first time on acreage, moving in a few weeks. where to start

i feel like i have been preparing for this for my entire life but now that its upon me; where to begin.

i am moving to my new property in Lewis County, WA in just a few weeks.

new house,
well and septic,
5.75 cleared and level acres

whats my first move? im ruminating over water. how to get it and how to get it where i need it. pond is my first thought. how do i find out where to put it? how do i do the pipes and swales from the pond do to the irrigation? are there consultants that i can have come out and give guidance?

If your property has some slopes/hills it would be good first to spend a whole wet season there to learn water flow patters, areas with standing water, etc. Also locate places with high clay contents and utilize them in a right way.

Congrats!

Look up P.A. Yeoman's keyline design, Mark Shepard's book "Water For Any Farm", Sepp Holzer, and Geoff Lawton.

Between all that, and getting out there on your own scouting the property and trying things, you'll be busy for years!

I know this because it's what I've been up to for about 3 years now, and even with all those resources it's still very much "try something, see what it does in a big rain and go from there" type thing. The main issue is that there are windows for earghworks, and getting them covered in vegetation before washout is difficult. Mulch and proper design helps, but most of what I'm doing has been a constant process - which I love doing, and it gets better little by little :)

I'm on my own, on 15° slope nearly everywhere so I bought a little 4x4 tractor loader backhoe to help, and that it does.

When we moved to our homestead years ago, water wasn't even in the plan.

Fencing for animals, plowing the garden, a chicken house ...

All this after getting everything into the house and all the boxes unpacked.

I said then I would never move again.

I've moved three times since that move.

Brandon Stokley wrote:i am moving to my new property in Lewis County, WA in just a few weeks.  new house, well and septic, 5.75 cleared and level acres whats my first move?

My suggestion for a first move is to do nothing for a while. Watch and observe for a few months.

John Wolfram wrote:

Brandon Stokley wrote:i am moving to my new property in Lewis County, WA in just a few weeks.  new house, well and septic, 5.75 cleared and level acres whats my first move?

My suggestion for a first move is to do nothing for a while. Watch and observe for a few months.

thats going to be hard lol.

There is a great deal we don’t know.  

Where is your property? ( in terms of rain and temperature)

Does it have any structures in it?

Does it have electricity run to it.

Is anyone else moving there with you?

Finally, with any plan comes the question if cash.

If, there is no place to live, shelter comes to mind.  After having lived in a tent for more than a few months, I would suggest a storage shed.  This would  have use after my dwelling is in.   I would buy the largest one I could comfortably afford.  Having one that could be moved might have benefits.

Certainly observe your property.  But, no matter what you will need water.  The source of the water will be heavily influenced by the location of your property. When I bought property in MN, my well went in before I moved.

I would be wondering about heat the winter?   I calculate how big of woodlot I need?  Will I need to cut wood now for next winter …or will I need to buy? Either way, I would need the wood to start drying now.

John F Dean wrote:There is a great deal we don’t know.  

Where is your property? ( in terms of rain and temperature)

Does it have any structures in it?

Does it have electricity run to it.

Is anyone else moving there with you?

Finally, with any plan comes the question if cash.

If, there is no place to live, shelter comes to mind.  After having lived in a tent for more than a few months, I would suggest a storage shed.  This would  have use after my dwelling is in.   I would buy the largest one I could comfortably afford.  Having one that could be moved might have benefits.

Certainly observe your property.  But, no matter what you will need water.  The source of the water will be heavily influenced by the location of your property. When I bought property in MN, my well went in before I moved.

I would be wondering about heat the winter?   I calculate how big of woodlot I need?  Will I need to cut wood now for next winter …or will I need to buy? Either way, I would need the wood to start drying now.

property is in zone 8a, lewis county washington state. wet winter, dry summer, mild seasons.

only structure is the house, which has electric and water from a private well.

my partner is moving with me but he is more... of the indoorsy type lol.

funding is tight but not terribly.

my first thought is to capture the winter water for summer when its dry. pond seems to be the best solution. where does that go, how big, how much does it cost?

It sounds like you are off to a great start. Pond wise, check with your university extension office.  They can answer questions you don’t know you have.  Of course, the contour of your  land is important as well as the soil composition. For a pond, clay is good. For a pond with dry summers, deep is good.

You're just a bit of a ways north of me, probably an hour or two away give or take.  I would echo what others are saying about taking your time.  I know that feels rediculous when you're finally doing this!  But for a pond you need more info about where the rain goes naturally, how it is when there's lots of rain, etc.  You might also hire a surveyer to come over and check things out too if you have money for that.  I'd say plant annuals though, you're arriving in early spring, so now's a good time to get things in the ground, the next several weeks, and if you plant them in places that aren't perfect that's okay because next year you can plant them somewhere else.  But if you plant perenials now you may accidentally plant them in the wrong spot for light and what not since you're new to the land.  Also if you're having chickens or something like that consider giving them a coop that you can move later if needbe.

I'm wondering how your first season went Brandon?

A 20,000L water tank may be the best way to collect water in the winter or when it rains.
You waste none through seepage or evaporation.