | Living etc | Built 2016-2018 | |
| Garden bed boxes | Herbs and greens for the kitchen | In front of the house (S) | 2020 |
| Garden bed boxes & Pergola | Grape vines and herbs | East side of house in front of office window | 2020 |
| Perennial garden | Ornamentals, Medicinal plants, Tree crops, Herbs | On the slope south of the house and along the road and parking area (upper yard). | Started 2019-2020 |
| Zone 5 wood | Beuty, wildlife | Preserved young wood | |
| Water tanks | Water catchment from the roof | House corners | Functional 2019 |
PA2: The Social Space
I call it the social space because it already includes the Summer Kitchen, Sauna, Campfire place and Dry toilet so it is the area that will be most used when there are more people visiting us either family, friends or other groups for courses and workshops. It is also where most logistics happen as the Upper yard is mainly for people entering the House but the Lower yard is connected to all the storage functions mentioned here.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Kitchen | Meeting, eating outside | In forest patch | Built 2015-17 |
| Sauna | sauna, temporary accommodation | SW of road next to the forest | Built 2020-21 |
| Dry toilet | toilet | inside the forest | Built 2015 |
| Camp fire | social | on the field | occasionally used but not yet prepared |
| Storage building | Storage of equipment (garden, bees etc) | Lower yard | Built 2019-20 |
| Earth Cellar | Food storage | Lower yard, north | Built 2020 |
| Firewood shed | Storage of firewood | Lower yard, north | Built 2019 |
| Road to the house (lower yard) from West | access to storage area and house | Built in 2019 | |
| Inside the forest patch | storing garden pots etc | Inside the forest patch | |
| Side of the road | storing construction material and stuff going to landfill | between road and forest patch |
PA3: Garden
When we first came here we were in observation mode and didn’t want to do anything before we had observed for a year. However we did feel that it was obvious where the garden would be. What is now the triangle between the forest patch in NW, the young forest in NE and the road to the S is well protected from winds from NW to East. We put 2 beehives there and built the first raised beds already the first summer in 2014.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raised beds | Perennial guilds: herbs, perennial vegetables etc. Usually annuals in the first years. | north side of road | first ones started 2014 |
| Fruit trees | Shade, fruit, part of the guilds | north side of the road | Planted 2015 onwards |
| Geodetic greenhouse | Tomato, greens etc and grapes | Built in early 2020 | |
| Compost bins | Mainly for household compost | north part of PA3 | Composting system to be redesigned |
| Composted animal manure pile | From the organic farmer who leases our fields: nutrient return | SW of PA3 | Tarps under and on pile |
| Annuals production area | annual vegetables production | south of road | fenced in 2020 agains deer & rabbits |
| Well | water for the house and – if needed – the garden | SE in PA3 | A small shed to be built around the well |
| Pile of strawbales | Extra from building the house: approximately. 200 bales | south | Under tarps |
| 40′ sea container | storage of stuff from our previous home and office. | west | to be removed |
PA4: The Clay Hill
What I call the clay hill is largely a result of making the willow sewage water system The rows of willows are visible in the aerial photo in the NW part of the area. A 8m x 30m basin was dug out in 2017 and then filled again with the same earth. Nevertheless a huge amount of clay soil was left over. That was formed into a slight slope in the middle of the area and 3 higher mounds in SW of the area in January 2020. Our children’s sailing boat project has been stored in the south point of the area for a couple of years.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| The willow sewage water system | Managing our sewage water from the house, circulating nutrients into wood (willow) that can be used elsewhere. Provides nutrient containing irrigation water for plantings. | 8mx30m area on the north | Includes a septic well and a pumping well to the east of the willows. |
| Bordering woods area against the old spruce forest | transitional area from field to forest, biodiversity | east | Consists of willow, aspen, alder, birch. Some tree plantings in between. |
| Storage of old stock and building material | Old stock that was collected in 2015. | SE | Most of the useful material has been used by now. Area should be cleared in 2021. |
| Clay slope in the middle | The area was seeded with a meadow and pollinator plant blend in 2020. | middle of area | Very clayey with no original top soil left. |
| Plum mounds along the road | The mounds were covered with forrest topsoil and rotten tree roots and wood in 2020 and mainly plum trees were planted | along the road | |
| South tip of the area | This part is quite low and wet, could be a pond | The sailing boat should go in 2021. |
PA5: The Windbreak
A windbreak on the north border of the site was an obvious part of the design from the start and we started planting trees there already in 2014. The first trees were Alnus glutinosa seedlings we had dug up close to where we lived at the time in Espoo. Those are now (summer 2020) 3-4 meters tall. The planting project has continued every year and now there is quite a variety of trees, bushes and shrubs. Here the main purpose of planting trees is the windbreak and biodiversity effect, only partly as side effect about getting an edible yield.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windbreak | Windbreak, biodiversity, wildlife | north border of the site | plantings started 2014-15 and ongoing. Part of the forest garden project. |
| Piles of sawdust and bark chips | storage of mulching material that is used for planting trees | along the road | |
| Iso-orvokkiniitty sign | a sign | on the side of our junction |
PA6: Along the Road
The road to the house was built in March 2016. The topsoil was removed and levelled on the south side of the road resulting in a slightly raised area with double top soil. The area has been planted with various trees, bushes and shrubs since 2016. Here the focus has been mostly on plants that yield an edible crop.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trees and bushes | give a yield | along the road | Part of the forest garden project. |
| Small clay pond | the clay for the house, biodiversity | the south end | Might be consolidated with the eventual big pond |
| Mound | some plantings, wild raspberry | beside the pond | Part of the forest garden project. |
| Raspberry | Raspbery cultivation | between the mound and the road | covered with tarp in late summer 2020 to prepare for planting raspberry in 2021 |
PA7: The Pond
I call this are the Pond because it is the lowest lying field we have and in wet seasons it is quite wet. Our plan is to dig a big pond there. It will be a major transformation of the area so it needs to be planned properly.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pond | Water catchment and storage for irrigation, biodiversity and wildlife, recreation (a part will be suitable for swimming). | In the mid/east side of PA7 | Part of the pond will be shallow for biodiversity, part deeper for recreation and fish. |
| Mounds | Digging the pond will result in huge amounts of clay that needs to be landscaped around and near to the pond. The mounds can be planted with trees, bushes and shrubs. Yield, biodiversity, wildlife, recreation. | around the pond | The placement of the soil must be carefully planned before digging begins. Topsoil must be taken separate so the mounds can be covered with it. |
| Connection to ditch | A ditch runs between PA/+PA8 and the leased field to the SW. It can bring water to the pond and extra water can flow out into the ditch and further to the wetland on the other side of the road. | SW of the pond | The ditch dries out in the summer. |
PA8: The Forest Garden
In this part of the field the elevation slowly increases towards the east and the area is better suitable for planting trees. The north part of PA8 is wet and in that sense connected to PA7. The water is pushed from the forest into the east part of PA8 from where it flows west. On the other hand PA8 is shaded in the east side by our neighbours windbreak spruce row to SE and our young forest to the east. The later can be thinned somewhat but the shadiness can not be eliminated.
We have already planted mainly hazelnut along the ditch (SW) in 2 rows (2019-20) and in a row along the contour line towards NE (visible on the aerial photo). Towards the east there are several Juglans sp. and Castanea already planted.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rows of hazelnut | Yield, experimenting with hazelnut cultivars | along ditch and contour line | other species have been planted among the hazelnuts for diversity |
| wet part in the north side | water flow to the pond, biodiversity, experiments with plants that tolerate wet soil | north part | a ditch could be landscaped to enhance water flow to the pond |
| shady area in the east | biodiversity, wildlife, create a “lehto” of deciduous trees | SE part | could be planted with biodiversity and wildlife promoting deciduous trees |
PA9: The Young Forest
The young forest area around and to the south of our house was clear logged in the early 1990’s and grows now birch, grey alder, aspen, rowan, hazelnut and Salix sp. The norther part where we built the house is dominated by birch while towards the south it turns more into aspen, alder and rowan. The area is a slope facing SW in north part where our house is and turning west in the south end.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young forest | Biodiversity, firewood, wildlife | We have planted some trees | |
PA10: The Forest
The forest at Iso-orvokkiniitty varies from relatively young birch and spruce dominated mixed forest in the southern part to older spruce dominated area in the middle turning into a spruce dominated forest with some pine and birch in the north (Zone 5). In between on the north side of the trickle is a 0,4 hectare old hazelnut grove (lighter area on the map). Apart from the dominating spruce, birch and pine there grows alder, aspen, willow Salix caprea, rowan, hazelnut and oak. I have already planted some other tree species in the forest, so far mainly European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Siberian larch (Larix sibirica). We grow mushrooms on logs in the forest which is why some parts are in zone 2. We have logged trees here and there for firewood, mushroom logs and for the purpose of clearing some trees from the hazelnut grove or around oaks.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older spruce forest | Shade for mushroom growing, firewood, construction material. The dry toilet. | Most of the SW side of the forest | |
| Younger mixed forest | Firewood, mushroom logs | Most of the NE side of the forest | |
| Hazelnut grove | Firewood and mushroom logs (birch, alder, pine) and experimenting with wild hazelnut | south of trickle | |
| Mixed forest in north | Zone 5 | North part | Anyway too far for firewood |
PA11: Forest Patch behind the Field (south)
We seldom go here as it is behind the field which we lease out. The area seems to be former field because ditches are still visible.
| Elements | Functions | Where | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young mixed deciduous forest | firewood, mushroom logs | behind the field. | should be thinned out so good potential for firewood |
Systems, elements and functions
I copied all the elements and functions from the above tables and tried to comply them in one understandable graphic using Miro. I grouped them in systems and started connecting elements to functions. Not quite done yet and I think it demands a separate chapter. Before that – in the next chapter – I will do an input – output analysis for the whole site. It might reveal still some more aspects that have not come to light yet.
- first posted 14.2.2021