Hi,

I happened to finally get a chance to stop by and saw LBF's post about discussions. Sooooo.... I thought it would maybe perk up not only some winter blahs, but be interesting to hear what your spring plans are. I guess i'll go first:

I would love to be able to NOT work 16-18 hr days and just focus on the dairy, but with that aside here are my plans:

With our son and daughter in-law and grandsons coming to live in January (they will be helping on the dairy, sort of like the old family farm type situation!) I have plotted out my garden. I do ahve one question..... Anyone live in AR or where it grows rocks? I am having a devil of a time creating a garden. We have a small plot that has a picket fence around it, my.... how classic! Its not whie though! so I will ahve to do raised beds. What type of vegetables grow best here... that is if anyone is near AR. I am making beds now and filling with dirt left over from when the former owners dug the pond.

I hope to grow tomatoes, they grew great last yr! Then onions, garlic, herbs, peas, carrots, well.... you get the idea. I also hope to make a nice rose garden again and this time not have any goaties near it! Knowing Jackie I'm sure she will find a way even from Goatie heaven! She so loved those roses! Ate 150 tea rose bushes. But I still loved her, she was a character that goat..... I really miss her, had to put her down before we moved last May because she had arthritis bad (wasn't CAE related). I don't think I can ever afford 150 again, but hey....... ya never know!

Lets see...... guess I will begin my goat show schedule and figure out what shows I will attend. I will be making the trek to Colorado in July for the American dairy Goat Assoc show. didn't get to show last yr because of the move.

I would like to also make another barn too and maybe talk DH into a horse! yeah right!

Well...... anyways.... just wanted to say hello and maybe hear from others. Take care.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), December 28, 2001

Answers

Well I don't know if I can get the picture in my head down in written form, but I can sure attempt it.

I hope to put a fence around both the vegetable garden and the orchard. I'm hoping to then be able to use the chickens to clean up the bugs and the pigs to clean up the refuse. I especially am interested in the beneficial effect that chickens have in the orchard. In addition, the orchard will give me a place to isolated birds for breeding.

Right now we are in the middle of moving and also pruning this orchard that doesn't look like it has recieved ample attention. There was an apple sucker 4" in diameter and taller than my ten year old son. It has now been cut out. In addition, I am also On the lookout for ways to lighten the soil under my peach trees. At this point I am considering an application of mulch in the root zone and perhaps a stone mulch near but not touching the trunk. I have one tree that looks like my only recourse will be removal. It looks as though the trunk split and rot is forming in the center of the tree. I am not convinced it could ever be brought back into productivity. I am wondering about the possibilities of stump removal. I currently don't have a tractor. Although I do have a good pickup. What about just building a hot fire around that stump and burning it out? If this is a stupid question, please pardon it. I haven't ever removed a stump.

In addition I have a big vegetable garden to plant. This will require the rental or purchase of a tiller. I also am trying to decide on a system of composting. Another project I am considering is how to produce small quantities of silage from garden waste. How many here are actually producing most of their own food?

Little bit farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@farm.com), December 29, 2001.

Bernice,

Though my goals of become self-sufficient are far from being reached, I make attempts daily to maintain the level of self- sufficiency that we have attained. I am a big fan of Scott and Helen Nearing. They mentioned in one of their books that they themselves had only achieved about 85 percent self-sufficiency. My goal is to match that. Presently, we are probably around 35-50 percent sufficient.

Every year we expand our garden a little more, to provide more vegetables for canning and eating. This year we plan to also incorporate a few goats and of course more chickens. The goats will allow us to make yorgurt, cheese and more soaps. The chickens of course will be culled in the fall for winter meals.

Probably the hardest part of self-sufficiency that we have experience is the lack of work. Being self-employed as a handyman has shown me little profit during the winter months. We supplement our income by selling on Ebay, but again when winter hits there are feww yard sales to add to our merchandise that we sell. I have been working on different ideas. One of them is furniture building. Presently, I built doll size furniture and sell it through word of mouth and on Ebay. That is not enough. This year will be a focal point for that endeavor as well.

As you can see, we have lots of things to add to our ongoing goals of self-sufficiency. The exciting part of it all is that I know that we will attain our goals in the up coming years, eventually maybe we will even succeed in beating the 85 percent that the Nearings made.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), January 08, 2002.

Fence our property, buy a beef cow and some pigs, figure a way to get water to them before we buy them preferably. We need to make the pig pen inaccessable to our resident cougar any suggestions??? For fun I am taking our large rock garden in the front yard and filling it with hen and chickens (the plants) and constructing a large topiarary shaped like a nesting hen, out of chicken wire for the middle of the garden. I plan on stuffing it with moss and soil and covering it with more hen and chicken like plants I cant wait. Ronda

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), January 17, 2002.