Is a 3,000 sqm plot sensible?

Hello,

I am new here and am diving right into the forum with a question. I hope I have posted it in the right subforum.

My husband and I are currently at the very beginning of our project "Hausbau". That means we have been searching for a plot of land for some time now but have not yet found the right one.

Now a 3,000 sqm plot is up for sale. Without a development plan and relatively cheap.

While my husband only sees the lot of work that is surely involved, I see it a bit differently. I can understand his concerns, but at the same time, I imagine it would be great to have so much space: vegetable garden, greenhouse, fruit trees, maybe a few sheep and chickens, a pond, etc.

Of course, all of this is a lot of work and only manageable if both are on board. But apart from that, I would like to know if anyone has experience with such a large plot.

How and with what did you fill the space?
If you grow a lot of fruit and vegetables, can you mostly live off it?
How many years did it take until your garden was as you had imagined?
Please tell me a bit about your experiences and if you would do it the same way again.

Thank you very much in advance!

the Vogelmama

Under no circumstances do this if you are employed. With 3,000 m², you are only busy keeping the garden in order. If you also want to grow fruits and vegetables, maintain a garden house, maybe even have a pond – then you have a full-time job. Growing vegetables also involves storage, especially if you want to "live off it." I grew up on 2,800 m². The amount of biomass that accumulates on this area per year is astonishing. And you not only "can" trade it, you "have to." And that’s where the fun ends.

Only about 650sqm of garden - after two years still not completely finished, because a) expensive and b) the garden also "grows" and is regularly adjusted and fine-tuned. We also have fruit (apple tree, cherries, nashi, currants, kiwis, strawberries...) and a bit of vegetables. That is enough for me...

Would be way too big to be properly managed/maintained if both are working.

If you live exclusively off it ... unfortunately you also need shoes; meaning that you either become a farmer or should consider it as a hobby. The size also possibly brings obligations and costs such as adjacent streets, fencing, ride-on lawn mower, etc.; it is also unrealistic to maintain this area in suburban style. If all this is taken into account, why not? I would have done it if such an area had existed in our location - a few sheep on it, an orchard....

First: Land without a development plan and cheap? Where is the catch here?
Is it designated as building land?
Is it fully developed?

While my husband only sees the lot of work that is surely connected to it, I see it a bit differently. I can understand his concerns, but at the same time I imagine it’s great to have so much space

Although I am also a man, basically I have to agree with him. If the land is already fenced, it is a huge amount of work. Just mowing such an area alone takes a good half day per week. My wife also always sees the many great possibilities, but in the end the work has to be done. Anyone moving from a 60m² apartment to a house twice as large with a 600m² garden will be surprised by the work involved, but that’s nothing compared to your project.

How and with what did you fill the space?

I have no idea how to sensibly fill such a large space, except by doing agriculture or animal husbandry (horse paddock, etc.)

If you grow a lot of fruits and vegetables, can you largely live off it?

No! Fruit yes, you can probably supply half the town with it, but the harvest season is short and then the only options are preserving or turning it into juice. That takes time and is something different from fresh fruit. Also: How much fruit do you need in a year? Usually 1-2 trees of each type of fruit easily suffice for personal consumption.

For vegetables you need quite a lot of space to really supply yourself completely. You would have that, but it also has to be cultivated. Besides, you can’t store everything and for the "stored goods" you also need appropriate storage rooms. If you are interested in something like that, then look for a community of farmers who offer such services. Your own vegetable garden is nice because you know where it comes from and it often tastes better than from the supermarket. But it’s definitely not cheaper and it won’t get you through the whole year. Unless you are very flexible with your meal planning.

How many years did it take until the garden was as you imagined?

That always depends on the condition of the current land, but 10-15 years is certainly not an unrealistic assumption. It could also be done in 5 years if everything is already in decent condition and your demands are modest. But if you want to build a house at the same time, in my opinion, anything under 10 years is pure illusion. Also, you should be clear that you won’t need a TV because your evening and weekend program will take place outside.

I would love that and would take it immediately. If you have sheep, you don’t need a ride-on mower. You can also plant fruits and vegetables gradually; it doesn’t all have to be done at once. We have 700 sqm, which is way too little with many trees to still reasonably grow anything. Still, we don’t even have a lawn mower, you DON’T have to mow, you DON’T have to rake leaves either. Unless, of course, you want sterile-dead design with golf-course lawn (weed-free!) and gravel areas ("rock garden"). So I would be thrilled!

Especially for my squirrel kids, that would be something, a few nice aviaries...