Designing A 0.1 Acre Homestead Layout

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Hi, I’m Ryan

Learning to live in a tiny house taught me the value of a small space used to its full potential. When I had a 0.1-acre homestead, I used my tiny living experience to design a homestead layout compact enough to function on 0.1 acres while utilizing every square foot so I could live self-sufficiently.

0.1-Acre Homestead Layout

My first advice to anyone wanting to design a 0.1 acre homestead layout is to start small and make the most of the space you have. Then, you can shop locally for anything you need to fill in the gaps.

This 0.1 acre homestead layout is designed to help you use your most precious commodity — your land — as strategically and effectively as possible. I’ve included the number of garden plots, raised beds, trees, and other elements I’d recommend for a balanced homestead on your 0.1-acre spread, but feel free to make adjustments based on your own desires and needs.

Assuming all your acreage is usable, you’ll have room for eight raised garden beds (4×8 ft./bed), two garden plots (10×10 ft./garden), three fruit trees, two compost bins, one chicken coop, two beehives, and one storage shed in addition to your main house.

Again, these are my recommendations based on how I have personally done it, but if you’re wanting to substitute ducks for chickens or berry bushes for fruit trees, play with this layout until it suits you.

0.1 acres isn’t a lot of space for many types of livestock, so you’ll probably want to stick to chickens, bees, and maybe ducks if you have a pond. If you’re getting chickens, decide how many you’re aiming to raise before building your coop. Standard guidelines are to have four square feet of coop space and eight square feet of run space per bird.

How Much Will A 0.1 Acre Homestead Produce?

There are a lot of variables at work in how much your little homestead will produce — weather, soil, bugs, and livestock health being a few. Still, it’s good to know on average what is possible and even expected to receive in return for all of your hard work.

What Your 0.1 Acre Homestead Can Produce

Why A 0.1-Acre Homestead Is The Perfect Size For Your Farm

A small layout like a 0.1-acre homestead forces you to stick to what you can do with the land you have. You can avoid the burnout and overwhelm many newbie homesteaders experience when they try planting large vegetable gardens or entire orchards before they have any experience.

People don’t always believe me on this, but it is amazing how much more creative urban homesteaders with small plots of land can be with their space.

Plan for what you can reasonably accomplish where you’re at right now, and maybe next year you can produce a little more, and the next year, a little more.

Once you’re starting to get this homesteading thing down, you might even be in a position to get more acreage to put what you’ve learned to the test.

Is 0.1 Acres Enough For A Homestead To Farm?

0.1 acres is absolutely enough acreage to build a homestead you can farm. That said, a tenth of an acre is about as small as they come, and having a plot this size usually means you’re homesteading in an urban or suburban area.

Before you start building a coop and buying some cute little chicks, make sure to check with your city or county guidelines for what animals you’re allowed to keep. If chickens aren’t on that list, you can always shop farmers’ markets or swap produce with other homesteaders for local eggs.

When you’re learning to grow your own food to save money, eat healthier, and become more self-sufficient, there won’t ever be perfect conditions. Enjoy the homesteading opportunities your small 0.1-acre homestead layout has to offer and become an expert in shopping and bartering locally for what it can’t provide.

What Are The Dimensions Of 0.1 Acres?

If you have 0.1 acres, you’ll be working with 4,356 square feet. My 0.1-acre homestead was 48’ by 92’ of consolidated property that I divided purposefully into square footage dedicated to each specific part of the homestead (garden, chicken coop, etc.).

How Do You Lay Out A 0.1 Acre Homestead?

Lay out your 0.1-acre homestead by deciding what your priorities are (eggs, vegetables, fruits, etc.), and allocating the space you’ll need to produce the amount of those things you want. Be realistic with your design and make adjustments around what matters most to you.

The layout I’ve provided shows what worked for me on my homestead to provide vegetables, fruit, honey, and eggs. Keep in mind that my tiny home was well under 400 square feet so it took up minimal acreage and provided space for my planter herbs.

Here’s What I’ve Done

• My tiny house
• 200 sq. ft. of ground-level growing space
• 256 sq. ft. of raised bed gardening space
• 2 beehives
• Strawbale compost pile
• Chicken coop and run
• 5 chickens (which later grew to 20 chickens)
• 3 fruit trees
• 1 storage shed

How Big Should A Homestead Garden Be?

A homestead garden on a property of this size can be as large as 200 square feet, like my two 10’x10’ ground-level gardens. You can supplement this with up to 250 square feet of raised beds positioned where they fit best on your land. Ultimately, your garden should be big enough to meet your family’s vegetable needs but not so large that you can’t maintain it or don’t have room for your other priorities like fresh eggs or fruit.

How Many Fruit Trees Should You Plant On 0.1 Acres?

I generally recommend sticking to two or three fruit trees when you have less than a quarter-acre. You don’t want to go under two trees for pollination reasons, and even two trees should give you a return of around 300 pounds of fruit per year.

How Many Berry Bushes Should You Plant On 0.1 Acres?

You should plant two berry bushes per person on your homestead. Bushes aren’t as large as fruit trees, so they won’t take up quite as much space, but I wouldn’t go over eight to 10 bushes all the same.

Fencing Your 0.1 Acres

If you’re growing your own vegetables and raising a flock of chickens, you will probably want to build a fence that will keep predators out and roaming chickens in. Quality wood and metal are the best materials to use when building your homestead fence, and you’ll want to do your due diligence investigating property lines and soil types before you get started.

What Animals Can You Have On A 0.1-Acre Hobby Farm?

You can have whatever animals are allowed by your local municipality, provided you can fit and care for them on 0.1 acres. Resist the temptation to try crowding livestock like cows onto your small homestead. Even goats might be pushing it on 0.1 acres, but if a milk source is more important to you than something like fruit or eggs, you can adjust your layout accordingly.

Can You Have Chickens On A 0.1-Acre Hobby Farm?

Yes, you can have chickens on a 0.1-acre property. I recommend chickens to people with every size of homestead because they are fairly low maintenance and come with numerous benefits besides their nutritious eggs.

Allowing your chickens to free range helps to eliminate unwanted bugs, and you can also use them to till and fertilize your garden beds. Chickens are also easy eaters, so you can cut back on feed costs by supplementing their meals with herbs, garden veggies, and meal scraps as well.

Can You Have Ducks On A 0.1-Acre Hobby Farm?

You can have ducks on a 0.1-acre hobby farm, so long as you have a clean water source available to them. A pond is ideal, but for a small flock, some people set up a kiddy pool. Their needs and care are a bit different than chickens, but they are the most docile option around children. They also reportedly lay more consistently than chickens do, and, let’s face it, they’re really cute.

Can You Have Bees On A 0.1-Acre Hobby Farm?

You can definitely have bees on a 0.1-acre farm — as long as you’re up for caring for them and maintaining proper safety with the bees and hives. Local honey is a nice thing to sell or gift to people in your area.

Is 0.1 Acres Really Enough Space To Grow Your Own Food?

If you carefully design your layout, 0.1 acres will be enough space to grow a fair portion of your own food. The larger your family is, the more you will have to supplement your diet with outside food items.

How Much Food Can You Grow On A 0.1-Acre Farm?

It’s impossible to pin down anything close to an exact number of fruits, vegetables, eggs, or anything else your mini homestead will produce in a year. But to give you an idea of what you might be able to grow in a year with the layout I’ve provided, take a look at these rough estimates.

Estimated Harvest From A 0.1-Acre Homestead With This Layout

• 700 pounds of vegetables
• 110 cartons of eggs
• 350 pounds of fruit
• 90 pounds of honey

Can 0.1 Acres Of Land Sustain One Person?

I believe one person could feasibly live off the yields of a 0.1-acre homestead. An average person will consume around 116 pounds of fruit, 285 eggs, 138 pounds of vegetables, and 264 pounds of meat in a year.

On a homestead of this size, the biggest challenge for sustaining a single person would be meat and dairy products. The meat problem could be overcome by raising meat chickens or ducks and hunting for game to stock the freezer. Making room for a couple of goats wouldn’t be out of the question. If you’re up for a challenge, you may consider trying out a vegetarian diet.

Is 0.1 Acres Of Land Enough To Feed A Family Of Four?

While one to two people could feasibly live off 0.1 acres of land, a family of four would be hard-pressed to meet all of their nutritional needs from this small homestead. If you have a family of three or more, you can still homestead your 0.1 acres — you will just need to supplement your food supply by shopping locally.

Can You Live Off Grid On A 0.1-Acre Homestead?

You can indeed be off grid on a 0.1-acre homestead — to an extent. Many homesteaders like the idea of living off grid because a self-sustained lifestyle relying on solar power and natural water sources is appealing to those of us who are already independent enough to grow our own food. Going completely off grid can get tricky, though, in certain locations and on small plots of land.

Is 0.1 Acres Of Land Enough For An Off-Grid Homestead?

While 0.1 acres is technically enough space for an off-grid homestead, the practicality of being completely off the grid on this plot size will depend on your family size and the restrictions in your area. If you are homesteading in an urban or suburban setting, chances are there will be local restrictions about water and power sources, but you can always check out the existing guidelines and try to take your homestead as far off the grid as you can.

Is 0.1 Acres Of Land Enough To Be Self-Sufficient?

0.1 acres of land is enough to be self-sufficient if you have a small household. One to two people could successfully live off of 0.1 acres if they are creative, connected to a local community of homesteaders, and willing to live with some dietary restrictions.

How Many Solar Panels Needed To Power Your Homestead?

You should have approximately 10 to 12 solar panels per 1,000 square feet of living space (including all areas you will need power such as a utility shed). When determining how many solar panels you will need to successfully power your tiny homestead, consider how much electricity you currently use and what cutbacks you could make to achieve a fully solar powered homestead.

Can A 0.1 Acre Homestead Be Profitable?

Your Turn!

• What’s the most important element in your homesteading plans?
• Do you want to homestead to feed your family, make a profit, or both?