Hovel wish list!

There are many aspects of building a self sufficient homestead but the most important is the land itself. I’ve searched the MLS for quite some time and it’s obvious that the perfect fix for my needs will be hard to find. So what kind of property should I look for?

Ideally this land should be near a small town that has rail access. In the post carbon economy the ability to drive everywhere will be curtailed, the ability to transport any surplus goods to an urban market will be essential to generate income for taxes. You will also need access to vendors for clothes, medicine or anything else you can’t or don’t want to make yourself. Having a local market for your goods is also important as energy constraints will make more and more of our commerce local. As a novice farmer I’d need access to vets, mechanics, an emergency ward and who knows what else. Being too remote would isolate us rather than let us join a community.

The property must have good water, without a clean productive well for both you and your animals it is worthless to the homesteader.

I would prefer somewhat hilly land not only as a persona preference but also because an elevated house would give one a good view of your land, a better chance at being able to tap wind power, less solar obstruction by trees. I’ve not decided on my final building style but earth sheltered is in the running, having a hill to build into is better than hauling in soil.

There must be a good building site with a southern facing to allow full utilization of passive solar design, solar water heaters and if I ever get rich a photovoltaics system hooked up to a flow battery.

A stream would not hurt for irrigation or micro hydro.

An existing house is not really a necessity. While I might as some point need a second house for needy family, my ultimate goal would be to build a zero energy house or at least as close as I can get. That said, having a shack, shed, barn, garage etc would prove useful as temporary shelter for both me and building materials. If the same building can be used or converted for animal use later, great.

Decent soil is a must. While various green manure crops and animal inputs can improve soil a great deal over time I do not want to start off from a crappy position. Pure clay or all sand would require either years of care or a drastic and costly importation of outside material. If I want to be self sufficient quickly there would have to be a minimum soil standard, I would consider testing the soil and the water reasonable before even making an offer on any property. You should not buy a house without an inspection so why would you buy land with proper testing?

How much land is needed to feed oneself? What is the yield per acre of a mixed used self sufficient farm? I’ve looked up many historical references but they are vague, use obscure and frequently inconstant measurements. Historical documents also are based on different crops and varieties than I would expect to use, a lower caloric expectation for each person than we live on, less protein, and different and less efficient techniques. Modern references are based on farms of scale, monoculture, heavy use of machinery, chemical fertilizer, and pesticides, all things not suitable to Green living and farming.

What I’ve have found makes me believe that 1 acre of productive land would supply all the veggies a small family would use as well as fowl, eggs, and maybe some fruit. 1 acre would not allow enough room for grains because the smaller the field the larger the percentage lost to birds. Cows, sheep, and goats, all require pasture as well as winter food and fodder which such a small area could not produce. To attempt raising any large animal on just one acre would mean purchasing a good portion of their food and bedding all year. To go without large animals might be ok with vegans, but I like my burgers and milk. Farm life is hard work and requires that you feed the workers well if you want optimum output. Large animals are essential in building up the fertility of the land though their manure; in addition, milk products are a valuable addition to ones diet.

If I were to increase my land size to 4-5 acres I would be able to grow my own grain, have ample pasture for a pair of cows, a few sheep/goats, and provide both winter food and bedding for the animals. Cows would fertilize the land, provide enough milk, yogurt, cheese for personal use and for supplementing the diet of pigs and perhaps enough for occasional barter with neighbours. Sheep would produce wool, lamb, and more manure. This much land would allow extra plantings of berries, a variety of fruit trees and perhaps even nuts all of which would very ones diet and provide a something to sell at a market garden. Homebrew beer and wine will make those long winters a little warmer.

A larger farm could supply more opportunities such as a woodlot for hunting, maple sugar, growing mushrooms, fuel and timber. If managed properly a wood lot can be sustained indefinitely. While not entirely green a high efficiency wood stove or a masonry furnace with your own wood supply can be a great safety net in an era where other fuels may not be consistently available. My energy miser house may still need a small fire in Jan-Feb but if designed correctly is should not need one too often. You might find the need to expand your plantings to support other family members or strays that end up staying with you, so don’t go too small. As you become more skilled you might just want to increase your production to boost income and make use of the extra labour that’s sleeping on your couch. Just remember that a larger farm would require more capital, more equipment, more labour and have higher taxes, the advantages vs. the cost must be carefully considered. Small, efficient and profitable is better than large, underutilized and debt ridden.

My final conclusion is that I would need 6-20 acres depending on affordability, with at least one acre being wooded and some or all of the other features mentioned. Now I just have to find it and rob a bank ;).