I recently acquired about 3/4 of an acre of land. I have a lot of ideas of what I want to do with it once I’ve cleared it, but I’d really like to plan things properly, so I’m thinking of using some sort of design software (ideally free) to do it. Does anyone know of any good software like this? Bonus points if you’ve used it before.
3 Likes
Not necessarily orchard design but if you have interest in agroforestry systems and want an idea of suitability the Canopy Compass is pretty cool. It’s not perfect by any stretch bit can give some insights.
4 Likes
For sketching stuff like this I like to use Rhinoceros CAD, but that’s paid. CAD software is nice cause it has a grid and a lot of features for dimensioning and alignment. There’s probably a free 2d CAD software that would work, but I don’t know which is best.
But a vector drawing program would definitely work too. Inkscape is a very good open source version of Adobe Illustrator. Allows you to create geometric elements and modify or sort them, and if you get good at using Guides and the Align/Distribute functions you can organize your elements pretty well. Also has good functionality for layers and groups, which is super helpful for organizing complex sets of shapes.
1 Like
Also I have used FreeCAD, that would definitely do the job, I just only used it briefly a few years back so I don’t really remember the interface. Basically any CAD program works in 2d to make your sketches, and these can be exported as DXF files, and that’s what you’d be working with.
The trouble with using advanced software for this kind of stuff is that there’s always a big tradeoff on the learning curve vs doing it manually. I just did a large wiring diagram for a electronics project and learned an open source electrical CAD program for it, I probably spent half my time learning the software not doing the layout. But I wanted to have a professional looking diagram to keep and edit for years, so it was worth it.
I would bet, though, that if you like using software, you’ll find other uses for either Inkscape or CAD skills.
Note everything I’m talking about is general design software that would require a very manual process for labeling your elements and organizing them. Maybe there are more landscape oriented options, IDK
3 Likes
I’ve used Sketchup (to scale 3D modeling, has a free price tier last I checked), and I also use GIS software (QGIS is free). Both have a bit of a learning curve, but will work quite well.
That being said, I think it’s tough to beat some graph paper or a large printout of your property map.
7 Likes
@jcguarneri You know, you make a good point on the physical drawing. I had imagined that software would be easier, but I’m pretty handy with a pencil and ruler already, and most software will require some time spent learning. I have been meaning to learn how to use QGIS for a few other projects though… decisions decisions!
3 Likes
Let me know if you want some QGIS pointers. It’s not that hard, but there are some definite things ya gotta know to handle geographic data.
4 Likes
Any good tutorials on YouTube you know of? I am confident AI has answers if you know the proper questions to ask. Establishing the correct datum is a good place to start!
2 Likes
I use QGIS quite a bit too for work stuff. Probably the steepest learning curve between design, CAD, and GIS software for basic drawing, but if you want to learn it anyways this could be a good reason to and you could get some really cool outputs.
Definitely not rocket science, just need to get familiar with projections/datums, how GIS data is organized (attribute tables etc), raster vs vector data, and the interface itself (GIS is very hierarchical, so can be confusing keeping track of where object symbology is edited for example). You’ll use rasters for importing an airphoto and/or digital elevation model (DEM) of your property, you’ll use vectors for drawing polygons or lines in other layers that you can superimpose on top of them, importing property boundaries from county data, etc. You’ll use the analysis tools in the drop-down menus to create vector data like contour lines from the raw raster DEMs.
I’m not sure about general how-to-get-started tutorials (though I would imagine there’s plenty), but I’ve always been able to find good support on how to do specific tasks in QGIS.
2 Likes
Also don’t be too intimidated by the projection/datum stuff, QGIS is pretty good at automatically applying a transformation to the data so it aligns with whatever projection you’re working in. Only once it a while do you have to manually set it after looking at the metadata
1 Like
My highly sophisticated setup involves a screenshot of google maps (satellite view), MS paint to put numbered dots on it, google doc to write down which number is which tree.
6 Likes
For a one-off this is the most reasonable way, for sure. Though using vector graphics like inkscape instead of paint would be the civilized way to do it 
1 Like
Anyone with surplus orchards let me know, I’d gladly take one off your hands
3 Likes
To be fair, considering the human and fruit tree lifespans and assuming we are not on the verge of achieving biological immortality, it’s quite literally meant to be a one off lol.
1 Like
Working with about 1 acre.
I created a new PowerPoint presentation. I selected the menu item:
Design | Slide Size | Custom Slide Size…
I set the width and height to be something like 1 inch for every 10 feet of space I had.
I made measurements outside using the corners of the house and utility poles as origin points for doing measurements with a long measuring tape. With my 100’ tape measure, it is easy to use a driveway marker to stake into the ground at the start of each measurement. When working in snow I use a long twist-tie to tie it to a brick. Did all my initial measurements and planning in snow and drew them on the PowerPoint slide.
PowerPoint scales the slide to a page when printing.
One annoying thing about PowerPoint is that circles are not measured from the center of the circle but from the upper left corner which means adjusting by 1/2 the diameter to Horizontal Position and Vertical Position if you are trying to be exact in placement.
EDIT: For a 1 acre region, tape measure from fixed objects gave me a precision of within 2 inches every time I re-measure.
I’m interested in your advice!
1 Like
I was just going to sugest PowerPoint. I used a screen shot from the county tax portal GIS, which i had added a few measured shapes. And then created shapes in PowerPoint and moved them around.
2 Likes
you can do measurements directly in google maps, if you right click
1 Like