[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Permaculture Course Design ProjectMay Tsupros – Chicago, IL

Prepared By: BG. Bergman, J. Frazin, R. Jamrok M. Sharp, M. Tsupros

July 1, 2013

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Assessment of Property

3844 W 16th St Chicago, IL 60652–Cook CountyFull Climatic Information is available on-line:

- Elevation Above Sea Level – 598-600 ft above sea level

- Rainfall – 28-40 inches of rain per year

- Frost free period- 140-180 days

- Dominant Wind Directions are from the South/West: All data available here:http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/sites/windrose.phtml?station=JXN&network=IL_ASOS

o Wind Rose: Midway Airport, IL, airport

- Sun Aspects

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April May June- August

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

- Topography: The aerial photo below shows 1 foot topographical lines indicating a 2 foot drop in elevation from the north edge to the southern edge as well as from the middle part of the property to the eastern edge. Approximate area outlined by property boundaries is -0.58 acres or 25,000 ft2. The top of the photo is due North.

T o p o g r a p h y P I C T U R E

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

- Soil: The soil on this property is entirely of Silty Clay (Cook County soil code: 534A) from 0-60 inches deep. This means that the soil is made from approximately 50 % silt and 50% clay (as pictured below). Permeability of this soil type is low and runoff is high, however, considering the topography of the land there will be little change of runoff. A bigger concern will be from various metals in the soil (which need to be tested) and neighboring runoff from contaminated streets. Depth to the water table is 24- 42 inches across the property.

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Vision for Property- A S.E.E.D. Community

A Sharing, Experiencing, Educating, Developing Community

To Create an Urban Space that includes:

Community ran farm that is financially self-sustainable over time Accessibility to all community members a community focal point Multi-levels of education

o Spreading knowledge of how to raise food successfully by oneself in the community

o Training future permacultures and garden educatorso Educating community members on what’s available and how to harvesto Various educational workshops, i.e. canning, seed saving, planting, drying,

cooking, o Sustainable education, i.e. water saving, permaculture practices, etc

Spreads the experience to other places in the community Changes how Lawndale community members view food through experience

P I C T U R E S o f c u r r e n t p l o t ( s t r e e t v i e w s ) _

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

The Permaculture Design(Specific Design Solutions)

Water : Capture Water and Fertility on the Landscape, Manage potential flooding and overflow as to not loose fertility, Design for street runoff

Vegetation and Wildlife : Capture the sun, Manage the wind, Attract pollinators, food production, insect-pest management, lots of annuals, Design for chickens, worms, and bees

Buildings and Infrastructure : Protecting from wildlife (minimize pressure), space for educating, storage, leisure, Design for long harvest, pathways, accessibility

Soil Fertility and Management : Build Soil Fertility and Organic Matter, Rejuvenate soil, compost

Aesthetics/Experience of Place : Design to demonstrate how to use perennial and annual food , Beauty, educating facilities, community draw (making the passer-by want to become a part of the experience), fencing

Community education and involvement/engagement : Design to financially self-sustaining, bring in community members

Gathering resources : START with gathering people, money, and supplies

The Permaculture Design(Specific Design Techniques)

Water:

P I C T U R E w i t h w a t e r a n d r a ti o n a l e b e h i n d u s a g e

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Vegetation and Wildlife:

Annuals: maximize food production for the community using 100+ various species of food. Beds will be raised to keep produced food away from metal ridden soils. Planting will be varied greatly to create a diverse bed to help with pest prevention. Only organic practices will be used.

Maximize food production by maximizing vertical space:

Raised beds made with found and donated materials with some season extensions:

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Perennials and Food Forests:

Small livestock:

R a ti o n a l e b e h i n d u s i n g a n i m a l sBuildings and Infrastructure:

The property will be divided into two parts, and fencing will be put up around each, according to its function. The primary productive space will be enclosed up to six feet on all sides to provide security, keep livestock in, and deter large pests, such as rats or raccoons. The food forest area will be enclosed with a more decorative style fence. The entrance to the food forest will be at the southeast corner of the lot and will be open at all times to allow access to the space for all community members. A woodchip trail will extend from the entrance, meander through the food forest, meet the main entrance of the community garden space, and extend through the garden. The main entrance of the garden will be open during business hours. A second entrance to the garden space will be placed at the west end of the lot to allow for utility access.

Within the food forest, structures will be minimal. A small gathering area will be built near the northwest corner of the food forest to allow for community social activity and small educational events. Benches and picnic tables will also be available in the food forest area for guests to sit and enjoy their surroundings.

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

In the garden space, a shed will be placed at the north end of the lot to store tools and equipment. Any materials required to work in the garden will be available for community members to use. In the southern portion of the garden, a larger shelter will be built to host educational workshops, children’s activities, and community events. A chicken coop will be placed in the northeast corner of the garden area, with a chicken run extending along the eastern fence between the garden and the food forest.

Soil Fertility and Management:

Working in an urban area presents unique challenges to soil management. Soils often contain concentrations of lead, PCBs, and other heavy metals that can accumulate in the plants grown on the property. Additionally, the property lacks a prominent layer of organic matter and topsoil; the existing soil consists primarily of clay and silt. Prior to planting on the property, these issues will be addressed by sheet mulching the full extent of the property for 1-2 years. Organic matter will be built in the soil by layering cardboard, wood chips, mulch, compost, and any additional organic materials that can be obtained. This will improve organic content, as well as provide a buffer against soil contaminants that may impact plants. To further avoid the potential for contaminant accumulation in plants grown on the property, the majority of plant production will be undertaken in raised beds. Once plant production has begun on the property, additional organic matter will be continually produced and added to the soil through on-site composting.

Lead is likely a concern across the property and can be addressed through phytoremediation using a variety of species. Sunflowers, indian mustard, ragweed, hemp dogbane, highland bentgrass, thyme-leafed gratiola, ornamental kale, rapeseed, and blue sheep fescue can all be used to accumulate lead. Poplar trees can also be incorporated into the food forest as lead accumulators.

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

The property is bounded by roadways on the south, east, and west sides. Runoff from roadways may potentially carry polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other contaminants onto the property. To avoid introducing contamination to areas of productive land use, a swale and phytoremediation system will be installed along the three sides of the property. A small swale will be dug along the roadway on three sides of the property to collect runoff and allow it to infiltrate prior to entering the garden space. Dug-out soil will be mounded in a berm along the property-facing edge of the swale to act as a further barrier to runoff entering the productive space. A variety of hyperaccumulator species will be planted within the swale and along the berm to absorb PAHs and other common contaminants likely to be present in urban soils. Remediation plants can also add to the aesthetic value in and outside the fence.

Benzene : Kalanchoe and Perennial Geranium

Assorted Hydrocarbons: Bermuda Grass and Tall Fescue

Salt-accumulators to extract sodium chloride from winter road maintenance: Sugar beet and barley.

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Aesthetics/Experience of Place:

Fencing to keep things in but NOT keep people out. Want to be attractive either to the eye or by adding plants or decorations (see fence decoration below). Fencing needs to allow for conversation with passing community members and be available to maximize vertical space. Fence will also need to keep chickens from escaping and to prevent vandalism and looting of supplies, materials, and tools from inside of the garden. Lastly, fencing needs to provide protection from rats, raccoons, possums, and feral cats.

The overall aesthetic of the farm is also very important to draw in community members. Fencing should not be too invasive and supporting structures and design need to be beautiful to the eye so community members and supporting groups are proud to be a part of and support this community focal point. The growing trees will provide shade and beauty as well as act like a learning tool

Community education and involvement/engagement:

Spreading knowledge of how to raise food successfully by oneself in the community

- The key to this is empowerment. In order to do this one must draw on established relationships in the community in order to bring in people to be educated. Members of the community will be solicited through schools, churches, first-hand viewing, and word-of-mouth. There will be various training sessions (2-3 times per week), where community members learn the process of planting, maintaining, and the harvesting of annuals, perennials, and livestock in addition to various garden systems (ie. Compost, water resources, etc). Through human contact, positive experiences, experiencing the fruits of labor, love, and friendship a momentum will form that will infiltrate the

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

unawareness that this community has surrounding their land, food, and the unity of the two.

- Garden leaders will encourage and make available seeds that can be spread throughout the neighborhood and will constantly encourage any person who passes through on this process. There will also be signage and perhaps even a space within the garden where seed is made readily available for members to access.

Training future permacultures and garden educators

P l a n / r a ti o n a l eEducating community members on what’s available and how to harvest

- As described above with the emphasis on perennials and how plants outside the garden could be used and should be viewed

Various educational workshops, i.e. canning, seed saving, planting, drying, cooking

P l a n / r a ti o n a l eSustainable education, i.e. water saving, permaculture practices, etc

- It will be imperative that the process of garden creation and the vision of the garden is shared, maintained and allowed to evolve with the members that help with this creation process. During this time it will be emphasized and completely transparent why EACH process was designed as it was thereby creating teachers of the structures and systems.

- Small signage can be used for various educational walks throughout the garden explaining the various systems of design.

- Visions for new permacultural practices will be assessed and implemented as needs of the farm change and evolve.

Gathering resources:

E xp la na ti o n o f ga i n in g pe o p le , mo n ey , a nd s u pp l ie s

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Closing: C r e a t e

“For what is the use of a house…if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”

~ Henry David Thoreau

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

References

“(Woodchips) make an attractive, stable road base that holds soil in place and compacts into the ground to make a firm driving surface. Creation of a wood-chip driveway is a permanent work in progress because this organic surface biodegrades over time and needs new chips added periodically.” http://homeguides.sfgate.com/create-wood-chip-driveway-32638.html

Quick List of Useful Permaculture Plants

Temperate Climate, North American, Midwestern Species

Common Name Scientific Name Uses

Canopy

Beech Fagus grandifolia Nuts

Butternut Juglans cinerea Nuts

Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata Nuts

Sugar Maple Acer saccharum Syrup

White Oak Quercus alba Nuts

Understory

American Persimmon Diospyros virginiana Fruit

Apple Malus pumila Fruit, flowers

Cherry Prunus spp. Fruit, flowers

Cornelian Cherry Cornus mas Fruit

Crabapple Malus spp. Fruit, flowers

Hazelnut Corylus spp. Nuts

Kentucky Coffee Tree Gymnocladus dioica N-fixer

Paw Paw Asimina triloba Fruit, flowers

Pear Pyrus communis Fruit, flowers

Plum Prunus domestica Fruit, flowers

Serviceberry Amelanchier spp. Fruit, flowers

Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana Medicinal, flowers

Shrub Layer

Blackberry Rubus occidentalis Fruit, flowers

Currant Ribes sativum Fruit

Elderberry Sambucas nigra Fruit, flowers

False indigo Baptisia australis N-fixer

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Gooseberry Ribes uva-crispa Fruit

Raspberry Rubus idaeus Fruit, flowers

Rose Rosa spp. Medicinal, flowers

Siberian Pea Shrub Caragana arborescens N-fixer, flowers

Herbaceous layer

Arugula Eruca vesicaria Edible

Chamomile Chamaemelum nobile Tea, flowers

Chives Allium schoenoprasum Edible

Comfrey Symphytum uplandicum Medicinal, mulch

Cornsalad Valerianella locusta Edible

Dill Anethum graveolens Edible, insectary

Fennel Foeniculum vulgare Edible, insectary

Garlic Allium sativum Edible

Kale Brassica oleracea Edible

Lemon balm Melissa officinalis Tea

Lettuce Latuca sativa Edible

Lovage Levisticum officinale Edible

Mint Mentha spp. Edible

New Zealand Spinach Tetragonia expansa Edible

Onion Allium cepa Edible

Parsley Petroselinum crispum Edible

Rhubarb Rheum rhabarbarum Edible

Salad burnet Sanguisorba minor Edible

Sorrel Rumex scutatus Edible

Spinach Spinacea oleracea Edible

Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica Edible, mulch

Flowering Ground Covers

Strawberry Fragaria spp. Fruit, flowers

Nasturtium Tropaeolum minus Edible flowers

Violet Viola spp. Edible flowers

Vines

Grape Vitis vinifera Fruit

Hardy Kiwi Actinidia arguta Fruit, flowers

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[Permaculture Design Propsal] Lawndale Urban Farm

Hops Humulus lupulus Medicinal

Scarlet Runner Bean Phaseolus coccineus Edible, N-fixer, flowers

Wisteria Wisteria floribunda N-fixer, flowers

Leaving the planet in better condition than we found it. (INCLUDING ITS INHABITANTS)

Midwest Permaculture

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