Tools necessary for farm layout

There should be plenty of counter space or a sturdy table where the tomato strainer, cherry pitter, sausage grinder and similar tools can be used conveniently and comfortably. A carpeted kitchen provides no great joy on homesteading land. An easily cleaned floor is a must as a carpet can be expected to see the juices of fruit and berries, vegetables, garden soil, leaves, blood, and the inevitable spilled milk. Ventilation is more than a luxury, especially when grating horseradish or rendering lard.

The ideal country kitchen has cross-ventilation. As another aspect of space, the kitchen should be large enough so that even with dozens of quarts of newly canned tomatoes on the countertop, the stovetop, and sink cluttered with large kettles, strainers, funnels, baskets, rejects and skins, and other equipment, there is still room to make supper.

For all of the above reasons, the ideal homestead has a summer kitchen or harvest room. This was a common amenity in the better homes when cooking and canning was done on wood-burning ranges. The summer kitchen is frequently a separate, small building, containing a stove, plenty of worktop surface and a storage room for equipment and utensils. Ideally, it will have hot and cold running water, but some homesteaders run a hose to the summer kitchen for washing fruits and vegetables.

Your summer kitchen could be a simple screened enclosure that sees occasional use for canning, butchering, soap-making, boiling maple sap or sorghum, but could also serve as a summer living room, shady bug-free place to read, or a place for rainy-day picnics.

Again, the chief requirement is room. If two or more people will be working together, they need room to move. The work surface should be large and sturdy enough to support a side of pork or a beef quarter, with enough room to store the numerous large pots and pans. At its most basic, the homestead shop is a well-equipped, neatly organized specific space where you might repair the garden tiller, refinish a chair, or make a cheese press. At the other extreme, a homestead inhabited by very handy or mechanically inclined people can be quite elaborate.

If you will be repairing or constructing farm machinery, furniture or other major projects, your shop might contain a full line of woodworking tools, a welder or an array of small engine or automobile tools.

If your hobby or business is music, you might store the guitar in a closet and keep the stereo in the living room.

The construction and location of the shop or hobby area are perhaps more individualistic than any other component, but it demands consideration. The productive homestead requires records—data on egg, milk, meat and vegetable production is necessary in order to plug leaks where dollars and cents may be dribbling away.

The office need not be elaborate, but it should be inviting, pleasant and efficient-not a seldom-used notebook and shoebox stuffed with receipts. There should be a small filing cabinet or box with room for such things as insurance policies, medical records, household expenses, and tax information. Is there any home that has enough storage space?

Homesteading land is different in that the problem is much more severe! A woodshed is highly desirable. Wood should be cured and properly stored for six months to a year. That can require a considerable amount of space on a small homestead. And it must be accessible to the pickup, trailer or wagon. Food storage takes several forms. For modern homesteads, the freezer is basic because of its simplicity—many homes have more than one.

Shelf space for home-canned products is essential. A cool, dark basement generally serves well, but an unused closet can also be adapted to store jars in a pinch.

A root cellar requires somewhat more planning, particularly if storing crops with different demands for temperature and humidity. Most modern basements are ill-suited for root cellaring.

A separate, outside root cellar might be considered, with its location in relation to the kitchen of great importance on dark and blizzardy winter evenings when a trip to the root cellar can become a major event. While root cellars are generally cool and damp, grains require a dry environment. Aged cheeses, stored in insect- and rodent-proof but airy cabinets may have varying requirements depending on the variety, but they should not be stored with cabbage, onions and other strong-smelling goods.

Kitchen-related equipment might logically be stored in the kitchen or harvest room, but the harvest room is much more convenient. A garden shed is a welcome addition to any homesteading land, and tools get better care when the shed is handy and convenient.

When the serious gardener has a tiller and an assortment of hoes, rakes, shovels, forks and other tools, proper storage requires more than just a corner of the garage, which will more than likely end up in clutter. Clutter almost always inhibits productivity, and it certainly interferes with both efficiency and pleasure. A garden shed can also provide a place to start or harden off plants; to transplant; and to store items such as flats, pots, potting soil, gloves, string, stakes, etc.

A roomy, well-designed garden shed is a delight to any gardener, but it can also be justified by the increased efficiency it will bring to the productive homesteading land. For homesteads with tractors and other farm-size machinery, a machine shed is a must.

The size and amount of machinery will naturally dictate the size, and to some degree, the location of this structure. The machine shed may house a tractor, plow, manure spreader and more.

Or it might house little more than the chainsaw, wedge, and sledge. But it will still take space not provided for in the average homesite. Animal feed storage can take up considerable room, and therefore construction dollars. The picture-perfect homesteading land might be viewed as a small village. Now, tie it all together. Plan it as you might a house or even the layout of a single room. Using graph paper and cutouts of the features and buildings you intend to incorporate into your homestead, lay it all out on paper.

The closer to scale it is, the easier it will be to envision the actuality. Also bear in mind the location of the well, water lines, septic systems and underground electric, telephone or cable lines. Place your cutouts where you think you want them: remember to think of drainage, shade, and shadows during the course of the day and throughout the year , where the snow piles up, and which way the winds blow. Envision what it would be like to actually live and work on your paper homestead.

But if you have space, this design is great. It appears convenient as the food is right out of the front door. According to the original site of this layout, it was designed with the idea in mind of supporting a family of four. That is awesome! Plus, think about how much money that would save you. Not to mention, how much healthier it would be for your family. If you need ideas on how to support your family naturally, this could be it.

It is functional and pretty too. So if you need a functional and well-organized design then this could very well be it. It also appears easy enough to modify to fit your land too. If you dream of having the perfect planting space on your homestead then this layout will turn your dream into a reality.

It features a lot of edibles and if you are a plant lover like the designer of this layout then you are in for a treat. Although I must say, this layout is hard to read and it will cost a lot to fill the garden out according to plan.

However, if you can read and understand the layout and have the extra money, go for it. I really like this homestead design as well. It gives you all of the basics that a lot of the other designs have included.

However, it includes a few extras like the placement of the root cellar which is a huge homesteading bonus to have available to you. This one just gives you options for placing a fire pit, swing set, and even a sunflower patch. These are all great additions that would make everyday life that much more enjoyable.

I hope you all have found these layouts helpful and at the very least interesting to look at. Hopefully, they will inspire you and give you some ideas on how to layout your own homestead regardless of the size of land you have to work with.

Honestly, if you have a smaller space of land it is a good thing when starting out. You will soon realize that homesteading is rewarding but a lot of hard work. So the less you have to maintain in the beginning, the better. This article contains incorrect information. This article does not have the information I am looking for. Your answer will be used to improve our content.

The more feedback you give us, the better our pages can be. Your privacy is important to us. Stay tuned for the first newsletter in the morning, straight to your inbox. For now, feel free to continue reading. The Small Backyard If you live in the suburbs and have a teeny tiny piece of land then this design is great news for you. View this layout 2. View this layout 3.

Was this article helpful? Yes No. This article contains incorrect information This article does not have the information I am looking for. Please tell us what was incorrect: missing: Your Name:. Your Email:. Follow us on social media: Facebook Pinterest. Subscribe to the Morning Newsletter. Among my favorites: the time we drove 30 large turkeys to the poultry processing plant, and the time we had half a dozen ducks and geese and several big rabbits hanging out in the back.

Goats, sheep and small pigs are also easily moved under the topper. Although we like to use our donkeys for packing firewood when time permits, winter often finds us well, maybe I should say Ken out with the ATV, equipped with a trailer, bringing in wood.

Compact tractors are versatile pieces of equipment that are perfect for small farms. Depending on the attachments you have, they can do any number of tasks: mow acres of lawn, dig a foundation, bale hay, push snow, set fence posts.

If you have less than 60 acres, a utility vehicle, or UTV, will often be adequate. The fat tires, light weight and low center of gravity make these units easy on the land. If money is not a big issue, and you have a larger piece of land say, acres or more , having a tractor and UTV makes sense. The tractor can do heavy work, such as baling hay, but the utility vehicle can haul supplies—or get you across the farm quickly to move a paddock fence or check on the stock and crops.

It also often serves as a temporary storage shed. Although two-horse trailers are readily available, opt for a bigger trailer that can accommodate four animals or more.

Handcarts J. Keeler Johnson This is the first tool I would buy. They are lightweight, yet they carry big loads easily. Unlike their single-wheeled cousins, they are sturdy and steady over uneven ground as well as through mud or snow and they are just plain hard to tip.

They are balanced in such a way as to be easy on the back. Some carts come with an accessory that converts them to a trailer for pulling behind a UTV or small tractor. We use our carts for many tasks around the farm. In the barn, they are handy for cleaning up small piles of manure, or dragging tack from one place to another. They are perfectly sized for moving a bale of hay or a few pound bags of feed. We also bring newborn calves easily from field to barn in bad weather, with mama tagging along next to the cart.

Even if your animals spend most of their time on pasture, piles of manure accumulate, and spreading this manure thinly over the land improves soil fertility, reduces contaminated runoff and helps keep fly numbers down. Several manufacturers offer compact manure spreaders ideal for small farms.