ᐅ Is a 3,000 square meter (approximately 32,000 square foot) plot of land practical?
Created on: 20 Jul 2016 16:20
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Vogelmama
Hello,
I’m new here and want to start right away with a question. I hope I posted it in the right subforum.
My husband and I are still at the very beginning of our “building a house” project. We have been searching for a plot of land for some time but haven’t found the right one yet.
Now there is a 3,000 m² (0.7 acres) plot for sale. It has no zoning plan and is relatively affordable.
While my husband only sees the large amount of work that must be involved, I see it a bit differently. I understand his concerns, but at the same time, I imagine it would be wonderful to have so much space: a vegetable garden, greenhouse, fruit trees, maybe some sheep and chickens, a pond, and so on.
Of course, all of this involves a lot of work and can only be accomplished if both of us are fully committed. But aside from that, I would like to know if anyone has experience with such a large plot.
How did you make use of the space?
If you grow a lot of fruits and vegetables, can you mostly live off them?
How many years did it take until your garden looked the way you imagined it?
Please share a bit about your experiences and whether you would do it the same way again.
Thank you very much in advance!
Vogelmama
I’m new here and want to start right away with a question. I hope I posted it in the right subforum.
My husband and I are still at the very beginning of our “building a house” project. We have been searching for a plot of land for some time but haven’t found the right one yet.
Now there is a 3,000 m² (0.7 acres) plot for sale. It has no zoning plan and is relatively affordable.
While my husband only sees the large amount of work that must be involved, I see it a bit differently. I understand his concerns, but at the same time, I imagine it would be wonderful to have so much space: a vegetable garden, greenhouse, fruit trees, maybe some sheep and chickens, a pond, and so on.
Of course, all of this involves a lot of work and can only be accomplished if both of us are fully committed. But aside from that, I would like to know if anyone has experience with such a large plot.
How did you make use of the space?
If you grow a lot of fruits and vegetables, can you mostly live off them?
How many years did it take until your garden looked the way you imagined it?
Please share a bit about your experiences and whether you would do it the same way again.
Thank you very much in advance!
Vogelmama
S
Sebastian7921 Jul 2016 11:14My parents have 3500 m² (about 37,700 sq ft) available—and they don’t live in a rural area, but in an urban new development (well, it’s not exactly new anymore; that was back in the late ’80s).
There we have a natural swimming pond with a pavilion and terrace, a large embankment with walkways, a garden shed, a greenhouse, a horse stable, and a small paddock. The last two are no longer used for their original purpose 😉.
Of course, it’s not a perfectly landscaped ornamental garden, but it’s incredibly cozy, very beautiful, and quite natural.
A lot of work? Sure—but not every day. However, you do spend a lot of time in the garden—it really becomes a hobby. But not exclusively, and definitely not a must.
I always thought I needed at least 1000 m² (about 10,800 sq ft), but by now I see it differently. We have just under 520 m² (about 5,600 sq ft), live in a rural village, and have plenty of nature around us.
There we have a natural swimming pond with a pavilion and terrace, a large embankment with walkways, a garden shed, a greenhouse, a horse stable, and a small paddock. The last two are no longer used for their original purpose 😉.
Of course, it’s not a perfectly landscaped ornamental garden, but it’s incredibly cozy, very beautiful, and quite natural.
A lot of work? Sure—but not every day. However, you do spend a lot of time in the garden—it really becomes a hobby. But not exclusively, and definitely not a must.
I always thought I needed at least 1000 m² (about 10,800 sq ft), but by now I see it differently. We have just under 520 m² (about 5,600 sq ft), live in a rural village, and have plenty of nature around us.
To put it into perspective, 3000m² (approximately half a soccer field) is quite large. Anyone who can mow that in half an hour must have a tractor with a mower attachment. Our municipality’s lawn truck takes almost 2 hours to mow a full soccer field. And that field is completely rectangular, flat, and without any obstacles. Of our nearly 1000m² (about 10,760 sq ft), the house, garage, garden shed, paths, terrace, and slope flower beds (designed to be very low-maintenance) take up around 350m² (3,770 sq ft). That leaves “only” about 600m² (6,460 sq ft) to maintain. If the plot were 500m² (5,380 sq ft) larger, it would be nearly double the area.
This means, conversely, that with a 3000m² (32,300 sq ft) plot, you have roughly ten times the garden area to care for compared to a 500m² (5,380 sq ft) plot. For me, 500–600m² (5,380–6,460 sq ft) is the minimum to have at least a bit of garden and some distance from the neighbors. From about 1000m² (10,760 sq ft) onward, maintenance usually becomes quite intensive, so you should genuinely enjoy gardening. From 1500m² (16,150 sq ft) upwards, you really need to love spending time on garden care. Beyond that, in my opinion, you should carefully consider if it’s manageable. I have left out keeping animals for now. Generally, it doesn’t matter whether your plot is 500 or 1000m² (5,380 or 10,760 sq ft) when it comes to a dog—they need exercise regardless and must be taken out accordingly. Also, I haven’t heard you mention animals, and typically, people buy a large plot because they want to keep animals—not the other way around. I prefer something smaller with manageable effort that suits my taste. I also don’t like being able to see onto my neighbor’s plate, but there are many gradations between that and the plot size mentioned here. Besides, I consider having good neighbors a positive, not a burden.
Since you don’t yet know what you want or can do with the property, I would clearly lean toward no—especially since your husband is already of the same opinion. A vegetable patch and two fruit trees actually fit on any plot, so how much more do you really need? To me, it sounds a bit like: “I’m basically looking for a Golf (car), but this 7.5-ton truck costs the same. I’ll just take it instead; maybe I’ll move someday or convert it into a camper.”
This means, conversely, that with a 3000m² (32,300 sq ft) plot, you have roughly ten times the garden area to care for compared to a 500m² (5,380 sq ft) plot. For me, 500–600m² (5,380–6,460 sq ft) is the minimum to have at least a bit of garden and some distance from the neighbors. From about 1000m² (10,760 sq ft) onward, maintenance usually becomes quite intensive, so you should genuinely enjoy gardening. From 1500m² (16,150 sq ft) upwards, you really need to love spending time on garden care. Beyond that, in my opinion, you should carefully consider if it’s manageable. I have left out keeping animals for now. Generally, it doesn’t matter whether your plot is 500 or 1000m² (5,380 or 10,760 sq ft) when it comes to a dog—they need exercise regardless and must be taken out accordingly. Also, I haven’t heard you mention animals, and typically, people buy a large plot because they want to keep animals—not the other way around. I prefer something smaller with manageable effort that suits my taste. I also don’t like being able to see onto my neighbor’s plate, but there are many gradations between that and the plot size mentioned here. Besides, I consider having good neighbors a positive, not a burden.
Since you don’t yet know what you want or can do with the property, I would clearly lean toward no—especially since your husband is already of the same opinion. A vegetable patch and two fruit trees actually fit on any plot, so how much more do you really need? To me, it sounds a bit like: “I’m basically looking for a Golf (car), but this 7.5-ton truck costs the same. I’ll just take it instead; maybe I’ll move someday or convert it into a camper.”
86bibo schrieb:
To give a visual reference, 3000 m² (0.74 acres) is about half a soccer field. Anyone who can mow that in half an hour must have a tractor with a mower attached. Our local municipality’s lawn truck takes nearly 2 hours to mow a whole soccer field here. We will definitely take a close look at the topic of robotic lawn mowers beforehand. 😉
I’m working on that right now as well. Unfortunately, these things aren’t exactly cheap. My main issue is that I only have quite narrow access paths on both sides of the house (1 meter (3.3 feet) and 1.5 meters (5 feet)) and I’m not sure the robot will be able to pass by in front of and behind the house frequently enough.
I’ve also thought about buying two smaller ones (which doesn’t make much difference in price), but both access paths still need to be mowed. You still have to mow edges and around trees manually, unless you specifically design the outdoor space to suit the robot’s requirements.
I’ve also thought about buying two smaller ones (which doesn’t make much difference in price), but both access paths still need to be mowed. You still have to mow edges and around trees manually, unless you specifically design the outdoor space to suit the robot’s requirements.
There are models that handle 1m (3.3 feet) quite well. Actually, all of them should be able to manage this. For example, Worx models are said to perform very well even in particularly narrow spaces under 50cm (20 inches). You can set up the lawn in two zones and program the robot to start mowing 50% in the front and 50% in the back. This way, both areas will be mowed evenly.
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grinchmaster21 Jul 2016 19:37I want to make a case for larger plots of land.
We currently have a plot of about 2400 square meters (0.6 acres). Personally, I wouldn’t mind it being even larger. We deliberately designed it to be low-maintenance since we both work full-time and, of course, children and a dog also need some attention. 🙂
Lots of lawn (no meadow!), all beds covered with bark mulch to prevent weeds, many perennials, and a few ornamental shrubs—basically, a park-like character.
Twice a year, everything gets pruned according to the season. In spring, the beds are refreshed with 1-2 pallets of bark mulch. I mow the lawn roughly every five days, sometimes up to three times a week if I feel like it. I also have a small municipal mower with a 2-meter (6.5-foot) cutting width, which takes about 25 minutes.
My wife takes care of the flower beds. When she wants them to look neat, she spends a maximum of one to two hours per week on them. Otherwise, just an afternoon every few weeks. So, it’s all manageable.
In our view, the advantages of a larger plot clearly outweigh the downsides—peace and quiet from neighbors, uninterrupted views of nature, plenty of space for children and the dog.
So, my conclusion: design your garden to be low-maintenance and simply enjoy your own space!
We currently have a plot of about 2400 square meters (0.6 acres). Personally, I wouldn’t mind it being even larger. We deliberately designed it to be low-maintenance since we both work full-time and, of course, children and a dog also need some attention. 🙂
Lots of lawn (no meadow!), all beds covered with bark mulch to prevent weeds, many perennials, and a few ornamental shrubs—basically, a park-like character.
Twice a year, everything gets pruned according to the season. In spring, the beds are refreshed with 1-2 pallets of bark mulch. I mow the lawn roughly every five days, sometimes up to three times a week if I feel like it. I also have a small municipal mower with a 2-meter (6.5-foot) cutting width, which takes about 25 minutes.
My wife takes care of the flower beds. When she wants them to look neat, she spends a maximum of one to two hours per week on them. Otherwise, just an afternoon every few weeks. So, it’s all manageable.
In our view, the advantages of a larger plot clearly outweigh the downsides—peace and quiet from neighbors, uninterrupted views of nature, plenty of space for children and the dog.
So, my conclusion: design your garden to be low-maintenance and simply enjoy your own space!
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