I decided to write about this when I calculated that the area around our house is only half an acre. We fit so much in and it seems so big that I thought it was a full acre, at least!
Not everyone wants or can find a larger homestead or small farm, so I wanted to show you what you can grow on a much smaller scale. A half acre is ideal for those with busy lives or young families where time for chores is short. Here’s an idea of what we fit into half an acre:
The orchard
Ah, my pride and joy! My orchard! A lot of our food comes from this space. We inherited existing heritage pear and apple trees, and I have since added many more. I have cherry, apricot, plum, peach, nectarine, almond, hazelnut and nashi. There is a bay leaf hedge to the north. Underneath the trees are the mushroom logs. And some have mushroom spawn in the ground around them. There are 8 different varieties of mushrooms so far. As well as providing food, the orchard is such a cool, shady place to play in summer.
The chicken area
There is a huge space for the chickens near the house. They are essentially free-range and have shelter from their house and orchard trees. Being close to the house is important for feeding scraps easily and collecting eggs daily. Nothing beats going out in the morning and finding some eggs to cook. And now I know where the easter egg hunt tradition came from. We play it daily as our hens like to lay everywhere BUT their hen house! Their outdoor area is just too appealing and they are living a lifestyle close to nature.
The raised beds
This one is self-explanatory. Here we have the raised beds to contain more hardier vegetables like potato and carrot. It is important to contain the chickens otherwise you will have not much of any veges. But you will have a weed-free (and plant-free) raised bed courtesy of your free two-legged gardeners. This is located to the south of the house in an area not used for entertaining and still gets plenty of sun. It is also located near the rainwater tanks.
Compost
I compost in a three-bin system with lids to keep the horses out (their paddock is to the south and they can reach the compost over the fence). This compost set up is close to the house to encourage frequent home composting and also next to the raised beds for when it is time to empty them into the garden. It’s a great set up and makes such rich, beautiful, earthy compost for growing great food.
Woodshed
Here we have three small bays. We use one bay of wood per winter, so it is easy to calculate how much we will need. One bay is ready to go, dry, stacked wood. Another bay is wood that is newer and may still be drying. And the third bay is for implements or animals (think aviary, rabbit cages, or chook food storage).
Greenhouse
The greenhouse is located near the barn for a power source. It is heated in winter to extend the growing year round. In an alpine climate like ours, you need a good greenhouse to be self-sufficient. Otherwise you’ll be eating frozen, dried and bottled food for about 10 months of the year! You can only be so creative with meals made of preserved food. Inside the greenhouse I have a wall of strawberries, a U-shape raised bed, and space for pots in the middle. Here I can raise young trees such as olives until they are hardy enough to survive outside.
The barn
This is basically a large shed that we’ve built to accommodate our home gym, a workshop and then an area with no purpose as yet. It could be a sewing room, a spinning room, or a space to host workshops or a commercial kitchen to rent out. The options are endless. It has a kitchenette and a bathroom. Solar panels are mounted on top and a battery stores power to be truly off-grid. Rainwater collection from both the barn roof and the house are used in the garden.
Parking
This is important for running a home business like we do. For blacksmithing, we need room for trucks and horse floats to turn around, and a yard for horses to stand in while the other horse is worked on. Horses usually come in pairs. This is also a good spot for guests to park in if they are staying in the “gate house” accommodation. It is separated from the main house by a driveway and floral hedge for privacy.
The water retention area
In permaculture it is important to work with the natural contours you already have. We’ve always had this low-lying swampy bit in the paddock near the driveway. So we fenced it off from the animals and planted it up with swamp-loving natives. Its a great buffer zone for when we have greater-than-anticipated rainfall. It looks quite unique and has attracted lots of native wildlife. It goes well with the guest house vibe and adds privacy from the road.
Rose hip hedge
The rose and elderberry hedge is so pretty in spring and summer! Its just a beautiful cascade of flowers in different colors. The elder flowers and berries are made into cordial and jam, and the roses are a mix of rosehip-producers and fragrant tea roses. Rose is so versatile. You can make candied rose petals, pressed petals, pot-pourri, or rose oil. The rose hips are great in a cordial or dried as a treat for rabbits and chickens.
The berry garden
My other pride and joy, and a favorite of the kids, the berry circle! This was an old ugly shrub that had grown too big and created too much shade in the orchard and the rose garden. We chopped it up and dug it out (it was full of an invasive vine, too). Now we have a beautiful edible garden with grapes and thornless blackberry on a trellis. And raspberries and blackcurrants on the ground. It’s so rewarding to see the kids go out and pick their own snacks straight from the garden.
One whole half acre
What else can we fit into a half-acre? As you can see in the drawing, there is also plenty of space for entertaining outdoors and for the kids to play. We have an outdoor oven, a small playground and a lot of lawn for bike riding. There’s also a shooting circle for basketball in front of the barn on the expansive concrete. Sounds idyllic, right? I was surprised that we fit all this on half an acre. So what could you do with a half acre? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know!