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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] field orientation
  • Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:18:26 -0400


On Jul 17, 2010, at 1:21 AM, E C GRANATA wrote:

No slope--it's flat.  The 'issue' is that the plot (this is an urban farm) is a city block that is oriented on a 45 degree angle from due north, south, east, west, so to orient either east- west or north-south, the beds have to run on a diagonal to the lot, and that's not a very efficient use of space.  I'd rather have more beds which I can do if the orientation on a northeast by south west orientation isn't a show stopper. 
 
Elaine


I'd like to hear what others have to say on this; but it's my impression that, while a north-south orientation may be ideal (due to best sun exposure) if all other factors are equal, other factors often outweigh that one. For instance, rows should run across the slope, not up and down it, when there is a significant slope, in order to reduce erosion; therefore, in hilly country, rows rarely run exactly north and south -- they may even curve around the hill, producing a different sun orientation at different places in the row.

So if the most efficient layout of your space, due to the small size of the plot and the angle of its boundaries, is to run the rows northeast to southwest, I'd be inclined to go ahead and do that. You could try to arrange the crops to reduce shading of shorter crops by taller ones.

Be aware that the disadvantage of flat land -- possibly in your case made worse by tall buildings nearby -- is poor airflow whenever the weather isn't generally windy; this can increase the risk of diseases. On the other hand, urban farms sometimes don't have other similar crops growing nearby, so there may be less disease inoculum around in the first place.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale






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