New house for homesteading

[gldnflash23]

We (wife and I) just purchased a new house that is out in the country. I am interested in opinions and thoughts on what to do with this "blank slate". We are
looking for primarily homesteading type of ideas and preparing for bugging in for whatever reason.
Current stats:
Land,This property is 5 acres in Osage county 1/4 mile from lake Keystone. 90% covered in trees (cedar, blackjack). there is a dry creek bed that appears to get water every now and then. Deer, Turkey, Rabbits on land.

House is all electric with a open fireplace. House is well built in 2001 and passes engineering, termites, septic, overall inspections. 1 small out building that is 8'x10'

My current plan is to work in a garden, create a clearing in the woods for a deer food plot, plant food producing trees/bushes (this is a weakness of mine, what to plant, when)

So, basically my question is. If you just bought this piece of property, what would you do with it?

 

[CHenry]

Hard to do much with 5 acres.

 

[J.T.]

Clear cedars and keep whatever posts you can from them. Plant whatever trees you will want two+ years from now. If you plan to heat by wood then build your wood racks and clear the blackjacks where you will need the space for other things. I'd not worry about food plots right away/ever but the hunting forum here has tons of info.

 

[aviator41]

Kinda agree with chenry. Too many plans for 5 acres. I applaud your zeal, but stressing a piece of land that size will bring low yields of everything leading to frustration. Clear Cedars first. everything else should come afterwards.

Start with the garden. Doing it right will tell you a LOT about the soil, help you learn about the terrain, bring in wildlife (which isn't necessarily good, but it's information), etc. Before you plant trees, you need to know about water, soil, etc. Pears can do double duty as a fruit tree and deer attractant, as can apples.

 

[1krr]

Is it a full time living place or a weekend type place? For a bug in scenario, are you thinking get away for a few weeks/couple months from a disaster or semi-permanent self-sustaining for a family of several people? I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I kind of did the same with 10 acres for the last 6 or so years so I'll give you my .02 which is probably not worth the copper it's made from.

I do agree with CHenry and Aviator that 5 acres seem like a lot when moving from the suburbs but once you get out there, it's amazing how small land gets. That said, I've seen examples where people are growing a significant portion of their food on urban sized lots. Here is one example of a .10 acre organic farm claiming to supply 3 tons of produce annually:

http://urbanhomestead.org/

Here is another lady who gardens about an acre and produces some significant portion of her family's food from it.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/13/living/irpt-garden-story/

That said, these are fairly extreme examples that require constant attention and inputs from a functioning society to get those kind of yields from small tracts of land (especially the first one). The reality is that even "organic" farms are generally buying something from somewhere. A sustainence farm that is functioning independantly is going to do so by shear will alone. In a SHTF scenario, there may not be a Lowes to run to where you can pick up a can of Sevin or even some Neem oil. So if you aren't living there full time and this is a bugout location, I would say stock it up, clear a garden spot like you said and enjoy the lake!

If you are living there full time, and really want to be more self-sufficant, there is lots to talk about. So let us know what you envision and the good folks here will probably have lots of ideas to help! By the way, how is the soil? Is it deep or rocky? Sandy or loamy? Do you have pecans or persimmions growing the property or is it mostly small oak and cedar? Any willows?

 

[Tulsa Shooter]

We (wife and I) just purchased a new house that is out in the country. I am interested in opinions and thoughts on what to do with this "blank slate". We are
looking for primarily homesteading type of ideas and preparing for bugging in for whatever reason.
Current stats:
Land,This property is 5 acres in Osage county 1/4 mile from lake Keystone. 90% covered in trees (cedar, blackjack). there is a dry creek bed that appears to get water every now and then. Deer, Turkey, Rabbits on land.

House is all electric with a open fireplace. House is well built in 2001 and passes engineering, termites, septic, overall inspections. 1 small out building that is 8'x10'

My current plan is to work in a garden, create a clearing in the woods for a deer food plot, plant food producing trees/bushes (this is a weakness of mine, what to plant, when)

So, basically my question is. If you just bought this piece of property, what would you do with it?

Congrats on the new purchase! 5 acres is a good sized lot. You can make a nice garden on your land; squash, okra, peppers, tomatoes, corn, water melon, and the list goes on. You can also plant plenty of fruit producing trees. Apple trees do well, plum, peach, pear, etc.. They will take a few years to produce though. If you time it right in October-November, Lowes and Atwoods blow out all their fruit trees, and pecan trees CHEAP. Good luck with everything, that is a pretty exciting purchase.

 

[SoonerP226]

With blackjacks, you really need to keep an eye out for carpenter ants. Carpenter ants love blackjacks, because a lot of their strength is in the outer layers, which means the little bastards can hollow them out without killing them, at least for a few years.

On the other hand, there's something quite satisfying about the pop of the carpenter ants in the fireplace when you're burning what used to be their home...

 

[Sheeve]

You have a PM.

 

[RustyW]

I tried gardening for a few years. Couldn't keep the dear out of it. An electric fence is quite entertaining but I got tired of redoing it so now I just feed the dear. Get a tractor, chainsaw, a helper, and a cold beverage of choice. It's going to be a lot of work but worth it.

 

[CHenry]

You got a lot of tree clearing if you want to do anything food wise with that land.