Before You Break Ground

  1. Identify your current resources (land, tools, time, space) using the provided checklists or AI

  2. Design a basic homestead layout using AI or templates.

  3. Map infrastructure and resource needs (e.g., water, fencing, power).

  4. Analyze natural features and land limitations that affect planning.

  5. Develop starter resources like project checklists, task calendars, or phased goals.

  6. Apply plan by organizing it into a clear, actionable format (map, vision board, or starter binder).

🏞️ Land: Evaluating the Ground You’ll Build On

    • Understand slopes, high and low points

    • Identify ideal areas for drainage and construction

    • Avoid flood zones or erosion-prone areas

    • Test for nutrients, pH, and drainage

    • Look for signs of compaction or contamination

    • Match soil types to what you want to grow or build

    • Check neighboring land use: farms, industry, roads

    • Understand property lines and zoning laws

    • Consider noise, wind patterns, and privacy needs

Important Considerations

Click “Start” to watch a video outlining the first few steps in planning your homestead and answer questions along the way.

💧 Water: Your Most Valuable Resource

    • Identify your source: well, municipal, rainwater, surface

    • Assess the reliability of each source year-round

    • Test for bacteria, nitrates, and heavy metals

    • Ensure water is safe for people, animals, and plants

    • Observe natural water movement and drainage

    • Understand legal water rights or shared access

    • Plan for storage, collection, and irrigation systems

☀️ Sun: The Energy That Powers Your Homestead

    • Track sun angles across seasons

    • Observe which areas get full sun, partial sun, or shade

    • Place gardens and orchards in full sun zones

    • Use shade for crops that prefer cooler temperatures

    • Orient greenhouses and solar panels efficiently

    • Use sun paths to reduce heating and lighting needs

    • Shade structures strategically to reduce summer heat

Pen to Paper

Now it’s time to turn your vision into a tangible plan. Begin developing and organizing your homestead resources by exploring the templates provided below. These tools are designed to guide your planning process and help you think through each step of your homestead layout. Use them as a starting point, whether you're working independently or using AI to generate ideas and customize your approach. When you're ready, click the download link at the bottom of the page to save these templates for ongoing use as you build your homestead binder.

AI Alternatives

Using AI Prompts to Plan Your Homestead

Subtitle: Let the Bot Be Your Blueprint Assistant

AI can’t build your homestead—but it can help you plan smarter, faster, and with fewer headaches. Prompts are the instructions you give an AI to get the answers, ideas, or templates you need. When you know how to write clear, specific prompts, you can use AI to help you:

  • Design your homestead layout

  • Create checklists and timelines

  • Research climate, zoning, or soil needs

  • Draft livestock care routines

  • Plan seasonal planting and harvests

  • Generate supply or budget lists

Why Prompts Matter

The better your prompt, the better your answer. Vague prompts = vague results. Instead of asking,

“What should I do for my homestead?”

Try:

“Create a 3-phase homestead development plan for a beginner on 5 acres in Zone 7b who wants to grow food, raise chickens, and eventually live off-grid.”

Notice how that prompt includes:

  • Location and climate zone

  • Acreage

  • Current goals

  • Skill level

These details help the AI tailor its suggestions to you.

Prompt Categories & Examples

Create Your Prompts

Write your own prompts based on these templates:

  1. Goal: What am I trying to plan or figure out?

  2. Details: What do I know about my land, climate, or resources?

  3. Format: Do I want a checklist, calendar, chart, or explanation?

  4. Audience: Is this for me, my family, or someone I’m teaching?

Example:
“Write a one-month homestead plan for a single person starting with no experience, 1 acre of land, and a part-time job.”

📌 Tip: Save Your Favorite Prompts

Keep a list of your best-performing prompts in a Google Doc, Notion board, or inside this course. Reuse and tweak them whenever your plans change!

Build Your Homestead Binder

Now that you’ve explored AI tools, created your homestead plan, and learned how to use prompts to streamline the process, it’s time to organize everything into your very own Homestead Binder. This binder will serve as your master guide, reference, and record for building and sustaining your homestead.

Whether you choose to keep a physical 3-ring binder or a digital folder (or both), having everything in one place will help you stay on track, reflect, adapt, and plan ahead.

You can download your own Table of Contents for use in your binder by clicking this link or use the one below as a guide.

Table of Contents

    • Your homestead name, logo, or theme

    • A personal mission or vision for your homestead life

    • Maps, soil test results, sun exposure tracking

    • Water sources, drainage plans, potential hazards

    • Permits, HOA/municipal codes, tax info

    • Property lines and easements

    • Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 goals

    • Priority task lists and project timelines

    • Fencing, housing (home, barns, coops)

    • Utilities (power, water systems, off-grid plans)

    • Raised beds, in-ground, or permaculture zones

    • Companion planting, crop rotation plans

    • AI-generated planting calendars and layouts

    • Animal care sheets, feeding schedules

    • Breeding records, health logs, fencing/pen layouts

    • Seasonal meal plans and AI recipes

    • Canning, freezing, drying inventory

    • Long-term food storage guides

    • Cost breakdowns by project

    • Monthly/seasonal expense tracking

    • Wishlists and vendor contacts

    • Equipment care schedules

    • House/garden/animal maintenance notes

    • Natural disaster plans

    • Medical, food, and water preparedness checklists

    • Books, podcasts, online courses

    • Notes and reflections

    • Monthly reviews

    • What worked, what didn’t, what’s next

Now What?

Are You Ready to Break Ground?

You’ve made serious progress. In this chapter, you learned how to:

  • Use AI tools and prompts to accelerate and personalize your planning

  • Evaluate land, water, and sun like a pro

  • Create a foundational layout using real-world observations and digital support

  • Organize everything into your own Homestead Binder with long-term planning tools

Now it’s time to reflect—and check your readiness.

Check Your Preparedness

Click the link below to take a short Google Form self-assessment. This quiz will help you:

  • Review key concepts from this chapter

  • Reflect on your level of planning confidence

  • Identify areas where you may want to revisit or build deeper knowledge

📋 Take the Homestead Planning Readiness Quiz

What’s Next: Chapter 2 – What is Homesteading?

In the next chapter, we’ll step back and look at the bigger picture.

You’ll explore:

  • What homesteading really means (beyond growing food)

  • Different types of homesteaders and paths to self-sufficiency

  • How to align your personal values, lifestyle, and long-term goals with the homesteading life

We’ll also bust a few myths and help you define what kind of homesteader you want to become—so your journey is truly your own.

➡️ Click “Complete & Continue” to begin: What is Homesteading?