Getting started

Bigbird389 · #1 02/07/13, 02:39 PM

I came in to a large amount of land. It isnt being used for anything. I am very interested in the idea of homesteading, and making a little money with the land. I have no equipment, and very little experience in farming. I am in no way looking to get rich, or sale the timber, or land. I would like to use it somehow. Any ideas or advice on getting started would be appreciated.

7thswan · #2 02/07/13, 02:47 PM

Does it have a house? How is it zoned. Would you like to clear part of it for crops. A Camp ground.

simi-steading · #3 02/07/13, 03:03 PM

I've always wanted a huge piece of land I could do music festivals and motorcycle rallies on..

My wife and I go to a rally every year in Maryland, and used to go to one in Illinois... The guys that owned the land and put on the rallies made enough money to live very comfortable from one or two rallies a year. All they did was work on organizing the rallies the rest of the year.

dkhern · #4 02/07/13, 03:11 PM

lots of good advice available here. welcome. more info would be helpful. where located, type of land ie timber, crop land, pasture, acreage, housing, other building etc.

Bigbird389 · #5 02/07/13, 03:18 PM

I am in NC. In the country. It is zoned for agriculture. It used to be a tobacco farm. It has barns and buildings. All are falling down. It does have a usable house. I am wanting to stay private. I dont want to lease it. I dont mind the hard work. I just dont know where to start. Thanks

tentance · #6 02/07/13, 03:49 PM

there is an amazing geoff lawton permaculture video that basically tells you how to get started... although it is well worth the watch, in sum, design your homestead with concentric circles focusing on your house...
the area near the house is the area that you tend to the most, with your garden. then comes the next furthest out from your house, the area with your animals and maybe some crops. then beyond that, pastureland for your animals. the last circle around the edges of your property, leave kinda wild. let the trees and shrubs grow for timber and creating native habitat (this is where you hunt). and for privacy.
there is a lot more to permaculture than that, but hope that's a start. he has a ton of free information on youtube.
also youtube sepp holzer permaculture and joel salatin. they are both very innovative modern agri-gods.

ok, they are just innovative.

Raven12 · #7 02/07/13, 04:34 PM

I would totally disagree with the permaculture suggestion. That is the last thing you should do to your land. Please don't ruin it. I'm probably one of the few people on here that have actually tried it.

Bigbird389 · #8 02/07/13, 05:04 PM

Raven12. What is your suggestion? What are the negative effects of permaculture?

Raven12 · #9 02/07/13, 05:55 PM

My advice to you is to figure out what your dream is and go from there. If it has to do with homesteading, then start visiting the specialty forums on HT. Stay out of the general forums such as this one unless you are only looking to socialize. Visit other websites geared specifically to what your are looking for information on. Stay away from the general homesteading/self sufficiency/permie chat forums.

I will be making money off of my land starting this Spring. I started by visiting farmer's markets and getting to know the people. I was lucky enough to meet someone that took me in and started teaching me the ropes. You should visit the website of your county agricultural extension office where you can find tons of info and classes.

I admit I was swept up in the permaculture craze. I could write a book on the negatives. I am not going to go into detail on this forum because I really don't want to deal with everyone hopping on the thread and turning this into a permaculture debate. I will say that I found the results did not live up to the hype. All that glitters is not gold.

Bigbird389 · #10 02/07/13, 06:05 PM

Raven12. Thank You . I really appreciate your bluntness. Thats exactly what I wanted to hear.

FarmboyBill · #11 02/07/13, 07:05 PM

#1 How many farmable acres
#2 How many acres are pasture
#3 Can the outbuildings be saved, of some of them
#4 How much money do you have to buy farm machiner
#5 Do you have the money to buy the seed, fertilizer, oil, gas, grease,
#6 Where is this farm at?
#7 What farming experiences have you had?
#8 Can you survive an expensive learning curve?
#9 Do you have any mentors with experience, extra hands to help transform the farm
#10 What would happen if you were a failure. What would you do?

Bigbird389 · #12 02/07/13, 07:26 PM

36 acres total. 15 are pasture. Buildings can be saved. I do not want to buy equipment right now. I do have funds for seed, fertilizer. Growing a garden is about as much knowledge I have. I can survive a learning curve. No mentors, thats why I am on here. If I failed, I will try again. And again. And again. And maybe some more. Thanks

**Terri** · #13 02/07/13, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigbird389

Raven12. What is your suggestion? What are the negative effects of permaculture?

One problem with pernaculture is that it is, well, fairly permanant!

Another is that it takes time to start bearing, and a fair amount of it.

I have a permiculture planting near a creek. That ground is not tillable, and the good roots can help to hold the soil when the creek overflows, which it does 2-3 times a year. They do not have all of the problems worked out of permaculture yet. Permaculture is still a work in progress.

I am keeping my permaculture projects out of my tillable land, because pemaculture is NOT easily changed once established, But, as a side project I am enjoying it: the daffodils are pretty, the asparagus is sweet, and the fruit trees are too young to bear.

rambler · #14 02/07/13, 11:23 PM

You really need a direction of what you want to do.

36 acres, there we have a starting point.

You want to be private no one around, you don't want to invest in any equipment, and you want to make something of the 36 acres.

You want to sell garden produce at the end of your driveway, or in town at a farmers market?

You want to grow hay?

You want to rent it out for corn, beans, wheat, and collect a check once a year, no fuss?

You want to buy livestock, fence it all, and run cattle, sheep, ?

What is it that interests you????

Becaue you'll likely only be successful at what you enjoy doing.

So what direction do you want to go?

--->PAul

tentance · #15 02/08/13, 05:40 AM

yeah, i agree that there is a lot more to permaculture, and not all of it is useful to most situations. thats why i just wrote about the land use bit, just for ya to get a general idea.
salatin and holzer grow annuals and animals, like most farmers.

rambler · #16 02/08/13, 08:57 AM

In general farming to make something takes a lot of investment in time and or money.

It takes years to get to a point you have developed your crop. Your system, and your markets to where you are actually making money.

Pasture land or forest land is often that for a reason, and doesn't make highly productive garden or crop land.

Gardens take a lot of work, you'd do we'll to run a 2 acre garden with you and a helper working part time.

Grain crops need lots of acres to make anything any more, the equipment costs are big.

Hay can be a good sideline business on that many acres, if there are butpyers in your area. Takes $5000 in equipment, a building to store the hay in, and you need to have the time to cut, rake, and bale the hay when its right not when you get around to it to make it right, as well as manual labor. But probably fits your land best?

Livestock take lots of time, and an extra year to get a payoff. Lots of demands on your time.

Permaculture or orchards or the like take many many years to set up before you see a dime of income, do you have the time, money, and patience to invest in such?

Paul

Sparticle · #17 02/13/13, 12:21 PM

Wow, I have to totally disagree with you guys on the permaculture thing. You can grow any type of plant using permaculture methods. We grew annuals our first year here in no-till beds and for the last 3 seasons here we've grown all sorts of food, enough to give away and sell at the farmer's market. We are putting in a food forest which takes years, but permaculture principles can be applied to how water moves and is stored, how to care for the life in the soil, how to build beds etc... Here is a post on my experience with it:

http://slatehill.blogspot.com/2012/0...maculture.html

What we did when we moved here was to look at the land as it was and figured out what to do with what was already here. For us that meant dwarf sumac, sassafras, evening primrose, lots of wild flowers, cedars and wild roses. I have found uses for all of those and make items that I sell from each of them at the farmer's market. We didn't come in a bulldoze down anything to replace it with a new system, we tried to use what is here and are slowly adding to it. We look at the trees that already grow well here or near us, like hazelnut, persimmons, apples, wild grapes and are putting in similar or they same type of plants. Permaculture teaches things like what sort of plants go well with trees, how to make beds with rotting wood for moisture retention - how can anything like that be bad? Maybe you guys are thinking of the people with lots of money that can come in with big equipment and people that can buy all new plants. Keep in mind not EVERYONE goes that route. Permaculture isn't new. There are food forest that are 2,000 years old! I think it's a system that has more than proven itself.

Yes, maybe it takes many years to setup a food forest - but it takes just as many years to wait on a fruit tree. What is the difference. You work with what you have now, use the principles to grow annuals and in the mean time invest in your old age by little bit at a time building a permanent system.

arnie · #18 02/13/13, 03:01 PM

you could easely become a self sustaining homesteder for a milk cow, a beef steer a, hog, chickens .veggie garden big enough to sell stuff at a stand or farmers market .to get by without a tractor and equipment (and the matainence cost ) see if you can get a local farmer to put up your hay on the 1/2s and hire the plowing and discing done .these are very common things done by smallfarmers .or if you want to stay for the long haul a tractor and set of equipment; though expencive can be a once in a lifetime purchase with light use and good maintaince. we do a lot of hay on several local farms for 1/2 .planting a small field in corn 1/2 to 1 acre will make a lot of corn to feed a pig and milk cow a garden planted in what ever from sweet corn green beans can produce lots depending on your experience .is there a sunny area that you can put a green house on selling tomato, cabbage, brockli and pepper plants is a good way to make cash .

Bigbird389 · #19 02/16/13, 11:11 AM

thanks everyone!

Harry Chickpea · #20 02/16/13, 12:12 PM

The big question is - how much time, energy, and money are you willing to invest? If you only have 20 free hours a week, answers are likely to be different than if you have 40 or more. If you are able-bodied and able to life 50lbs without a problem, the answers will be different than if you get winded walking a mile. If you have a few tens of thousands of dollars, the answers will be different than if you have a few tens of dollars.