If you had only one acre what would you do with it?
- Thread starter kitchwitch
- Start date
ksalvagno
Almost Self-Reliant
Any animals that you are interested in, make sure they are quieter animals. I know Guinea Fowl can be very loud. Also, if you don't plan to stay long, you don't want to turn your property into a barnyard as most people wouldn't be interested in that but they would probably be interested in a lot of raised flower beds that look ascetically pleasing. So you could have lots of vegetables but when you go to sell, just throw some flowers in those beds.
I'm looking at the back cover of The Backyard Homestead book, edited by Carleen Madigan. This book is mostly excerpted articles from Storey Books.
It says (and I take this with a grain of salt, but it's a start) that from a 1/4 acre, you can harvest in a year: 1400 eggs, 50 pounds of wheat, 60 pounds of fruit, 2000 pounds of veggies, 280 pounds of pork and 75 pounds of nuts.
I like this book but don't "love it" as some people do, as there is a significant amount of pages dedicated to learning how to make beer and wine, which doesn't interest me. Still, lots of good info and inspiration.
It says (and I take this with a grain of salt, but it's a start) that from a 1/4 acre, you can harvest in a year: 1400 eggs, 50 pounds of wheat, 60 pounds of fruit, 2000 pounds of veggies, 280 pounds of pork and 75 pounds of nuts.
I like this book but don't "love it" as some people do, as there is a significant amount of pages dedicated to learning how to make beer and wine, which doesn't interest me. Still, lots of good info and inspiration.
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
I would do what I am doing now on the acre I'm on....only more of it! 
If I didn't have to work off my place, I would be incorporating more income producing aspects on my little farm dot. As it is, I am away at work all week, so everything I do here has to be easy and less time consuming.
I have my animal's feeding and care down to where it takes very little time each week to deal with their care. Gardens are the same....more cover crops, less weeds.
I have found that my free ranging animals don't cause a lot of wear and tear on the place and so any scars on the land are easily erased once I'm gone. Chickens, hair sheep and two dogs don't mess up an acre like, say, a cow or horse would.
I currently have on my one acre, besides the buildings and fenced gardens (2): 2 dogs that guard the flock of 33 chickens, 3 adult ewes, one lamb and one recent addition of a ram lamb~I will be selling one ewe ASAP, 2 cats, 1 beehive(and hope to have more), 15 very large apple trees, 2 large gardens that double as winter pens for sheep.
On a small space its all about stacking species and using different areas for multipurposes....like using the gardens as areas to keep sheep off the grass during the winter. This puts manure and urine where its needed, one can grow cover crops that can be grazed by the sheep, keeps all the mess of winter livestock areas on places that will be plowed and planted in the spring.
The orchard is grazed by sheep and chickens keep the bugs down and also forage along side the sheep. All the animals benefit from the apple drops and excess garden produce, the shade, and the shelter of the orchard.
If I had the time there would be so much more I could do with my little acre, so many areas that are under utilized right now. All it takes is imagination and time to complete and maintain the projects.
ETA: You don't really have to have the participation of your reluctant husband...its nice to have some man labor but you can keep all things scaled down to fit a woman, especially if you have the right tools.
If I didn't have to work off my place, I would be incorporating more income producing aspects on my little farm dot. As it is, I am away at work all week, so everything I do here has to be easy and less time consuming.
I have my animal's feeding and care down to where it takes very little time each week to deal with their care. Gardens are the same....more cover crops, less weeds.
I have found that my free ranging animals don't cause a lot of wear and tear on the place and so any scars on the land are easily erased once I'm gone. Chickens, hair sheep and two dogs don't mess up an acre like, say, a cow or horse would.
I currently have on my one acre, besides the buildings and fenced gardens (2): 2 dogs that guard the flock of 33 chickens, 3 adult ewes, one lamb and one recent addition of a ram lamb~I will be selling one ewe ASAP, 2 cats, 1 beehive(and hope to have more), 15 very large apple trees, 2 large gardens that double as winter pens for sheep.
On a small space its all about stacking species and using different areas for multipurposes....like using the gardens as areas to keep sheep off the grass during the winter. This puts manure and urine where its needed, one can grow cover crops that can be grazed by the sheep, keeps all the mess of winter livestock areas on places that will be plowed and planted in the spring.
The orchard is grazed by sheep and chickens keep the bugs down and also forage along side the sheep. All the animals benefit from the apple drops and excess garden produce, the shade, and the shelter of the orchard.
If I had the time there would be so much more I could do with my little acre, so many areas that are under utilized right now. All it takes is imagination and time to complete and maintain the projects.
ETA: You don't really have to have the participation of your reluctant husband...its nice to have some man labor but you can keep all things scaled down to fit a woman, especially if you have the right tools.
freemotion
Food Guru
Although it was for three acres, here's the thread with lots of ideas: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6202
SKR8PN
Late For Supper
We only have an acre here. I have 6 hens and 3 dogs. I moved a shed off the property last summer and built a new one on the other side of the garden. That was the basis for the greenhouse project. We have 450(?) ft of frontage that is all landscaped, tons of flower beds and the house is surrounded by one big flower bed. The garden is about 50ft square and we have 9 raised beds in addition to the garden. We have a lot of gardening room left! The Wife wants goats, but I am not all that keen on the idea.......
freemotion
Food Guru
Are you kiddin'??? (pun intendedSKR8PN said:
) Have you not been reading about the cheeses, the ice cream, the pudding, the hot chocolate, the chai lattes, the goatie cuteness????? I tell you, if you tried my feta on corn/zuke fritters, you would be hitting craigslist so fast your wife's head would spin!
SKR8PN
Late For Supper
Free..............The Wife getting goats would mean me building more fence, another building to house them in, plus all the stuff needed to milk them. THEN the problem becomes the fact that The Wife works a full time job at the hospital, then a part time job here at home(online).....
That means MOI is going to be the one that has to take care of these goat critters, the feeding, the kidding(no kidding!) and the milking duties, not to mention the cheese making, which leads to even more cooking for me to do.
There ain't enough hours in the day for me to run my shop AND do the goaty thing.
That means MOI is going to be the one that has to take care of these goat critters, the feeding, the kidding(no kidding!) and the milking duties, not to mention the cheese making, which leads to even more cooking for me to do.
There ain't enough hours in the day for me to run my shop AND do the goaty thing.
lorihadams
Always doing laundry
I think trying to turn a profit by farming is unrealistic these days, unless done on a large scale.
That said, I think you could produce quite a bit of your own food on 1 acre. Raised beds are wonderful, landscape with herbs and edible plants. If you were starting from scratch with a bare acre then I would plant fruit/nut trees.
You could probably do well with 2 goats for milk/cheese/other goaty-goodness.
Chickens are easy keepers and can produce meat/eggs. We had a designated space that was left grassy that we could use for multi-purpose things. Mostly for tractors for the broody hens and chicks until they got big enought to be eaten/put with the rest of the flock.
A beehive is feasible on 1 acre and you could grow some things that could be bartered for others in the same neighborhood. I trade eggs for produce all the time.
For other meat then I would suggest going in with one or two other families and purchasing a grass fed cow. There are lots of places that will sell shares, you could also do this for milk if a dairy animal is not feasible. Same for a pig, you can purchase 1/2 a pig already packaged. It's a trade off but if you can find a responsible owner that shares your viewpoints then why not let someone else do the work if you don't have the space?
Go fishing and freeze some of the fish.
My biggest thing is get to know your neighbors/community members, be they good or bad. That way you can get together on projects with the good ones and avoid the bad ones like the plague!
We have lots of people this year that want to go in on meat chickens with us. The cost for the birds is pretty much covered by deposits from them and we collect the rest when they are processed and delivered. We have to do the work but we don't mind it too much. We pretty much come out even on the costs when it is said and done.
Another thing to do to spread out your profits is put up a bulletin at church or the library and list what items you have and what you are willing to trade for. There are lots of families that have gardens or surplus animals and would be willing to trade certain kinds of things for another.
Hope this helps!
That said, I think you could produce quite a bit of your own food on 1 acre. Raised beds are wonderful, landscape with herbs and edible plants. If you were starting from scratch with a bare acre then I would plant fruit/nut trees.
You could probably do well with 2 goats for milk/cheese/other goaty-goodness.
Chickens are easy keepers and can produce meat/eggs. We had a designated space that was left grassy that we could use for multi-purpose things. Mostly for tractors for the broody hens and chicks until they got big enought to be eaten/put with the rest of the flock.
A beehive is feasible on 1 acre and you could grow some things that could be bartered for others in the same neighborhood. I trade eggs for produce all the time.
For other meat then I would suggest going in with one or two other families and purchasing a grass fed cow. There are lots of places that will sell shares, you could also do this for milk if a dairy animal is not feasible. Same for a pig, you can purchase 1/2 a pig already packaged. It's a trade off but if you can find a responsible owner that shares your viewpoints then why not let someone else do the work if you don't have the space?
Go fishing and freeze some of the fish.
My biggest thing is get to know your neighbors/community members, be they good or bad. That way you can get together on projects with the good ones and avoid the bad ones like the plague!
We have lots of people this year that want to go in on meat chickens with us. The cost for the birds is pretty much covered by deposits from them and we collect the rest when they are processed and delivered. We have to do the work but we don't mind it too much. We pretty much come out even on the costs when it is said and done.
Another thing to do to spread out your profits is put up a bulletin at church or the library and list what items you have and what you are willing to trade for. There are lots of families that have gardens or surplus animals and would be willing to trade certain kinds of things for another.
Hope this helps!
Henrietta23
Yard Farmer
Add me to the less than one acre club. We've got .75 and have ducks, chickens and goats. With a full acre I'd get more goats? Try for a better, sunnier vegetable garden?
