How much land does a good life require?

Sherman promised 40 acres and a mule. We won't go into partisanship and failed promises here,

G. K. Chesterton said three acres and a cow and you'd be good.

The Melchiores say you can do it with a quarter of an acre in your backyard. That seems kind of tight to me, but it can be done because people have done it.

My question to you all is... Where's the sweet spot? And yes, I realize "a good life" can be interpreted broadly but I'm talking permaculture, homesteading, regenerative gardening and/or agriculture. I'm talking everything in the deck of permaculture playing cards.

I'm doing fine here at Willow Acre except for the poop part. My son has chickens and they're fertilizing the barren dirt at his new house. Building a foundation. I could have chooks if I wanted them because of a new city ordinance overturning decades of "no chickens inside the city limit. We get all the eggs we can eat from the boy and his wife's birds. But my wife has recently been oohing and ahhing over baby goats of all things. The city isn't going to allow that.

If it were plausible, I would take Chesterton's three acres and goats instead of a cow, thank you very much. I'm too old for 40, and already have more than a quarter acre. The only question for me is...could those other two acres be a shared venture not too far out into the county where several families work together on a sort of internal community supported agriculture venture? Close enough for me to ride my bicycle out there, with or without cargo? Such ventures require a lot of trust in others showing up consistently and doing their part and things like that periodically go wrong. But they always do and that isn't an excuse not to do a thing. You just temper the idealism with realism and keep showing up.

What do you think? Forty? Three? One-quarter?

Jim

I see many variables.  I suspect, as you hint at, this is hugely a matter of individual preference. I am sure location is a major issue as well. At one time I figured that in the Midwest I would want 20 acres if I was going to raise livestock with the goal of self-sufficiency. I have never owned 20 acres … nor I have I been self sufficient.  

Of course, your question is about the good life. For many, including myself, it is different than being self sufficient.  I do like having 11 acres.  It is not to raise food on….but it is to provide a buffer between my neighbors and me.   So for me, 10 acres is critical for my personal satisfaction.  It also contains a large pond that  the Wood Ducks seem to appreciate, as do the Herons and migrating geese. This has nothing to do with self-sufficiency but much to do with the good life.  

As I age, I am moving more toward container gardening near my back deck that I appreciate.  I am also experimenting with Paul’s food pump concept.  I still have a large garden, but I plant crops that need less attention there. It is nice to have those vegetables, but I doubt if I need them for  the good life. I recently opened up a jar of 2016 tomatoes from my basement.  I know I posted on Permies that I have at least a years supply of food in the house.  I suspect I it goes well beyond that.

A good life is what you make of it.

You can live in an apartment and have a good life.

I have usually lived in places that I like and had a good life.  I could live in places I didn't like and still have a good life.

What does a good life mean to you?

Like the dwarves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, I've dug too greedily and too deep , but when it comes to writing, not mining. I was referring more specifically to a particular strain of philosophical thought which answers occupy a certain range...that the good life one lived in a community that values and defends human flourishing. Whew... ok. And as it relates to land, how much is ideal? For me, community translates more toward communication with something bigger than myself, with others around me, and with the natural environment. I want all three.

Your replies are excellent. Philosophy, even from a stoic like Marcus Aurelius, has a lot more to say about quality over quantity. Some argue that life outside the city, and they weren't speaking of modern multi-million population centers, rather the size of a city-state. Where the fine arts can develop, etc. So one answer is that it takes zero land to lead a good life. You used to be able to do that because the country came to your marketplace every day, and there was no concrete and no cars zipping up and down it.

But the city can't exist without the country, the farms and trades and (homesteading) that makes life there in the city possible.

With this post, I'm not suggesting there is one right answer. There are many. I just wanted to see what they were.

If I optimize Willow Acre for production instead of beauty and diversity, I could feed my family and part of my community. But that would defeat my current purpose. I'm experimenting with inputs to see what the results are and how they work together or at loggerheads, adjusting, and moving on.

Jim

Jim Garlits wrote: With this post, I'm not suggesting there is one right answer. There are many. I just wanted to see what they were.

Many, many right answers!

It used to be that as farmers aged, they had offspring that would move in and allow their parents to gradually retire. Sometimes, the youngest girl stayed home and looked after the parents and then what? Stayed until she was forced to sell as she too was too old to manage and hope to get to keep enough of the money to pay room and board in the closest town?

So part of the "right answer" is recognizing that the right answer may change over time. Having a permaculture attitude and lots of land that can be allowed to revert to "Zone 5", works so long is it doesn't become a danger. But are you prepared to build your perfect spot in the country, only to have to give it up when health becomes an issue? An acquaintance had a homestead on one of the Gulf Islands and a husband who was 12 years older than her. He was ready to retire, so they found a place on 'the big Island' and as much as she wasn't quite as ready as he was, she recognized the need. Now some of her old neighbors realize they left it too late. They can't face the work involved in moving and lack the supports they need to stay where they are. She moved early enough that she's got a strong new friend base, and is near medical care and services that help her stay healthy and helped her husband pass safely when his time came.

I have been totally amazed at what some permies have done with less than an acre of land. They may not be self-sufficient, but they can definitely provide quality nutrition for themselves and their immediate families.  I also think that if I set my priorities, I could have a "good life" on far less land than I might like to have, so long as I set priorities and think outside the box if needed.

For me, I like 10 acres.  One acre of intense human use space and 9 acres of intense wild space (permaculture zone 5, if you will).  I feel like I need the nature space almost as much as nature needs it!  I do forage in the nature space, harvest a tiny fraction of wood and reintroduce native species into my nature space, so it's not total hands off, but the wildlife is also most certainly not hands off on my 1 acre

I have spent my life attempting to answer this question for myself.  I love everyone's answers thus far, and agree that it all depends on need, ability and support team, as well as the overlying goal, in my opinion.  My overlying goal is survival in any circumstance, to the best of my ability.  I was spurred into gardening on a small Santa Cruz, CA lot in the late 1980's when my housemates and I needed "free" food to supplement our weekly fishing catch. We all worked full time jobs but made only enough to pay for our rent and vehicles and school debt so I gardened, as taught by my parents. On weekends we would trade coolers full of fish to the local sushi restaurant for an amazing meal.  Then the Loma Prieta quake occurred and I became a 'prepper' at that point, as we were without utilities for quite a while, but sustained very well on the garden and daily fishing. Our house was an end-to-end 2 car garage on a tiny lot, but we gardened the 12 ft x 12 ft back yard. Three adults and a dog survived well.  From there the recession moved me to Wyoming which is a different type of survival but I have lived on 15 different types and sizes of properties since I arrived in 1991.  At one point I was married with one child and rented a house with 700 acres. That was too much. Hundreds of deer poachers and way too much fence to maintain. I could never afford the property taxes on a huge lot that I don't use, even as a buffer.  Eventually, we had two kids on 5 sloping acres.  Then I became single with one child and I've scaled down further and without horses and hogs anymore, I have managed to have 2 large polytunnel greenhouses, an orchard and many chickens on land that totals 0.42 acres with a 1600 sf house and many outbuildings. I can afford the property tax for now.  I received a 50% discount because I live here full time, etc.   I do not have close neighbors but nearby homes are starting to be replaced with 4-plexes.  I absolutely hate the sound of traffic and it is very loud around my area, but if i get up early enough, the birds serenade the morning around 4:20am and I enjoy it before heading to my job.  This works for me and I am 63 years old now with my son as my housemate, and although he doesn't drive, he is pretty helpful as a team member to continue our life of growing what we eat, and buying or hunting local meat.  Until we are annexed into the city limits, I can feasibly raise more animals if needed but now I have lots of local contacts with meat and dairy animals, and I'm an okay hunter and fisherwoman.  If I ever have the means to retire, I will hone more skills beyond herbalism and food growing and preservation. For now I am aging in place and focused on creating simple systems to make everything safe and easy to maintain, with manageable property taxes.  

If you are planning on a family compound, you will need as much land as the government allows for homesites.  And remember to prepare for property taxes, water and power availability, access and maintenance. What are you willing to do for the rest of your life?  I'm getting less and less interested in some tasks and giving away my money.  Best of luck!!

Really depends on your wants and needs.  Personally I would say at least 5 acres.

Just a little more... :)

I think 10 acres would be a good amount. 1 acre for the house, outbuildings, kids playground, berry bushes and flowers. 1 acre for a large garden. 2x half-acre ponds for water and wildlife. 4 acres for a couple cows or sheep or something... and leave 3 or so acres for woods for firewood and wildlife habitat. I think that would be a good life.

But... I like to dream big, and I would love the chance to use 100 acres to increase the life across that acreage. Beneficial for humans and animals alike.