Fellow SC Homesteaders

LadyJane · #1 10/22/14, 08:29 PM

We just recently moved to SC and am wondering if anyone here lives in Lancaster County, SC?

cntrywmnkw · #2 10/23/14, 02:34 PM

Howdy, I'm in Sumter County.

COWS · #3 10/23/14, 05:42 PM

Hi and welcome, I'm in Spartanburg county.

COWS

heatherz1982 · #4 10/24/14, 07:31 PM

I'm in Orangeburg county. Hoping to relocate eventually but still gonna stay in SC.

misspositive · #5 10/26/14, 09:17 AM

Hello! I'm in Richland County. Not homesteading yet, but we will move to our 2.5 acres next year, so i'm doing a lot of research right now on how to get started and what is possible on that *small* plot of land.

cntrywmnkw · #6 10/26/14, 10:22 AM

misspositive, lot's you can do with 2.5 acres, what would you LIKE to do. First of all, find out if you have any restricting covenants that won't let you have "farm type animals", then maybe you could start with a small garden &/or a few chickens (if allowed) & see how that goes, then go from there & of course come on here, we're all enablers you know. Biggest thing is start slow & just take one thing at a time then go from there, don't overwhelm yourself & try & do EVERYTHING at once.

misspositive · #7 10/26/14, 10:44 AM

Hi cntrywmnkw! Thanks for the encouraging words. I already checked out the restrictions/covenants and couldn't find any so far. The land is zoned rural, so I should be all right with farm animals. During my first year I'm planning on planting fruit trees and berry bushes, getting 2 beehives and maybe 5-10 chickens. Along with that I'm planning to build a raised garden bed that is about 3 feet high, 10 feet long and 4 feet wide. (The soil on our land is not good enough to plant right into it. It is clay with rocks and has very poor drainage.) I'm hoping that this won't overwhelm me and after my first year I will have more knowledge and see if I would like to add some ducks/geese/turkeys along with a small pond during the second year and add on to that in the coming years. Also I'm thinking about adding another raised garden bed during the second year depending on how my first year went based on how much I harvested and how much interest friends and family have in my fruits/veggies. Does that sound reasonable to you?

heatherz1982 · #8 10/26/14, 11:58 AM

We are on 2.8 acres and have chickens and a few ducks, raised bed gardens, and raise rabbits. We also planted some blueberry bushes and there's still room for fruit trees. Plenty of room for what you're thinking.

cntrywmnkw · #9 10/26/14, 12:00 PM

Sounds good, but, I would ONLY plan & plant enough for YOUR family's needs first. Freeze, can &/or dehydrate what you don't eat immediately & plant what YOU & YOUR FAMILY eat. Plant what you eat & eat what you plant. When you do get chickens, make sure their coop & run is super secure, no chicken wire, use 1/2" hardware cloth & bury it down 12 to 18" or have a 18" apron around bottom, to keep any dogs or other predators out. If you have dogs of your own, DO NOT let them near chickens until they have been associated & trained to ignore chickens or you'll lose your birds to your own dogs. Several posts on here about that same thing. Just saying. PM me if you have any questions or I can help with anything. I'm NO expert, I still learning myself.