postage stamp homestead

Yep,Jnap,i fully understand and respect your perspective.I think I'd like some chickens,and have salvaged plenty of materials to put a coop/yard/tractor together.As far as milk,it's just so easy for me to barter for,I just cant justify the time and responsibility of raising a milk cow or goat.Granted,my "hunting situation" makes things a little easier on me than it might be for some folks.I could get up at three in the morning, and freeze my butt off in a tree,but I can open the kitchen window,and plug a doe or a wild hog pretty much whenever.Racoons are in a seemingly endless supply,and are delicious.I really think climate zone would have a big impact on making a micro-homestead work.Then again,I'm in zone 8b/9,so I'm probably a little spoiled.

I guess I am sleepy I am writing so many people and it is hard to keep all of them straight and the screen names to I just sent the letter to someone else cant remember his screen name now though I have written you before right? I understand your position as well, I had to shoot 8 racoons that were eating my water melons I wanted to cook them but my wife said no. Tell me some good recipies please next time I will cook them, if SHTF then the deer will go quick but racoons and possums will be easy to trap a while i imagine.I once had it barbecued at a Royal ranger mountain man rondevous when I was 14 quite tasty.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

Yeah,Jnap,you and I have exchanged PM's(mostly about growin' blueberries and stuff),but it's been a while.The 'coons have made a mess out of my watermelon patch for the last two years,but this year, I have a new security system,in the form of a coon-hatin' three legged dog,who apparently,is a real glutton for pain.We'll see how this one pans out...
As far as cookin' a 'coon,you can pretty much apply any squirrel or rabbit recipe to a 'coon.
I like 'em BBQ'd in a water smoker.Parboil said 'coon for about 15 minutes.Stuff body cavity with taters,onions,and enough garlic to slay an army of vampires.Slather down the whole mess with BBQ sauce,wrap in foil,and smoke it until it's fork-tender.I'd say two hours.
Another one-Slow cook whole coon in the crock pot until the meat easily comes off the bone.Remove 'coon,drain water,and wash the crock pot.Return the 'coon meat to the crock pot,and add enough of your favorite BBQ sauce to cover the meat,with about an additional inch of sauce on the bottom.I like to add diced onions, and bell peppers.Cook on low setting for at least two more hours,adding more BBQ sauce as necessary,to prevent drying.Makes a fine 'coon sandwich,and I like mine on an onion bun.
"Coons make an awesome stew,but you dont need a recipe for that.
Man,if you have lotsa' 'coons on your land,you have a real good,easily sniped,source of tasy,healthy meat.Don't miss out.
Clean them just as you would a squirrel or rabbit.
Nick

I had chickens,rabbits and fish here on my 1.7 acre. I kept the chickens in a tractor and moved them around my in use section. The rabbits and fish were kept in a 8 cage hutch and 200 gallon tank in the garden shed. I kept the enclosures after I slaughtered what I had to stock my freezer and if I feel the need can re-establish my stock later.

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"I didn't have time to slay the dragon. It's on my To Do list!"

I thought that racoons often carry rabies?It is possible you could get one that has the rabies virus. So how long an dat what temps would you have to cook it to kill the virus? Perhaps stewing it on my woodstove would not do the trick, That is the main reason I did not eat the ones I killed I always heard horror stories about those rabies shots.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

I agree that you can raise alot of food in a very small area. Heck who do you know that puts their milking barn at the far end of the property. But as jnap31 said. You must buy all of their food and unless you are buying feed in huge amounts it's cheaper to buy chicken than raise one.

It's cheaper to buy chicken than to raise one IF there are chickens still available to buy, which may not be the case in a few years. Having your own seedstock (veggie seeds as well as livestock) may be a lifesaver in the not-too-distant-future. (Of course,that's only if the PTB don't find a way to divest us all of our small herds and flocks.)

Kathleen

Jnap..

actually, racoons rarely have rabies..they frequently have distemper which people mistake for signs of rabies..distemper is the #1 killer of racoons.

Jnap,dont quote me on this,but it's my understanding that rabies is transmitted only through saliva and neural tissue."Coon huntin' is very popular down here,has been for eons,and I have never heard of anyone contracting rabies from eating a racoon.I always fully cook any wild game,with the exception of an occasional rare deer steak.I wouldn't worry about it.

Our 38 acres was completely wooded when we bought it and I cleared the spot to build our house on. I also cleared about 1/4 acre for a garden. In that small spot, the wife, kids and I grew more veggies than we could use (we can everything). 214 tomato plants (why she started sooo many I have no idea) give a whole bunch of fruit. We still had space left over so we planted all sorts of squash and melons. Our 30 egg laying hens live in a house at the edge of our backyard and earn their keep eating potato bugs in the summer.

I need to clear another acre or so for the milk goats that the kids want, and a couple pigs.

It all depends how you use it...

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we lived in the city at one time, on a city lot. I am amazed, looking back at just how much we did with a 60X90 lot. The footprint for our house was 32X36, we had a 8' brick patio on one long side and a driveway to the back of the house(garage under). On what was left we had an above ground pool with deck, a few nice trees, ans some flowers/perennials and a basketball hoop ion the back yard.Shrubs and more perennials in the front yard. Still every year in our backyard vegetable garden probably 30X30, we managed to grow ALL of our greens for the summer, squash, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, eggplants,onions, cucumbers, and potatoes, and of course marigolds around the perimeter. In a little 4x12 herbal garden I grew all my herbs for the whole year, which I hung in my kitchen window to dry. I had all the tomatoes I needed to can and peppers, onions and squash to freeze. We did do a lot of work in that little plot,to maximize the return, but it was well worth it. Had we wanted, I suppose we could have kept a few rabbits as "pets" as most cities are flexible on rabbit raising. We even had some chickens around the neighborhood. Don't know exactly where but you could hear the roosters crowing in the AM.
I'd say you could almost survive on 1/4 acre. We have a friend in Jacksonville FlL with about 1/2 A in the city. He put in an herbal garden and then went peddling his wares to the higher class restauraunts in town. Last we spoke with him he was doing okay.
As I look out on my "yard" now, about 5 A that we consider must be mowed "lawn", 1/4 or 1/2 A to tend might be appealing with the gas prices where they are.

Sounds as though you did a lot of good work on your little lot. Of course like you said you did not have livestock or even poultry though maybe you could have had rabbits or chickens till the neighbors complained anyways. I feel bad for all the poor people out their that want to raise a few cows or goats for milk and are living on an acre or less that they cant support them on and then I drive by people like you with 5 acre mowed "lawns" what a waste.....When I finally save enough for 5 acres I will fill a few acres up with orchards and berries and an acre garden the rest will be pasture for livestock and free range poultry I will not waste anything on lawns and will utilize every bit of my place to it's full potential.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

Yep,I have to mow some,but wouldn't exactly say I have a "lawn".It's just an effort to keep mother nature from taking over the gardens and orchard(I'm using the term"orchard" rather loosly),and make enough space to kick the soccer ball,or toss the old pigskin around with the fellas.I'm a landscaper,and yard man by trade,and it's amazing how much money folks will sink into a piece of property that really gives them nothing in return.I'm talking about $400-$800 per month,just to keep a yard(that they never really go out in)looking like the neighbors yard,so that everyone can be assured of the fact that they are filthy rich.Because of stuff like this,I gave up on trying to understand the "mcmansion folks"years ago.Now,I just do the work,get paid, and get back to my spot in the country as quickly as possible.When customers ask me"what should we do with this bed?"I'll occasionally answer"I'd plant some vegetables in it.".In all my years in the business,I've only had one taker.She's an elderly lady,and has since become an avid grower of the veggies.In fact,she wont let me do a dang thing in her veggie garden,anymore-does it all herself,and has grown a green thumb any homesteader could be proud of.

Yes, believe me, I think it's a waste too BUT come dry season and grassfires the purpose of the "lawn" becomes pretty apparent, especially here where most farmers burn their fields. This spring there were a bunch that got away from the farmers. They thought the little bit of rain we had made it wet enough to burn is how I felt when the guy up the road had a blaze lighting up the night sky. He even managed to get some trees in the hedgerow ignited. When you see a "lawn" on a farm, 99% of the time, it's NOT for looks. Not a working farm anyway. Too much other work to do. We have currently one ewe and her two lambs on lawn patrol. We hope to increase the number of sheep. We need to buy bottle feeders and they can be hard to come by lately. When I DIDN'T have the farm i was offered bottle lambs for FREE several times. Now I need them and can't find them. I think it's because there is a new "industry" of raising bottle fed livestock. Anyway, I also have about 30 goats that work on the brush and pasture. I'm waiting to trim my goat herd(after they do more "work") so I can put in a nice vegetable garden. One step at a time tho.
We have what is considered a minimal farm here, 40A.
Maybe the property is a lot more expensive where you are jnap.
Find a spot you like where it's less expensive. Make your dream real. Oklahoma, especially in the moutains is still very reasonable and you just might find your dream.

Well that is probably good advice thankyou, I thought you live in the rocky cold north east? I guess in AR you would not need quite as much land the grass is greener for a lot longer here. But I have found that 2 acres is way to small for all the things I want to do. Thanks again for the encouragement.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

I wont worry about it then and I will definitely be eating my share in the future with my kids (there is still hope for them they are young and mallable unlike my wife LOL) Do you wear gloves when you clean them as a precaution? I never where gloves when I clean my roadkill deer or hunted squirrls dont know if coon is different I hear your suppose to with wild rabbits as they can give you tularimia especially in the summer.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

If you do this, you really need to be efficient in what you plant. For instance, all the landscaping should produce edibles. I've read an article in Countryside Mag by someone who described raising rabbits in the city during the depression without buying any feed. Mostly they ate grass clippings and weeds.

I plan to make small chicken tractors to run under our orchard to keep the bugs that eat fruit down. They will also eat fallen fruit. I'm not sure how much corn you would feed in this situation.

Instead of grass you could grow alfalfa. The only thing I'm not sure of is what happens in the winter? Does the alfalfa die back? Can you plant another edible like winter wheat that can be eaten?

What about raising catfish or tilapia in a barrel?

I plan to have trellises above each window growing edibles. Keeps the house cool in the summer.

Capture your rainwater with barrels.

Good ideas.

There are two kinds of alfalfa. One is an annual, but the one usually used for hay is a short-lived perennial (usually replanted every five to seven years, depending on climate and winter-kill). Yields depend on soils, moisture, and temperatures (lower yields in hotter climates). Here, some soils -- with adequate irrigation -- are known to produce six or more tons of alfalfa hay per acre in three or four cuttings. If you only needed a small amount for a few rabbits, you could easily grow enough in a section of yard.

Kathleen

Planning on it

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

check out this thread for more ideas and opinions. It is just what we were discussing here

http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/y...num=1145146889

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marching to the beat of a different drummer