Saint Louis County, Minnesota · 12.0 acres · 46.83876° N, 92.08292° W
USDA NAIP aerial photograph with the boundary drawn for this read.
Growing ground: under 15% slope, not north-facing, soil mapped well or moderately well drained. Wet: the wettest tenth by wetness index, or soil mapped poorly drained. Wet in spring: somewhat poorly drained; mound trees, raise beds. Cold air pools: the lowest, flattest tenth. Steep: 30% and over. Rules of thumb: walk it before planting.
| Map unit | Share | Drainage | Runoff | Bedrock | Water table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F135A Hermantown-Canosia-Giese, depressional, complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes | 45% | Somewhat poorly drained | C/D | deeper than 5 ft | at the surface | |
| F134A Giese muck, depressional, 0 to 1 percent slopes | 30% | Very poorly drained | C/D | deeper than 5 ft | at the surface | |
| E12A Udifluvents complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes, flooded | 17% | Somewhat poorly drained | A/D | deeper than 5 ft | 13 in | |
| F147D Ahmeek-Canosia-Rock outcrop complex, 0 to 25 percent slopes | 7% | Well drained | D | deeper than 5 ft | at the surface | |
| F111B Augustana-Hegberg complex, 1 to 8 percent slopes | 1% | Moderately well drained | B/D | deeper than 5 ft | 13 in | |
| F138D Ahmeek-Normanna-Canosia complex, 0 to 18 percent slopes | 1% | Well drained | C | deeper than 5 ft | 18 in |
USDA hardiness zone 4a (official map, zip 55803). NASA's data for the last ten winters computes 4b. In a typical year the last spring frost comes around May 13, and one year in ten as late as May 29. The first fall frost comes around Oct 1, one year in ten as early as Sep 18.
31.2 in of precipitation in a typical year (17.7 in of it between the frosts), and about 90 in of snow. Months shaded tan lose more water to evaporation than they get as rain: May, Jun, Jul and Aug. Those are the months stored water and mulch pay for themselves.
Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals measured at Duluth, MN (USW00014913), 6 miles from the site. Thirty-year averages at the station, not your thermometer: hollows run colder, slopes and shores milder. The site sits about 230 ft lower than the station; a standard lapse rate puts it roughly 1 °F warmer on average. Evaporation is estimated from the station's temperatures (Hargreaves method).
At noon on the shortest day the sun stands 19.7° above the southern horizon, so a 30 ft tree casts an 84 ft shadow. Anything that needs winter light (a greenhouse, a south window, early beds) wants that much clear ground on its sunny side.
In midsummer the sun rises at 53°, sets at 307° and gives 15.9 hours of daylight, so east and west walls take direct sun morning and evening. In midwinter the useful light comes from a narrow wedge, 8.5 hours long.
Winter wind comes mostly from the NW, WNW, W; summer wind from the WNW, NW, ENE. A windbreak for the house, garden and animals belongs on the northwest side. A dense row of trees shelters ground for roughly ten times its height downwind, so a 30 ft row covers about 300 ft.
Of the sloping ground: 50% faces south, 27% east, 10% west and 14% north; 13% of the site is too flat to face anywhere. South and east faces warm first in spring; north faces hold snow and bloom later, which can save early-flowering fruit from a late frost.
| Day | Sunrise bearing | Sunset bearing | Sun at noon | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter solstice (Dec 21) | 124° | 236° | 19.7° | 8.5 h |
| Spring equinox (Mar 20) | 90° | 270° | 42.7° | 12.1 h |
| Summer solstice (Jun 21) | 53° | 307° | 66.6° | 15.9 h |
| Fall equinox (Sep 22) | 88° | 272° | 43.8° | 12.2 h |
Bearings are compass degrees (90° east, 180° south, 270° west). Times here are solar time. Solar noon at this longitude falls roughly 8 minutes after clock noon in the nearest zone (before daylight saving), give or take the equation of time (up to 16 min).
139 of the 150 plants in the Land Assay library are hardy here. These are the most useful of them for a start, chosen for how many jobs each one does, with the ones that take this site's medium-moisture and wet soil listed first.
Plant the ones you will eat; most need a second variety nearby to fruit.
The fastest food from perennials, usually two to four years to a crop.
Nitrogen fixers: grow them beside the fruit and cut them back to feed it.
Small flowers and strong scents that keep helpful insects on site.
Plants that take wet feet, for where water gathers.
One fruit tree with the plants that feed, guard and cover it, laid out about 23 ft across, all hardy in zone 4a.
The 3 goals you ticked, read against this land's own numbers.
5% of the site, about 0.56 acres, sorts as good growing ground (map 2): the place for the first beds and fruit, raised. The survey's water table rises to the surface on 75% of the site, and 93% sorts wet or wet in spring: mound the fruit trees and raise the beds. The season gives about 140 frost-free days and 1,789 growing degree days, and 139 of the library's 150 plants are hardy in zone 4a. Beds need water in May, Jun, Jul and Aug, when evaporation outruns rain.
Runoff from at least 9.6 acres of uphill ground drains onto the land, mostly toward the northwest edge. It gathers first toward the northwest edge (spot 1 on the water map), fed by about 2.4 acres: the first place to look at for a pond. 68% of the ground sits on 3–15% slopes, where swales are practical, and every 1,000 sq ft of roof sheds about 19,400 gallons a year. Store it before May: evaporation outruns rain in May, Jun, Jul and Aug.
Water draws wildlife first: spot 1, toward the northwest edge, is the likeliest place for a pond or a wet meadow. Of the site, 37% sorts wet and 56% wet in spring; left that way it is habitat already. Part of the site is mapped as wetland soil. A windbreak on the northwest side, planted as a mixed hedgerow, shelters birds as well as the house.
0 to fix · 7 to check · 5 placed well. Fix: likely a real problem, move or change it. Check: worth a second look. Good: placed by the principle. The numbers match the map.
GoodPasses the checks. Checked: 0% wet ground, 11% slope; no runoff path, low ground, flooding or winter shade found.Build on drained, gentle ground out of the runoff and the cold-air pools (USDA soil survey; Mollison, Designers' Manual, p. 118).
GoodIn its place. On average 14 ft from the nearest building.Place things by how often you visit them: daily work near the house, occasional work farther out (Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture).
CheckHigh water table: raise the beds. Part of this soil (F147D) has a water table that can rise to the surface, and 100% of the bed lies on it. Roots below the water table drown in spring; raise the beds or build them on mounds.Roots below the seasonal water table drown in spring; raised beds keep them above it (USDA soil survey, depth to water table).
CheckSteep: terrace it. 57% of it is on slopes of 15% or more. Bare soil there washes; terrace it on contour or keep it in perennials.Cultivated slopes wash: Mollison wants contour work from about 10% and puts 20% as the usual limit (Designers' Manual, p. 231).
GoodNear its roof. 2.5 ft from House; its height against the beds near it and the ground under it checked too.Place each element to serve its neighbours: a tank beside the roof that fills it, above the beds it waters (Mollison's relative location).
GoodPlaced by the principle. Not uphill of water, off the runoff paths and on drained ground, 11 ft from Kitchen bed.Keep compost off slopes draining to water, and 50–100 ft from wells (NC State HIL-8100; Leckie, Other Homes and Garbage, p. 301).
CheckPlan an overflow for storms. About 2.4 acres drains to it, 68 times its 1,550 sq ft, so storms will overfill it. Give it a level, grassed overflow on undisturbed ground, not on the fill.Past 20 acres of watershed per acre of pond, spillways get costly and silting increases (Foster, Approved Practices, p. 205).
GoodSoil holds water. 100% of it sits on F134A, mapped very poorly drained, group C/D: slow-draining ground that holds a pond. Confirm with a test hole.A pond holds on clay or a high water table; sand and gravel leak unless sealed or lined (NRCS Ag Handbook 590).
CheckCan dam cold air. It runs across the slope 14 ft below Crabapple (2.5 ft lower). Cold air draining downhill on still nights can pool behind it; leave gaps or keep its base open.A dense hedge across a slope dams draining cold air, and the ground above it frosts (Jacke, Edible Forest Gardens v2, p. 211).
CheckHigh water table: plant on mounds. Part of this soil (F147D) has a water table that can rise to the surface, and Apple wants drained ground. Plant it on a mound, or where the ground drains.All fruits need well-drained soil, or raised beds; poorly drained soil lowers winter survival (Cornell Guide to Growing Fruit at Home, pp. 2, 4).
CheckHigh water table: plant on mounds. Part of this soil (F147D) has a water table that can rise to the surface, and Crabapple wants drained ground. Plant it on a mound, or where the ground drains.
CheckHigh water table: plant on mounds. Part of this soil (F147D) has a water table that can rise to the surface, and Blue false indigo wants drained ground. Plant it on a mound, or where the ground drains.Roots below the seasonal water table drown in spring; where it rises high, plant on mounds (USDA soil survey, depth to water table).
CheckWet ground: mud. 33% of it sorts as wet ground. Animals churn it to mud, and wet ground brings foot trouble (foot rot in hoofed stock); fence the wet part out.Trampled wet ground loses its sod and turns to mud; standing in mud brings foot trouble, foot rot in hoofed stock.
CheckClose to House. It comes within 3.9 ft of House. If that is the house, flies and smell come with it; a barn or coop there is fine.Stock bring flies and smell: a small coop can sit near the house, larger animals' yards farther off.
GoodGentle enough. Its steepest 32 ft stretch is 14%, and 8% of its 385 ft is steeper than a 10% grade.Keep walks and drives under a 10% grade; tracks on contour don't erode (Step By Step Landscaping; Doherty, Keyline course notes).
CheckUphill water comes in. About 0.64 acres of uphill ground drains in toward the southeast edge, and nothing in the plan catches or diverts it within 131 ft.Start at the top of the watershed and work down; slow, spread and sink the flow (Lancaster, Rainwater Harvesting v1).
CheckNeeds with thin support. Served by fewer than two elements: shade & microclimate (1), fuel & biomass (0) and access & work (1). Each important need should be met in more than one way.Each element should serve many functions, and each important function be served by many elements (Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture).
CheckElements with few functions. Serving fewer than three needs: Kitchen bed, Rain tank, Compost and Path to the pond. Mark what each does (Design tab), or give it more jobs.Each element should serve at least three functions, the PDC rule of thumb for Mollison's principle (Lancaster, Rainwater Harvesting v2).
Elevation. USGS 3D Elevation Program, via the 3DEP ImageServer. Read on 5.3 ft cells. Public domain.
Soils. USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), via Soil Data Access. Public domain.
Climate. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, station USW00014913 (Duluth, MN). Public domain. Evaporation: Hargreaves equation (FAO-56). Wind. NASA POWER, NASA POWER daily 2016–2025 (API v2.9.7). CC BY 4.0.
Hardiness zone. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023), by zip code via phzmapi.org.
Sun. NOAA solar position equations. Aerial photograph. USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), via USGS The National Map. Public domain.
Address. OpenStreetMap contributors, via Nominatim. ODbL.
Plants. The Land Assay plant library: reference values from horticultural and extension sources. Data pulled 2026-09-17 at 06:17.