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 Farm
Plan
Any good project begins with a plan. When we began farming
on a larger scale it became necessary to make a farm plan.
Our type of farming is not like conventional farming with
same size beds all used for growing the same thing. We are
growing a wide variety of veggies and herbs in the same
farm. A good plan from the beginning simply makes it easier
to figure out where everything is going to go. This is also
a good way to ensure good companion planting....making sure
to grow compatible veggies together while separating those
that are not good together. I began using the paint program
to make farm plans. Yeah a pretty archaic program but not as
difficult to use for this purpose as you might think. A side
benefit of making farm plans is the cute little maps are fun
for the kids. Using the maps to make a farm treasure hunt
really gets the kids interested in farming. Before we bought
our present home on Tanegashima island, we rented a house
for a few years which included a few farms. The following
were the plans for each. |
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 Lower
Farm
This farm was located at the rear of the house and was
constantly flooded due to the heavy rains typical of the
island throughout the year, especially during the Summer
monsoon season. I needed to figure out a way to add good
drainage to the farm. I used a square bed pattern with the
beds turned 45 degrees to the back of the house. This
allowed rain to drain off into the jungle at the rear of the
farm and then continue on to the coast. |
 Lower
Farm Complete
This was one of the first attempts at square bed farming and it worked out
great. The only problem was the beds were made as two meter by two meter
squares, too wide to be able to easily reach the middle of the beds. This meant
occasionally stepping on the beds....unacceptable. Next season I began using
beds that were only one meter wide. |
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 Upper
Farm
This farm was where we grew all of our delicate veggies and
herbs. This was the most wind protected of the three farms
and definitely had the best drainage. This meant I could be
a little creative here. I went for an offset square design
in order to add a bit more wind protection but mostly for
aesthetics. The small orange squares in this farm plan were
for wild turmeric, again more for looks than anything else. |
 Upper
Farm Complete
With the exception of sweet potatoes (still using straight
line beds for those), I am now using all rectangular beds in
my farms. The beds are all one meter (about three feet) wide
and vary in length from two, to over twenty meters. The
great thing about this design is the ease of working on the
beds. Working from either side, everything is within a half
a meter reach. Easy to sow seeds and seedling, easy to weed
and mulch, and easy to harvest. |
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 Upper
Upper Farm
This farm was a small overgrown jungle before we got to it.
A bunch of trees and lots of weeds. After a couple of
months, working with only hand tools, the farm was ready
with the finished product shown in the picture at the top of
the page. I decided to really have some fun with this farm
plan. |
 Upper
Upper Farm Complete
Tanegashima island is home to the Tanegashima Space Center
where the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches their rockets. Many times
JAXA and NASA work together on projects. We watched many rocket launches in the
first couple of years on the island and it was impressive to say the least. This
inspired me to turn our upper farm into a kind of tribute to the two space
agencies. I grew carrots on the raised letters and the rocket, the phallic
looking section next to the "J" in JAXA and the "N" in NASA. |
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