| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| katiedid |
Posted - Nov 01 2006 : 4:10:20 PM
Well, my family is currently looking a little more urgently for our home in the country...I am thrilled..
My question is...
How much land do I need??
Here's what I would like:
~A shop for Eldon's knifemaking tools
~A BIG kitchen garden, big enough to grow alot of our food, lots to can etc...
~Space for a couple of farm pets, a pony maybe a milk cow, a good flock of egg layers.
~Of course enough of a yard for my four little younguns to run and play
~A place to build a root cellar
~A spot for a storage, etc...
Sooo, farm girls, how much property do you think I need?
I don't want a huge ammount, but I would like to have enough, ya know??
How big are your farms, or country homes, how do you best manage the space??
Love to you all
Kate
my new blog http/www.theknifemakerswife.wordpress.com |
| 24 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| faithymom |
Posted - Dec 21 2006 : 11:22:56 AM
I just found a used copy of "The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency" by John Seymour.
This book is great!
He has plans and directions on how to use both 1-acre and 5-acre parcels.
I would love to have 5-10 acres. From the plans he shows, I think that would be enough space for what I want to do. (I'd love a food garden, a dairy cow, chickens, and maybe a pig or two) |
| Libbie |
Posted - Dec 19 2006 : 10:36:13 PM
I love hearing about all of the different sizes of farms, homesteads, gardens and yards. I truly believe that you can do WONDERS with whatever you have - and make almost anything become part of your dreams. Kate, you are in quite the envious situation, looking for your dream farm. I'm so excited for you! You know, there ARE quite a few places down here by me, too - now, maybe you could just move right in between Jenny and me...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Dec 19 2006 : 9:36:12 PM
Yep...it can work! We only have 2/3 of an acre here. Mona (the jersey cow) and the two sheep and one little angora goat have the back part of the property for their pen. No pasture so we do have to feed hay all year..BUT..the fresh milk and cream and our own wool are certainly worth that to me!! We have 24 or so banty hens and one rooster right now, one rabbit too.
We don't have the room for as much garden as we would like..but enough for most of our needs, and I barter milk and cream and eggs to friends for things like corn and beans that I never seem to grow enough of (I tend to concentrate on tomatoes and peppers and salad greens and and small amounts of other stuff) We have 3 apple trees, one peach and 3 plum trees ..not an orchard, but spread out over the property. It can work..and let me tell ya..much easier to take care of a compact farmette at 48 than a spread out place. (not that I wouldn't love a bigger place) I hope we are always right here. And I am sure looking around for places for Kate to be my neighbor!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| katiedid |
Posted - Dec 19 2006 : 9:07:04 PM
I don't know Sarah, Aunt Jenny has a milk cow, a pretty decent sized flock of hens (12?) and a garden, all on less than 1 acre! She has a small barn, and no orchard....
I know you can do alot of creative things on a small space, I am just hoping to buy and build ONCE for the rest of my life!!
K
my new blog http/www.theknifemakerswife.wordpress.com |
| PocketFarmgirl |
Posted - Dec 15 2006 : 5:08:55 PM
katydid, I hope you don't mind me jumping in instead of starting a whole new thread...what about 2.2 acres? I know I can manage a small (10 tree?) orchard, berry bushes, a big enough garden to sell produce. Beyond that is where I get worried. The property we're looking at has a big three story barn, with a basement set up for milking, and a chicken coop already built in on the main floor...but on 2.2 acres, I can't see ever managing a Jersey cow. Maybe milk goats? The neighbor to the left owns an additional cleared acre behind the property...if he'd let us use the land for veggies, maybe I could manage the cow? |
| MsCwick |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 4:37:39 PM
Jamie, I have 2 horses on about 5 acres. The best thing to do though is to keep your pasture in good shape. You don't really need to fertilize or spray pesticides as much as you should drag it to spread out the piles and keep it cut about 6-8 inches to keep the weeds from going to seed. I cut mine 3-5 times per year. Horses will also rummage about in the woods, so even if you fenced in a bit of woods with the pasture, it would be good for them. |
| GRITSgal |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 11:49:14 AM
interesting information..
In my opinion, 5 acres is great start for hobby farm like few critters and few fruit trees, and small garden..
right now we are buying the house with 5 acres and will hopefully close on that before or after Christmas.
don't you think horse will be okay on 5 acres ?? |
| katiedid |
Posted - Nov 12 2006 : 4:01:23 PM
That is a cool history!
Eldon and I have decided to look around, and be open enough to let the right place "speak" to us.
Since we don't really have any huge farming plans right now, we just want to be able to grow alot of our own food, and have a spot for his knifeshop, we really can be flexible.
I have enjoyed all of your input and advice.
Love and light to you, FarmGirls
Kate
my new blog http/www.theknifemakerswife.wordpress.com |
| Libbie |
Posted - Nov 08 2006 : 7:26:48 PM
That's really interesting history about how land was parceled out. I didn't really know anything about "sections." My farm is 17 acres - 15 of which are "farmable," including the land that the house and yard are on - so that really leaves about 12 acres of "farm." To my thinking, it's a little bit awkward. I LOVE the place and will not ever leave if I can help it, it's not enough land to put in hay or a profitable pasture, and it's too much to farm/garden intensively with just us right now... I may change my mind when I get a better "vision" and plan for the place, but starting out, if there was a chance that I would like to farm traditionally, I would purchase 60-80 acres (WITH WATER!!!!!), but if I wanted a "farmette," I would stick with 5-10 acres(still, WITH WATER!!!!!). I'm emphasizing the water because in Utah, it's a HUGE deal. People actually get hurt, and very occasionally killed, over water rights and usage around here. No wonder during water turns everyone carries the biggest shovel they own!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Nov 06 2006 : 5:57:09 PM
I was curious why so many people have "quarter sections" or half that much (80 acres) - my dad's land is 80 acres, my grandparents' 80 acres right next to it was bought the same time - my husband's inherited farm is 80 acres also... I wondered if it had something to do with how much land one man and a team of horses could plow/plant...
I googled "80 acres settler" and come up with this:
"Under the Articles of Confederation and later the Constitution, land not included within the boundaries of the original thirteen states became public domain, owned and administered by the national government. Congress provided for surveying and selling public lands in the Land Ordinance of 1785. This law established the rectangular system of survey, which divided land into townships six miles square, sections a mile square containing 640 acres, and quarter sections of 160 acres. The law also set the least amount of land one could buy from the government at 640 acres for a minimum price of $1.00 an acre. Land had to be offered at public auction before it could be sold directly to individuals, a provision that endured until 1841. The ordinance was more favorable to speculators than to ordinary farmers because the average settler did not have $640.00 for the minimum purchase. Speculators took advantage of the law, buying large quantities of land and reselling it in small plots to individual purchasers at higher prices.
During the 1790s, controversy arose over whether policies should be directed at using public lands mainly as a source of revenue or at helping actual settlers easily obtain land. Those who favored the principle of using land for revenue won out in the Land Act of 1796. This law raised the minimum price of government land to $2.00 an acre.
The policy of making it easier for settlers to acquire land, however, soon prevailed. In 1800
Congress passed the Harrison Land Law that reduced the amount that could be purchased directly from the federal government to 320 acres and permitted payment over four years. Even at $2.00 an acre, a settler could obtain 320 acres with a down payment of only $160.00. Four years later the minimum purchase was lowered even further to 160 acres. In 1820 Congress abolished the credit provision, but lowered the price to $1.25 an acre and cut the minimum purchase to 80 acres. Now a settler could buy a piece of public land for as little as $100.00. Congress was moving toward the democratic policy of widespread private ownership of land."
Not what I expected!
Also found that "80 Acres isn't enough personal space" at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DC1530F932A05750C0A967958260 in Minnesota...
OK, so I also googled "80 acres plow" and here's what I found "The Homestead Act of 1862 was largely irrelevant in the Midwest, where most of the land had been bought and paid for before the act was passed. Much of the eastern Midwest was purchased during the land boom of the 1830s, and most of Iowa and Wisconsin during the land boom of the 1850s, when the minimal purchase unit was only 40 acres. By 1862 most of the land that was still available for homesteaders was in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas.
In the early days few people bought more than the minimal acreage required by law, because farm machinery was primitive, and a man with horses could not cultivate more than 40 to 80 acres even if he had a large family of husky sons. Some settlers bought larger blocks, but most of the eastern Corn Belt was alienated in parcels of 40 to 80 acres, and even today few farmers own as much as 160 acres, although they farm far more because they rent land from their neighbors."
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| Anastasia |
Posted - Nov 06 2006 : 3:38:05 PM
I have an entire quarter section (160 acres) and am trying to figure out what to do with it all. Some of it has been prepped for hayfields and I think we may go that way next spring as we'd like to run more livestock (to feed ourselves and family) and it would be nice to have our own supply. Most of the property was logged years ago so lots of poplar trees. Planning a huge fencing project for the spring so we can rotate the beasties and their grazing. Would love the big fenced yard to contain the wandering dogs... :) Have a few outbuildings but am longing for a real barn; that $150,000 price tage just about gave me a heart-attack! Phew!!
My horses grow the thickest, furriest coats in the winter; they look so beautiful and are so soft! But I don't show them or anything so it's not an issue for me. They are outside now, digging through the four feet of snow, 'grazing.' We feed them hay twice a day, morning and night.
Plan to get a garden going next spring as this year has been all about the house. The hen house pen collapsed in the last snowfall last weekend so that needs fixing too. I'm worried about our current three-sided 'barn' coming down as well but it seems to be holding. The goats and llama just love it in there!
But yes, I can't even figure out what to do with this much land so not sure how much you need...I'm reading like crazy!
Cheers,
Anastasia :)
"Speciality is for insects." -Robert Heinlen |
| farminchick |
Posted - Nov 06 2006 : 01:27:10 AM
Our corner is 8.5 acres and its amazing how much space we have. We have a fruit orchard, pecan orchard, large shop, small turn-out for the horse, the house and tons more space for all the extras I want to add, such as another house, a round pen, hay barn, tack room, coop, arena, and a large garden.
Joni, I work with racehorses and we keep them all in blankets. I think the most important thing is getting blankets that fit properly so you don't have loose straps flapping around. Blankets can be a little scary to a horse who's never worn one, but its good to start them young. If your horses are turned out make sure you have the right blankets for that. Some are made more heavey duty as opposed to stall blankets ( I think of them more like sheets). Its amazing the amount of protection and warmth they give your buddies. Good luck and warm thoughts.
"What you do in life echoes in eternity." |
| Lavender Cottage |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 10:45:25 AM
Katiedid, I agree with 5 acres as your minimum-I grew up on 5, we had 2 ponies, a small barn, a few chickens, rabbits, cats, dogs and there were 5 of us kids. We bordered a woods and the owner (a long time family friend) did not mind us using it. And, my dad built a large garage for his workshop.
My DH and I also started with 5 acres-I had a nice area for a garden and there was a barn and room for animals, but we didn't have any at the time.
Currently, we are on 20 acres-a lot is pasture, but there is also a nice section of woods. I love open spaces. It is a lot to keep up with though. And, over the years we have used less and less of it. Lived here for 16 years. We still enjoy it-just time now for a change.
Our new place in NC is on 7 acres and at this time in our lives-that seems the perfect size.
I hope you find your perfect place. It is well worth the hunt.
Ellen in MI
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 10:11:48 AM
miz kate .. i know of very successful 'farmgirls' with just a few acres ... for their home .. their critters (they don't have horses, cows, pigs, sheep or goats) .. just cats and dogs .. a few chillun .. a small barn .. room for gardens and a few fruit trees ..
i think a lot depends on the area your live in and your 'purse strings'. without strapping yourself, i'd say go for as much as you think you can handle. when youf find land or a farm you love ... envision what you would want where ... even draw up some plans on paper. of course, if you find a place you DEARLY love .. you might be willing to have less land ... in order to have 'the home' of your dreams .. or a wonderful nearby-community.
cabin creek farm is 2 small civil war era log cabins (with addition between them .. making them one home) .. a big barn (not for critters ... we're having it 'finished' inside for honey hunk's woodworking (ha! someday!) .. .workout room .. stoarge for his camping, backpacking, boating, and other 'macho man' equpment.and just a good 'ole 'get-a-way' place where he can blast his rock and roll and GROOOOOOVE! a BIG building that i call 'the schoolhouse' ... it's already finished wonderfully inside .. but i honestly just use it for storage of 'excess treasures' right now ... someday i want to make it into a 'guest house'. (all i have to do is clear it out of stuff!)
we have a HUGE fenced in yard for our two olde english sheepdogs .. another smaller fenced in yard behind the rock shed (where hank keeps tractor) ..
we hae 30 acres in about a 3,000 acre forest ... a good 25 of our acres are in that forest too ... have more 'yard' space than we will proably ever turn into gardens.
FIVE acres would have been enuff for us. xo
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
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| EverGreen Girl |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 09:50:32 AM
One of my husband's favorite books is Ten Acres Enough by Edmund Morris. We got our copy through The Small Farmer's Journal which also has a section entitled The Small Farm Dream is Possible by Ralph C. Miller and Lynn R. Miller. I haven't read it yet, but every time my husband talks about wanting more land (we "only" have 7 acres) I tell him to re-read this book. Then he settles down again and is more content with what we have. |
| TNfarmgirl |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 09:08:54 AM
I live on the top of a hill. When the rain comes the parasites and nasties flow down the hill and down the side to another creek area. The horses on my farm are fed once a day with supplements. I just came from FL and I am concerned about the cold for the 5 month old, the three month old and I have two who are 1 1/2 years. I have a 4 year old gelding who is very stout and the mother of the 3 month old who is very stout too. It is really the younger ones I am concerned about. I am thinking strongly that I need to buy jackets for the younger ones. What do you girls think? I have room in the barn for them when temps drop LOW!! I worry about getting legs caught in strapping on the covers. Send me some insite friends. Our first winter in TN. I am on the farm alone and need a little help from my friends. Tell me what you have done.
Open to suggestions.
Feeling the chill in the air but the love in my heart keeps me tosty warm
God blessed me with a farm!!!
joni
Painted Springs Farm
"Bought the Farm"
Living the good life in TN.
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| Bluewrenn |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 08:17:57 AM
Having the extra space to rotate your livestock is a good idea, esp. if you can afford the extra acreage. That's part of why we liked our 47 acres over the smaller plots we visited.
In our case, our property is undeveloped (no buildings) although the pasture is improved for haying purposes. Part of me wishes we had some buildings on the land already, esp. some of those "loafing sheds," but, on the other hand, I now have the ability to place them where I want them to go. And since our farm plan is highly diversified, with lots of different things going on, we have more flexibility in the planning stage than if we had buildings already there. And my hubby likes it because he doesn't want his house in the spot that might seem most logical to the normal homeowner (up by the electric and water lines.) He wants it hidden back in the woods.
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 05:31:12 AM
I agree about starting out with ten acres. My friend Susan has 10 acares and the old farmhouse. She had a barn(she has 5 horses) to start with, and then she built an arena. She has a large pond, and an equipment shed. My dh and I started out with 10 acres and an old farmhouse. We've added on acreage as it became available(about 22 now). That's almost too much for us - I don't even mow about 8 of that. In one of Carla Emery's books(can't remember the exact title) - she lays it out very clearly how much acreage you need for whatever your needs/goals may be. I would almost have been happy with 10, but now I'm very glad I bought the other land when it became available. Congratulations on starting your search for your place in the country! I remember how much fun every step of my journey has been. :)
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
| Mari-dahlia |
Posted - Nov 02 2006 : 04:06:07 AM
I would suggest 10 acres although I think you could probably get by with 5. 10 allows you to rotate grazing fields so you do not have to use medications on your animals. If they spend 2 weeks in each field and you have 3-4, you can beat parasites and worms etc and each field gets to recover so that you never run out of grazing pasture. You can also have enough grazing space to not have to buy feed. My friend who owns a milk cow and only has 5 acres has to graze her cow at her neighbors by the end of the summer.
Out buildings are important. We bought a farm where all of the outbuildings were long gone and it is our biggest regret. We spend most of our time fixing up the house and still have no money for barns. Barns are expensive to build now and they do not increase the price of the property by much( most of the time) so it is better to buy the property with the barns rather than try to add them later. At least in this area, a property with or without a barn is basically the same price. There may be a small difference but not the 150,000 dollar price tag to build one. |
| Marybeth |
Posted - Nov 01 2006 : 5:33:36 PM
Yeah, 5 acres sounds good for what you want to start with. We raised 4 darlins' and horses, chickens, 2 calfs and a few pigs plus my husband was an auto mechanic so we had a huge garage and a barn and outbuildings. We had fruit trees and 2 walnut trees and lots of room. All that on 5 acres and we lived there 30 years. I always had a nice sized garden and plenty of space for flowers. So I think the ladies are right...5 acres.....
Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!
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| TNfarmgirl |
Posted - Nov 01 2006 : 5:33:15 PM
I bought a farm 3 months ago in TN. I have 10 acres, a huge barn and a ranch home. It would not be big enough for your lil fellers but I do cook and can and freeze. Planning to put in a fall garden and put cannin magic to work. I have goats and plan to raise meat goats to sell. I have a great mule her name is Katie Belle. She has her own buckboard wagon. I have 6 registered paint horses on the farm. Lots of cats take care of the mouse problem though I have only seen three mice--one was in the clutches of Sylvester. One was on the run from Lilly and the other was a goner. I have three beautiful laying hens and the prettiest brown eggs you ever saw. I have wild deer feeding down by the creek. I feel I have finally found my home. I was a Native Floridian but I found home in Central TN. The Mininite people (spelling) they are sorta like Omish- build buildings up here and they are good as any house. I use it for my painting and craft things. I have grapevine wreaths and unpainted windows hanging in the house. It would make a great work shop for the tool guy. The building has a loft on each end. A work table centers in the back wall of the building. Three windows keep my view on the pasture and my four legged kids.
Good luck finding your farm.
It take just enough land to call it 'Home'
joni
"Bought the Farm"
Living the good life in TN. I'm a farmers daughter and proud of it.
Farmgirl through and through. |
| Bluewrenn |
Posted - Nov 01 2006 : 4:39:52 PM
You can do a great deal on only a few acres, so it is really up to you and how well you take advantage of what you have. You might read up on some of those books that talk about homesteading on small acreage...
I also think it depends on the property - 5 good acres with a decent source of water is much better than 100 crappy acres with no water at all...
For us, we originally were looking for something between 25 and 30 acres, although I wanted more - like 80 acres. Hubby wanted to build a series of greenhouses and gardens and do some sort of nursery business... I wanted land for goats, sheep and my orchards. We ended up with 47 acres, but it is actually much nicer than some of the property we looked at with over 100 acres.
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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| GaiasRose |
Posted - Nov 01 2006 : 4:30:29 PM
We have 12 acres and a good bulk of it are poplar trees, which we are thinning and replacing with pines and leaving room for outbuildings. You saw pics of the garden, and beliee me it was plenty to sell a good deal at market as well as can and eat fresh here at home. It is going ot be bigger next year, too, and by then we will have space for the dairy cow and the bull we are purchasing from a family member, as well as some birds for eggs and maybe a goat or two for milk and cheese from the same fmaily member. Rob has the garage, but is also planning a big pole barn for his shop in the coming year-year and a half. We are in the planning phase of twp little one room cottages with outhouses for Summer renters (it's a big business up here)for elsewhere on the property. We may be getting 6-10 more acres from the neighbor, as she is dividing her 15 acre parcel, then the neighbor to the South of us is getting rid of 4, and we are first in line to snatch it up when he is ready, so eventually we will have as little as 22 and as many as 26 acres. With all that we have planned for building in the next two years time, I would say we have plenty of room. I imagine you could make it go on as little as 5 acres though....MJ's farm isn't very big and look at all she has going on...
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
blog: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com |
| kitchensqueen |
Posted - Nov 01 2006 : 4:25:16 PM
Being a city girl, I can only speak from what I've read/heard, but I would say about 5 acres would work for you. A couple good books that speak to this topic are "Finding Your Place in the Country" and "Country Careers: Succesful Ways to Live & Work in the Country". I find Country Careers especially useful.
http://apartmentfarm.wordpress.com |
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