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| Illustration: Dorling Kindersley |
It used to drive me nuts. I'd pick up a country living book and there would be a plan for laying out your one or two acre homestead. A nice big square where everything fit wonderfully, never any obstructions (or septic field, well, or driveway for that matter), land raring to drown you in bounty.
Woodchuck Acres wasn't even close. The tax map showed a strange trapezoid shape; the boundaries were obviously laid out by a drunk surveyor after a night on the town. The west half of the property is a hill sloping up to a steep bank down to the creek; there's what we call our oubliette (an old dry well?), deep and dangerous and surrounded by poison ivy. The leach field meanders under some of the best soil, and a huge Norway spruce is plopped square in the middle of the property. These idiosyncrasies pale when you consider the soil isn't soil but rocks, the southern area is shaded almost constantly by the neighboring woods, and we're smack in the middle of an established deer path.
So I was convinced that the live-well-on-one-acre layouts were a snare to entice unwary rubes to buy books.
Then I found Lick Skillet and almost fell off of my chair when I saw the map. A square, a perfect square! Not only that, the land is flat--no hills, no drop-offs, no squishy spots. I haven't had the soil tested but at least two people have told me it sits on good valley soil and the one shady spot protects the house from the western sun but doesn't reach the garden. There are a few established plantings that I'll want to move and a tumbledown shed we'll eventually relocate but that's just fun stuff. I don't even think there's an oubliette.
I guess I owe those homestead planners an apology.
But talk about starting over--this is virtually a blank slate. I keep trying to draw up a plan for fruit trees and animal pens and herbs and I freeze. I think I have homestead writers block. Even committing to paper seems an impossible task and we're only talking about 3 acres. Imagine the panic if I had 40! I'm hyperventilating at the thought.
What would you do first if you could land on the place of your dreams? What's your first, second, and third step?
First step is to fall on my knees and be thankful because that would be amazing! =) Then begin a list of everything I think I want to do animals, plantings etc.. From the list I would begin drawing plans. Several plans. Finally just do it! You can usually change things around if later it doesn't work out the way you want. Fun times are ahead for you!!
ReplyDeleteWe (my 4 kids and I) are also moving to Southern Indiana where we hope to start a hobby farm (chickens, bees, dairy goats, a few sheep and veggies). Since we don't have a house where we are moving the farm probably won't get off the drawing board until next year. Best of luck with yours! I blog at www.theboxcarkids.net/wordpress if you want to follow our farm adventure (we will watch you go ahead of us).
ReplyDeleteI guess the only thing not so easy to change later would be trees, so make sure you put them where they will get what they need, but not hinder your other projects. As Penny said, you can change things around later, but you'll want to see how the tree shade falls and such. But yes, a good idea to make a list of what you want and what those things need. That has to be the starting place. And see what you can do now and plan for what you will do later down the road. In other words, priorities according to time, money and such. What a wonderful problem to have!
ReplyDeleteI am in much the same situation. It is overwhelming, and I have made some mistakes in planning. I agree with chickadeeworkshop, plan those trees first. The chickens need shade in the summer, but sun in the winter, so even think about the type of trees you are planning. Do you need a windbreak....a different type of tree.
ReplyDeleteAnother big factor is water source. Hauling water is not fun. So I would plan any additional water outlets before planting or building anything. You don't want to have to dig up something you planted a year ago.
This is not the most pleasant part of planning, but plan for your own aging. I started raised beds at this house, as I am getting close to 60, because I will be able to take care of them as I get older.
Have fun with the planning. It will be worth it in the long run.
Good advice everybody! I hope we can get some fruit trees in early, money is going to be very tight! There is a house, large garage, and a small shed which will help me plan traffic patterns, etc. And an outside spigot (something we never had). And Plant City, I just turned 60 so making things easier is very much on my mind!
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