Read Your Land

About this printable

The most expensive garden mistakes are placement mistakes. This workbook turns permaculture's first rule, observe before you change anything, into a step-by-step method for any yard, lot, or acreage.

Read your land: permaculture site observation workbook

26-page printable workbook · US Letter + A4 · instant download

What's inside

• Desk survey: 9 free official sources for your soil type, flood zone, contours, rainfall, wind, and sun position, plus the 811 rule before digging
• Base map method: fast measuring, scale, no-dig zones, and a full-page grid
• Sun path diagram, plus a sun-height, shadow-length and day-length table for 25–50°N
• Shadow math with a worked example, and how to measure a tree's height from its shadow
• Water: roof rainwater yield, a rain walk, measuring slope with string and a line level, contour lines, an infiltration test
• Five soil checks from one spadeful: texture, structure, compaction, earthworms, color
• Microclimates: frost pockets, heat traps, rain shadows, windbreak rules
• Sector analysis (sun, wind, water, fire, view, noise) and permaculture zones 0–5
• Observation log, seasonal checklist, a 3-year phenology calendar, and a decision filter for your first moves

Who it's for

Homeowners, new land buyers, renters with a yard, and permaculture students who want a real method before they plant, dig, or build.

What you get

2 PDF files: US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and A4. Print at home at 100% scale, or use them in any PDF app on a tablet. Copy the base map for each observation layer.

This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped. After purchase, download the files from Purchases and Reviews on etsy.com in a web browser (digital files can't be downloaded in the Etsy app).

Good to know

• Sun tables are calculated from solar geometry. Other figures come from USDA NRCS, NOAA, FEMA, USGS, and Extension sources, listed in the workbook.
• Written for US sites (Northern Hemisphere).
• This is a planning and observation guide. Earthworks, drainage near buildings, and permitted work need local professionals.
• Personal-use license: print as many copies as you need for your own site. Please don't resell or share the files.

Part of the Homestead Field Workbooks bundle (4 workbooks, save $13). Find it in the Field Workbooks section of the shop.