Homesteading Class - Day 1

Today was the first of our homesteading class in Waco, Texas at the Ploughshare Institute for Sustainable Culture. The classes are taught on a 5 acre working homestead that is part of a 400+ acre working farm – these people know their stuff.

We tackled the subjects of water, soil, the lay of the land, the planning of buildings and farming on the land and composting. Of course we only scratched the surface on these subjects, but we wanted to go ahead and give an overview of what we discussed. Some of the points discussed here can be found in previous posts, but since the topics are so pertinent to homesteading, we thought it worth the slight repetition.

Land:

When looking at the process of beginning farming (whether in your backyard or on a just-purchased spread) the first thing you need to consider is water. Now-a-days we consider the view first, but if you are going to start relying on your land to provide for you, you need to make sure you are able to give it what it needs, and it needs water. An ugly piece of land with water is better than a beautiful piece without water. Think about how much the average rainfall is in the area you live, how much water you have access to and what your different sources of water are. If the only source of water you have is rainfall and your hose you’ll soon find that your options on your farm are limited. The instructor recommended that you have at least 2 sources of water and 3 sources if one of them is from the city/municipality you live in (because you just don’t have much control over that one in the end). For example your own private well, a county irrigation system and a rainwater catchment system would be a pretty good covering of 3 different sources of water. When you look at possible properties begin to think about the layout of crops, house and outbuildings. A hill can be an asset or a liability depending on where it is placed.

Soil:

Consider the quality of your soil. Soil has three components that must work together in order to give you a good crop; Biological, Mineral/Chemical and Physical. Biological is the organisms living in the soil. Most of these organisms are good and without them the soil doesn’t move, become areated, etc.. The biological component can be affected by pesticides killing the worms, bettles, etc. as well as intense heat that is not insulated against by mulch. The Chemical component is the specific nutrients or negatives that are in the soil. To learn about the specific make-up of your soil you can take a soil sample and send it off to a local soil testing lab (www.westernlaboratories.com) . Knowing what is in your soil will help you to more effectively grow foods suited to that soil as well as add helpful nutrients that your specific soil might be lacking. And last, the physical component of soil is just that, what is it like to work with and grow in?Is it hard clay? Soft sand? Rocky? Whatever it is, it can be made to be fertile soil if you work with it and take the time to learn how to prepare your soil before you plant your first crop.

Choosing property for your homestead

It goes without saying that selecting the right piece of property for your homestead will make or break your endeavor. We can truly say that we stumbled into this process, just doing what seemed best. While we are confident our property will bring us great bounty and joy, the more you know, the better you’ll be. Hopefully our story and some observation will be helpful to you.

Our story:

When we decided to begin our homesteading adventure, we were thinking that undeveloped land was best. Distance, privacy and a compete change from city life were what we were after. Thus the first properties we looked at were in the 20-40 acre range in central Idaho. It seemed best; we could make it everything we wanted from scratch and nothing would be there that we didn’t put there.

The more we investigated, the more daunting it became for novices. Although we both have some construction experience, we had never done the basics of getting water, electricity, sewage and the like established on a raw piece of land. Not to mention selecting land that was suitable for farming. After doing research into getting a well and septic system set up, we began to really see that even getting the utilities set would be extremely expensive. And indeed some land just couldn’t support much, even though it was beautiful. This experience, and others, made us realize that we really didn’t know enough and going huge was probably not the best idea. Focusing on the sufficiency part of self-sufficiency meant growing a small sufficient crop, learning the ropes and then figuring out how to expand.

This led us to smaller, established farmsteads; the logic being that property that had established land, out-buildings, water access, etc., would be much easier to start up. This in turn would give us the ability to focus on food production and other essential skills. Since we are not millionaires, this lead us to much smaller plots, closer to the established towns. Although certainly not bad, it was a trade off.

And boy did it work out. Through a process that we believe was lead by God, we happened upon a fantastic property just looking at the online MLS. We made an offer sight-unseen and got the property, which is in a small town in Idaho. As we were hoping, the property has a home, establish field, out-buildings (including a huge barn), a small orchard and a chicken coop. Water is provided by an on-site private well and we have rights to the Irrigation District water (as well as mineral rights), which runs in a ditch in front of the property. With this we believe we have the infrastructure necessary to begin starting up our homestead.

After this story, it might be worth making some observations on land selection. Ironically, after we purchased the Idaho property we attended the Ploughshares Institute homesteading course, which delved deeply into property selection. This discussion will combine what we learned there with some of our own experiences.

Water:

Water access, more than anything, is the biggest factor in selecting property. Specifically where does the water come from, how much can you use and how reliable is it? Ploughshares recommends at least 2 sources of water, and if one of those sources is municipal water, 3 sources. The reason for the multiple sources is to ensure reliability and quality. Municipal water especially is out of your control and may have additives that can be detrimental to crops. Any water source will do, so long as it is usable. Water rights are an unavoidable part of learning about a property. Every state or community has different laws. Some require getting government-regulated rights, others are more freewheeling. Local information should readily be available from water districts or state resources departments on what laws and regulations are in your area. The same investigation should be done for septic or sewer systems.

At the Idaho property we currently have two sources: our well and the irrigation water (ultimately river water), and we plan to construct a basic rain catchment system soon. A water budget for every use on the property (domestic and farm) is essential to ensure proper water use and to prevent waste.

Climate and Soil:

Clearly these will be important factors in what and when crops can be grown at the property you select. Whether it is rainfall amounts, frost times or the intensity of heat, every weather factor affects your homestead. Soil, too, will impact how your soil is worked, how much amending is necessary and how much water you use. The weather service, local agricultural departments and extension services should have data on climate and soils for your area. Checking these out is essential.

Layout:

One of the more important but overlooked elements of a homestead that Ploughshares emphasizes is the layout of your property. A myriad of factors go in to this: shading for morning and afternoon sun, slopes and topography, the prevailing winds and the cultivation of neighboring plots. The latter might be relevant to you if neighboring fields grow competing varieties, use pesticides or grow GMO crops that you do not want mixed with your crops. Ploughshare also spurs you to think of the little things: for example, if your garden is too far from your house and kitchen, you won’t go out there to tend it as much. Out of sight, out of mind comes into play on a busy homestead. Indeed as they stress “The best fertilizer is the farmer’s footsteps.” So, layout your property so you can know it, in every detail. The other big piece of advice Ploughshare gives is to not go too big too fast. That is the #1 reason for failure and struggle, and it’s because it keeps the farmer from getting to know the details of his land and crops.

For our Idaho property, we certainly lucked out with the great infrastructure that is built in, but we already see that we have some layout issues that we must correct. For example, the prior owners emphasized the driveway and tractor parking around the out-buildings, so about 1/4 of our lot is just gravel. This will have to change. Also, we are near to a country highway, so we have large blocking trees. These are great, but they also shade a good deal of the property. We are keeping the trees but will have to arrange the fields appropriately.

Conclusion: In the end, what property you choose will be a combination of your love for the surroundings and the basic immutable requirements of workable land. Leading with either consideration might make for difficulties since the property you homestead will become part of you in a way no suburban home can be. Not only will you raise your family and live your days there but you will eat what grows from the soil, raise animals on its produce and get to know and cultivate every inch of it. Just keep in mind your goal. Why is this property best? Each reason to buy or not buy a particular property should be held up to your ultimate goal of growing and raising your own food and being self-sufficient.