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3-Year Development Plan

Overview

The original direction remains unchanged.

The purpose of the first three years is still to build soil structure, organic matter reserves, biological activity, water retention, biomass production systems and operational knowledge.

Baylovo is now part of the timeline as a working system. The current role of Baylovo is practical learning, participation and validation, not replacement of the project plan.

Baylovo provides:

  • real field experience;
  • access to an active greenhouse;
  • observation of existing crops and workflows;
  • experience with water, weeds, pests and labor requirements;
  • seed collection opportunities;
  • a place to test additional resilient crops;
  • a way to improve efficiency of ongoing work.

Food production is included, but during the establishment phase it remains one output among several.

Current Baylovo Context

Greenhouse

Current state:

  • mostly lapad;
  • nettle;
  • small amount of vegetables.

Role:

  • participate in the existing system;
  • preserve useful perennial biomass;
  • improve workflow and harvesting efficiency;
  • test propagation and small protected trials;
  • document what already works.

Land Around the Greenhouse (~1 dka)

Role:

  • support existing nettle and lapad biomass;
  • introduce cover crops;
  • test amaranth varieties for seed;
  • produce mulch and compost material;
  • observe soil response under low-input management.

River Field (~4 dka)

Current state:

  • small area already planted with pumpkins.

Role:

  • expand butternut squash where realistic;
  • observe labor, water demand, weed pressure and yield;
  • keep the first season simple;
  • use results to decide next year's scale.

Year 1: Experience, Observation and Low-Risk Additions

Objectives

  • learn from the existing Baylovo system;
  • document greenhouse condition, field access, water and soil behavior;
  • preserve useful existing biomass;
  • improve efficiency of current work;
  • introduce selected new crops carefully;
  • establish small seed-focused amaranth beds;
  • expand butternut squash only within realistic labor and water limits;
  • begin mulch and compost cycles using available biomass.

Greenhouse Utilization

Priority:

Participate -> Observe -> Improve Efficiency -> Introduce Carefully

Current dominant species:

  • lapad;
  • nettle.

Use:

  • harvest useful biomass in cycles;
  • keep productive patches;
  • use surplus biomass for mulch and compost;
  • reserve limited space for propagation and observation;
  • avoid unnecessary clearing.

Greenhouse Field (~1 dka)

Primary functions:

  • experience building;
  • biomass production;
  • soil cover;
  • compost and mulch feedstock;
  • seed trials;
  • cover crop introduction.

Candidate species:

  • nettle;
  • lapad;
  • alfalfa;
  • amaranth;
  • clover;
  • vetch;
  • phacelia;
  • buckwheat;
  • sunflower;
  • sorghum.

Amaranth Seed Trial

At least two separated seed beds:

  • Red Garnet;
  • Green Garnet.

Purpose:

  • collect seed for next year;
  • observe growth under local conditions;
  • compare varieties;
  • produce edible leaves where available;
  • use residues for mulch or compost.

This is a trial, not a full strategic pivot.

River Field (~4 dka)

Primary trial crop:

  • butternut squash.

Objective:

Increase planting only as much as water, access and labor realistically allow.

Possible edge or small-section tests:

  • sunflower;
  • amaranth;
  • chickpea;
  • sorghum;
  • beans.

The river field should remain simple in Year 1.

Compost System

Initial target:

5-10 m3

Feedstocks:

  • nettle;
  • lapad;
  • weeds;
  • squash residues;
  • amaranth residues;
  • grass clippings;
  • leaves;
  • wood chips;
  • available animal manure.

Success Criteria

Experience

  • routine work understood;
  • workflow constraints documented;
  • labor bottlenecks identified;
  • water access and irrigation limits recorded.

Soil

  • useful soil cover preserved;
  • first mulch cycle completed;
  • decomposition observed;
  • productive biomass patches mapped.

Seeds

  • amaranth seed trial completed;
  • seed collected if the season allows;
  • germination, growth, pest pressure and harvest timing recorded.

Food

Small production or observation of:

  • lapad;
  • nettle;
  • butternut squash;
  • amaranth leaves;
  • existing vegetables;
  • possible legumes.

Year 2: Efficiency, Validation and Controlled Expansion

Objectives

  • increase efficiency of current Baylovo activity;
  • validate Year 1 observations;
  • expand only what proved useful;
  • introduce additional resilient crops;
  • improve internal biomass and compost cycles;
  • reduce avoidable external inputs;
  • use collected seed where available.

Greenhouse

Target:

Better use of the existing system, not maximum occupation

The greenhouse should support:

  • early greens;
  • seedling propagation;
  • small protected trials;
  • seed multiplication;
  • biomass cycling;
  • observation of perennial patches.

Existing lapad and nettle remain part of the system unless they block higher-value work.

Greenhouse Field (~1 dka)

Possible expansion:

  • alfalfa;
  • nettle;
  • lapad;
  • amaranth from Year 1 seed;
  • clover;
  • vetch;
  • phacelia;
  • buckwheat;
  • sorghum;
  • sunflower.

Target:

Improve productivity per unit of labor

River Field (~4 dka)

Validate butternut squash performance:

  • yield;
  • water demand;
  • weed suppression;
  • storage quality;
  • wildlife damage;
  • labor requirement.

Expand squash only if Year 1 shows that the crop is worth the required labor and water.

Food Production

Expansion candidates:

  • butternut squash;
  • amaranth;
  • chickpeas;
  • beans;
  • sunflower;
  • Jerusalem artichoke;
  • leafy perennials;
  • drought-tolerant support crops.

Soil Monitoring

Observe:

  • infiltration rates;
  • earthworm activity;
  • mulch decomposition;
  • organic matter accumulation;
  • root penetration depth;
  • weed community changes.

Compost System

Target:

10-20 m3 annually

Internal production should increasingly become the primary fertility source.

Year 3: Stabilization and Optimization

Objectives

  • establish self-reinforcing biological cycles;
  • reduce dependency on imported materials;
  • optimize crop placement;
  • expand only where water, biomass and labor allow;
  • use locally produced seed where possible;
  • formalize the crop matrix with site observations.

Site Functions

Food Production

Human consumption.

Seed Production

Local adaptation and future independence.

Biomass Production

Mulch and compost.

Nutrient Cycling

Internal fertility generation.

Observation

Continuous improvement.

Soil Targets

Organic Matter

Increase relative to Year 1 baseline.

Biological Activity

Indicators:

  • earthworms;
  • fungal growth;
  • rapid residue decomposition;
  • stable plant regrowth after cutting.

Water Management

Reduced irrigation requirements per unit area.

Long-Term Direction

The site should transition from external inputs toward internal biomass, compost, soil improvement, food production and local seed.

The primary product of the system is fertile soil.

Food production is a consequence of soil development.

Seed production is the beginning of local adaptation.