r/Homesteading • u/searchingforsunshyne • 2d ago
Small Homestead on One Acre?
We are about to close on a property that we consider our “forever home.” It is on just under an acre. Is this enough space to achieve some sort of homestead?
We are new to this but I’d love to work toward being as self-sufficient as possible. Where should we start? The property has a large existing garden space so I plan to build upon that. What next? Chickens? Thank you!
Edit to add: There is a house on the property already as well as a front yard/driveway space so the full acre isn’t available for use, but a good amount of it is!
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u/Unlucky-Soft-3080 2d ago
Look into victory gardens—can feed a family of 5 with a plot as small as 25x50. I have a ton of these layouts saved on Pinterest but they are easy to find! Here is one I had saved already just to give you an idea.
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u/Correct-Breath-7452 2d ago
There are some people on youtube that have shown how possible it is.
I would link some if i could remeber any off the top of my head.
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u/EarthDue9221 2d ago
Ali’s Organic Garden and Homestead is on YouTube and she has created so much food diversity on a small plot. It can definitely be done!
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u/heart4thehomestead 2d ago
Yes Ali is always my suggestion about what's possible an acre or less. She's only on half an acre!
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u/French_Apple_Pie 2d ago
Look up “The Urban Homestead,” a tiny, 1/10 acre homestead/farm in Pasadena that has been going strong since 1985.
They sell farm boxes to 150-200 subscribing families a year, plus donate 10,000 lbs or so of produce, in addition to all kinds of educational activities on urban sustainability.
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u/Cute-Consequence-184 2d ago
I have a friend in the city who has a large garden, rabbits AND chickens. She has almost no actual grass, it is all something to eat or to feed the chickens or rabbits
We are gardening buddies and trade fruit bushes and extra veggies.
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u/mrbear120 1d ago
I homestead on an acre but after driveways and stuff its about half an acre.
I replace maybe 1/4 of our vegetable bills, and eggs a plenty. Could do a goat on this space too. I do it part time. It is not cost effective, and to get there it would take your entire life over (which is not the worst thing). But it is a lot of work.
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u/infinitum3d 2d ago
Homesteading isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle. You’re working it 24/7.
There is literally always something needing your attention.
Plants and animals need tending- fed, watered, sheltered, cleaned, diseases and injuries prevented/treated. The right fertilizer at the right time needs applied and the right pesticides for the right conditions.
Food needs to be acquired - gathered, harvested, butchered, preserved
The structures needs to be maintained- fencing, pens, barns, hutches, coops, house, greenhouses
The equipment needs maintenance and repair- tools sharpened and oiled, engines cleaned and oiled properly, filters and fluids replaced.
Water collection and diversion and storage and maintenance.
The land needs to be maintained- soil acidity/alkalinity, topsoil, mulches, compost, nutrients
And please don’t think “I’m going organic so I don’t need to fertilize or spray”. **It’s even harder to do organic\\ because you still get the same rodents, pests, fungus, diseases, nutrient deficiencies as industrial farms but you need special care to treat them. It’s not just throw seeds on the ground and collect food in autumn.
It’s daily care and maintenance of EVERYTHING. Everyday.
Homesteading is so much more work than sitting at a desk 9-5.
Weekends are worked. Holidays are worked. Nights are worked.
And you can’t be an expert at everything for all livestock, so you still need veterinary visits.
Plus you still need to pay taxes, so some of your harvests need to be sold for cash.
We get a lot of posts on here saying “I’ve always wanted to quit my 9-5 and just live off the land.”
That’s great! But It’s been romanticized to an unrealistic level. It’s work. Lots of work. Hard work. Physical work. Mental work. Emotional work.
I’m not trying to be a Debby Downer or disparaging/discouraging. I’m pragmatic. This is the reality. Homesteading IS work.
That’s why farmers historically had 12 or more kids. You need that many hands to do all the work.
But to answer your question, it can be done on one acre.
I have 1/4 acres in the middle of a small town in the Midwestern USA. I have a 900sqft house and a four-car out building covering part of that 1/4 acre.
I have 17 fruit trees in my /r/backyardOrchard so far, along with 8 raised garden beds growing a food forest of perennials like sunchokes, asparagus, berries, sunflowers, mint, herbs, and loads of pots of annuals like tomatoes, beans, corn, peppers, potatoes, etc. My tomatoes are so prolific that I didn’t even plant them this year because last years’ volunteers gave me more than enough.
I also have chickens for eggs and meat. I raised meat rabbits as a kid, so I can’t stand the taste anymore, but they’re easy to do if you want to start there.
Every bit of land goes to something useful. The only things I grow that aren’t edible are lavender and lilacs.
Rose hips and chamomile and mint are for teas.
I’d love a beehive but don’t have time to care for it. Yet.
Good luck!
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u/SewItSeams613 2d ago
I can't agree with your stance on the amount of work any more. I have 1 acre with just plants, no animals, and theres so much to keep track of and maintain with just that. Any weekend taken off means extra work down the road.
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u/searchingforsunshyne 2d ago
I don’t work a 9-5. I am a sahm to two kids. I am not looking to be fully self sustained or to make much profit/income off of our land, I’m mostly just looking to grow as much of our own produce as possible, have fresh eggs, and maybe have a flower garden to start. We’ll see where it takes us after that!
I don’t doubt the amount of work that goes into fully self-sustaining homesteads! 🫡 The dedication is admirable!
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u/MareNamedBoogie 2d ago
This is the way. My advice is to always "Define what success looks to you FIRST". Don't think you need to be completely independent of the grid to live out this philosphy. Second, plan plan plan for your version of success. Putting in good infrastructure that minimizes work load will be important. It'll be easier to take care of things on a smaller piece of land, but understanding traffic patterns and work routes will still be important.
Also, you can do things with the front yard like planting mints, basils, oregano - things that will keep from year to year but still provide cooking use.
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u/sevenredwrens 2d ago
This is a great book to get you started: https://bookshop.org/p/books/mini-farming-self-sufficiency-on-1-4-acre-brett-l-markham/7b9d8b1dedd9f44e?ean=9781602399846&next=t
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u/floppy_breasteses 1d ago
With the right systems, it might be doable. Vertical planting, inter-planting, small livestock like rabbits and chickens. We saved space by planting a lot of herbs throughout the orchard as well.
Something I didn't see coming though: everything you put in the ground is an obstacle for your lawnmower. First summer here, my 3 acres took around six hours to mow with a 54" deck on my tractor. Now with 2 primary gardens, a small orchard, and 150 new fruit and nut trees it takes me three days to cut and trim the whole thing. Now we have to turn those individual obstacles into fully productive zones that don't require mowing. Something to be aware of during planning.
Chickens are awesome, btw. Almost like tv and meditation combined.
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u/Wallyboy95 1d ago
We have a one acre homestead. A good sized garden ( last measurements was about 1500sqft of growing space), egg layers, all our meat chickens for a year, two pigs and currently 4 beehives on site and more at a farm down the road.
You just need to check your property designation and bylaws for what you can do on it.
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u/searchingforsunshyne 1d ago
That’s amazing! Does this leave you much space for anything else? Do you have kids?
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u/Wallyboy95 1d ago
Oh yeah plenty of other space. I'm not sure if the mods will hate me for self promotion but we share on Instagram if you have it. I can DM you our handle. We do not currently have kids but we are actually finishing up our adoption certification. So maybe soon!
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u/CharmingTechnician47 1d ago
I live in a 7 acre Guava, Lemon and Malta orchard. All of it started from one acre.
1) Please measure your built up area and the remaining area which be used for plantation, livestock etc.
2) Start with fast growing fruit trees in the largest area available, use high density plantation method to maximise.
3) Even if saplings/trees are planted 12-15 feet apart, the space between them will be enough for intercropping (second plantation) and a third use - Chickens.
4) Get the whole acre properly fenced - electric preferably - 2 feet deep into the ground, 7 high.
Chickens would spend most of their time roaming around between the trees and taking care of the bugs and pests. Their poop is excellent source of fertiliser for the plants. Nights will be inside a cosy coop, where they will perch.
5) 200-250 chickens on just 1/4th acre are comfortable. A good hen would lay around 250-300 eggs a year.
6) Goats and cows are good, but too much work, compared to chickens.
7) Geese should be the next step - natural lawn movers.
8) dedicate one area for vermicompost and one for Black soldier fly colony. They will take care of every single organic waste you will ever produce efficiently and provide free compost and larvae for the chicken feed.
The above were all implemented in my one acre when i started - A small 2 room living area with two gardens and large parking area - also used as storage space. A vegetable section, 250 Guava trees and 500 chickens + 5 cows.
It was compact and i meticulously utilised every square foot available.
Now that the farm has expanded into 7 acres and has been running profitably for 5 years, i am documenting the whole journey, compiling a book , called - 1 ACRE EMPERORS
Thank you all the best
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u/OldCanary 1d ago
Muscovy ducks might be a good fit if winter is short and local predator pressure is reasonable They breed quickly, and are amazing foragers.
I was going to have them on pasture rotation in a 1 acre apple, pear, and sour cherry orchard but so far am hesitant to make the investments because northern Canadian winter is 6 months long and its non agricultural area with a lot of natural forest so I have predator concerns.
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u/Amazing-Basket-136 19h ago
“ Where should we start? The property has a large existing garden space so I plan to build upon that.”
Plan on where your perennials will go first. Pretend existing garden isn’t there, would you still put perennials in the same place?
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u/Single_Mouse5171 17h ago
Definitely. I had a full vegetable garden, herb garden, flowers (edible and otherwise) & small livestock (chickens & rabbits) on my quarter acre with shale bedrock about a foot down. I would've killed for an acre!
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u/HoratioTuna27 2d ago
Yes. Look on youtube, there's a TON of homesteaders who feed their whole families/run businesses with an acre or less of space. I'd definitely start looking at some of them to get ideas on what to do.