My plan is to also build a small cottage: A 16' x 16' saltbox, plus sunporch, on a basement short enough to be considered a crawlspace by many. I'm going to build it on the other side of the grove of trees across the street from the house, garage, and barn. It will be off-grid from the start, with as much self sufficiency as I can build into it. This will make it possible to get away from summer renters a bit further, and rent out the apartment for additional income. I've been eyeing the spot for over a year in an abstract way, but with the recent changes, I've decided to move ahead with it.
I've been told that I could rent a small excavator for $300/day, but that goes against the grain somehow. Instead, I'm digging my foundation hole by hand. I need a 17' square, dug 5' down at the high side of the slope, down to the water table. I started by marking out my space with boards on the ground, and stripping off the sod a little each day. Then I looked at where there was a puddle down the slope, and dug level with that back toward my square. The drain will come straight out the south side, then turn toward the puddle. I also dug a ditch to help the water further down the slope. Each day I dig some in the square. I've found a very large rock that I'm going to have to deal with, but no deal breakers yet.
My site is just out of sight from the house, mostly. All anyone will see is a little bit of roof, and with the right color shingles they probably won't notice. It will face straight south, away from the road, looking at the field and woods. This is old hayfield, but I don't see any reason for it to stay hayfield. I want something more like a permaculture orchard of low trees, possibly with a levy and canal that extends to the old well near the road.
This will mean that I walk past the garden each time I come and go. This is what I'm calling "recreational ditch digging".
Today I got my antique transit out, made up a makeshift surveying pole and taped it to a step-in fence post. I measured that I have 5' 3" from the northeast (up slope) foundation corner to the water in the ditch at puddle level. This will be sufficient. I have about 4' down from the puddle/ditch water to the wettest spot in that drainage, where I might want a shallow pond/swale/terrace. From that point, the old well is uphill by nearly 3', over 100 yards away. If I wanted to play the rice paddy games that Ben Falk is playing in Vermont, I could use the well and slope drainage to irrigate across the field. I might even be able to catch the runoff from the culvert that comes under the road from the nasty little pond that I think my septic system drains into.
My thought is to have pigs level a space on that contour line, pushing up a slight levy/dike, and eating the grass, roots and all. I have five pigs coming in about five weeks. I wonder if they like cattails?
In other news, I got out a 72 cell styrofoam plant starting tray, filled it with soil, put it in a pan so it can soak up water, and plan to plant my tomatoes in it promptly.
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