Scared and nervous to get started

[nathan104]

Ihave come to realize that am very nervous and scared to get started here on the homestead. Well, intimidated and overwhelmed may be a better way to describe it.

We have 5 1/2 acres in east Texas. We moved here in July. We have a 1 arce pond and two pasture areas. One pasture is about an acre and a half and the other is probably two acres and both have access to the pond. My patures are full of bahia grass(although its all dead right now). Everything is fenced with barbed wire and is in good condition. In the small pasture area is a loafing shed in good condition with a wooden slat small padock area built around it. The previous owners had a horse. There is also a small half barn beside the paddock area that is in slight disrepair which has a single stall in it and a water spicket.

When we moved here, I was planning a large garden in the spring and to have some animals. Spring is coming and I realized Im not sure what to do. I am actively searching for a used tractor but do not have it yet.

I have been wanting to maybe get a pair of calves to raise til fall, Ive thought about a pair of hogs. Ive thought about goats but for them, I dont think the fencing I have is appropriate and I would not want to try tethering them. I was really interested in meat rabbits and it would be neat to have chickens for eggs and meat.

I know the small paddock area with the loafing shed would be ok for a hog but I think too small for two of them. Id love to just turn them loose in the pasture but not sure how pigs would do to a 1 and a half acre pasture or how they do with access to a pond and I assume Id have to add at least a single line of electric fencing at pig level by the barb wire fencing. If I got the calf pair, Id probably have them in the larger pasture but there would be no shelter if that was needed. Once the bahia started to grow, I would think they would have plenty of it to eat.

Im still also wanting to do a garden, but have been reading and reading and now feel overwhelmed. I was thinking to just scrape the area with a tractor blade cleaning all the grass and such, tilling it up, dumping on some mulch, leaves and stuf and tilling it again and then just sticking seeds in the ground in rows. But, after reading, it seems you need to start your seeds inside and transplant and there just seems to be so much more to it than I though there was. Now Ive been told that I should have a soil sample analyzed and balance the dirt before I even start and that I should have tilled the area in the fall to get ready for the spring. Just so overwhelmed by all this and not sure if I should even try it anymore.

It doesnt help Ive been down with my back and Im not sure how much Ill even be able to do in the spring. Id like to have animals that my young girls could help care for and they could go into the pasture and we wouldnt have to worry about them. Like I said, I just feel overwhelmed and not sure which I should do or where I should start. But, right now I feel like this big place is just going to waste with no animals and such. It felt good to write this out. Im sure there were many others who were nervous starting out. Weve never had animals or a garden before. Any advice or words or encouragement would be very useful right now. Thanks and sorry for such a long post.

[vancom]

small steps!

When we moved to the country 2.5 years ago we looked around and began with what we knew we could do-build a chicken coop. So we started with chickens. It takes six months or so to get eggs so we bought several older pullets to get eggs faster and then added chicks.

There was a large penned area already here, so we added a big shed that we built with fence boards and voila--two milk goats had the start of a good home. We later added 7 strand electric fencing and a movable shed out there so that they could roam in the woods by day and then we returned them to the shed at night. Now we have another pen for the buck. We raised two pigs that summer--another adventure with housing for two animals that never really needed it!

Built raised beds with garden timbers and started lettuce, cukes, tomatos in the early spring of our first year. Added wood stove and fireplace insert, since we have lots of firewood from some clearing we did a year ago.

We have been here now since summer 2005. My husband died last June so things are harder, but life has it's way of throwing you a challange every now and then. We have gotten to the know the neighbors, bought a lamb, etc. I can't grow everything we need --wish I could but since I have a day job, I learned to love my CSA that grows alot of other stuff for me. We still have eggs, milk, and summer veggies here on our own place. I make cheese from the milk, bake on the weekend, and have accepted that things will never be exactly how I envisioned them.

really--small steps. I am the type that gets overwhelmed easily, and I have learned to focus on what can I really do now with what I have, and within my abilities.

[Meg Z]

If you've never had either garden or animals before, then don't jump in feet first...you'll could get horribly frustrated and end up hating it.

When we started, it had been 25 years since I'd had a garden or livestock to deal with. So, we set up a garden and started with chickens. Nice and easy. We planned on adding a species of animal each year, which gave us planning time, and set-up time, so we were ready for them when we got them. There's no law that says you have to start everything immediately! Ease into it. Get comfortable caring for one thing, then add another. You'll find the level where you're happy. If you get everything at once, you'll likely be too overwhelmed to be happy.

Some species of animal that we got we ended up deciding just weren't for us. Don't be afraid to say that, and sell them. You can read books for 20 years, but until you DO it, you don't know what you're comfortable with. We opted not to have guineas or waterfowl of any sort. After several years of having dairy goats, we decided sheep were more important to us. We've settled on chickens, turkeys, sheep, and French angora rabbits. It works for us. We may still try a couple of baby beef, but not this year. We may still try quail...but not this year. We aren't ready yet. Be ready for whatever you decide to do!

And best of luck to you!
Meg

[Callieslamb]

I am no expert on any of the things you want to try. But take a deep breath and stop for a moment. I think it is good to start slow. I see no problem in trying one thing to see if you like it. If you don't - get out and try another.

Set some goals - you say you have thought about a lot of things -but what do you WANT. State your goals for your place and match it up with one of your choices. Maybe you have just read too much- that can easily become overload if there is no outlet. Take a leap and do something. Once you get started you are sure to feel much better.

The garden isn't so bad. You sound as if to have a good handle on it. What you are planning to do is exactly what I did, only I used a sod cutter.
I plant these from seeds right into the ground they come up quickly and easily, generally:
beans, melons, squash, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, corn, peas, carrots, beets, swiss chard, sunflowers

These are usually put in the garden as transplants since they take a bit longer to get going from seeds -
Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, egg plant

If you are overwhelmed - worry about learning to starting your own transplants next year. I hope others will add to my list what I am forgetting right now.

Check online your county extension service for the best vegetable varieties to grow in your area and when to grow them. Master Gardeners are available in many places to answer gardening questions. They work through the extension service - so call there to find one. They should be happy to answer questions and might know of other services that are available - like people that have tractors to do the scraping for you.

[jen74145]

About the garden...

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/c...ns/column.html

Top left there's a box marked "East Texas Home Gardening"... rollover it and a dropdown menu of different topics appears.

Apart from that, start small... garden and a handful of chickens, perhaps. Build up from there and take your time.

Oh, and have you been to Canton trading Days? You can find just about any livestock you want, and if you don't see it, ask. Be careful what you buy isn't sick, though... but generally folks out there are serious about their animals and you usally see healthy happy animals instead of the sad half starved creatures at local flea markets. There's alot of auctions around here too.

[RoseGarden]

Nathan, have you lived in east Tx for very long? If not, I would first suggest you get online with the Texas A&M website (like Jen suggested) for vegetable varieties listed for your area. Or find your county's agricultural extension office and call and talk to them. Often you can go by their offices and get tons of free flyers and leaflets with the information you're looking for. To plant broccoli, carrots, cabbage as warm weather crops in east Tx. is death for them. It gets too hot too quickly for them to do well much past mid May. It's too much to go into here, which is why I suggest you do a bit of research and find out exactly what to plant in your county, and when. Your ag extension office is the very best place to find out all this information, as well as information for fruit trees and berries, pasture management, crop rotation, etc.

I would suggest you not get all those animals right off. Start slow. Do y'all like chickens? Maybe get a dozen layers to start off, make sure you and your girls can take care of them properly, and then maybe next fall or next year, get a calf or something. If you're concerned about it, don't buy animals and then not be able to care for them properly. They will suffer and you will be miserable. Chickens are a good farm animal to start with, they're pretty tough.

[rambler]

Smal steps, as someone said.

Do a garden - if it lives or dies, no one gets hurt. It only has to be 10 feet by 10 feet - no big deal. Small. Try a few seeds you want to try. Don't need a tractor for that. If you put in a 1 acre garden - you likely will fail, weeds will get ahead of you, and you will dislike it.

Small steps. Just make a little corner of a graden. 12 plants of sweet corn, you don't need an acre.

Same with livestock. Don't go too big. They take time & attention. Get 2 of something (they usually don't like to be alone, 2 is easier to handle than one.....) or a few chickens or a few rabbits. Whatever your fancy is. No hurry.

Anyone nearby that would want to rent your pasture, watch what they do, start up a friendship, offer to livestock-sit now & then, and ease into the idea?

Don't have to have a tractor for any of those things. Five acres is pretty small, you will never have much livestock.

Take it small, once you get a hankering for whatever you are doing, you will expand into it naturally.

--->Paul

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by nathan104

Im still also wanting to do a garden, but have been reading and reading and now feel overwhelmed. I was thinking to just scrape the area with a tractor blade cleaning all the grass and such, tilling it up, dumping on some mulch, leaves and stuf and tilling it again and then just sticking seeds in the ground in rows. But, after reading, it seems you need to start your seeds inside and transplant and there just seems to be so much more to it than I though there was.

Well, if this was the case, I would say that every farmer in Iowa would have to have a 25,000 square foot house LOL!

Nope, just stick the seeds in the ground! Just make DARN SURE that the last frost has come and gone before they start to grow! We have had gardens for the past couple of years and we just take the seeds and stick them in the ground (we have amended the soil with sand (because it is full of clay), and lots and lots of composted material and manure). It's not that hard.

It sounds like you are just ovewhelmed. WHy don't you just start out with a smaller - say 10'x10' garden with just the veggies that you love the most and go from there. No sense burning yourself out on trying to do everything right off the bat!

donsgal

[Kaitlin]

I know that sense of panic! I agree to start small. If you clear a small area and put in some seeds you'll be so thrilled when they grow you'll want to do more next year.
Chickens are definitely the best starter animals. They're hardy, easy and produce food without much bother - ideal!

[CJ]

Start with the garden. Like someone else mentioned, no big deal if it doesn't do well... but having livestock die on you can be rather traumatic.

You can always improve the soil, and work on perfecting your garden areas, but you can certainly start with them very simply. If you've waited til the last minute (like now) then get some black plastic and put on the area you want to plant it. Let it smother and kill off the grass and weeds, then til it up (or better yet, turn it with a spade), section it off and plant seeds.

As for critters, start with chickens. Easiest thing by far to raise and care for. And... don't get animals until you've set up housing and fencing for them. Been there, done that... it is such a nightmare.

[EasyDay]

Nathan, you've received some good tips here, and I agree with starting small.

Don't be afraid of failures, because you'll learn from what didn't work for you. So, next year you do it differently. As long as you learn from your mistakes, you'll still come out ahead. No one will inspect or "grade" you on your efforts, right?, so don't overwhelm yourself with "the right way" to do things. Everyone finds their comfort zone, eventually, but you can't find it unless you get started looking for it.

Each year you'll look back at how far you've come and how much knowledge you've gained. Your successes will bring a sense of accomplishment, which will feed your desire to try new things. You'll pull it together.

Report back to us in a years time and tell us what you've learned to date!

[whiterock]

Just a question, are you sure you have bahiagrass? or could it be bermuda grass. Could certainly make a difference in garden plans.
Ed

[Mid Tn Mama]

Don't sweat about the tractor.... Find someone who will till your garden area for you or look up "lasagna gardening" on the internet. In our town, people advertise that they will till your garden at the coop, the local radio station and in the nickel advertising paper.

Are your girls old enough for 4H? That's how we started with chickens and it's a very excellent program to help kids understand what is needed to be responsible.

The chickens need a coop that can be sealed up at night so they don't get eaten by predators. During the day, mine freerange. In the coop(maybe you could use that little shed) you need some 2x2's located a few feet off the floor for them to roost on at night. You can put them kitty corner if you aren't handy to make it otherwise.

I use five gallon buckets on their side for nesting boxes. I like this because it gives them privacy and I can easily clean the buckets every now and then.

The most important thing about chickens is to always provide clean water all the time.

I use a deep composting method in my coop. I don't buy straw but rather collect leaves in the fall in bags and mix that with partially shredded paper from my home (hillbilly shredder). I keep it 6-8 inches thick and there is no smell in there. Every so often, the composted stuff goes to the garden.

---------------------
Your biggest problem in e texas won't be making transplants, it will be finding when to grow what? Our relatives there don't have a summer garden because of the heat.

Consider a smaller garden at first growing only the easiest things: beans, tomatoes, squash, cukes. Then expand a little every year. It's not the planting that's tough, it's the weeding and watering and getting things to picking stage.

Relax now and take a deep breath....

[NativeRose]

Nathan,

Already members here have posted some really good ideas. You are right at times things here in our part of east Texas can be overwhelming. Take it a little at a time and things will come together. My hubby and I moved back to our home place 8 years ago and we have been working on it ever since. We have managed to come up with some good ideas for gardening in our area. You can garden through the summer if you use shading during the hottest parts of the day. We container garden and square foot garden as these methods are easily managed. The containers we use we got from the feed stores. The empty molasses mineral lick buckets are perfect for container gardening. We drill more holes in them for drainage and fill them with our soil mix. You can attach tomato cages or line them against cattle panels for climbing veggies. We put ours up on cinder blocks. It is easier on my back and helps to keep the fire ants out. I also will be using more shade cloth this year so things don't get scalded by the heat. We are also planning to build some hoop houses out of cattle panels to help with this.

Don't give up. There is so much good advice here on HT and most of us have gone through the same worries and struggles. For me lots of things have been trial and error and then finally success.

I don't know what to tell you about bahia grass. I hate the stuff. If I could find a totally organic poison I would poison it off our place.

[turtlehead]

We moved in August and were too busy to prep a new garden in the fall. We just started in Spring, and it worked fine. You don't need to start seeds indoors. I gardened for a decade before it even occurred to me to do that. I just planted the big seeds (beans, corn, squash) and onion sets and potatoes into the ground, and bought plants for tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage family. Carrots and lettuce seeds go right into the garden, too.

Definitely start small! A well tended small garden will make you feel proud and satisfied; you'll be enocuraged. A large garden will be overwhelming and frustrating; you'll want to cry and leave.

First animals - chickens are real easy, we started with them. We've been in the country almost three years now and all we have is a garden, chickens, and rabbits. It's all we have time for and we're happy with it.

[nathan104]

Id like to thank everyone for the advice and support. Ive always been the type of person that when I got into something, Id start it all at once. I think that is my problem. Starting small is probably the best thing for me like most here said. Its great to hear that I was maybe readin more into starting the garden that it takes. I will just have to make sure I know which plants I can stick straight into the ground here. I definitly want tomatoes so maybe for those Ithat need to be started, Ill just by them from Lowes or the feed store and just transplant them this year and maybe later on try starting my own.

For the one that asked on the Bahia, Im pretty certain thats what it is. Ive been told thats what it is and it has the really tall seed heads which grow so fat. Its in half my lawn and its so tough in 6 months I had to replace three blades and two blade shafts on my riding mower. The seed heads shoot up two foot tall in a little over a week it seems. It is pretty much the only thing in the pasture except for water type grasses around the pond.

I do need the tractor for not only shredding this land and tilling and such but also for shredding and such on some hunting land me and my dad are buying. So, I will have one pretty some. It should make it easier starting the garden area for my back anyways.

Ive thought of starting with chickens. It would not be too hard to enclose the small barn or loafing shed into a coop. But Ive wondered if I let them out into the pasture during the day, whats to keep them from wandering off into the woods onto the neighbors property?

I imagine starting small with just 3 rabits would not be as bad either but starting anything new always seems daunting. I wish there was someone around here who did anything like this but all Ivee seen in the area is horses and a few people have a bunch of cows. My grandad used to keep rabbits, maybe I should call him and pick his brain.

I guess I will start small on the garden like yall said and just pick one animal. that will make it easier. then add stuff later on once I know what Im doing with what I already have. Thanks for the replies, they really have helped calm me down a bit.

[MelissaW]

Oh friend, I'm feeling your excitement just reading this! It's a GOOD thing...so much promise. Since everyone has already given you good advice on starting small, especially with the garden, I'll address the chickens. Chickens don't stray terribly far from their coop. They will, on occasion, get into a neighbors, which can be a problem, especially if your neighbors have wandering dogs or flower beds that they don't want scratched up! You can fence off a small area for your chickens, or use a chicken tractor if you're worried about it. Are you thinking to raise meat rabbits? Rabbits are quite easy to raise (obviously, they breed like rabbits! ), but you have to decide if you can get past the butchering. Watch someone "peel" and gut one first to make sure you have the constitution for it. I don't! Technically speaking, though, I think they are easier to dress than chickens. One easy thing you can do is start a compost pile, and get someone to "donate" some livestock manure that you can start composting for next years garden. Good soil takes some work to build, but you won't regret the effort! Best of luck, and keep us updated on your progress! It's always a treat to follow someones new adventure!

[netexan]

Nathan, As a lot of folks have said; slow down and take a deep breath. Much like you, I too moved to NE Texas a short while ago and I am working darn hard to get things done. I've made 2 lists, 1 for stuff I have to get done and another for things that I'd like to get done. The lists have sort of taken on a life of their own and grow faster than rye grass but with regular trimming they're managable and help to keep me on track. Rember the old saying, "One thing at a time and that done well..."
It's taken a year for that saying to sink into my thick skull but I find it easier and more enjoyable now that it has. And isn't that part of the reason for 'steading, enjoyment. Let go of the failures you might experience and consider them as learning experiences and revel in any successes you will have. If you do I think that you'll find that you'll be a lot more at ease with the work involved with this lifestyle.