Homesteading Quantified: How Much Land You Need To Go Off The Grid

The original homesteaders, the pioneers who went West, were following the American dream as it was understood in the 19th century -- they wanted a house, and land, and a farm, of their own. Those who become homesteaders today aren't necessarily aspirational in the same way; instead, they're looking to escape mainstream America. They want to do so for many reasons: privacy, radicalism, a philosophical belief in self-sufficiency.

But "going off the grid" is a daunting proposal, especially for those with families. Non-homesteaders rely on others for virtually everything; not just our haircuts, but our electricity and our eggs. It's hard enough to figure out the right amount of groceries to buy for a week. Figuring out how many crops to plant to feed a family of four is exponentially more daunting. There are plenty of resources to help -- message boards, how-tos. And here's one more, aesthetically pleasing resource from solar panel discount company One Block Off the Grid: a useful chart illustrating the typical land requirements for a family of four seeking nutritional and electronic self-sufficiency.

According to the company's research, a family of four that eats meat, dairy and eggs would need around two acres of land to feed themselves for a year. Ready to try it yourself, but short on land? A 2.9-acre plot of land in South-Central Alaska is available from the State for as little as $2400, payable by MasterCard or Visa. (NOTE: HuffPost Food refuses blame for anyone who tries to live off the produce they can grow in the Alaskan climate.)

Here's the chart.

Home Solar Power Discounts - One Block Off the Grid

Comments

[Ghostberry]

02:49 PM on 08/28/2011

If you built a partially underground home, your heating and cooling needs would be minimized, and you would also have a head start for a large root cellar to store your crops in the off season.

[TabaskoKat]

02:35 PM on 08/26/2011

i was curious, now i have an idea. we want to go off the grid and have inherited a cattle ranch that is 40 acres with 200 head of cattle. we dont plan on being cattle ranchers. but we do want to become self reliant. first step, solar panels

[Derek Murawsky]

01:51 PM on 08/30/2011

Take a look at both permaculture and a rancher named Joel Salatin. You're in a prime spot to implement a combination of those two teachings to set yourself up for true self-sufficiency.

[TabaskoKat]

03:13 PM on 08/30/2011

thanks, i will follow up

[tangleblue]

03:04 AM on 08/26/2011

Still 2x the ecological footprint needed to sustain all 6.4 billion of us, but a hell of a lot better than the 24 acre footprint of the average North American: http://www.radicalsimplicity.org/footprint.html

[nonyabusinessinpa]

09:25 PM on 08/25/2011

Very interesting information!

[grumpyfarmer]

07:33 PM on 08/25/2011

There are a lot of things this doesn't take into account.

I don't know why you would try to keep goats in a 10x10 enclosure, they ought to graze. You can't buy corn for $5 per bushel, especially if you are buying sacked a bushel or two at a time. I could go on and on, bottom line is this isn't very accurate.

[Harpro208]

06:00 PM on 08/25/2011

Geothermal would reduce that electricity requirement a great deal. I've heard(not sure if it's true) geothermal can reduce heating and cooling expenses by 80%.

[frank day]

06:43 PM on 08/25/2011

The upfront cost of Geothermal is cost prohibitive for many.

We priced it and it would cost us $14,000 to 16,000.

We'd save about $1200 per year.

If we had to sell, not sure we would recoup our investment.

[ScoopLV]

02:22 PM on 08/25/2011

No need to run out and buy 40 acres and a mule. Plant some vegetables -- in your yard, on your roof, in a window. Doesn't matter. Grow some of your own food. At the VERY LEAST grow some herbs. There's a sense of pride in growing and cooking your own food. Everyone should experience it.

[alteredstory]

10:57 AM on 08/25/2011

What we need is skyscrapers that provide indoor farmland for people to rent in the cities.

[The Shadow]

04:22 PM on 08/25/2011

The Vertical Farm
http://www.verticalfarm.com/

The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century
by Dr. Dickson Despommier
http://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Farm-Feeding-World-Century/dp/B0055X6F1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314303427&sr=1-1

[pa30]

08:55 AM on 08/25/2011

Don't forget your floatplane

[Mandy Ann Osipchuk]

08:28 AM on 08/25/2011

You guys have to see this if you are not into buying acres of land and really want some fresh veggies. They have free instructions and you can build this in a day with some common supplies and some recycled plastic water bottles. They are so pretty! http://www.windowfarms.org/
People in apartments are going crazy over this idea.

[Mandy Ann Osipchuk]

08:23 AM on 08/25/2011

This article is kinda wacko. I got the impression that they are trying to tell people.. Hey! If you do not have a whole bunch of land forget it just keep on spending you money for crap food at the grocery store. I beg to differ. There is a little known secret. Its call hydroponics & window farming. Your not going to feed a huge family with it. But you can in fact grow a lot more in a tiny space. That would allow you to grow a lot more in less space. As for raising chickens and fresh eggs. Chickens only need minimal space to scratch and peck. And a small roost about the size of a dog house. I have seen dogs kept in smaller spaces, when they really need room to roam. But a couple hens would be really happy in that space! There is also COOPS. Where you ban together with other like minded and trade you produce for there's! Hence needing less space. This article sucks. Its so not informative!

[rastasandliza]

07:16 AM on 08/25/2011

My father had 5 acres. About 3/4 acre was lawn, which when cut, he and I used to make mulch for the 1/2 acre garden we planted. We also used the remnants of the garden, added to the grass clippings, to make more mulch. No we didn't raise a cow or pig or sheep, or chicken. We planted every type of vegetable we wanted or needed, like sweet corn, pickles, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, yellow wax beans, yellow squash, pumpkin, asparagus, red rhubarb, bell peppers, leaf lettuce, cabbage, cantalope, water melon, and more. When veggies were ready for picking we ate and then canned the rest for the winter months. We always had good organic vegetables. When dad purchased the 5 acres, he was fortunate to have 2 apple trees, a peach tree, and 2 red cherry trees on the property which were mature enough to bear fruit. Fresh fruit for home made pies. Staples like flour, salt, pepper or whatever we needed we bought. Our next door neighbor raised chickens, so we either bought or traded our veggies for eggs and chicken. Down the road was a cattle farmer. There was always someone who wanted to share in buying a cow or pig. A half of a cow or half of a pig was enough to last us until the following year. As far as water, we had 2 wells, one for the house and one for the garden.

[frank day]

06:45 PM on 08/25/2011

You've described what many urban dwellers dream about.

[Will DAmato]

09:50 AM on 08/26/2011

Sounds like how I grew up too with the exception of it only being a .25 acre lot with a little ranch house that my Mom still lives in. We had an additional 20x20 plot through the URI Co-op extension service. She still grows a big garden that takes up about half of her back yard and cans and freezes what they don't eat.
I'm about to make an offer on a beautiful 3 acre place about 4 hours northeast of where I currently live. I've learned Solar Domestic Hot Water system design and installation and am learning how to fabricate PV collectors too. Not much else to do in winter in the great state of Maine!

[Will DAmato]

09:51 AM on 08/26/2011

It was a lot less populated and rural when I was a kid. Now it's just more sprawl.

[InYourWorld]

02:23 AM on 08/25/2011

No mention of WATER!!!! to be off the grid means you likely have a well, and to have a well over 200 feet you need LOTS of power, so bump up the solar requirements. Also many wells dont have great water, and depending on the pH, crops wont grow, so add in a filtration unit, more power needed.

I live in the desert southwest, so the humidity is often at 4%, even less. That means you need more water for gardens compared to most places, as the evap-transpiration is much high here. Luckily I live in one of the sunniest places in the US, so my solar gain is much better....

As far as caloric needs: all this self sustaining work take lots of hard work and thus more calories, so the caloric intake must be bumped up, often time drastically.

Add in soil types, climate, etc... and this article is really pretty bogus.

[alteredstory]

11:01 AM on 08/25/2011

It's meant to give a general layout for an average family, not a step-by-step program.

Soil quality can be improved, and irrigation has been around for quite some time.

[Chaucea]

11:30 PM on 08/24/2011

Well, we've got 65 solar panels on the roof, and a 50 x 50 foot garden. That's a good start. :-)

[Gabe Brummett]

09:00 PM on 08/24/2011

is there a vegan model?

[alteredstory]

11:01 AM on 08/25/2011

You'll have to add in rather a lot of area for growing protein.