Forum Home | Log in | Signup | My Page | Rules | FAQ | Boards | Members | Search
« POPE IV Home | Email msg. | Reply to msg. | Post new | Board info. Previous | Home | Next

Re: August 

By: lkorrow in POPE IV | Recommend this post (1)
Thu, 03 Aug 17 3:13 AM | 64 view(s)
Boardmark this board | POPES NEW and Improved Real Board 		Msg. 30284 of 47202
(This msg. is a reply to 30278 by Decomposed)
Jump:
Jump to board:
Jump to msg. #

De,

Well, not to take the wind out, sorry about that, but all these things need to be considered and taken care of. The parade's still on!

Twenty acres sounds like more than you need for two people. My brother-in-law has a maybe 10x5' garden and they still have to give away tomatoes, but it does give you lots of room to expand as you get the feel of farming. Then, I didn't think of bread, I guess wheat takes space.

Are those acres irrigated or do you need infrastructure. Who's doing the picking? Labor intensive, heavy stuff to carry, hard work. Just sayin' You sound capable, if you're building stage sets!

I like the concept of having a good supply of food. And fruit trees. Apple's a winner in cold climates. I wonder if those delicious NJ peaches would grow up there. Yummy, I'm enjoying them right now. Then there's pumpkins and melons and squash. Berries do well. Couple of maple trees and you're got a nice pancake breakfast, too. You'll be eating high on the hog, pun intended. I'm getting hungry. Dinner bell! Smile

A cow a year means a small herd, with the breeding pair to produce the offspring for slaughter. Need to feed them across the winter. There are probably tables of the ratio of animals to grazing land. Goats and sheep eat the roots of grass, so that takes away from the land needed to plant grass for the cows to eat, unless you're going to bale hay or feed them grain, some of which is desirable anyway. There were wars fought between sheep and beef ranchers in the Old West. Probably not a problem with a few sheep. Are you going to make clothes from the wool? I have friends out by Smith Mountain Lake who bought a loom. Have to ask her what she's making on it....

Surmountable issues, but stuff to be addressed. I was just concerned that you realize the financial implications so you don't run short. You've obviously got the enthusiasm and ability to learn and pull it off (I didn't have to tell you that, you know it!). And the food will be cheaper than the stores.

You've accomplished a lot already, no doubt this will be a successful project! All the best.

Linda




Avatar


- - - - -
View Replies (3) »



» You can also:
- - - - -
The above is a reply to the following message:
Re: August
By: Decomposed in POPE IV
Thu, 03 Aug 17 2:04 AM 		Msg. 30278 of 47202

Lkorrow: 

re: "one person alone, a farm does not make."

Wow, talk about taking the wind out of my sails! You're right of course, and it wouldn't be fair of me not to better explain myself.

When I say "farm," it's a considerable exaggeration. It remains to be seen how much of a considerable exaggeration it actually is.

For starters, I only have twenty acres of field. That would be a pretty small farm, but I think it would still qualify. I've got another 70 acres of forest, and I could clear that and potentially farm it too, but it'll probably never happen.

Then, there's the fact that I am not looking at turning my "farm" into a business. It doesn't need to turn a profit in order to be successful. In fact, I don't need to grow more food than my wife and I will eat. If we do, it will likely be when I'm ready to start bartering food for . . . for other things. That day isn't here yet.

So, if I only need enough food for two people, it's not really a farm, right? Agreed. It's a GARDEN. That's how it will start. In fact, my plan for the next two or three years is to have a 100' x 100' Victory Garden and to follow the guidance given in Crockett's Victory Garden to the letter. The book was published in parallel with a PBS series based in Boston, so I figure most of its week-by-week guidance should apply to my property as well. My land is less than 100 miles from Boston.

Only after I know what plants I can grow and what vegetables I actually like will I begin expanding the thing, next focusing on learning to smoke, can and dehydrate, with the goal of getting ten years worth of food set aside.

During all of this, I'll be planting fruit and nut trees, hopefully getting a small orchard growing on most of the land. That should keep me busy for five or ten years.

Yes, I will have animals, but it would be another exaggeration to refer to them as "livestock." I'm thinking of starting with chickens and rabbits, then goats and sheep. I'd like to eventually slaughter one cow and pig per year, which probably means raising two of each in any given year (I hear that cows should be two years old before they're butchered.) Pigs too? I don't know.

A small dog for the house. Two large dogs that would live outside. Some outdoor cats to keep the mice away.

And that's about it.

Uploaded Image


 

« POPE IV Home | Email msg. | Reply to msg. | Post new | Board info. Previous | Home | Next