Plan Out Your Homestead With These Simple Steps

Starting a homestead has been a dream brewing for quite a while. Yet, it is a venture I am really just beginning to jump into. I have had so many ideas swirling around in my head. Chickens, gardens, bees, and more. Can there be more? ALWAYS! 

I have dabbled with growing small gardens, poured over books, and researched so many things. I finally hit a point where I was like, “ENOUGH DABBLING LISA!!! It is time to jump in!” And just l like that – I jumped! (wink)

There really are so many things that go into the thought process and planning of starting this venture. And as much as I am always a person who just jumps in and does it. I have messed up enough to know this kind of stuff costs money. And I didn’t want to waste money. Haha For example – fruit trees. Those things take a couple of years to grow before you can reap the benefits. And they are expensive. Let’s say you plant them in a spot that blocks the sun into your garden; it could really cause issues later. And that would mean not only would you waste the time, energy, and money it takes to plant them. You probably would have to buy new ones because they are a pain to dig up and replant at some stages. 

So my thought is to share with you all that has gone on in this little brain of mine so if you are thinking to jump into doing this as well, you have some leads on what ways to go. Here are the first steps I took in starting a homestead. 

CASING OUT THE JOINT:

Yup – Like a thief in the night, if you want to get it done right and not make too many mistakes, be sure to create a plan.

So the first thing I did was spend time really studying my yard. I walked it 100 times imagining the flow of things, paying attention to all the little details. Then I studied where the sun rises and sets. I followed the shade around the trees to see where partial shade plants could be planted or ideas on where I could place a chicken coop. I imagined once things were in place how I would navigate situations. This covered all things from watering my garden to if I set up a beehive where would I really want to place it? 

I thought about each area as a station and imagined working between them. For example how far away did I want my compost to be from my chicken coop for the days when I cleaned it out? How far apart did I want my future greenhouse away from my garden so I could easily pull out seedlings and plant them and would it be blocking anything and creating an issue? Things like me building a Greenhouse is a ways off – but I want to be sure I have a place for it and that it works for my space.

Walk your yard – Front, sides, and back. Make lists of things you want to add and start writing them down. 

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE:

One of the most important things to do when starting a homestead or just a simple backyard garden is to study the sun. Everything you do in a homestead is based on the sun. The way the coop and the beehive faces depends on where the sun rises. You will have plants that need full sun, some that need shade, and some that only need the morning sun. 

Now the thing about the sun is it really doesn’t just rise and set in the exact place. Unless you are a nerd like me and spent a lot of time staring at this – you may be tricked into thinking a plant will be getting full sun only to have it be partially shaded during parts of the year.

A great little tool I have found is a website named SunCalc. This website is really neat. If you put in your address you will be able to see where the sun rises (Light orange line) And where the sun sets ( dark orange line) And then also follow the sun traveling through the sky throughout the day and see the location it is at any time of the day. The most important thing to do though is to look through the different months and see where the sun patterns are at different times of the year. This can be so helpful if you need just a bit more shade during the summer but not as much during the winter. It will also let you see where a plant may be completely shaded out during the winter months and how that just might not be the best place for that plant. 

A GOAL WITH NO PLAN IS JUST A DREAM:

This is where I finally started to move forward. Once I figured the sun and tweaked my ideas with all the ideas in my head the next thing I did was pull up my address on Google Maps and took a screenshot of my property. I then drew out a map of my yard and went around measuring everything. And I mean everything…. Fencelines, how far apart the trees are, and so on. I wanted to be sure to lay it all out so I could be sure in the long run it flowed together and fit everything I already had. 

I drew out where the areas I wanted to build my chicken coop, compost bins, raised garden beds, and yes, even the beehive I imagine to have one day. This is such a great thing to do because it lets me see how much room I have to work with. If I designate a space for something I then know the measurements to know how much room I have to build within that space. 

With me knowing the sun patterns I could also see what way I wanted to lay my garden bed rows and where I could plant future fruit trees so they could get enough sunlight and not shade my garden. Yup – even with all these trees, I am still planning for more! haha, I mean – I am talking about starting a homestead right!? We need lots of food to do that.

Here is a list of things to Draw into a garden plan:

DIAL IT IN:

Once you have your main stuff designed there are tons of ways to hone in on the projects and plan those out easily as well. One of my favorite tools that I have used to really plan out my garden is The Garden Planner from the Farmer’s Almanac. You can set your zip code in the app and it will help you show plants that are best suited for your planting zone. 

The other really amazing thing is you can set it up to help you keep track of which crops to rotate each month. With so many moving parts it is always nice to have something that helps save time!!

GET ‘ER DONE:

Now that you have heard me ramble on about the basic steps with starting your homestead, I would love to see anything you come up with. (find me on Instagram at @mrs_lisa_scott) If you need any help we created a Garden Designer Planner that you can download for free by simply joining our newsletter. If you missed it on the pop-up find it on the sidebar (if on desktop) or just scroll down (if on your phone).