The Design - A Route to Integrated Diversity

The farm is about 200 years old and used to command 1000 acres. By 2005 it had come down to this small area of house and garden set amongst monoculture farmland.

Some time before 2007 the farm's land was extended for horse paddocks. At the same time the small patch top left was purchased for the house across the road.

By 2009 the farm had come into new hands and was being run as a smallholding, mostly chickens, pigs and a horse. Planting and the layout of the land hadn't changed much.

We moved in late 2010 and the first winter was a cold one. I found this picture recently and was staggered by the lack of vegetation. Still the same big skies though.

A plan was hatched. It has had a few tweaks along the way, but remains surprisingly similar to the original plan. New areas are still being developed each year.

And here is the farm in 2016. 

Look closely and you can see The Wheel. How many veg plots do you know that are visible from space!

Below is the 2007 overview again for comparison.