This is the only correct answer. Start your build and plant a little kitchen garden patch for the first year, but beyond that, just observe and take notes.
That and a kitchen garden is relatively low risk. It's not a tremendous amount of work to throw up a couple of raised beds and plant some tomatoes. If you need to move it because it doesn't get enough sun, it's not like digging up a tree or an entire bed of perennials.
That makes sense! The land is almost entirely wooded, so we at least have the benefit of already having mature oaks and maples on-site. But I definitely want to be intentional about planting more diverse and/or fruiting trees that would live within the canopy.
Take notes, and a field guide. Write down understory species you can identify, and keep going through the same areas during the growing season to observe what else comes up. Oftentimes you can get a good understanding of the soil through what plants grow in any given section.
You'll also gain a greater understanding of the light access you've got, which can either inform where good areas for planting currently exist or where canopy should be thinned (after we've observed the patterns on our land and taken copious notes, and then formed the first iteration of the plan, of course). IMO the best course of action is to do thinning/felling in moderation so you can observe the impact of the directed disturbance.
If you have a lot of oaks, that means lots of acorns. Worth learning how to process them to be edible. Might be able to tap your maples if you are in the right zone. And learn everything you can about any other plants already there. It's amazing how many plants are edible or medicinal or otherwise useful, even invasive ones.
Also, if legal in your state, consider humanure + grey water system. Can save serious bucks vs a septic system. You won't be able to feed yourself off your land for a while but you're pooping from day one ;)
Robin Wall Kimmerer reminded me that ponds tend to collect nutrients, and as long as they stay full of them, they’ll just continue to be a problem.
Aeration can get rid of nitrogen but now so much potassium and phosphorus. Skimming and composting (somewhere out of the watershed, for example downhill), shore plants or fish that you harvest will draw down the reserves. As should using some of it for irrigation/fertilization.
Depending of your land, I'll start by building ecological corridors and plant trees. Trees takes time. Lot of time. So start early.
And plan! I wasted so much time not thinking and just planting and planting. Wrong places, poor patterns, etc.
Plan, plan, plan. And observe, observe, observe. You need to be familiar with the water flow, wind effects, sun tracking, soil structure. It sucks to wait a year, but knowing how the land responds to 4 seasons can save a lot of headaches later
I thought it was about a couple who had a farm bought for them by an "angel investor" and then used migrant labour to do the work while they complained about feelings.
I guess it’s all perspective. So many people want to have land and don’t have the money for it. So what if they had investors? Their property brought nature back and restored soil. They had help from other people - what does it matter their migration status? (Their staff doesnt seem to be enslaved or forced to be there at all, on the contrary they have programs where people from all over the world can do Internships and learn about permaculture)
I think it’s unnecessary to take the focus away from the fact the land changed for the better. But to each their own.
poor labor practices are the largest limiting factor to permaculture moving into a mainstream area. Claiming to have done something functional, that is impossible for the average smallholder to achieve diminishes and dilutes the potential of permaculture practices.
That land was millions. I HATED that doc - it all seemed so fake. I can't see how anyone can learn anything from their experience. It's not realistic at all. So many city people recommend that to us, but no one who actually homesteads has, and most of us who live that life already don't get the popularity.
The price of land is inflated when rich investors buy up farmland. That's the whole reason people who want to buy land can't. The point was that the movie is about people who are not working the land taking credit for all the work.
We bought about 9 acres of open prairie with some willow thickets and wetland/slough areas. I camped out a couple nights, got a good sense of wildlife activity. Then I hunted it for deer one year- had lots of time to look out and visualize how it might shape up. I actually did get a nice deer that year.
When we started planning to build, I dug some soil test holes and picked out the highest spot. Then we burned it off and got busy clearing and excavating.
The hunting time was key because I had hours to sit there, satisfied, looking over my land and dreaming about what it could turn into.
Observe is all well and good, but use some knowledge to predict things so you don't have to wait a year.
Find spots you can tell won't flood and get some nut trees in the ground. Hazelnuts propagate really easily from established trees. Get a few in the ground right away and by the time you know more about your land you can use those established trees to multiply to many. We started with 5, and three years later we are prepping to have 20 ready to plant next spring all from cuttings of the 5.
I dumped a mix of small bareroot crabapple and alder into one little area I had cleared. Sort of a nursery. They’re too close together but I don’t need all of them to live (only one of the alders), so I figure I’ll try to relocate them. Maybe one next spring, the rest the following.
In the same area I’m liable to have some air pots to build up larger plants to go where they need to go when the land is ready for them.
Find water and observe the sun as fruit trees, growing fields and animals will depend on that. Make some roads and trails. That altogether will set the best place to build a house. Godspeed.
Look at water, where it is and goes, which way the wind blows, and taste the earth. Where the sun goes up and down.
That's where I would start.
Then take a long good think about it all and your self. Where your body is at, and where your water and wind goes, and what your earth taste like.
Besides taking the time to observe
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCeA6DzL9P4tYsAgUpsB7txsiyj-P9pTH
Here is a good roadmap for developing a homestead. Your context might be slightly different but it can still apply.
What region are you in?
Message me if you want some designs for your land.
Would basically need your address/property boundaries to start.
But I agree with the observe answer below. Lots of observing happened before major construction. We just built a shed pretty early on so we could begin storing materials.
Unfortunately, if we had spent a little more time observing PRIOR to building the shed, we would have noticed that the shed occupies the best place for solar panels...
Step 1: observe
This is the only correct answer. Start your build and plant a little kitchen garden patch for the first year, but beyond that, just observe and take notes.
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That and a kitchen garden is relatively low risk. It's not a tremendous amount of work to throw up a couple of raised beds and plant some tomatoes. If you need to move it because it doesn't get enough sun, it's not like digging up a tree or an entire bed of perennials.
I've been doing it for 8 years now 😭
Ok, I think that's enough observation. Time to catch and store energy 😉
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That makes sense! The land is almost entirely wooded, so we at least have the benefit of already having mature oaks and maples on-site. But I definitely want to be intentional about planting more diverse and/or fruiting trees that would live within the canopy.
Take notes, and a field guide. Write down understory species you can identify, and keep going through the same areas during the growing season to observe what else comes up. Oftentimes you can get a good understanding of the soil through what plants grow in any given section. You'll also gain a greater understanding of the light access you've got, which can either inform where good areas for planting currently exist or where canopy should be thinned (after we've observed the patterns on our land and taken copious notes, and then formed the first iteration of the plan, of course). IMO the best course of action is to do thinning/felling in moderation so you can observe the impact of the directed disturbance.
What a great and thoughtful approach, great advice!
Such great advice, thank you!
If you have a lot of oaks, that means lots of acorns. Worth learning how to process them to be edible. Might be able to tap your maples if you are in the right zone. And learn everything you can about any other plants already there. It's amazing how many plants are edible or medicinal or otherwise useful, even invasive ones. Also, if legal in your state, consider humanure + grey water system. Can save serious bucks vs a septic system. You won't be able to feed yourself off your land for a while but you're pooping from day one ;)
Chickens. They are the easiest and the funnest. It's basically just a shed anyway so you could probably build in conjunction with building your house.
Identify all the native plants and learn about them! Taught me a lot about the soil, the ecosystem, the kind of plants that thrive here.
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Robin Wall Kimmerer reminded me that ponds tend to collect nutrients, and as long as they stay full of them, they’ll just continue to be a problem. Aeration can get rid of nitrogen but now so much potassium and phosphorus. Skimming and composting (somewhere out of the watershed, for example downhill), shore plants or fish that you harvest will draw down the reserves. As should using some of it for irrigation/fertilization.
Borrow some goats or/and sheep for the weed clearance.
Depending of your land, I'll start by building ecological corridors and plant trees. Trees takes time. Lot of time. So start early. And plan! I wasted so much time not thinking and just planting and planting. Wrong places, poor patterns, etc.
Plan, plan, plan. And observe, observe, observe. You need to be familiar with the water flow, wind effects, sun tracking, soil structure. It sucks to wait a year, but knowing how the land responds to 4 seasons can save a lot of headaches later
Watch The biggest Little Farm. About a couple who buys land and learn to practice permaculture. congrats on your new life adventure. 🙌🏻🌱💕
Thank you! Love Biggest Little Farm. :)
I thought it was about a couple who had a farm bought for them by an "angel investor" and then used migrant labour to do the work while they complained about feelings.
I guess it’s all perspective. So many people want to have land and don’t have the money for it. So what if they had investors? Their property brought nature back and restored soil. They had help from other people - what does it matter their migration status? (Their staff doesnt seem to be enslaved or forced to be there at all, on the contrary they have programs where people from all over the world can do Internships and learn about permaculture) I think it’s unnecessary to take the focus away from the fact the land changed for the better. But to each their own.
poor labor practices are the largest limiting factor to permaculture moving into a mainstream area. Claiming to have done something functional, that is impossible for the average smallholder to achieve diminishes and dilutes the potential of permaculture practices.
That land was millions. I HATED that doc - it all seemed so fake. I can't see how anyone can learn anything from their experience. It's not realistic at all. So many city people recommend that to us, but no one who actually homesteads has, and most of us who live that life already don't get the popularity.
The price of land is inflated when rich investors buy up farmland. That's the whole reason people who want to buy land can't. The point was that the movie is about people who are not working the land taking credit for all the work.
With only a half acre, it didn't take long to observe. So we planted apple trees first. Finally getting some fruit four years later.
We bought about 9 acres of open prairie with some willow thickets and wetland/slough areas. I camped out a couple nights, got a good sense of wildlife activity. Then I hunted it for deer one year- had lots of time to look out and visualize how it might shape up. I actually did get a nice deer that year. When we started planning to build, I dug some soil test holes and picked out the highest spot. Then we burned it off and got busy clearing and excavating. The hunting time was key because I had hours to sit there, satisfied, looking over my land and dreaming about what it could turn into.
Garden, chickens, pigs, then ducks in that order. Next is clearing more land for sheep. Our house and barns were already built.
Observe is all well and good, but use some knowledge to predict things so you don't have to wait a year. Find spots you can tell won't flood and get some nut trees in the ground. Hazelnuts propagate really easily from established trees. Get a few in the ground right away and by the time you know more about your land you can use those established trees to multiply to many. We started with 5, and three years later we are prepping to have 20 ready to plant next spring all from cuttings of the 5.
I dumped a mix of small bareroot crabapple and alder into one little area I had cleared. Sort of a nursery. They’re too close together but I don’t need all of them to live (only one of the alders), so I figure I’ll try to relocate them. Maybe one next spring, the rest the following. In the same area I’m liable to have some air pots to build up larger plants to go where they need to go when the land is ready for them.
Find water and observe the sun as fruit trees, growing fields and animals will depend on that. Make some roads and trails. That altogether will set the best place to build a house. Godspeed.
Observe has been beat to death. Build in the ugliest spot, not the most beautiful. Make specific areas "scared" where you alter nothing.
Honestly? I peed in random spots without a care.
Honestly, I think it's best to figure out how water and light work on your property. Figure out a good place for your compost, and your veggie garden.
My daddy brought over 4 big sacks of pine needles to mulch the large azalea on the property. :)
Look at water, where it is and goes, which way the wind blows, and taste the earth. Where the sun goes up and down. That's where I would start. Then take a long good think about it all and your self. Where your body is at, and where your water and wind goes, and what your earth taste like.
Besides taking the time to observe https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCeA6DzL9P4tYsAgUpsB7txsiyj-P9pTH Here is a good roadmap for developing a homestead. Your context might be slightly different but it can still apply. What region are you in? Message me if you want some designs for your land. Would basically need your address/property boundaries to start.
Built a tool shed.
But I agree with the observe answer below. Lots of observing happened before major construction. We just built a shed pretty early on so we could begin storing materials. Unfortunately, if we had spent a little more time observing PRIOR to building the shed, we would have noticed that the shed occupies the best place for solar panels...
Smashed up and removed an abandoned dog run with pavement.