For the self-sufficient farm
BAU is built to help you plan that land better — crop by crop, season by season — with modern tools that support your judgment, not replace it.
Available now in early access; 2027 pilot participants receive guided onboarding.
What you can use today
Most farm software is built for operations with payroll and tractors. These pieces of BAU are genuinely useful when the goal is feeding your household first and maybe selling the surplus second.
A planting and harvest calendar built for USDA Zones 7–9, so you know when to start seeds, transplant, and preserve.
Track what you planted where, which beds need a rest, and what follows best — no spreadsheet required.
Log soil tests, amendments, and observations over time. See trends instead of snapshots.
Compare what you grow for the table against what you could sell at market — cost per bed, revenue per hour included.
Homestead tools
Price a small contract so the drive does not eat the profit, lay out when each crop comes in, and check whether your records would stand up to a buyer. Free, no account, and everything stays in your browser.
Once the records self-check passes, sign up for a free homestead account and earn the Homestead Record-Ready badge in the Homestead Portal — a separate space from the commercial grower tools, with a badge number any buyer can look up here.
Ten crops on roughly 5,700 row feet of beds, plus 25 laying hens. Planting dates follow Zone 7–9 extension guidance; harvest dates are figured from days to maturity. Change the season and household size and the whole plan moves with it.
| Crop | Row feet | Planted | Picking window | Total | Household eats | Surplus value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eggs 25 laying hens on pasture — 900 dozen a year, counted as units not row feet. | 25 hens | Jan 15, 2026 | Jan 15, 2026 – Jan 14, 2027 | 900 dozen | 208 dozen | $4,152 |
Head lettuce Early spring beds, transplanted under row cover. | 400 | Feb 20, 2026 | Apr 10, 2026 – May 1, 2026 | 480 head | 12 head | $1,170 |
Green beans Direct seeded; replant every 3 weeks to stretch the picking. | 800 | Mar 25, 2026 | May 20, 2026 – Jun 17, 2026 | 960 lb | 16 lb | $2,832 |
Summer squash Two plantings, spring and late summer, to dodge vine borers. | 600 | Apr 1, 2026 | May 20, 2026 – Jul 1, 2026 | 1320 lb | 36 lb | $2,568 |
Cucumbers Trellised to save bed space and keep fruit clean. | 500 | Apr 5, 2026 | May 31, 2026 – Jul 5, 2026 | 1250 lb | 30 lb | $2,440 |
Tomatoes Staked and tied weekly; the biggest single earner on the acre. | 900 | Apr 10, 2026 | Jun 26, 2026 – Aug 21, 2026 | 2700 lb | 64 lb | $7,908 |
Bell peppers Transplants after soil holds 65F overnight. | 600 | Apr 20, 2026 | Jul 13, 2026 – Sep 7, 2026 | 1080 lb | 32 lb | $2,882 |
Sweet potatoes Slips on plastic; cures in the shed for two weeks after digging. | 900 | May 15, 2026 | Aug 28, 2026 – Sep 18, 2026 | 1800 lb | 24 lb | $3,108 |
Collards Fall bed, picked leaf by leaf through frost. | 700 | Aug 15, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 – Dec 26, 2026 | 630 bunch | 40 bunch | $1,770 |
Garlic Planted in fall, pulled the following June; mulched heavy. | 300 | Oct 20, 2026 | Jun 1, 2027 – Jun 15, 2027 | 180 lb | 2 lb | $1,424 |
| Surplus above what the household eats | $30,254 | |||||
Surplus value uses direct-market prices for Southeast small farms and does not subtract your growing costs, packing time, or the drive to a buyer. Price a real contract with the tool below before you agree to anything.
Pick your zone — or type your own frost dates if you know them — and every sowing, setting-out and first-harvest date shifts with it. Twenty-one crops, spring through fall, drawn from NC, GA and FL extension planting guides.
Slow starters. Wait for soil at 65F overnight or they sulk for a month.
Takes light frost under row cover. Bolts once nights stay above 70F.
Set out hardened transplants; watch for cabbage worms from the first warm week.
Spring heads size up fast; a fall planting usually eats better.
Needs the warmest bed you have. Flea beetles hit young plants hardest.
Pot up once before setting out; bury the stem deep at transplant.
Direct seed as soon as the ground can be worked; they quit in the heat.
Cut seed pieces and cure two days before planting.
Keep the seedbed damp for two weeks — that is the whole trick.
Replant every 2-3 weeks through July to keep beans coming.
Plant in short blocks, not long single rows, so it pollinates.
Trellis them; picking every other day keeps the vine setting.
A second sowing in early July dodges most vine borer damage.
Give it room — one hill needs the space of four bean feet.
Loves the heat. Soak seed overnight before sowing.
Set slips once nights hold above 60F; cure the dug roots two weeks.
Frost sweetens the leaves. Pick from the bottom up and it keeps going.
Direct seed thick, thin for greens, leave the rest to bulb.
Overwinters under a low tunnel for late-winter picking.
Plant cloves around first frost, mulch heavy, pull in June.
Long-day types will not bulb this far south — buy short-day or intermediate seed.
Frost dates are long-term averages. A late cold snap still happens, so keep row cover ready for anything set out within two weeks of your last frost date.
What does the first season actually cost to get beds, soil, tools and water in place on ¼–2 acres? Pick a size and a plan and see it line by line.
| Category | What it covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Beds & layout | Lumber, screws, hardware cloth for raised beds, or tarps/marking for in-ground rows. | $1,200 |
| Soil & amendments | Compost, cover-crop seed, lime or sulfur after a soil test, mulch. | $900 |
| Tools | Wheelbarrow, digging fork, hoes, rakes, harvest bins, sharpening — per acre, shared tools get cheaper as acreage grows. | $1,100 |
| Irrigation | Drip tape, filter, pressure regulator, header lines, timers. Assumes an existing water source. | $1,500 |
| Estimated first-season total | $4,700 |
Estimates are built from typical Zone 7–9 small-farm supply prices and assume you already have land and a water source. They are planning ranges, not quotes — check local prices before you buy. Not included: land, fencing, tractor or walk-behind tractor, cold storage, or certification fees.
Small lots cost more per pound to pick, wash and haul. Put in your real numbers and see the price a contract has to carry.
Ask this per lb
$3.00
At or near the wholesale price of $3.00.
Your cost per unit sits under the wholesale price, so this lot can carry a contract. The suggested ask keeps a 20% margin after the drive.
Case study
This is a sample homestead used to show how the tools fit together. If you have a real farm you would like featured, we can replace the details and add a consent note.
Zone 7b, central North Carolina · 5-acre property · 1.2 acres in cultivation
1.2
Acres in vegetables
4
People in household
$1,840
First-season surplus revenue
Maya and her family were in their second year on the land. They grew more than they could eat, but succession-planting dates kept slipping, and a few small restaurant contracts were barely breaking even once drive time and packaging were counted.
By the end of the season, Maya had a written rotation map, three standing weekly harvest tasks, and two profitable micro-contracts. Surplus sales covered seeds, amendments, and irrigation for the following year — and the badge gave a local farm-stand buyer enough confidence to place a recurring order.
“I was planting by memory and losing track by July. The calendar and one-acre plan gave me a schedule I could actually follow. The pricing tool kept me from quoting too low on a 20-mile delivery.”
— Maya Chen, Hickory Hill Homestead
Sample quote for illustration. Replace with a real testimonial when available.
Honest scope
The planting calendar and crop profitability calculator are public and free. If you outgrow them, the early-access account is free through the 2027 pilot.
Homestead FAQ
Not to use BAU's free planning tools or earn the Homestead Record-Ready badge. If you later sell crops through the marketplace or sign commercial contracts, your state, county, or buyers may require a business license, tax ID, or farm registration. BAU does not handle licensing for you, but the records you keep here can make that paperwork easier when you need it.
No. The Homestead Record-Ready badge is a self-checked signal that your records cover the basics buyers typically ask for — what you grow, when you planted it, and how you track it. It is not an organic certification, food-safety audit, or government approval. It simply helps a small buyer see that you keep organized farm records.
Join early access and start planning your homestead season with the same tools serious specialty-crop farmers use — scaled to the life you are building.
Create your free accountNo card required during early access. Commercial billing begins only after 2027 pilot validation.