The Homestead Pt. 1- The Backyard

     My wife and I lovingly refer to our quarter acre homestead as "Three Oaks" due to the presence of 3 massive oak trees on the property. The oak trees are fantastic and they actually play a very big role in the productivity of the homestead. I want to stop right here and address the fact that I refer to our house and associated property as a homestead. To some this may seem silly since we live in a very average suburban neighborhood. The crucial point to understand though is that the term homestead is used to convey the intended use, not to describe a place. A tenth acre lot can be more of a homestead than a large farm if the small lot is used for production of abundant food in addition to housing while the farm just produces corn for processing. For that very reason I refer to our place as a homestead, you may add the qualifier of suburban if you wish but I don't find it really necessary either.

     I started a rough drawing of the homestead and I wanted to post what I have so that readers can get an idea of the scale, constraints and limitations. That being said, these drawings are not to scale but they convey the idea pretty well. I've included some bed dimensions for reference. 

Drawing of the backyard portion of the homestead

    The above is the representation of the backyard area of our homestead. Starting on the far east fence line (far left in the picture) you can see the rabbit hutch sits right next to a 3x8 in ground garden bed. Across from the rabbit hutch abutting the deck is the birthing hutch for the does to go and birth in peace.

     The deck itself is actually screened in and has a large ovalish cutout hugelkultur bed (~8 feet across long and 6 ft. short). This area produced beautiful effortless taro and has some malanga and peppers still going strong. 

     The meat of the backyard is the intensive vegetable garden. There are 4 full 4x8 beds, a 4x6 bed, a 4x4 bed and much border bed space along the fence line, porch, and patio. All beds are in ground beds. It really is a great amount of space. My first warm season the garden was only 3  4x8 raised beds and the porch border garden and we got fantastic productivity. I can't wait to use the off-season space after the "garden remodel." There is an outdoor paver patio area that currently houses a portion of my rain barrel setup. 

    The majority of the west/northwest side of the yard is dogland, set aside for the dogs to run, play, and do their business as they need. I shutter to think how much intensive vegetable production we could do if the dogs didn't require half of the yard. But we love our puppies and they need green space too. The big swooping line that cordons off dogland is a chicken wire fence that I put in place with bamboo stakes. A more permanent, useful, and appealing barrier is in the works and will appear later as a project. 

     The Southwest corner of the yard is where the composting operation happens. This is a crucial part of the productivity of the homestead. The three compost bays are about 3x3 each and with the separating walls I can pile about 3ft high as well. The bays are constructed with found materials and bamboo and work very well but I think after next season I many need to rework them a little. 

     Below is the same map with an overlay of the projects that I would like to implement sometime in the not too distant future.

Projects that I would like to implement in the homestead backyard.

      The lean-to for the rabbit hutches takes priority as it would be a more permanent and comfortable dwelling for the rabbits. I also think the focus on the protein production pays dividends because as of now the rabbits are our only protein producing system. The trellis on the east fence line would be second just because it is a cheap and simple project and chayote squash has already shown a liking to that area. The south fence will get planted with mixed perennials in the spring to see what thrives there. The chicken coop is a larger project since it also requires the fencing of the side yard so this project will likely be pushed back, though I hope not. The overhead trellis rooted on the people side of the yard and overhanging dogland is a far off dream, and the first project that will be scrapped, but I included it because I think it is a potentially great idea.

      That wraps up the introduction to the backyard portion of the homestead. The front yard is a much more perennial/food forest type pursuit and I look forward to sharing that with you as well. If you have any questions about the homestead or our production systems, feel free to ask in the comments section. Likewise, if you have any suggestions on how to improve the system or better use space I would love to hear that as well.