Overview → Build

Build Sequence

Get livable first, then layer the buckets in. Trees planted in year 2 don't fruit until 4–6 — no reason to front-load the farm.

01 The four phases

YEAR 0–1 · Bucket A

Bones

  • Land + survey/stake
  • DIY drive, pads, swales
  • Well, septic, electric
  • Perimeter fence
  • Tractor
  • House + rain tanks
  • Solar conduit roughed
YEAR 1–2 · B, C, E

Roots

  • Pond + water main/hydrants
  • Orchard + silvopasture (caged)
  • Garden beds + greenhouse
  • Berry rows + pollinator
  • Windbreak + pasture seeding
YEAR 2–3 · Bucket D

Animals

  • Interior polywire cells
  • Cattle water stations
  • Mobile coop + tractor
  • Hens, meat birds, milk cow + calf
  • Chest freezer + line up a butcher
  • Stock the pond
YEAR 3–5 · A + D

Maturity

  • Build 20×40 shop
  • Grow the herd into the expansion cell
  • Simple handling chute
  • Silvopasture canopy closes
  • Solar array

Gallery Bones & iron

Compact tractor in a field
The machine One 35–45 hp tractor + loader mows, clips, augers and hauls for every bucket — the one big tool.
Water pump
Well & pump A Trinity-aquifer well + pressure tank is the property's lifeline — drill it before you build.
Gravel lane lined with trees
The drive A gravel lane doubles as the private drive and the spine the tractor reaches every paddock from.
Solar panels by a field
Solar Conduit roughed in at build; an 8–12 kW array later runs the homestead off the grid's whims.
Metal workshop with roll-up door, workbench and racked lumber
The shop The 20×40 metal workshop of the Year 3–5 maturity phase — roll-up door, workbench, tool wall, and racked lumber to keep every other project moving.
Open pole barn with hay and tractor beside a steel corral and run-in shed
The barnyard 30×40 open pole barn (hay + tractor), a small steel working corral with headgate and loading chute, and a 3-sided run-in shed off the central lane.

02 When each bucket turns on

Cost spikes once (the home), then flattens low; output starts small and keeps rising for fifteen years as the trees mature — with no new spending.

Maturity timeline · when each bucket turns on
Maturity timeline by bucket A Gantt-style timeline across five periods (year 0–1, 1–2, 2–3, 3–7, 7+) for the five buckets. Home builds in year 0–1 then is lived in; the garden feeds from year one; the orchard plants in year 1–2, gives berries by 2–3 and fruit then nuts from year 3–7; animals set up in year 1–2 and produce eggs, milk and beef from 2–3; water and habitat establish by 2–3 and provide services after. Yr 0–1Yr 1–2Yr 2–3Yr 3–7Yr 7+ A · HomeB · GardenC · OrchardD · AnimalsE · Water BuildLive in PlantFeeding PlantBerriesFruit → nuts SetupProducing — eggs · milk · beef Pond/treesEstablishServices Build / plant First yield Full production Live-in Cost spikes once (Home), then flat & low — food on the plate rises to full by year 7.
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