How To Plan Your Homestead Garden
It is that time of year again! January marks the start of planning your homestead garden for the coming spring. At least that is what we are doing here at Hackett Hill Farm!! Come along with us as we plan for our homestead garden and get some great inspiration for yours!
Gardening is one of my favorite parts about homesteading. There is something so satisfying about knowing that I grew something from seed to feed my family.
I also love the process of choosing plants to grow, planning a layout, and starting seeds. Each step along the way brings you closer to the earth your home is built on.
Let’s start by figuring out just what exactly homesteading is.
What is Homesteading?
Homesteading is all about building a lifestyle of self sustainability and the choices made to reach that lifestyle. Homesteading does not refer to where a person lives, but how they choose to live.
That can sound like a really tall order, but in my mind it is about making small incremental changes towards a more sustainable life on the land you take care of.
Homesteaders typically grow and preserve their own food to some extent and own animals that contribute to the sustainability of the homestead. Homesteaders are often also known for their craftiness in creating things for the home such as soaps, candles, or textiles.
Whatever your homesteading goals, don’t be afraid to start wherever you are and grow as you learn new skills!
Today we are going to focus on the heart of the homestead, the garden!
What is the Purpose of a Homestead Garden
Based on what we now know about homesteading, the homestead garden is how a portion the land is utilized surrounding the home to create a sustainable food source for the family.
We will be focusing on things to consider when planning your homestead garden.
What to keep in mind when planning your homestead garden
There are quite a few factors that go into planning your garden, but the most important thing to remember about gardening is that you have to start somewhere and you have to be willing to fail and learn from that failure.
Failing is an important part of learning and will only make you a better gardener. Do not get discouraged if setbacks happen. Try your best to figure our why the setback happened and journal it so you can learn from it next go round.
Do I really need to keep a garden journal?
Keeping a journal for your garden is so so important. A garden journal will allow you to document the things that work and the things that don’t work.
I know you are probably like me and think you will remember next year what you learned this year. I promise, you will not remember all the things you think you will remember.
A journal can be simple or elaborate. There are a ton of great options out there, we like something like this simple journal that includes logs and trackers.
But a regular old notebook will do the trick too or download your free garden journal from Botanical Interest!
The idea is that you will be able to log all your learnings, garden plans, and seed saving plans all in one place!
To learn more about seed saving check out this post!
How big should your homestead garden be?
I will start by saying that if you are a first time gardener, it is best to start small and grow.
Large gardens are wonderful, but can quickly become overwhelming if you do not have time to tend to it properly.
On average you should plan for around 100 to 200 square feet per person you plan to feed.
This space can be made up of containers, in ground, or raised beds. That is the beauty of the homestead garden. The garden works with the lay of the land and can be whatever you need it to be.
Location of your homestead garden
There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the location of your garden. Flat or gentle sloping land is best. Also ensure that the area is well drained as areas that hold excess moisture can cause seeds and roots to rot.
Here are a few more things to keep in mind when choosing a location for your garden.
Proximity and accessibility to water
There is nothing worse than having to haul water in the dead of summer. Make sure that you have a reliable water source close by.
If you don’t rain barrels are super handy! We recommend placing rain barrels around your homestead to capture and reuse all the water you can. We really love ones like these because they have small planters on top which are perfect for an elevated herb garden!
Sun pattern
How sun travels through your garden is important to understand. Most vegetable plants will require full sun meaning they need at least six hours or more of sunlight per day. Other plants will require only part sun or full shade.
It is important to do a sun mapping of your garden to understand where to plant things so they will thrive!
Check out this post from The Kitchen Garten to learn more about Sun Mapping
Soil Quality
Soil quality is another important consideration when planting your garden. Different plants like different variations of nutrients in the soil. Most garden veggies like to be in loamy soil with a PH of 5.8 to 7.
It is important to test your soil each year to make sure you are in the sweet spot. Luckily this is a fun task to do with the kids using an inexpensive soil testing kit.
What Style of Garden Should you Grow
Now that we have talked about what makes a great location for a homestead garden, you need to decide what style of garden you should grow.
Container Garden Pros and Cons
Container gardens are great for beginners or homesteads that are small. Containers allow for free movement of plants throughout the homestead which allows the gardener to find the perfect spot for the plant to grow. Containers also reduce soil born contaminants and diseases from spreading plant to plant
While container gardens are great for small scale gardens and beginners, there are some drawbacks.
Container gardens can be costly in the beginning if purchasing containers and dirt. They also tend to dry out faster and need more tending to than in ground gardens making them a little more upkeep in the watering department.
Raised Beds Pros and Cons
Raised beds are a great mix of in ground and containers. While they are not mobile like containers, they do provide better control over the quality of soil that is being used. Raised beds are great for deep rooting plants like carrots that need plenty of space to grow downwards.
Raised beds are also great for gardeners that don’t want to spend their day on their knees in the garden. It can be back breaking work and raised beds bring it into a more ergonomic position for easier gardening.
Upfront costs of materials for raised beds can be quiet costly if you want to do them right. They also will eventually begin to rot even if you have done everything right.
With all the time and money you put into them, raised beds are far more permanent than a mobile container or in ground garden. So make sure you are happy with where they are before you begin building.
In Ground Garden Pros and Cons
For us an in ground garden works best. It is inexpensive to establish as we just have to put in some elbow grease and prepare the land the good lord gave us.
An in ground garden also allows us to expand and contract year after year based on our family needs without changing the structure of our land or costing an arm and a leg.
In ground gardens also come with some worries of their own. Pests are harder to control with larger in ground gardens because they will come from the top and bottom. Controlling organic matter in your soil is also more difficult and requires far more working of the land. We luckily have a neighbor that is willing to allow us to clean out their horse stalls in exchange for some good organic matter to add to our garden.
So which should you choose?
There is no right on wrong answer here! Choose the best one for where you are now.
If you do not have a lot of land then a container garden on your patio may be the ticket. Better yet do a combination!
My plan is to have raised beds for carrots and strawberries in the future with containers for my fig tree and herbs so I can move them inside in the winter. Everything else will go in the unground garden!
The important thing is to start and adapt!
Should You Start your Homestead Garden from Seed or purchase Plants?
This is another big decision for beginner gardeners. My answer is, do whatever makes you most comfortable!
I personally love growing from seeds. I am sitting here on my couch as I type this looking at the snow and thinking about starting my seeds in the next few weeks. The reason I love seed starting is because to me it is magical to see something come from seemingly nothing. It also brings spring into my home a little sooner than Mother Nature does outside.
My goal this year is to focus on planting heirloom fruits and veggies so I can then save seed for next year and continue to grow my families sustainability.
However, there is nothing wrong with going to the store or greenhouse and purchasing plants!
It I can be a little more costly, but if it removes some stress from you and gets you enjoying gardening more then I say do it!
We love the seeds from Botanical Interest. They have a great selection of seeds ready for your garden adventures!
You can also get a growing guide for FREE!!! What?!?!?!?!? I highly recommend checking them out and claiming your free seed catalog while you are there
Plants
So now that you have decided if seeds or starters are the way to go, you need to decide on what to plant.
Do not make the same mistakes that I have made. Do not plant things you will not eat.
It is a waste of time, money, and garden space.
I have to remind myself of this all the time. I get so caught up looking at the pretty pictures of eggplants and okra and cantaloupes thinking “this year will be different”….. Y’all stop!
If you go to your pantry right now and write down all the canned veggies and fruits you see, then go to your freezer and do the same… Those are the things your family is most likely to eat and those are the things you should focus on growing first.
Now I am all for experimenting and pushing yourself to try new things, but don’t plant 24 Kohlrabi plants if you don’t know that you like them. Start with only a couple and go from there. By the way, I hate them so I will not be planting those this year.
For us we focus on the things we know we will love (unless I get sucked into pretty pictures).
Tomatoes, green beans, drying beans, peppers, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, collard, and the list goes on and on. But I know that if I spend the time planting and tending to these things, my family will in return eat and enjoy them! That is what it is all about folks!
Know your Growing Zone
The last thing we will discuss in this post is understanding your growing zone. Knowing what growing zone you are in is important because it helps you make decisions on the types of plants you will plant as well as when you plant them.
You can check your Grow Zone on the USDA’s Website to ensure you get the most accurate grow zone for your area
Start Your Homestead Garden with Confidence
We hope that this post has given you some confidence as you begin planning potentially your first homestead garden. We would love to hear your gardening questions either in the comments below or on our Facebook or Instagram accounts!
Other Posts We Think You Will Love!
If you made it all the way to the end of this post, we think you will love these posts too!
Happy Gardening!
6 Comments
Jaya Avendel
We have an in-ground homestead garden, but raised beds have always been our end goal as our beds tend to get very weedy. Planning ahead is a great way to know when seeds need to be started and when beds need to be rotated out for later plantings, so a garden journal is our go-to.
Love seeing photos of your amazing green bean spread and yields from last year! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Anita Zimmerman
loved all the information about the garden. I just started back into gardening a couple years ago with raised beds. Still learning where to place plants such as squash and tomatoes to get maxium crop. Also never thought of keeping a journal and a drawing of the plots where each thing is planted. One thing I did learn this year is we got our first honey bee hive/boxes they really made the garden produce. And the honey we harvested so much better than from the store, Love the post.
hacketthillfarm
Thank you!!! I am glad you enjoyed reading! Definitely recommend getting a journal started so you can keep track of everything you learn!
Jamieadstories
You have made me think of how to use my new raised beds. Great blog!
hacketthillfarm
Great!! I am so glad you are feeling inspired to fill your new raised beds! Cant wait to see what you choose to put in them!
Julie
Girl, you and me both with the kohlrabi! It’s so quick and easy to grow! But the whole family hates it. I still throw a few radishes in here and there. I’m the only one that eats those.