Where to begin?

LilithRaine · #1 09/10/14, 02:18 PM

I'm going to try and keep this as short and sweet as possible. Twelve years ago my family moved from the Dfw area to the country. To be honest, I hated it, but now I couldn't imagine living the city life again. My parents had big plans for this 14 acre property, cleaning it up, adding on to the house, etc. But things didn't go as planned, they often don't. My dad is gone now, mother is in a nursing home and I'm trying to raise my rather big family here. We've wanted to sell it and move to Wisconsin for years, my husband is from up there, but I'm not sure it would be better or worse in the long run.

Regardless, we live on 14 acres, 13 of which is like a jungle. We have a tight budget and I'm not sure what I could do with this land. It'd be awesome to figure out a way to use the land to make some money to move my family to a more self sufficient existance. Any suggestions for this newbie would be appreciated.

I did start a small garden this year, hoping to take advantage of the second summer/fall harvest potential just to kind of get my feet wet so to speak. Also wanting to try chickens again in the spring, already have the chicken wire and such to work with, just don't figure starting chickens this time of year would work well. Chickens is one of those things that made my husband look at me like I'm nuts, of course keep in mind he is a geek and loves everything technology. He likes the idea of homesteading, just not the work part, so if anyone has advice on him, that'd be awesome too lol.

MO_cows · #2 09/10/14, 02:47 PM

Welcome!

Was the 13 acres always a jungle or did it used to be tilled, used for pasture, what? Is it fenced?

Ozarks Tom · #3 09/10/14, 03:07 PM

I'm assuming from the "jungle" description you're in East Texas.

Is it fenced? If so, how well? The reason I'm asking is goats will happily convert your jungle to manageable over time,but they need pretty escape proof fencing. You could start with a couple acres, and move them to another parcel later.

Chickens are a good start, rabbits too. Don't depend on chicken wire to protect either from determined predators. Visit the Poultry & Rabbit forums for a while and get some ideas as to what all is involved. It's not rocket surgery, but does take some forethought.

Good luck!

Danaus29 · #4 09/10/14, 03:15 PM

Your general location info would help to make sure suggestions are tailored to your area. As is, those that do offer suggestions do so based on their location.

Chicken wire does an okay job of containing some types of chickens. It does keep rabbits out of a garden. Otherwise it's pretty useless. It won't keep a predator out, even when framed and placed over an opening in a building.

Clear the space around the house. Learn to identify the plants growing on your property. You may already have a good crop going but don't know it. Clear around those crops. Decide what kind of foods you like to eat and learn what their growing requirements are. Then decide if those are crops you can plant and tend. The sooner you get permanent crops in place, the sooner they will produce. Storage buildings and kids "club houses" are always a plus. How old are the other family members and can they help with the work? You'd be surprised how much some kids are willing to help and can do for and with you. Before getting any kind of animals make sure you have secure enclosures for them. Otherwise you're just setting out a predator buffet. Everything likes to eat poultry. From small predators like weasels to large predators like bear. Venomous snakes might be a concern. Another reason you should have a clearing around the house.

I personally would keep a wooded area (if you have large trees) as long as it was located away from the house a bit, 200 feet or so would be ideal.

Buffy in Dallas · #5 09/10/14, 03:31 PM

Have you ever lived in Wisconsin? In the winter?

Apologies to anyone who lives there but Wisconsin SUCKS during the winter and its almost as hot as Texas during the summer. I had to live there for 2 years and I finally put my foot down and told hubby, I'm going home to Momma, you can come if you want. Seriously, It made me suicidal.

As far as the farm you have. I'd keep most of it forested. Google info on forest management & silviculture. You can do a lot with a forest!

Dupree · #6 09/10/14, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buffy in Dallas

Have you ever lived in Wisconsin? In the winter?

Apologies to anyone who lives there but Wisconsin SUCKS during the winter and its almost as hot as Texas during the summer. I had to live there for 2 years and I finally put my foot down and told hubby, I'm going home to Momma, you can come if you want. Seriously, It made me suicidal.

As far as the farm you have. I'd keep most of it forested. Google info on forest management & silviculture. You can do a lot with a forest!

I'm from one state over from Wisconsin and we always like for people to say it sucks or it's BRUTAL in the winters.. This keeps most people away!! It's not for everybody but most of us from this area of the country would rather not live anywhere else....

LilithRaine · #7 09/10/14, 04:23 PM

As long as we've had the property it's been overgrown, it is fenced, the neighbor runs a couple of cattle on it currently, but the fences aren't great.

Don't live in East Texas, more west central Texas, lots of oak and even more mesquite. To be more precise, we live outside a tiny little town called rising star. As for ages, we have six kids, 4, almost 8, 11, 13, 13 and 15.

Personally I've never been to Wisconsin at all, it does sound like a nice place to live. However, I'm a worrier, the thought of moving my family all the way up there, not knowing anything about it from personal experience and possibly getting stuck somewhere I hate, kinda terrifies me.

I think I answered all the questions lol, thanks for all the replies! I'm definitely going to be reading up on alot more things on here!

sammyd · #8 09/10/14, 05:01 PM

Unless you clear a bunch of land and plant a good sized truck garden or fruit patch chances are you aren't going to do much to really bring the money in.
But you can do a few things to keep the money you do have coming in, in your pocket.

Chickens are a pretty low cost start up and fairly trouble free once they are past chick stage. And if you have a bunch and either tractor them or move their run around you can clear an area of many weeds. they do like eating the green stuff if you don't overfeed with store bought feed.
Keep the garden up and keep expanding it as time allows.