I got a question from a reader about where to start with a new property. Pete and I have started two new properties and this is what we have learnt so far. Like I wrote back in this post about designing your property with permaculture , step one is "do nothing" - just observe your property for at least a year (if you can), figure out what you want from it and what it can do, then start planning one small project at a time. When it comes to figuring out what you want and what your property can do, this post about " What to do with eight acres " might give you some ideas (adjust them to fit the size property you have). If you have more than a few acres, you might find Keyline design useful as well , it helps with placement of roads, fences and water storage on larger properties, by considering the terrain (or keylines) of the landscape. This post has a lot of information for new homesteaders: Homesteading 101 advice from the experts . I find permaculture is the b...