Dreaming of a homestead

[HoldenCaufield]

Hello-
My boyfriend and I have been dreaming about a homestead for some time now, and we are trying to find out how to ensure that reality for ourselves.

Niether of us has any prior experience homesteading on any real scale.
We were hoping to get some STRAIGHTFoRWaRD information that someone unfamiliar with the lifestyle can digest. Meaning, what are the goods, the bads, and the uglies from anyone who has experienced building a homestead.

We are hoping to purchase some land( 4-5 acre) and build on it a tiny home , roughly 200sq ft, or most minimum allowed by state laws.
We would like to raise meat rabbits, chickens for eggs and meat (how many is appropriate for a couple?), and have two goats for milk.
We would like To set aside at least an acre for vegetables and some fruit trees.


Our budget is as small as they come so we would like to make the most out of planning this properly.

Are there any questions we need to be asking ourselves that could save us a lot of headaches in the long run? Especially considering we are not even sure what to be looking for when purchasing land.
Anyway I guess I'm trying to find out the best way to start from LITTERALLY nothing.

What has/hasn't worked for you?
How long until you were productive in harvesting?

Is this reasonable with a startup cost of $25,000? $50,000? (including land?)

Any and all advice is welcome!

[jwal10]

Where are you and where do you want to be? What are your future plans? They can and will change over time. Kids? Water first, well, rain harvest, what do you want/need. Septic IF you want one. Fence the entire property so you can USE it all. Build small, only what you need for what you are going to do. The 2 of us have 3 hens in the winter, they set and hatch, we keep 2 new pullets. We have 2 rabbit does and a buck. 3 goats, pygora so we get milk, meat and fiber. They are small and not heavy milkers like a full dairy goat but make up for it in ease of feed and upkeep. 3 to breed for continual milk production. Fence garden separate from pasture so you have double protection, Gate from yard, not pasture. (someone, sometime will leave THE gate open) Fruit trees and bushes right away for early production. Small garden at first then expand as you are able to use more and improve the soil. Set up the buildings and fences for the goats, bull strong and high. Cross fence for rotation. Use everything available that grows on the property, food, trees, water. Compost, manure, leaves, anything to improve garden soil. 200 sq.ft. is small for 2 people but if it works for you, go for it. Learn to live simple, without a lot, to save money. Keep everything small, just what you need. We have 1 acre here, but a 4 acre property, also, mostly for recreation but we do cut the grass for hay, storage in the barn and some perennial food plantings. It has a pond were we can fish, swim and in the shallow part, raise wild rice. Manual labor, yes, lots of work but all the energy and resources goe into production. Keep it simple.

A lot depends on weather and fertility of the soil. We have rich soil and lots of rain, except summer, we do have to water a lot in the summer....James

[jwal10]

Production, It starts right away in the garden, build a raised bed and plant. 3-4 weeks you can have a salad. Bushes, the next year. Trees take a while 3-5. Water deep, mulch heavy. Get a couple hens already laying, eggs for breakfast. A rabbit doe and buck, meat in 4 months. Get a goat in milk, good to go. Read everything here, decide what you want. Start small, learn, ask questions. What you can grow, store and reuse is your bank account. Make do, repurpose, reuse, recycle. What money you save will give you more for the homestead. Make good choices, good quality saves in the end. We have tools and furniture that belonged to our Grandparents or we bought 40 years ago, good or better than the cheap stuff today. Take care of everything you have, nothing left out, everything has a place and everything in its place. Save, save, save for the rainy days, there will be plenty but it is what keeps the dream green, viable and alive. Little things mean everything....James

[7thswan]

The land is the most important part. The soil feeds you. Where the land is says what you can use it for-know state laws and esp. what the regulations are for animals. Some places you can't have a certian animal without owning 10 acres. The more land you buy the cheeper per acre it will be-so don't be shocked. When you find a piece of land,look at the soil. Think about where where you will place the house, the wind in winter can be brutal,you might want to have a wind block( pines,spurce..) or even hills block wind.A long driveway is expensive and hard to deal with in the winter. Also how much to get your electric brought in,or will you invest in solar right off. Ask neighbors how deep their well is, a deep well is far more expensive. You will need heat, do you need trees for that heat or something else. Plant your fruit trees first thing. Plant them far enough apart-I'm an expert on planting everything too close-always-each-year....

Another thing, learn to go to auctions ,garage sales ect. You can buy most if not all you need cheeply. I have collected antiques all my life,mostly things I can use to do the work I need arround here-by hand. Apple pealer,canning jars,canner,draw knife for pealing logs, garden tools ect. Just go look and observe at an auction, you will learn how to buy. Go to animal auctions, be brave and ask people especialy old folks, about things you see, or want to know,they are happy to talk.

[jassytoo]

While you're waiting to get a homestead you can learn skills that you will need later. Learn how to can food, how to bake bread etc. Start a small garden now even if you have to grow veg in a bucket. Read everything you can. I have an extensive library now after 40 years. Internet is a good source of info. there's tons of stuff on youtube, although I prefer books. Most of mine are second hand and didn't cost much. James covered the rest of it perfectly. Good luck.

[HoldenCaufield]

Thanks so much for all your input ! I'll be sure to ask more specific questions as they come up .

-holdencaufield

[crazyfarm]

I would suggest you get married before you take on a large financial investment such as this. While I understand it is not the only indicator that a relationship will last it does involve some legal benefits I believe are important. For instance, should either of you get injured or die tragically while setting up the homestead what would happen? Would you be allowed to make medical decisions? Would you have to go through probate to retain the home? What would happen?

[CraftyLady]

Your homestead is right where you are now. This is your A.
B - Z is the future to work toward.
Next - save - become unbelievably frugal. The $$ are of course saved for that homestead.
Look at sites/land. There won't be a perfect farm. But, Know what you want to start with.
Read and learn about what you might want to do on and with your farm.
Learn about farmsteading. Tour local farms and know the questions to ask.
Remember - Fugal - save - plan

[notwyse]

This is a true story. Once met a couple whose parents had given them a fifty pound sack of pinto beans as a wedding present. That is what they ate for a long time while they went to college... Then both worked and saved. They paid hard cash for their farm.

[Spamela]

Consider looking for a place with a house already there. That way you don't have to worry about a well, septic, driveway, running electric lines ect.
A well and septic are a huge expense, that alone would probably be half your budget. I bet you could find a place for less than 50,000. The house might not be much, but it being just the two of you, you could live in it and fix it up slowly.

Just something else to consider as opposed to building new.

* The well and septic have to be up to code however, or your lender will probably make you put in a new one anyway. At least, that's the way it is in my state.

[NorthwoodsMike]

Rather than a tiny house, I would start with a camper. As long as zoning allows, you are ready to go at a relatively fixed cost. Not only that-no construction code to worry about. When you get your land, depending on where you live, you could install a septic connection like this.

http://www.wikihow.com/Construct-a-Small-Septic-System

Here is a webpage with someone who actually did it. It's a go to reference of mine for anyone starting from scratch-it's a good read, and inspired me.
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=9259.275

For water, you could install a point well depending on where you live. If water is deep, the camper has a holding tank that you could fill from a neighbor until you save up enough for a drilled well.

[Homesteader]

I agree with the poster above about starting now. You can learn and do so much right now, and it will come in handy if you have a few canning sessions under your belt already as an example.

You can learn and do now: container gardening, indoor gardening (like, with grow lights), canning, dehydrating, freezing. Baking and cooking from scratch. Soapmaking, how to make your own laundry detergent, how to cut your hair yourself, the reading part of animal husbandry. What is really needed for a well-stocked pantry, what you need to keep animals (syringes/wraps/etc.), in other words, make lists of what you will need.

I even went so far as to raise meat chickens in cages in a spare bedroom. Huge amount of work as I had to change the newspapers under the cages 4 times a day but I did it. We had chicken even in the city.

You can do it!

[CraftyLady]

One of the members here has a homestead for sale -
Missouri Ozarks Homestead - under topics today.
Check it out. What a beautiful place. You may not be able to purchase now but, when you do this has everything you need.

Originally Posted by HoldenCaufield

Hello-
My boyfriend and I have been dreaming about a homestead for some time now, and we are trying to find out how to ensure that reality for ourselves.

Niether of us has any prior experience homesteading on any real scale.
We were hoping to get some STRAIGHTFoRWaRD information that someone unfamiliar with the lifestyle can digest. Meaning, what are the goods, the bads, and the uglies from anyone who has experienced building a homestead.

We are hoping to purchase some land( 4-5 acre) and build on it a tiny home , roughly 200sq ft, or most minimum allowed by state laws.
We would like to raise meat rabbits, chickens for eggs and meat (how many is appropriate for a couple?), and have two goats for milk.
We would like To set aside at least an acre for vegetables and some fruit trees.


Our budget is as small as they come so we would like to make the most out of planning this properly.

Are there any questions we need to be asking ourselves that could save us a lot of headaches in the long run? Especially considering we are not even sure what to be looking for when purchasing land.
Anyway I guess I'm trying to find out the best way to start from LITTERALLY nothing.

What has/hasn't worked for you?
How long until you were productive in harvesting?

Is this reasonable with a startup cost of $25,000? $50,000? (including land?)

Any and all advice is welcome!

[HoldenCaufield]

Wow everybody thanks for the replies! Really good points to think about and great links for me to check out

[AnnieinBC]

If you can find a piece of land that has a creek running through it, that can be a huge bonus. For using to water gardens or just to go wading on a really hot day. You'll have to have a well eventually, but for the time being a lot can get done with creek water.

I like the idea of tiny homes and if you built one, later (if you build yourself a larger house) you can always use it as a guest house or a weekend rental to bring in income.

Check out Tumbleweed Tiny Homes, they have some good plans. There is a link in my signature line.

Have fun! You've gotten good advice, get a small garden in, get a few chickens and you're on the way.

[gila_dog]

My wife and I have built 3 homesteads from raw rural land over a period of 40 yrs. Here are some things to consider.

1. Water. You must have a source of good drinking water. This requires a good well with adequate capacity (5 gal per minute), clean (no organic pollution), and pure (minimal minerals and agricultural waste). Don't buy land until you've researched the water supply in an area.

2. Clean title. Make title insurance a requirement of any purchase agreement.

3. Good access. Close to pavement or at least a county maintained dirt road. If you have to pass thru somebody else's property to get to yours, make sure you have a legal easement for right of way. Avoid long privately owned dirt roads. Somebody has to maintain the road, and if it's private that's the owners along the road. This takes expensive equipment. I would avoid that.

4. Good neighborhood. Look around, talk to people, meet the neighbors. Talk to the cops. Find out about the crime in the area.

If possible just rent a place in an area for a year or two before buying property. You will learn a lot about the area and can avoid being stuck with a place you don't want to live in for some reason.

[ChristieAcres]

We are essentially starting over again. Right now, we have one high cube shipping container setup for DH's machinist/welding shop (temporarily). We were given another shipping container, a refrigerator unit, and it will be delivered on Tuesday. Right now, we are living in a motorhome. DH is currently working on an outbuilding, will be a cute small log cabin with a covered porch. It will contain our washer/dryer, bathtub, water heater, clothes drying racks, a sink, and a toilet. The building will be built to code, insulated, and heated (13' X 21' including the covered porch). Within another month or so, DH will be building my office cabin. That will likely be 400 sq ft, including multiple covered porches. It will be built the same way, likely have a loft, and also include a large walk-in closet & pantry. Then, we will be able to live comfortably while DH builds our retirement home (one story with a loft on tall crawlspace). We moved fruit trees, will be planting more, and by Fall I'll be working on the Permaculture conversion completion.

We chose where we were to buy, first. Then, the search ruled out all properties that didn't fit our top criteria:

1- Excellent well water with good output
2- 2nd growth Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar trees (for building)
3- At least 5 acres
4- Approved Septic, if possible
5- Electricity at or on the property
6- Foothills outside of the Dungeness Water Rule

You need to figure out "where," then discuss your top priorities for your property. Once you know what you want/need, then all the HTer's can much more easily assist with advice about everything else!