NAVIGATION
Homestead Layout
Homestead Size
Designing Layout
Animals To Raise
What Can Grow
Be Self-Sufficient
Hi, I’m Ryan
The farming and life skills I have learned working on homesteads similar to this 3 acre homestead layout have served me well over the years. I love sharing these benefits to help other homesteaders get started.
Learning how to farm my property by creating a 3 acre homestead layout to grow, produce, and raise livestock on my own land was hands down one of the best choices I’ve made. If you’re curious about the ups and downs of living on a self-sustaining or partially self-sustaining farm, I’ll always be one to say it’s worth all the work, time, and energy that it takes. When it comes to creating a homestead, though, you’ll want to design your property to function as effortlessly as possible while still having room for your gardens, trees, livestock, and other ventures.
3 Acre Homestead Layout
If you’re just starting to create your 3 acre homestead layout, chances are you’re a little impatient to be reaping the rewards of cultivating your land. Those rewards will come in time (and hopefully in abundance), but the stage you’re at now is important to your future outcomes. Using the 3 acre homestead design I’ve created, you can set up a little farm that functions smoothly over time.
If you follow my blueprint below, you will have room for a small to medium house with an open driveway, 12 solar panels, 20 raised 4×8 garden beds, a goat pen, a compost bin, a storage shed, three beehives, 12 to 23 fruit trees, a chicken coop, a duck pond, and two ground-level 10×10 gardens. Depending on the size you choose for your pen, coop, and pond, you could feasibly own six to 12 goats, 10 to 30 chickens, and five to 10 ducks.
Your homestead is your own, and you can always play with the dimensions of different areas to make more room for something that’s important to your farming goals. That said, this diagram is a great place to get started mapping out your land.
Designing Your Homestead Layout
How Much Will A 3 Acre Homestead Produce?
A 3 acre homestead layout can produce thousands of pounds of food products annually. Here is a breakdown of what you could reasonably expect.
Production Projections for 3 Acres
- Main HouseKeep your living space small and designate spaces for potted indoor herbs.
- Solar PanelsTwelve solar panels is more than enough to power a tiny home, but if your home is over 1,200 square feet, you may need a few more depending on your level of power usage.
- Raised BedsTwenty raised 4×8 beds will produce around 1 to 2 lbs per square foot for a harvest of 640 to 1,280 lbs of produce in a year.
- Goat PenThe amount of milk your goats produce in a year will depend on how many you have and what breeds they are, but you should be able to count on an average of over 200 gallons of milk per goat every year.
- Compost and StorageThe amount of compost you produce will vary depending on your food consumption, but a compost bin helps keep your gardens more self-sustaining. Also, a shed to store your tools in is necessary if you don’t have a garage.
- BeehivesWith three beehives, you’ll be able to produce an average of 180 to 360 lbs of honey per year.
- Fruit TreesTwelve to 23 fruit trees could yield approximately 1,800 to 6,900 lbs of fruit in a year.
- Chicken CoopThe number of chickens you keep will depend on the size of your coop and run. A 10×10 run could comfortably keep eight to 10 chickens, which in turn could produce up to 2,000 eggs a year if you have the right breeds and conditions. If you want more chickens, adjust the size of your coop and run.
- Duck PondYour pond will need to be fairly small, under 150 square feet, so you’ll probably need to keep your flock under a half dozen, which could produce up to 1,800 eggs in a year.
- CropsTwo 10×10 ground-level gardens can easily produce around 200 to 400 lbs of vegetables in a year.
Why 3 Acres Is The Perfect Size For Your Homestead
If you’re planning a homestead layout for 3 acres, you’re actually working with more land than many beginners or seasoned homesteaders. This amount of land will give you ample growing space for your vegetable gardens and fruit trees or bushes, and you will also be able to raise several types of farm animals with this design to add some eggs, milk, and honey to your harvests.
Is 3 Acres Enough Land For A Homestead To Farm?
A 3 acre homestead design is more than enough land to farm. You will be able to grow at least a significant portion of your own food on this acreage, and, depending on the size of your household and your diet preferences, you could even feasibly be self-sufficient on your 3 acres.
The size of your property will place some limitations on the amount and size of the livestock you own, but having chickens, goats, ducks, and bees makes for a pretty significant homestead. Let your property lines work for you, not against you, by using them as motivation to make thought-out, purposeful decisions about what you will focus on growing and raising.
What Are The Dimensions Of 3 Acres?
When you are laying out your homestead, you will have 130,680 square feet to work with, which will be around 256 by 512 square feet. This is a decent amount of farming space, provided most of your land is usable and not hilly or wooded.
How Do You Lay Out A 3 Acre Homestead?
A 3 acre homestead layout might not seem overly large, but it’s still a decent amount of land to map out, so I would advise doing it all on paper first. Take my layout and compare it to a sketch of the exact dimensions and terrain of your own property. Once you’ve marked out each area of your homestead with approximate size figures, walk your land and stake out each section so you know you have room and usable ground for all of your top priorities. After that, it’s time to get started.
Here’s What I’ve Done
- A tiny home that took up minimal acreage
- 640 square feet of raised bed gardening space
- 200 square feet of ground-level growing space
- Three beehives
- Composting bin
- Chicken coop and run
- 18 fruit trees (pomegranate, pear, apple, and peach)
- Small duck pond with 8 ducks
- 12 solar panels
- A shed for storage and seed starting
- Open driveway wide enough for my tiny house trailer
- 25 chickens
- Goat pen with 12 goats
How Big Should A Homestead Garden Be?
On a property this size, I would keep your garden space under 900 square feet. I always break my growing spaces up into smaller ground-level plots and raised beds so that I can access and maintain each section more easily.
How Many Fruit Trees Should You Plant On 3 Acres?
This really depends on how much fruit you’re wanting, but you can feasibly fit between 12 and 23 fruit trees on your 3 acres. You could fit more depending on how crowded you want your land to be, but that will depend on your homesteading goals.
How Many Berry Bushes Should You Plant On 3 Acres?
A 3 acre homestead layout has room for 15 to 26 bushes to fit comfortably if you’re planting berry bushes instead of fruit trees. You’ll want at least two to three bushes per person in your household, but more never hurt anyone. Extra fruit can be preserved, sold, or gifted. Fruit preserves make a perfect minimalist gift.
Fencing Your 3 Acres
Your homestead fence is more than something pretty to look at. Fencing your property is important for keeping predators and grazers out of your little farm while keeping your livestock safely contained. The types of materials you choose for your fence will depend on your soil, weather, and preferences.
What Animals Can You Have On a 3 Acre Hobby Farm?
You can feasibly raise four types of livestock on your 3 acre hobby farm, as long as they are all small. I recommend goats, chickens, ducks, and bees. While three acres may seem like enough space for one horse or cow, you’d have to make serious sacrifices elsewhere and wouldn’t be able to dedicate much space at all to your garden.
Start With Raising Chickens
No matter what livestock you want to add later, I always recommend starting with chickens. These little foragers are fairly inexpensive, relatively lowmaintenance, can be fed without buying feed, and can help you till your garden soil and get rid of unwanted bugs.
What About Raising Ducks On 3 Acres?
Ducks are docile, social, and are known to lay even more eggs than chickens. If you already have a pond on your homestead, welcoming some web-footed friends would be easy. Just know you’ll need at least two ducks, ideally more, due to their highly social nature.
The Feasibility Of Raising Bees
Bees are the perfect option for a small homestead, as they take up little space and help to pollinate your fruit trees and flowers. The honey they produce will keep you well supplied and may even bring in a little income to help keep your homestead more self-sufficient. The greatest hurdle here is the upfront cost of your beekeeping materials and supplies.
How To Fit A Small Herd Of Goats On 3 Acres
Goats are fairly small in the realm of livestock, but they still need 15 square feet of bedded area and at least 200 square feet of pen space per goat to stay happy and healthy. They’re fun animals to raise, and they’ll provide you with a lot of milk, but you’ll want to have a size in mind for your herd as you start building.
Is 3 Acres Really Enough Space To Grow Your Own Food?
Yes, a 3 acre homestead layout is plenty of space to grow your own food. Depending on how many mouths you have to feed, this might not be enough space to be fully self-sufficient, but you’ll produce more than half of the produce you eat in a year, which is still a big win.
How Much Food Can You Grow On A 3 Acre Farm?
It’s impossible to tell you exactly how much your 3 acre farm will produce in a year, but here are some rough estimates to help you know what to expect.
Estimated Harvest From A 3 Acre Homestead With This Layout
- 1,200 lbs of vegetables
- 460 cartons of chicken eggs
- 315 gallons of goat milk
- 4,000 lbs of fruit
- 275 lbs of honey
Can 3 Acres Of Land Sustain One Person?
A 3 acre homestead design is more than enough land to sustain one person. If you don’t want to limit your diet to fruits, eggs, and vegetables, though, you’ll still need to barter or sell some of your harvest to add some variety.
Is 3 Acres Of Land Enough To Feed A Family Of Four?
While 3 acres could feasibly sustain up to three very creative and resourceful people, you won’t be able to fully sustain a family of four on this property size. Still, you’ll produce enough to get fairly close, so don’t be discouraged.
Can You Be Off Grid On A 3 Acre Homestead?
You can be off grid on a three acre homestead layout as long as there aren’t any restrictions in your area keeping you from disconnecting from the local water and electric. Do a triple check on this before you make any plans.
Is 3 Acres Of Land Enough For An Off-Grid Homestead?
A 3 acre plot is plenty of land to have an off-grid homestead. You’ll just want to make sure that you’re willing to make space for things like an outdoor bathroom and shower, which might take room away from your growing space.
Is 3 Acres Of Land Enough To Be Self-Sufficient?
A 3 acre spread is enough land for one to three people to be self-sufficient with some dietary modifications. While you’ll be able to grow plenty of produce and raise chickens or goats for meat, you’ll have to visit the farmer’s market if you’re looking for steaks or cow’s milk.
How Many Solar Panels Needed To Power Your Homestead?
I have made room for 12 solar panels in my blueprint, and this should be enough to power your homestead as long as your living space and any other powered space remains under 1,200 square feet. If you have a larger space or just use a lot of power, you might need to increase this number.
Can A 3 Acre Homestead Be Profitable?
Now that you have a blueprint to follow, it’s time to make your vision for your 3 acre homestead layout a reality. If you’re a little intimidated, start with one thing — one garden, a chicken coop, or even a beehive. Build some confidence, learn some practical, hands-on lessons, and you’ll be ready to expand your homestead in no time.
Your Turn!
- What farmers or local markets could you build connections with in your area?
- What are some pros and cons for using solar panels on your homestead?
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