Blank slate on 2.5 acres.... where do we start?? :)

It's been a while permies! I hope everyone is doing well.

I'm really excited, we are supposed to be closing on a new home and property soon. We'll have roughly 2.5 acres. Over half the property is mature trees, and the rest is grass. It is just begging for a beautiful garden!

The only problem is.... we could do so many things, where to start?! Partly for fun, and partly for inspiration, what projects would you tackle first? I'd estimate just under an acre is already cleared and just grass and a few bushes around the home.

I'm thinking to start with a couple of garden plots and putting in some kind of cover crop. I've had great luck with rye before but I'm debating trying peas this time. I'm also thinking of trying to get fruit trees in the ground asap... not sure what kind yet. And certainly finding a spot to start blueberry bushes, maybe blackberries as well!

I would plot out where you want to plant your fruit trees first, then layer the garden around them. You need room to harvest when they get mature.

Stephen's right about the fruit trees first. Get those in the ground as early as you can, everything else can flex around them but trees need years to establish. Cover crop the cleared area while you work out where the garden plots will go, no rush on that part.

We moved 3 years ago to a pretty blank slate. A bit smaller than you, at just under an acre.
The first thing I did was get my next years order in for some of the slower growing fruit and nut trees.

Around here, there is really only only one good supplier for most of the rarer nuts and they sell out fast with almost a years lead time. I ordered less than a month after our offer went through.
I was able to get chestnuts, hazelnuts, pawpaw, persimmons and low tannin oaks. And most were in the "too big to ship" sizes since we were able to go pick up.
I had moved 60 + pots of things as well.
The first year was about laying out some of bones. The first fall, I put in a chunk of what we moved and prepped spots for the trees that were coming in the spring. We got lucky and scored some free arborist wood chips so I did leaf piles with chips to hold them down and didn't have to lift turf.
When the trees came in, most had at least a partial guild waiting for them.

Since then, I've been filling in our range of other fruit trees as well as shrubs and perennials and making beds and expanding and maintaining the guilds. Also hunting cheap supports, structures and supplies and running some experimental plot trials to see what works here.
Propagation is what I need to do more of now. We're still buying a few things but I'm mostly able to stick to deals and clearance specials now since the "needs" are in and it's all about "wants".

What is your vision?  Just garden? No animals?

What do you want to plant?  Blueberries, blackberries, fruit trees, Sounds like a plan to me.

I will suggest a couple of FIG TREES and some PERSIMMON trees.... 1. Both are delicious 2. And both are enjoyable to the local fur and feathers you will have .. your children will enjoy seeing the birds and bees... These items will help you keep more of your garden produce by distracting the surely to follow DEER, DEER, DEER....

My wife and I have more than enough to save, after we make fig cake, and/or, persimmon cake or muffins....

But, my problem is really my wife, she makes me purchase "deer corn"   so the 4 new "Bambi's" don't starve, and the birds don't go hungry during this dry spell we have, so naturally I have to purchase bird feed....( 5 ) bird feeders... There's generally a flock of 10 to 20 birds every morning, starting at about 6:30 AM

But then, I have to fence in the garden with the ELECTRIC deer FENCE... which also leads to the local skunks, opposums, ground hogs, rabbits, wanting into enjoy the free food I plant...

But have fun.... And find all the FREE wood chips to mulch with, to bring your gardening areas into full production....

How exciting - I hope the purchase goes through OK for you!

My advice is start small. If you haven't observed the property for a year then maybe just make a little kitchen garden near the house and concentrate on zone one. Don't assume (like I did!) that the soil is OK because it looks OK. Get a soil test or check what is growing there for indications of nutrient shortages or other issues. Don't try and do too much, maybe look into cover crops for other areas that are already cleared, but observation might save you heartache in the long run.

Make an overall plan and see how that shapes up when you've been there a while.

Go and visit with the neighbours, see what you can do together (zone 5, tool sharing, community building.....)

Anne Miller wrote:What is your vision?  Just garden? No animals?

What do you want to plant?  Blueberries, blackberries, fruit trees, Sounds like a plan to me.

My vision is eventually a large veggie garden, pollinator gardens, plenty of fruit trees and bushes, and chickens. Maybe a couple of goats if I can talk my husband into it haha!

Joseph P. Bubile wrote:I will suggest a couple of FIG TREES and some PERSIMMON trees.... 1. Both are delicious 2. And both are enjoyable to the local fur and feathers you will have .. your children will enjoy seeing the birds and bees... These items will help you keep more of your garden produce by distracting the surely to follow DEER, DEER, DEER....

My wife and I have more than enough to save, after we make fig cake, and/or, persimmon cake or muffins....

But, my problem is really my wife, she makes me purchase "deer corn"   so the 4 new "Bambi's" don't starve, and the birds don't go hungry during this dry spell we have, so naturally I have to purchase bird feed....( 5 ) bird feeders... There's generally a flock of 10 to 20 birds every morning, starting at about 6:30 AM

But then, I have to fence in the garden with the ELECTRIC deer FENCE... which also leads to the local skunks, opposums, ground hogs, rabbits, wanting into enjoy the free food I plant...

But have fun.... And find all the FREE wood chips to mulch with, to bring your gardening areas into full production....

Oh these are great ideas, thank you! I know fig and persimmons do well in this area. Now I'm craving fig cake...

And haha, your wife and I would get along well! I'm always feeding the birds and other critters that hang around the current property.

And I needed the reminder on deer. We'll have to do some thinking about fence options...

Nancy Reading wrote:How exciting - I hope the purchase goes through OK for you!

My advice is start small. If you haven't observed the property for a year then maybe just make a little kitchen garden near the house and concentrate on zone one. Don't assume (like I did!) that the soil is OK because it looks OK. Get a soil test or check what is growing there for indications of nutrient shortages or other issues. Don't try and do too much, maybe look into cover crops for other areas that are already cleared, but observation might save you heartache in the long run.

Make an overall plan and see how that shapes up when you've been there a while.

Go and visit with the neighbours, see what you can do together (zone 5, tool sharing, community building.....)

Thank you Nancy! We've had a few hiccups along the way in trying to purchase, but it looks like we are almost in the clear. Just a few more days and we should be able to close, Lord willing!

Another great reminder, thank you. Getting to know our current neighbors has been such a gift, and we usually end up swapping seeds and borrowing tools from each other. I will certainly miss them! I'm hopeful we can build a good relationship with the new neighbors. I noticed a few gardens and flocks of chickens, so at least we'll have something in common to chat about!

I think the county extension office offers soil testing, I'll have to check. I've actually never done a soil test before. Are there any threads or resources you recommend to learn more on soil health? I have a very basic understanding but I'd like to learn more.

Hannah Medley wrote:And I needed the reminder on deer. We'll have to do some thinking about fence options...

In the "ha-ha fence" thread that was linked in the daily email a few days back some folks were discussing using 2 parallel fences to keep deer out of their gardens: This post and following

What an exciting adventure - congrats and best wishes for your property!

Joel Salatin teaches three priorities in this order for a new property:
1) Access - getting an access lane on the land that allows you to easily get to as much of it as possible.
He describes it as "If you can't get to it, then it does not exist (in terms of practical farming)"
Figuring this out first helps because then you don't plant trees where you later need to put a lane

2) Water - one of his basic premises is that you can't haul water - it is just not sustainable
So the water source(s) need to be defined, and water distribution needs to be worked out

3) Control - this is about boundaries and temp or permanent fencing.
Setting this up to keep what is outside the farm outside and what is on the farm inside wherever it is planned to be.

This is his take on 'What do I do with 2-5 acres?'  He's got a really practical approach.  Maybe this will give you some ideas

I will also suggest you obtain some thorn less BLACKBERRY plants...
My wife bought a cutting back from her house in Oklahoma... It has NOT stopped growing or trying to take over this plot of land...
Your children should delight in being able to pick every day, depending on how large you allow the patch to grow....(about 30' by 50') in two patches.... They could put up a berry sales stand....