Can It Be Done On One Acre?

chewie · #21 02/02/09, 05:16 PM

i think in any part of iowa that would be possible. this year i am going to live in a camper while we build a house. we have dairy goats and horses, and i will be making a couple raised beds to try out gardening in the new place. you can do that too--just do something small the first year or two, til you know if it works for you. nothing says you have to go all out the first year!

and to sonshine--i dont' think so many were trying to discourage you from doing goats, but from doing pygmies for milk. they just aren't 'known' for dairy. and i was looking for you to suggest trying kinders! they are a mix of pygmy and nubians. from what i read, good for milk and meat, and can be bred year round! i find that very appealing!

jasper · #22 02/02/09, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phrogpharmer

With the right crop, a good niche market, and lots of hard work, a very lucrative legal living can be made from one acre or less.
There are dozens if not hundreds of plant and animal species out there just waiting for somone to figure out their culture techniques.
People need to get off their couches, unplug their TVs, and get to work.
Do some research, get some training, become the expert, and don't listen to anybody who says "it can't be done".
I think it is un American and un Homesteader to sit around and gripe about the poor economy. The American Homesteader way is to get off your butt and get busy and WORK on your dream and make your own great economy.
nuff sed.
Phrogpharmer

well said

BlueberryChick · #23 02/02/09, 05:49 PM

Check out John Seymour's The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. There are several diagrams for different size homesteads, one of which is one acre. It may give you some inspiration.

Blue

woodsrunner · #24 02/02/09, 09:45 PM

Right now an acre would feel as big as a hundred to us!

Pelenaka and I need to post more here..

My wifes blog: http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/

Freeholder · #25 02/03/09, 01:13 AM

Yes. Homesteading can be done on one acre, and we are doing it on one acre. It can be done on a lot less than one acre, if that's all you've got.

I'd write more, but it's already past my bedtime, LOL!

Kathleen

PrincessFerf · #26 02/03/09, 07:43 AM

The Garden Girl videos are great fun... and a great motivation.

We are also "homesteading" on a little over an acre. We won't ever be off the grid or completely self-sustainable, but we are able to do quite a lot with the space we have.

A bit of creativity along with proper prioritization of what's important to you is key.

rean · #27 02/03/09, 07:52 AM

Thank you all for your replies. The videos are great and I've got some book shopping to do! :0)

no hurry · #28 02/03/09, 08:03 AM

start with your library

jasper · #29 02/03/09, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodsrunner

Right now an acre would feel as big as a hundred to us!

Pelenaka and I need to post more here..

My wifes blog: http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/

i love that blog, so many ideas for small but effective gardens. thanks so much for posting that

Phillip · #30 02/03/09, 12:50 PM

You might wan to check out The Have More Plan book. Try "look inside this book" on page 7.

kjmatson · #31 02/03/09, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodsman

Once you're into growing and raising your own food, suddenly irrigating, fertilizing, poisoning and mowing grass for the purpose of having a pretty ground cover stops making any sense.

Lawns are for suburbanites - out in the country we call them pasture.

I agree 1000000%. We have about a 1/2 acre lawn (because the other 1/2 acre is garden ) and I can't stand mowing it. We are getting 3 sheep to do it for me

and I will use their wool for clothes and their milk for cheese. I really do miss raising sheep, they are comical.

chewie · #32 02/05/09, 10:06 AM

in planning our new home/ranchette, i am not planning for much yard, i also think woodsman is correct on that point! i plan to have a small patch around the house only, mowing will be fine iwth an old style rotary mower with no motor (or noise, geesh i hate that noise!) the rest i plan for raised beds, fruit trees or goat pens.

Wags · #33 02/05/09, 11:56 AM

Providing the zoning allows for it you can do a LOT on an acre. Big garden, orchard, chickens and Nigerian Dwarf goats would all be very doable.

Since you need to have at least two goats, Niggies are a good choice. They may not give a ton of milk (about 2 quarts a day on avg) but they do breed year round so you can stagger breedings to keep you in milk. Their milk is rich and sweet, and most of them are little love bugs that would love to be lap goats.

My chickens free range with my goats (I have the chicken feeder up high where the goats can't get at it) and they all get along quite well.

Millie & her favorite hen

hotzcatz · #34 02/05/09, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjmatson

I agree 1000000%. We have about a 1/2 acre lawn (because the other 1/2 acre is garden ) and I can't stand mowing it. We are getting 3 sheep to do it for me

and I will use their wool for clothes and their milk for cheese. I really do miss raising sheep, they are comical.

We only have a half acre but we haven't had to mow since we got a pair of Pilgrim geese. We also have several varieties of grass which stay pretty short, too. Our climate is such that we don't really have any annual die-back so if we were out mowing a lawn it would be a year round chore. The geese are really happy to keep the grass short for us and they also alert us to anything going on around the place. They are also a lot more fun to watch than a lawn mower.