freemotion
Food Guru
We have 4 acres in the suburbs, but we are zoned for critters and most of our property juts into a christmas tree farm. A chunk of it is swampy and wooded, but we have about 2.5 acres that are dry. About 2 is fenced but the pasture is poor, but slowly improving with management and compost.
We have 3 goats, soon to be more I hope. I will keep any doelings I get, my goal is one or two dairy goats and the three rescues can then be pets only. My barn is 14 x 24, with 3' x 24' enclosed for hay storage, and a 3' overhanging roof for storing stuff semi-outside. I enclosed part of that for the coop, and I have a smaller pen with a small moveable coop (4' x 8') for brooding whatever. Our flock is far too small this year with only 13 laying hens, one rooster, and 3 guineas (why-oh-why did I get those silly guineas???? Oh, yeah, ticks-oh-ticks in Lyme country!) I really want some heritage turkeys in the spring, hoping to keep a breeding trio over next winter to ultimately produce my own. Also hoping someone in the newer 8 hens goes broody for me this spring.
The barn was built with two horses in mind, we now have none, and the stall area was built with a removable wall with foaling in mind. The wall is stored, and the goats have the whole space. During the day, in winter, the birds spend most of the day with the goats then go back to the coop at night. In summer, a few wise hens come into the stalls and clean up any flies.....they are amazing at fly control!
If we had more pasture, better pasture, I would've seriously considered a Jersey or other smallish dairy cow, instead of the goats.
I have room for pigs and have LOTS of oak trees (acorns!) but dh will not hear of it....no mammals that he's met can go in our freezer! And no chickens as food....he finally agreed to turkeys "because they are ugly!"
My gardens expand yearly. I have fruit trees, but no fruit yet. Plan to terrify them this spring into producing. 2 apples and a pear. Grapes this spring, too.
When we rented in a two family house, we had the boxes for various plants and they were very prolific!!! The totes will last only 2, maybe 3 years if you don't try to move them at all. The sun breaks them down. We did the hybrid soil and hydroponics method. Boy, did the veggies grow in those boxes!!! You can use 5 gallon pails, too, better if they are free. When they break down, no money wasted. Also it is better if you create some great compost, as you have to replace the soil each year for best results. I tried just changing half, and it was only half as good.
We have 3 goats, soon to be more I hope. I will keep any doelings I get, my goal is one or two dairy goats and the three rescues can then be pets only. My barn is 14 x 24, with 3' x 24' enclosed for hay storage, and a 3' overhanging roof for storing stuff semi-outside. I enclosed part of that for the coop, and I have a smaller pen with a small moveable coop (4' x 8') for brooding whatever. Our flock is far too small this year with only 13 laying hens, one rooster, and 3 guineas (why-oh-why did I get those silly guineas???? Oh, yeah, ticks-oh-ticks in Lyme country!) I really want some heritage turkeys in the spring, hoping to keep a breeding trio over next winter to ultimately produce my own. Also hoping someone in the newer 8 hens goes broody for me this spring.
The barn was built with two horses in mind, we now have none, and the stall area was built with a removable wall with foaling in mind. The wall is stored, and the goats have the whole space. During the day, in winter, the birds spend most of the day with the goats then go back to the coop at night. In summer, a few wise hens come into the stalls and clean up any flies.....they are amazing at fly control!
If we had more pasture, better pasture, I would've seriously considered a Jersey or other smallish dairy cow, instead of the goats.
I have room for pigs and have LOTS of oak trees (acorns!) but dh will not hear of it....no mammals that he's met can go in our freezer! And no chickens as food....he finally agreed to turkeys "because they are ugly!"
My gardens expand yearly. I have fruit trees, but no fruit yet. Plan to terrify them this spring into producing. 2 apples and a pear. Grapes this spring, too.
When we rented in a two family house, we had the boxes for various plants and they were very prolific!!! The totes will last only 2, maybe 3 years if you don't try to move them at all. The sun breaks them down. We did the hybrid soil and hydroponics method. Boy, did the veggies grow in those boxes!!! You can use 5 gallon pails, too, better if they are free. When they break down, no money wasted. Also it is better if you create some great compost, as you have to replace the soil each year for best results. I tried just changing half, and it was only half as good.
