What SS Mistakes Have You Made?

[sylvie]

What mistakes have you made on your journey to self sufficiency or sustainability? I think the mistakes are as important as the successes to some degree, so that others can learn by them, so we don't repeat them.

My big one is too long of a driveway.
It was impossible to shovel due to the heaviness of the snow and the snowplow guys were all busy with contracts. Now it is spring and it needs lots more stone. Long drives are great for privacy but pricey in upkeep. No delivery guys will come in winter because it is winding, runs adjacent to a ravine and has a hill. It scares them.
UPS leaves packages at the gate. One used to walk them back but I think he lost time doing that and quit.
Electric Co just drives by and uses a hand scanner from the road. That is just as well, they made ruts in the yard because they couldn't stay on the drive!?!
Mail lady just leaves slips in the box for us to pick up at the office. She wrote this in magic marker on the inside of our box to remind herself, lol!

 

[patandchickens]

Biggest one is probably that although I knew this property was very wet when we bought it, and I (correctly) figured we could deal with that ok, what I did NOT think about was to what AGE we could deal with it.

I pretty much HAVE to dig the snow (often several-feet-deep drifts, atop totally-soaked snow and inches-thick ice) out of the main drainage ditch a couple times per winter, to avoid excessive flooding in front paddock and barn; and the ditches all have to be kept mowed during the summer (harder work than you might think) and periodically redug with a shovel when they start to silt in. I don't see us staying here beyond DH's retirement, for that reason.

But, live and learn, and it is OK for now and maybe not such a bad thing to move when the time comes. By then our needs will probably have changed a good bit, and anyhow I would prefer to live BEYOND commuter range of Toronto once it becomes possible

Pat

 

[ksalvagno]

Last year we started working on SS. My mistake was that I got into too many animals. I got goats and chickens plus started a garden. There is a lot to learn with any animal and it was overwhelming to get the spaces ready and learn how to care for 2 different species. Also getting used to cleanup for all the new animals.

I would recommend only getting one new animal species at a time and get used to that animal and the husbandry/care involved before getting another new species.

 

[cjparker]

My big (and this is BIG) mistake was in thinking that having free range chickens meant that they could wander about at will, and they would sweetly go into their coop at night. NOPE! They roosted in all sorts of places and were vunerable to the coyotes. Out of 24 chickens, I am down to three, and feel their blood on my hands for not providing better for them. I won't be getting more until I have a fully secure and fenced area for them around the coop.

 

[miss_thenorth]

What SS Mistakes Have You Made?

Not being prepared. This is a mistake made due to hubby's impatience. We bought pregnant sheep, without having a place to put them. In winter. We were not set up fully for them to lamb, or having an adequate area or set up for separating them for milking. After getting the sheep, hubby made a shelter for them, then after they lambed he built lambing jugs. It is still difficult to separate them for milking.

Choosing a garden site out of practicality without regard for how that section of land handles water. I built the garden in the only practical spot, but it flooded out the first year. so the next year we built it up. It's fine now, but due to my impatience this time, had we waited to find out how that area fared in the spring, we could have just built it up first off, instead of planting everything and then having it flooded .

 

[big brown horse]

Oh boy! What mistakes haven't I made??

My biggest mistake is not being prepared to store all of my orchard and garden's bounty last year.

I also didn't plan out my plantings very well.

I didn't prune my apple trees either b/c I didn't know how and I didn't want to kill them. I finally got a lesson (and a scolding) from the previous owner.

All 10 apple trees, 3 plum trees, 2 pear trees and 2 cherry trees are pruned now. I am a seasoned pruner these days.

 

[valmom]

I have learned the long driveway one! We now live right off the road. Not great for privacy, but we can always get out if we need to. We also bought our own snow plow 4 years ago which has paid for itself compared to having someone plow us out.

Both my houses I bought, I lived in for at least 4 full seasons, taking notes and pictures before we built barn or garden, or even fencing.

I think a lot of people get going doing too much and don't end up enjoying it. I have added everything gradually as I feel able to keep up with it. Adding the chickens brought joy and eggs- and our coop was built and fenced before we got the chickens because I spent a year reading on BYC first! I still want a milk animal, but I know it wouldn't work for us because we would never be able to get rid of the babies

I still wish we would hit the lottery, but we play so infrequently it isn't likely Then I'd have solar panels, milk goats, alpaca for fiber, and most important- time!

So, I guess I am not so SS as I would like to be, but we haven't made any expensive mistakes, either.

 

[hwillm1977]

Mine was the first year I planted a garden... never having done it before, I thought a 40x40 foot garden was reasonable... It was HUGE and FULL of weeds by the end of the first summer. I was working 2 jobs at the time and didn't factor in the amount of time a garden of that size takes.

I've toned it down to raised beds now, much more manageable for the weeding/maintenance

 

[meriruka]

I have tons, but just a few come to mind right away:

Don't try to make soap in a chipped enamel pot.
Don't make a monstrous garden just because you got a plow.
Don't buy a glass top stove.
Don't have every form of heat & cooking dependent on electricity.
The pantry is the worst possible place for a chick brooder.
Turkey poults really are suicidal.
Peanuts grow underground.
Don't try to plant an orchard in crappy clay soil.
Don't feed your neighbors cows whole apples. (No, I didn't kill it - managed to yank the stuck apple out of it's mouth just in time.)
Don't taunt the neighbors bull by sticking out your tongue and saying "Nyah nyah neiner neiner" unless you can climb trees with lightning agility.

 

[big brown horse]

I have tons, but just a few come to mind right away:

Don't try to make soap in a chipped enamel pot.
Don't make a monstrous garden just because you got a plow.
Don't buy a glass top stove.
Don't have every form of heat & cooking dependent on electricity.
The pantry is the worst possible place for a chick brooder.
Turkey poults really are suicidal.
Peanuts grow underground.
Don't try to plant an orchard in crappy clay soil.
Don't feed your neighbors cows whole apples. (No, I didn't kill it - managed to yank the stuck apple out of it's mouth just in time.)
Don't taunt the neighbors bull by sticking out your tongue and saying "Nyah nyah neiner neiner" unless you can climb trees with lightning agility.