- Year 1: The system begins receiving material and is managed as it fills.
- Year 2: The compost continues to mature.
- Year 3: The first compost becomes available for use.
As we develop the plan, we’ll work out the system’s size, the on-property materials available to manage it, how it will be maintained, and how the finished compost will be used. We’ll check the rules for the eventual property before finalizing those details.
🌾 Step 3 — Cover Crops and Crop Residues
The annual crop field will be planted to a field pea and barley cover crop each fall, after the food crops are harvested. In spring, the cover crop will be incorporated into the soil.
The cover crop will use the same growing area as the food crops, so it does not require a separate field. Our current working figure is about 3,560 square feet of growing area, including the dedicated beds for producing field pea and barley seed.
Based on our current planning rates, one fall planting will need approximately:
- 9.8 lb of field pea seed
- 4.9 lb of barley seed
The plan is to produce that seed on the property in the dedicated seed-production beds already included in the growing-area calculation.
I also want crop residues to remain part of the homestead’s nutrient cycle whenever possible. Roots and other plant material left after harvest, along with suitable leaves, prunings, and spoiled produce, can go into the shared compost system or remain in the field as part of the soil-building cycle.
As we develop this step, we’ll fit the cover crop and crop residues into the annual field schedule and determine how they work alongside the compost system.
🔄 Step 4 — Nutrient Cycling and Replacement
Every harvest removes some nutrients from the land. In this step, I’ll look at what leaves the property in harvested food and what stays behind or returns through the homestead’s compost and cover-crop system.
I’ll account for:
- food harvested for eating or storage
- crop residues and roots left in the field
- the field pea and barley cover crop
- kitchen scraps and spoiled produce
- suitable leaves and prunings
- finished compost returned to the growing areas
The goal is to keep as much organic material and fertility on the property as possible. I want to understand how well these cycles meet the homestead’s needs over time, and where nutrients may leave the system.
Outside inputs remain excluded unless we determine they are absolutely necessary. We’ll use the information from this step to see how much the homestead can supply from within its own boundaries.
💧 Step 5 — Water and Fertility Efficiency
Water management is part of the fertility plan. I want to use irrigation carefully so crops get the water they need and nutrients remain where plants can reach them.
I’ll plan to:
- observe soil moisture and crop conditions
- time irrigation around crop needs
- reduce runoff and avoid watering more than the soil can absorb
- keep soil covered with growing plants or suitable on-property materials when practical
- return suitable crop residues and compost to the growing areas
The goal is to make the most of the water and fertility available on the homestead while keeping nutrients in circulation. Once I have a specific property, I can adapt this part of the plan to its soil, water source, and irrigation setup.
🌻 Step 6 — Closed-Loop Audit
At the end of Phase 2, I’ll review how the homestead’s fertility system works as a whole.
I’ll trace what stays on the property and what leaves through:
- harvested food
- compost materials and finished compost
- humanure
- crop residues and roots
- the field pea and barley cover crop
- water and irrigation
Then I’ll assess which parts of the system the homestead can supply and recycle itself, and whether any nutrients or materials are leaving faster than they can be returned.
The goal is a system that depends on the property’s own resources and recycles them as fully as possible. Outside inputs are not part of the plan unless we determine they are absolutely necessary.
🌱 Step 1 — Observe the Soil and Land
Because I don’t have a specific property yet, I can’t describe its soil conditions in advance. When I evaluate a future parcel, I’ll learn how the land behaves through observation rather than routine soil testing.
I’ll look at:
- Soil texture: whether the soil feels sandy, silty, clayey, or a mixture.
- Drainage: how quickly water soaks in, where it collects, and how long wet areas stay wet.
- Moisture: how well the soil holds moisture between waterings.
- Existing vegetation: what is growing naturally and how vigorously it grows.
- Surface condition: whether the soil is bare, covered, crusted, compacted, or eroding.
- Land features: slope, sun exposure, wind exposure, and areas that may need different management.
- Crop performance: how crops grow once the garden is established, including any recurring problems.
I’ll keep notes and photos so I can compare observations over time. The purpose is to understand the land and adapt the plan to it—not to create a routine testing or amendment schedule.
♻️ Step 2 — Inventory Compost Materials
The homestead’s shared compost system will receive suitable organic materials produced on the property, including:
- humanure and the material used with it
- kitchen scraps and spoiled produce
- crop residues and other suitable plant material
- leaves and prunings
- weeds and other garden trimmings
I want to keep these materials cycling within the homestead. The eventual property’s available plant materials will help determine how the compost system is managed and how much material it can handle.
Once I have a property, I can estimate the amounts produced and plan the system’s capacity around the household and garden.
♻️ Step 2 — Manage the Shared Compost System
All suitable materials will go through one shared composting system. The system will use bins in sequence so it can receive new material while a full bin rests.
When a bin is full, I’ll stop adding material to it and leave it undisturbed by new additions for a full year before using its compost. While that bin rests, new material will go into the next bin.
The timing for each bin is:
- Filling period: Add suitable materials to the bin.
- Resting period: Once full, add no new material for a full year.
- Use: After that year has passed, the compost may be used.
The homestead’s overall compost system can keep operating as bins move through these stages. The design and number of bins will depend on the future household and property.
♻️ Step 3 — Plan the Bin Rotation
The compost system will have an active bin for new material and resting bins for material that has reached capacity. All bins are part of the same composting system and receive the same mix of suitable homestead materials.
Once a bin is full, it will receive no new material for a full year before its compost is used. The system will need enough space for resting bins while another bin receives new material.
♻️ Step 4 — Set the Bin Size
I’ll use a 4 ft × 4 ft footprint for each compost bin. That gives each bin a base area of 16 square feet.
The bin’s capacity will depend on its height: each foot of height adds 16 cubic feet of space. For example, a 4-foot-tall bin would hold 64 cubic feet, or about 2.4 cubic yards.
The number of bins will depend on how quickly they fill and how many full bins are resting for a year. The system will use the same 4 ft × 4 ft footprint for each bin.
♻️ Step 5 — Set the Compost Timeline
For planning, I’ll assume the 4 ft × 4 ft bin fills during Year 1.
Once it is full, no new material will be added for a full year:
- Year 1: Fill the bin.
- Year 2: Leave the full bin closed to new material for a full year.
- Year 3: The compost becomes available for use.
The one-year resting period begins when the bin is full.
♻️ Step 6 — Plan for Finished Compost
Once the compost has completed its full-year resting period, it can return nutrients and organic matter to the homestead’s growing areas.
The finished compost will be used within the homestead, with priority given to the areas that need it most. It will be part of the fertility cycle alongside the field pea and barley cover crop and crop residues returned to the soil.
The amount available and how it is distributed will depend on how much compost the system produces and the needs of the future property.
♻️ Step 7 — Fit Compost into the Field Calendar
The compost system and annual crop field will work on overlapping cycles:
- After food crops are harvested, the field pea and barley cover crop is planted in the fall.
- The cover crop is incorporated in spring.
- Suitable crop residues and other organic material go into the shared compost system.
- When a compost bin is full, it rests for a full year before its compost is used.
- Finished compost returns to the homestead’s growing areas.
This keeps the cover crop, crop residues, and compost connected within one fertility cycle. The cover crop remains part of the existing crop field; it does not require additional growing area.
