Here are some pictures of my 5 acres in Bullsbrook Western Australia, my plan is to produce as much of my food from this area of land as I can. We average 700mm of rain annually, we sit on top of a 255m hill and the prevailing winds are westerly in winter bringing rain on cold fronts and easterly during the morning in summer bringing hot wind from the inland with a switch to cooling westerlies in the afternoon.
The soil is gravely loam with a small amount of clay which is quite fertile when compared to the poor soil types that dominate most of WA, technically I think the soil type is Dwellingup type II. When cultivated in can hold quite a lot of moisture and is therefore very good for winter grain crops and pasture.
This is the back paddock which we crop with oaten and meadow hay as summer fodder for a couple of horses and in the future maybe something my wife will let me eat. I plan to fence off the bottom 8th and plant Tagasaste (Lucerne tree) to be used as green summer fodder and to add nitrogen to the soil.
Attachment:
SDC10734.JPG [ 197.65 KiB | Viewed 8205 times ]
This is the front paddock. I am going to fence off the driveway and crop lupins here to again add nitrogen to the soil, use and stored feed for animals and maybe make my own fish food. The paddock will not be sprayed to suppress the other grasses as livestock will graze here while the crop in the back paddock grows over winter. Eventually I will plant an extensive orchard in this paddock as it is down hill from my water source.
Attachment:
SDC10741.JPG [ 140.46 KiB | Viewed 8205 times ]
This is where my first small orchard is, from front to back there is lemon, Tahitian lime, Newall orange, and a fig. This is going to be added to in winter and irrigated.
Attachment:
SDC10742.JPG [ 191.39 KiB | Viewed 8205 times ]
Backyard Farming Forum
Which is good once they're established. 