Planning the Homestead, Suggestions, Mistakes?

[equinecpa]

In May this year I get to move to my dream property. It's 16 acres in the rocky mountains and unbelievable enough not all on a side hill.

It's got several buildings on it already which I have marked on the google aerial below:

I've labelled them as you drive up the driveway ( I think you'll have to click on the photo to get it larger)

a) Main house-we plan on doing a garage/small addition on the North Side (north is marked by orange arrow in right hand corner -basically Up)
b) Run in shed
c) Shop with power
d)Greenhouse
e)Barn with attached machine shed
f)Guesthouse
g)Pond
h)Year around running creek



This property will be home to:
1) 5-6 head of horses who will need riding track
2) 10-12 sheep
3) 5-6 ducks
4) 4-5 chickens
5) 5 dogs who will need kennel area and agility field. The dogs will not be permanently homed in the kennel the kennel is for when we're not home.

Except for the chickens we already have all of the above animals.

My goals for this property is to make it as sustainable as possible. The guesthouse is currently rented, but I'd like to make it a vacation rental with people coming with their horses/dogs to stay for a few days at a time. I am also toying with making the property a destination for school tours to visit a "green farm". The buildings are circa 1920, and there is even an old hydro-electric feed off the running creek/waterfall (hasn't functioned for a long time). I'd also like to install some solar panels to take advantage of all the sunshine reduce our reliance on electricity.

Plans for this year are to get the family and livestock moved, secure fencing (not necessarily in that order) and get the garden growing. I'd like to plant some fruit trees.

What I'd like your help for is planning the best layout for the critters we're bringing as well as suggestion/or things to avoid.

My Plan:

1. I'm planning on putting the sheep in the pasture area between the house a) and b). I'll probably build a new shed for them.

2. Kennel-I'm not sure where to put it. I think close to house?

3. Horses will use the barn and run in sheds. I think the riding area will have to be located behind the guest house.

4. Garden: I plan on a vegetable plot (nothing super extravagant as the growing season is pretty short) and a herb garden. There is fenced garden area south of the house (about 1/2 way between the markers a) and b). Water is currently available at the house and between the shop and barn and at the guesthouse. Would you move the garden?

5. Fruit trees -I'd like to plant apples and plums and see how they fare. I"m not sure where to put these. I guess somewhere where I can water them? Their fruit (when they eventually get it will need to be protected form deer and other wildlife that comes through).

6. Berries: I plan on berries-would you put those with the vegetable/herb garden or separate them?

7. Chickens/ducks -I plan on keeping them within the fenced garden area in their tractor at night, loose during the day. One dilemma I have is the pond. Wouldn't it be nice to have ducks on the pond? Problem is there is quite a drop from the house to the pond -it's not a hill you'd want to go up and down to feed them daily. Do you think I could get the ducks off the pond if I let them go there daily?

8. The whole area north-east of the pond is somewhat marshy right now. Beaver are in there and have diverted the flow. We'd like to get the creek back on it's path, perhaps put a cow there for the summer to clean up and then see what we've got.

Here is a link to photos on my blog: http://neighborlyplace.blogspot.com/...label/Colorado

I'm hoping for some suggestions and perhaps some warnings (I don't mind learning from others mistakes!).

Thanks

[dirtman]

Looks like a dream come true. If you can still find it I'd suggest getting Ken Kern's book "The owner-built homestead" It still has valid ideas. Also I have found the book "The Self-sufficient Live and How to Live It" by John Seymour pretty useful. I know you can get that on Amazon. Good Luck

[7thswan]

Plant fruit trees closer to your house, the deer stay away when they know dogs are near. Do not let your livestock have free run into your pond,and try to keep runoff of manure from getting in it. Fence off your garden,chickens will ruin it. I can't imagine you'll get the ducks off the pond at night. My berrys are seprate from the main garden, have had no trouble-not even birds. Blueberrys-yes,chickes will get the berrys and -rabbits- The branches are tender morsels in the winter. Our Texas Longhorns were better at browsing trees and brush,than the other breeds we have had.
Before you plant or plan anything, know your prevaling winds.

[ronbre]

if there is no island on the pond you might try a floating island for your ducks

[fantasymaker]

First thing SURVEY
Second build a boundry fence right on the line.
Now as to whats a good fence. Id recomend 8 feet of woven wire with a 2inch x 4 inch mesh. top that with 2 smooth hot wires on a seperate charger about a foot up from the bottome run a hot wire on standoffs on a seperate charger.
Then rent a lion and add signs that stay "Stay out lion inside"
After a few months return the lion the lion and tell the neighbors it died.

[motdaugrnds]

My Plan:

1. I'm planning on putting the sheep in the pasture area between the house a) and b). I'll probably build a new shed for them.

2. Kennel-I'm not sure where to put it. I think close to house? Wherever you can clean it easily; also have some way of "hearing/knowing" when birthing time begins...guessing you'll be raising some for sale.

3. Horses will use the barn and run in sheds. I think the riding area will have to be located behind the guest house. I like that idea a lot, though you might need to clear some type of riding trail.

4. Garden: I plan on a vegetable plot (nothing super extravagant as the growing season is pretty short) and a herb garden. There is fenced garden area south of the house (about 1/2 way between the markers a) and b). Water is currently available at the house and between the shop and barn and at the guesthouse. Would you move the garden? I would emphasize placement of the garden to be near wherever the animal bedding will be placed....much easier for composting/mulching.

5. Fruit trees -I'd like to plant apples and plums and see how they fare. I"m not sure where to put these. I guess somewhere where I can water them? Their fruit (when they eventually get it will need to be protected form deer and other wildlife that comes through). Do you know what type of wild life they will need to be protected from? All we have here are deer; so all we needed was double fencing for total of about 5' from freshly planted tree. Once mature, the trunks can be wrapped in 2x4" holes welded wire...3 times around deters the deer nicely.

6. Berries: I plan on berries-would you put those with the vegetable/herb garden or separate them? Depends on berries. If "bush" type I might place them in same vicinity; however, if vines, I would want to make sure they would not intrude in the veg/herb patch.

7. Chickens/ducks -I plan on keeping them within the fenced garden area in their tractor at night, loose during the day. One dilemma I have is the pond. Wouldn't it be nice to have ducks on the pond? Problem is there is quite a drop from the house to the pond -it's not a hill you'd want to go up and down to feed them daily. Do you think I could get the ducks off the pond if I let them go there daily? Will the pond be "naturally" maintained by the creek? Is that pond run-off water? These would influence what I permitted to enjoy the pond. Also, I would suspect what you permit on your pond will make their own decisions as to when they get off it.

8. The whole area north-east of the pond is somewhat marshy right now. Beaver are in there and have diverted the flow. We'd like to get the creek back on it's path, perhaps put a cow there for the summer to clean up and then see what we've got.

I think you have a wonderful area to work with and your plans sound well thought out. If you haven't already, you might want to talk with your locals to find out about the weather. Knowing where you need wind breaks and from what direction your worst storms will come from will be beneficial to you. Congratulations and do let us know (with some photoes) how it all goes for you.

[geo in mi]

Do you have water rights and are they deeded?

geo

[rootsandwings]

I have my fruit - permaculture - seperate from the annual garden. the garden is fenced in 4 sections and the chickens get a new section each year. they also spend time loose in the fruit garden and pasture on days when I won't be home at dusk to put them away - from there they can put themselves away - in the garden they are fenced in with shade and a pool for water, but no house.

I also like the "chicken moat" idea for fencing a garden (or a "dog moat" for your fruit trees if the dogs can't run loose!)

[debmac]

Beautiful place- love the view from the house.

[used2bcool13]

What amazing photos, congratulations, where is this property? What state is it.

Thank you for sharing, it is very impressive.

[equinecpa]

Thanks for the compliments -we searched for 4 years for the right property and I'm pretty sure we found it. The property is in Bailey, CO -sw of Denver. It's about 35 minutes down the mountain to 470- the ringroad around Denver.

Re Kennel: Actually no plans for breeding but do want them pretty close to the house.

Re Fruit trees: Good idea planting closer to the house to keep deer away. And winds -I never thought about winds. I'll inquire about them for sure.

Re Garden: Will ducks ruin a garden? I thought one of the ideas of chickens was for them to eat bugs that eat the garden? I like the idea of composting, chickens and garden all in the same area as I could build one deer/rabbit/chipmunk/fox/raccoon/bear what-have-you fence to protect all. I may have to do the chicken moat/tunnel thing.

Pond: Shame I can't put the pond to use with the ducks but I fear there would be no catching them once they got out there.

Thank for the suggestions -keep them coming! What have you guys done on your homestead that you'd do differently given the chance?

[Blackbear]

Only mistake I think we made was we should have bought more land.We have 5 secluded acres but another 10 would have been better and 25 would have been grand.We are young so maybe one day.

[equinecpa]

Originally Posted by Blackbear

Only mistake I think we made was we should have bought more land.We have 5 secluded acres but another 10 would have been better and 25 would have been grand.We are young so maybe one day.

Already on to that LOL -we're have a contract on the little triangular 2 acre piece on the west side!

[CIW]

I don't know if you are next to the US Forest or BLM in an open range area. If so its a fence out area. On open range areas, anything not fenced is open to the cattle or sheep on that permit. They'll devistate any improvements you make to the ground.
At that altitude you may find that growing fruit trees won't yield much fruit. Berry canes may do very well up there though. Especially close to the creek. Things like currants and goosberries may also excell.
Theres a reason why there is a greehouse there. The growing season is probably less than 13 weeks long. The squirrels will likely get anything in between.
You will also need to secure a place to put any kind of feed stuffs that you have for your livestock. Once the deer, elk, and moose zero in on that, it won't take them long to go through it especially around the first snows of the year.
The dogs will likely have fun though.

[Waterwheel Farm]

Beautiful, beautiful place! Looks like more than enough to keep you guys busy for awhile. Once thing I didn't see you mention was waterers for the livestock in winter. I have fought that for the last two years and it really gets miserable in really cold weather. Not that I'm complaining, I still really love this lifestyle, but it is time consuming. I've been installing a watering system as time and money allow and I should be done this summer....<fingers crossed>. My goal is to make it not dependent on electricity, at least one of the water tanks anyway. Also noticed you have a propane tank. Where I am now is the first place I've used propane. So far this winter (and it's been mild) I've used 550 gallons at $3.00 a gallon.the math is easy. And I burn wood as much as possible when I'm not at work. Anyway, cant wait to see more photos as your place progresses!

[texican]

I don't think you're going to have much vegetation left, if you take all those animals out there.... the area is just a tad bit wetter than a desert, semi-arid. Doubt if it could support one horse, or one sheep, much less a bunch of em.

Now, if you had an irrigated alfalfa meadow on half the place, and the equipment and skills to harvest and put it all up each summer, you'd have a great place. (or friends/family that grow alfalfa nearby)... Still a great place, but I just don't think your going to grow enough grass for your critters. The local feedstore will love you, though! An old saying about livestock... you don't raise livestock... you raise grass. No grass/no livestock. We had zero hay last summer (drought) and we're spending a fortune because of it... We're holding out, for a normal summer. IF we were in a semi arid, or desert region, we'd not have livestock... unless we had irrigated hay meadows...

Before I'd closed the deal, I'd want my water rights spelled out in the deeds (and have title insurance on it).

[7thswan]

Ducks and chickens can eat the bugs,but you have to put them in the garden after it gets well started-they like the fresh greens popping out. You won't have any bugs until your plants get bigger anyway. Once a chicken gets a taste of ripe tomatoes-forget it,you won't get to eat a vine ripened mater.One thing I'm regeting is planting my fruit trees too close together. I bought dwarf trees, but some of them aren't, I have to move them or prune the heck out of them.Rasberrys multiply very fast, make sure you put them where you can expand their patch. Same with strawberrys, you won't have to buy too many, in one year you will have plenty. Think about starting right off with some raised beds for some of your food. Like a bed just for garlic, ect., raised beds get warmer sooner in the spring-which extends your growing season.

[equinecpa]

Originally Posted by texican

I don't think you're going to have much vegetation left, if you take all those animals out there.... the area is just a tad bit wetter than a desert, semi-arid. Doubt if it could support one horse, or one sheep, much less a bunch of em.

Now, if you had an irrigated alfalfa meadow on half the place, and the equipment and skills to harvest and put it all up each summer, you'd have a great place. (or friends/family that grow alfalfa nearby)... Still a great place, but I just don't think your going to grow enough grass for your critters. The local feedstore will love you, though! An old saying about livestock... you don't raise livestock... you raise grass. No grass/no livestock. We had zero hay last summer (drought) and we're spending a fortune because of it... We're holding out, for a normal summer. IF we were in a semi arid, or desert region, we'd not have livestock... unless we had irrigated hay meadows...

Before I'd closed the deal, I'd want my water rights spelled out in the deeds (and have title insurance on it).

If you look at the aerial shot about 1/2 the property is in wetlands-and there is actually lush pasture on the west side of the pond. We have a domestic well too. As far as the pond/creek goes I don't believe we can tamper with it too much - we have to explore what our rights give us and what they don't give us as far as the creek goes. Wth the domestic well we can irrigate an acre of land but I doubt we'll do that. We currently don't pasture the riding horses so feeding them isn't new -it's just the sheep that will be added to the "feed roll"

I plan on broadcasting grass seed when we next go out in April -in hopes some of it will take up top and at least give us something for when we move out there -I wouldn't expect it to last though.