Any Texans here?

Boomdiddyah · #1 01/27/15, 04:40 PM

We are moving to Texas next month (yay!). We are planning on buying a small homestead, with a large garden, 30 chickens and 2-3 miniature goats. Would love to hear from Texas residents- what part of Texas, agriculturally, and climatly, would be the best place to do this? We would really love to look in the north-eastern Texas Dallas area since the real estate there is so affordable, but we worry about not getting enough rain. Is the drought situation as dire and the media makes it out to be?

Buffy in Dallas · #2 01/27/15, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boomdiddyah

We are moving to Texas next month (yay!). We are planning on buying a small homestead, with a large garden, 30 chickens and 2-3 miniature goats. Would love to hear from Texas residents- what part of Texas, agriculturally, and climatly, would be the best place to do this? We would really love to look in the north-eastern Texas Dallas area since the real estate there is so affordable, but we worry about not getting enough rain. Is the drought situation as dire and the media makes it out to be?

Ya, the drought is bad but not a disaster. My pond is about 7 ft down from full. (about 1/2 water loss) My land has clay soil which I like.

http://www.texasalmanac.com/topics/e...nt/soils-texas
Check out this map. The green is Blackland Prairie. The BEST soil ever. Light Blue is good too. Green is good if you REALLY like sand and pine trees.

Take a map and a ruler and find Rockwall Tx. Draw a line North & South. I would not buy west of that line. My property is NE of Dallas and I have to water like heck during the heat of the summer. (avg. 40 inches of rain per year) I can't imagine having to water spring, summer and fall.
The further east you go, the more rain you get.

I would stay at least 100 miles from the coast. Arg! The humidity is

then mix it with the heat and you will feel like you died and went to a bad place.
Then there are the hurricanes...

Jonb · #3 01/27/15, 07:01 PM

I live in south texas south of corpus Christi my ground is clay and silt so we do tons of composting I have miniature goats chickens and 2 mini cows (zebu) around here the ground is tough and drys easily however it's not impossible. The saying down here is s texas everything pokes bites or scratches you. Aka mesquite cactus and rattle snakes

samm · #4 01/27/15, 07:24 PM

We have land about 60 miles north of Dallas, and currently our tanks are full.....finally, we've had droughty conditions for the last 9 or so years, you will learn to manage as best you can, the land is black land prairie here. We also have land just over the river into oklahoma, it seems we've had more rain there the past year, and it's very sandy, I love both places, both are very rural, which is right up our ally,
north texas or southern oklahoma both pretty sweet areas

Boomdiddyah · #5 01/27/15, 10:19 PM

Buffy- what a loaded answer, thank you thank you! That info is an enormous help.

Jonb- how many acres do you need for all those animals you have?

Samm- how do you deal with droughts conditions?

Thank you all, so grateful for your help!

Tricky Grama · #6 01/28/15, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonb

I live in south texas south of corpus Christi my ground is clay and silt so we do tons of composting I have miniature goats chickens and 2 mini cows (zebu) around here the ground is tough and drys easily however it's not impossible. The saying down here is s texas everything pokes bites or scratches you. Aka mesquite cactus and rattle snakes

Don't forget chiggers & ticks!

We have 20 ac at the E. edge of Dodd City.

(Betcha I got a few w/that one.) Its 8 mi E. of Bonham. Our 20 is absolutely beautiful. & notsohot that its unbearable, in the shade, in mid summer.

We intended to build & retire there but now DH doesn't want to leve so far away from friends & 'burbs.

So now, Dh wants to sell. I'm not ready to let go of it but would certainly consider selling to a HT'er. Someone contacted us a yr or so ago but not ready to buy yet.
I'll post some pics when I'm on the ipad later today.

ninny · #7 01/28/15, 06:02 AM

Don't forget that north tex (Dallas) is the start of tornado alley and it's called that for a good reason.

.

Jonb · #8 01/28/15, 07:51 AM

Boomdiddy- I have 8 acres that's it my donkey little cows aka miniature brahma and pygmy goat do fine I feed them all stock and cattle cubes plus hay the chickens have a coop with fenced yard and I let them roam around the yard outside the fenced area when we are enjoying the weather outside and can keep and eye on our dogs. We grow a garden every season and are trying different methods to grow plants etc

pointer33 · #9 01/28/15, 08:57 AM

Well, we live a bit east of Rockwall and I can tell you Texas is an amazing place. I do like the clay soil in many ways, but have found my sol to lack organic matter....perhaps from years of cotton back in the day. Adding a lot of organic matter....wood chips...mulch etc has really helped in areas I have done it. When we first came here I saw the effect of a spell on no rain and was stunned...the cracks in the clay....I thought something was really wrong. But then it rained and they sealed up. I feel like while generalities prevail about soil if you find and area you like you can find exceptions to soil. Example is while I have clay here I know of sandy areas without taking a drive to deep east Texas....the soil maps can look like a puzzle with many pieces ion some areas. I am partial to the Hill Country...nice area but less rainfall than here. We are close enough to be able to drive to Dallas, but anymore I have less desire to do so. Think about development wherever you choose. Do you want a small town with its own character or do you want the perks of all the corporate clones. I it is tough to have the balance but driving around I see that Texas is a diverse place....what a large state!!! If you like the outdoors...you have got to spend time hiking around places like Big Bend...just my thoughts....good luck with your move!

Oh yeah...the longer gardening season is a perk!

Alice In TX/MO · #10 01/28/15, 09:17 AM

I'm on the coastal bend between Houston and Corpus Christi. Our soil is heavy clay. Just a few miles away, you will find sandy soil. Texas is so varied geographically, topographically, climactically, etc., that you will find whatever your heart desires SOMEwhere here.

Jonb · #11 01/28/15, 09:24 AM

Alice your pretty close I'm south of CC and yea same type of soil heavy clay but nothing composting done fix lol I have the small town atmosphere and if I want city stuff I drive 40 miles but that only happens 1 maybe 2 times a year lol

whiterock · #12 01/28/15, 09:26 AM

Where you comin from, what kind of work you lookin for, how you feel about humidity, lots of things to consider.

Jonb · #13 01/28/15, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiterock

Where you comin from, what kind of work you lookin for, how you feel about humidity, lots of things to consider.

Yea good point humidity can be a real pain down here in s tx when the humidity kicks up and add the south wind it's like a blow dryer on you while you bath is a steam bath

Alice In TX/MO · #14 01/28/15, 10:47 AM

So, is there a problem with that?

mnn2501 · #15 01/28/15, 03:27 PM

I agree with Buffy, if you want water you MUST be in east Texas. I'm north of Dallas and I water as often as the county lets me and I sneak in a few extra's late at night, its still not enough.

Edited to add: you can garden year round, however in July/August you're just trying to keep stuff alive til it cools off enough to start producing again.
I already have lettuce coming up and strawberry's are starting to green up. Will be planting for spring crops this weekend (cool weather crops).

Homesteader · #16 01/28/15, 06:18 PM

Yes, those ticks. My daughter caught Lyme disease from a tick bite in Texas.

Hey, I lived there once as a child, my brother was born there too! I have a question: do the elementary school children still sing "The Yellow Rose of Texas", right after the Pledge of Allegiance? We did that every morning.

Jonb · #17 01/28/15, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homesteader

Yes, those ticks. My daughter caught Lyme disease from a tick bite in Texas.

Hey, I lived there once as a child, my brother was born there too! I have a question: do the elementary school children still sing "The Yellow Rose of Texas", right after the Pledge of Allegiance? We did that every morning.

They do the Texas pledge after the US pledge now

Buffy in Dallas · #18 01/28/15, 08:58 PM

I am in San Antonio... We have sticky clay-like soil that needs added sand and compost to make it usable. And I had to construct a shade canopy to keep them from sun burning during the summer. I also had to water. We are in our third or fourth year of Stage 2 water restrictions.

Our soil has constricted so tight that for the second time in four years, we have a gas line break that needs repaired out back... Again.

cowboyt · #19 01/29/15, 02:16 PM

Im east of dallas. We love it out here in the country. We have a sandy soil that dries out pretty fast. But we have a pond and the rain is channeled to it. It is arid and dry during the summer but if you plan for it then its not as bad as ppl say.

Boomdiddyah · #20 01/29/15, 11:23 PM

You guys rock, thank you for everyone's input!! We are so excited to begin this journey?
I asked this question in another post but it didn't get any answers- for a large garden, 30 chickens, and 2 miniature dairy goats, how many acres would we need? We would like to grass feed exclusively if possible. Thanks y'all!