We got our farm!!!! Now opinions needed
 

I am so excited!! We've finally gotten our farm. We've been looking for quite some time, and haven't yet sold our house in the suburbs.....But we're moving into the farm on October 1st.

We've got 5 acres, a huge animal barn (two story) with fenced pastures. Inside the bard is loosely divided, but will need some work. There are about 4 rabbit hutches. A chicken house (that needs some work) Another outbuilding barn that looks to be on it's last legs, but may be salvagable. A pump building that has been insulated to be a root cellar, plus a true house cellar. It has 2 pear, 2 apple, and a crabapple trees. Fenced garden, looks to be about 1/2-1 acre. City water and a well. Woodburner and propane heatpump. Great old farmhouse.

So now....I have been reading for 5 years and have so many things I want to do on our farm. We've already been raising chickens on the sly in the city and have 11 layers in a chicken tractor. We had just got a rabbit hutch and were on the hunt for the right breed to start with when we found the farm.

So we have the fall/winter to start getting things set up for spring planting. We would like to have goats, a cow, rabbits, chickens, and bees. In your opinion, where should we start? Where would YOU start?

I didn't know quite where to post this, so should I post this in the respective boards instead?

Thanks for all your advice in advance!!!

Rickki

Congrats Rickki! We're in almost the same boat! We've also:

- just bought a 5 acre property with house
- still have to sell our house in the 'burbs
- raised "underground" chickens :D (plus meat rabbits, big garden, etc.)
- been reading about homesteading for years!

You're ahead of us in that your place sounds set up, which ours isn't. Nothing on it but the house and garage, but it is cross fenced. We don't get to move there 'til next year though :(

You're already well on your way if you first plan the garden and you already have the chickens. Rabbits are fairly easy so I'd suggest you do those next. Perhaps bees after that and then a goat or two?

Please post pics of your place :D

And again - CONGRATS!!!!

get your wood in :D

Not enough room for a cow with that much space already allotted towards a garden. For what it's worth, nubian goat milk tastes just like cow milk and it is naturally homogenized so it will be like the grocery store cow's milk you are used to.

Congratulations and best wishes! You're probably far better versed in these matters than I but a few things that came to mind,

Setup the compost pile and prospect garden plots. Look into a fall/winter cover crop for your garden that can be tilled into the soil come spring plantings, help build a good loam. Keep an eye out during heavy rains for places water might pool on the property. Look into local growers, might be able to get a head start on slow growing perenials such as asparagus and what not is you get the pre-grown.

I'm not familiar with fruit trees but I've always heard they take a bit of work managing soil nutrients to get a good harvest. You may want to do a little research there if you can. Also if you have a local Master Gardeners extension that could be a great source of info.

Awesome you have a prestanding chicken house but I would suggest looking into the Balfor method, it's great for naturally spreading the manure no shoveling needed.

Say hi to the neighbors! Good to know who is around you. You may find people that can share local gardening tips, have skills that can be traded for favors. For the longest time I never took the time to get to know my neighbors, now I have three I talk gardening with, one that supplies me manure for compost, and another I can trade odd jobs to for tractor use. Remember, just because it isn't a tightly packed suburb doesn't mean it can't be a closeknit community.

Becarefull not to get to far ahead of yourself. It is an amazing and inviting step, going whole hog is a major pull. Really best to sit down, prioritize and write up an outline/timeline of goals. For example with animals take into consideration winter feeding costs, might be best to wait untill spring to get your livestok operation up and running. Also look into when the interested animals are typically birthed/weened/sold, time it right and you'll get the best deal and the least hassle.

Political connections. This isn't an immediate must, but if you are close enough to town to get town utilities there is the possibility that future town expansion and zoning laws might try to squeeze you out of raising animals. Keep your ear to the ground and know who to give an earfull to.

If you are in the US check in with your local USDA office and the Farmer's cooperative extension. They are great sources of information, advice, and (in the instance of business related farming/livestock)sometimes loans, grants, and land management programs. I once saw a program on RFDTV about a couple that bought some strip-mined land and turned it into cattle pasture so lush local hay farmers claimed it richer than their own fields. Took a few years and consultation from the fore mentioned agencies, but still strip mined dirt to rich graze land is quite a feat.

May you find patience, joy, and contentment in the coming years.

Edited to add:Oh And I'ld suggest consideration of a greenhouse to give an early edge on planting season. Perhaps that building on it's last legs could be salvaged to make a frame.

Use this winter to do the things that you won't have time to do when spring time arrives. Before the weather gets too cold and the ground too wet, do initial prep for your spring garden planting.

If appropriate for your area, go ahead and get fruit trees and berry plants in the ground. Plan well, where you want to put them.

Do the repairs needed for both your home and the other buildings. Start with your home to winterize it, as needed, to keep your heating costs down. Don't start major remodeling projects, yet. (a) After living in it for a while, you'll probably change your mind. (b) Use the time next winter for those projects that can wait until then.

As you make repairs for the other buildings, decide how the building is to function once you have everything fully operational. For example, a milking parlor for the goats, feed storage for all of the animals, storage for all of the equipment and supplies that you need for both animals and gardening.

If you have the space, consider including a "summer kitchen" in or beside one of those buildings. (Summer kitchen - place where canning and other food prep can take place to keep the heat and mess out of the kitchen in your home.) A summer kitchen can be incorporated into an outdoor kitchen for cookouts and entertaining.

Walk your property, numerous times, as if you're actually doing the things you have in mind. For example, envision yourself carrying a bushel of corn to the house. Should the corn patch be planted closer to the house? Take a (empty) bucket of kitchen scraps to the proposed compost pile. Will a wheel barrow or mower go through the gate you're planning to put in the fence?

Use this winter to also plan for the future. What can I do now, to make it easier for me if I have health problems or just aging makes doing xyz difficult in xx number of years? For example, plan to put in a water line and a freeze proof faucet, so you don't have to carry water to animals when joints get stiff.

Finally, take the time to plan the order in which you want to do things, next spring, so you don't get swamped with to much to soon. 1 - chickens - 2 garden 3 - goats 4 - rabbits, etc. Coordinate this with the proper time to do each. Bees may actually be number 2 on the list, while starting a strawberry bed may be number 3.

Congratulations and much good luck on your journey. We started way back ours in 1974.

Lee

Congratulations on making the dream come true. A few things I wish I had done when I first moved in:

1) Get a survey done. Your moving here is fresh in the neighbors' minds, so getting it done now may save embarrassment or anger later on. And wherever there is an iron stake, I would 'ring' it with a piece of white, 4 inch, easily visible, PVC pipe so the stake won't get covered up with dirt.

2) Check and sweep the woodburner chimney--make sure it's up to code before you apply for insurance.

3) Find the septic tank and personally inspect it--I wouldn't take anyone's word about it.

4) If the barn is wired, make sure it is safe and adequate. Also check for any fuel cans, poison bags, etc,etc, before putting any critters in there.

5) Try to check the well house, pump, and pressure tank, before the snow flies.

6) If you have a woods, check the trees before leaf fall to find out which ones are alive and which are already dead, for the woodburner.

7) If you have overgrown areas, if necessary, join hands and 'chain-walk' them, so you won't cut up a tractor tire next year when you bushog it.

8) Get a ten cup coffeemaker and make lots of cookies to have out on the back porch to greet your new neighbors.

9) Ask them where you can find someone who might 'happen' to have a fresh turkey for your Thanksgiving feast. And where is the feed supply store, etc, etc.....

10) Change of address forms last only a few weeks, ----make sure your seed catalogs get to your new address this December.

Congrats! One more Ohio homesteader! Need help or have other questions or need more opinions PM me. ----J

I would definitely do the above! We just purchased our 10 acres four months ago, but the survey was the best money we spent. Not only did we find out the well was on our property and not the neighbor's as she was claiming, but she was using at least a minimum of an acre of our property. We gained 1500ft of 3 year old goat fencing, t-posts, and gates. Plus found out her septic was on our property.

As for the brushhoging, definitely go through the brush carefully. Another neighbor learned this lesson two weeks ago when he brushhogged the telephone box thingy that comes out of the ground. It is the "hub" for the entire area. It took Verizon over a week to fix. He is not very popular at the moment, but that will fade.

Good luck! I will say that you will never get projects completed as quickly as you hope. It always takes longer - a snafu, change of plan. Make sure you have extra time built into the scheduel.

Sarah

We also just bought a 10 acre farm in the country and strongly reinforce the survey recommendation. The entire section our property was part of had been surveyed wrong and when we had a surveyor come in with GPS and the modern techniques almost all of the property lines shifted 20 to 40 feet. At one time a single family owned several hundred acres and then subdivided for family but the property lines were not well defined at all and we gained about 40 feet on one side and lost 20 feet on another.

Last thing you want is someone coming in in the future and getting a survey that shows part of your newly erected pole barn is partly on their property or that the new fence you put in has to be moved.

We cant move onto it until next year either but our plans are to plant the orchard, vineyard, and do some needed renovations the first year (roof, electrical mostly) and as someone already mentioned; live on the place for the first year to see what goes on before we decide to do too much.

this is very good advice, you get to see where the winds come from, where the wet spots devlop, any seasonal springs, places that freeze first

Congrats, just wanted to say that it really sounds perfect! Much luck to you! I think I'd focus on the chickens and garden the first year.

You don't say where you are or how experienced you are so please don't take offense if some advice seems elementary.

If you have never gardened before - I strongly suggest planting 1/2 of the garden spot in clover or alfalfa and letting that grow for a year or two. Mow it and use the clippings for mulch in the garden or to feed for the animals. THEN, when you have experienced a BIG garden, plow under the green crop and spread out your garden. Putting more land to garden than you can take care of, usually ends up in a lot of wasted money, time and energy as well as being very discouraging to have a weed heap close-by. I would definately do a soil test now. If you need Lime in your soil, fall is the time to do that.

Don't do too much at once. If you are a beginner it is very easy to be overwhelmed with all the work. And it is a lot of work.

If the fruit trees are disease free, you are lucky. Especially with the crabapples there. If they have leaf spots or insect damage, you will want to check to see what works in your area for that. Some sprays in the fall will help greatly with the spring fruit tree issues. Ditto on the pruning. Depending on where you are depends on when to prune.

I don't think you have enough land for a cow and goats unless you are planning on buying all the feed. If you don't have good pasture, you will want to get that started this fall.

Bees can wait until the spring to start. In the south- that is February. You will want to get the boxes ordered, built, painted and set out for a few weeks before the bees, (you order) arrive. That gets rid of the paint smell in them. They are one of the more expensive parts of our little homestead.

Does the garden spot have water? That might be something you could think about now.

good luck and have a lot of fun !

Thanks for all the posts everyone. We take possession of our 9+acre Amish Homestead in exactly 32 days and I don't know where to start.

This gave me some good tips.

5 acres hmmmmmm
 

1 acre, barnyard, 1 acre pasture lot, 1 acre garden, 1 acre in corn, 1 acre in haygrazer. Alternate crops. Plant hybred corn 15in apart in the rows, and 6in apart from each stalk. sprout bunches of corn seed to plant in any vacent spots. Get a chipper, I think its called. Late in fall, after the corn stalks have completly dried, go out with corn knives and cut the stalks close to the ground, and make shocks outta them. When done, and when your ready with a place in your haymow, bring them in and snap the clean ears off and put them in a crib. run the stalk through the chipper and scoop them into the haymow. Mow, rake, and bring in the hay into your haymow. Fertilize after each cutting. After the last cutting of hay, And, when you get ready to plow down the haygrazer. be sure to let it grow up around a foot or a bit less, then plow it down. Makes great fertilizer. Plow, disc, harrow, the 2 fields, and the garden, and sow into rye grass. In the late winter, you could let somma your animals in on the rye grass for a 1 day a week treat. Buy a pickup load of good alfalfa bales and put them there also. On weekends feed some of the alfalfa. Through the week alternate with corn stalks, and the haygrazer. Get you a GOOD small tractor like a Cub Farmall, which I recommend as it is possibly easier to find the equipment for it than many others. OR a G A.C.. Get a plow, disc, 1 section harrow, as my Cub just spins in a plowed garden with weights on and a 2 section harrow. If I made a swinging drawbar for it, I bet it would be different. Also find a corn planter, and sheller, Cultivator for it, A sickle mower, , a old horse dump rake, and a flat bed wagon that you can put sides on when u want them. Get 2 good roto tillers,, and find the space to keep them and the tractor inside with your tools, ect. Also, a hand cyclone seeder, BUT never sow fertilizer in it or sooner or later, youll ruin it. Make your pasture lot so that ALL your animals can run in it, including poultry, and keep track of the manure. A goat for each of you, if they are good ones, will probably keep you in milk, cream, butter, ice cream, ect. Never heard of makeing ice cream outa goat milk. The lot will have to be poultry tight. The chickens can pick up any grain spilled by goats, pigs, ect in the lot, and it wont be waisted. Build a lean to shed to keep your manure in, closer to the garden than not. Thats enough for a start. LOL Good luck

how wonderful..sounds like you are doing good..get your shelter arranged first..wood in for winter..etc..and then work on any tree planting yet this fall if there are trees or shrubs you want to get in and can find them avail..

sounds like it already is a great start for you..and you have your chickens..

you need to learn your land before you go into a lot of changes..there may be surprises in the spring, summer and fall..so observe...don't jump in too much..

if you know the original owners..ask them for lists of what is growing where that might be hidden..like under the ground now.

make sure you know where wires and water lines and stuff are below ground before winter..and ask if there needs to be a septic pumped or chimney cleaned before winter..

get to know the neighbors..you might need help..get some tele numbers to have on hand..repair, medical, snow removal..what ever you might need help with..think ahead.

Thank you so much for all the replies! This was exactly what I was looking for. It can be so overwhelming not knowing where to begin. Now I've been taking notes about all you've said and I am coming up with a game plan.

Let me know if you think of anything else!

Rickki

Just thought of one more thing.....

If you need gardening equipment such as tillers, now is the time to buy them. Best prices for anything is always at the end of the season that uses it. To save even more money buy GOOD USED equipment.

Make a list of all the equipment that you need for each operation that you plan for your homestead. Milk handling equipment for goats, bees, gardening, canning (including jars and lids that are on sale now), etc. Then start watching for fall yard sales, local newspaper want ads, eBay, local radio buy/sell/swap shows, estate sales, and any other possible source for what you need.

For some things like canning, learn to do it over the winter. Buy produce from farmers markets and when on sale at the grocery store. Practice so that when you have a garden full of green beans you already know what to do and will have the supplies on hand to do it. This principle applies to many areas of homesteading. For another example, try to find someone who can teach you how to milk a goat, if you don't already know.

Lee

Congrats, we just bought almost 7acres last fall. We did nothing else but sit and think. We found how much propane costs here( we never had it before) ,we learned about our wood stove too.

We needed repairs on the chimney, lots of money we had not planned for. Luckily, since we waited to do anything, coming from the city, we had a little savings and time to save up more to do it in a orderly manner. We did not know that you cant shovel a 400 ft, driveway by hand and go to work the next day. We even tried to mow about three acres by hand till last month. Our neighbors smiled at us a LOT... Just learning about putting a garden in a new place ,we were spoiled by our garden in town that had chickens on it for three years. A big difference, we have a high water table noe and played out soil, our total harvest was five tomatoes, one cup of peas, 3 pounds of potatoes (tiny). The corn came up to my knees and tasseled before it formed cobs.

Congrats. You have enough for a cow on pasture but you will need to buy hay in the winter I bet. any Questions let me know. Thanks Marc

To make a long story short, I love it here....I would not change it, Just proceed carefully and joyfully. Good things will happen. Like, we just got DSL this week after almost a year without any internet. (another story) All the best to Yay Ohio!!!

Congrats on acquiring your homestead.

There are so many options available to you that you'll probably come up with lots of ideas once you are site.

Please go slow. Add one thing at a time so you can learn it well before spreading yourself too thin.

Since you already have chickens, and were already planning to add rabbits, I'd go ahead and follow that plan. Then I would add goats. I have a Saanen milk goat and highly recommend the breed. The milk tastes just like store bought cows milk.

I'd think twice before getting a cow. 5 acres will support a lot of smaller animals, but a cow will pretty much consume everything not leaving much for the others. A steer in the spring to send to freezer camp in the fall might work out on 5 acres if you have a good stand of grass.

Enjoy your new home!

For goats........plan to buy 2 milkers in the spring......after they have freshened!! (You need 2 because goats do not do well being by themselves.) You can taste their milk before you buy them. You can milk them before you buy them.
In the meantime, you can contact different goat breders, and go visit them and see their animals. You can use these opportunities to learn about goats, their care and feeding. and see the different breeds first-hand. And you can gradually collect or build the things that you will need.......milk stand, milk buckets, hoof trimmers, strainer and filters for the milk.
You will hear people say that Nubian milk tastes best. I have always had Alpines, and when Nubian friends would come to visit, they would say...."Gee, your milk tastes just like ours!!"
And every time I go to a show and I hear the Nubians screaming.......I am reminded why I have Alpines.;)

If you want a fall/winter garden you still have time to plant radishes, kale, spinach, and some lettuce. Good luck finding seeds, unless you already have them. Garlic can be planted soon. Now is the time to really decide what animals you want and set up pens and housing for them. Check the weatherproofing on the house and the roofs of the other buildings. Start writing down and mapping out what is growing where. You won't see the spring bulbs and such until then but you can see what shrubs and perennials are growing now. If you want to raise plants in containers now is the time to get them, pots are being clearanced. If you don't have seed starting supplies check garden centers for them now. It takes a long time for the stuff to show up in the stores in spring. And I would check places like Lowes and Home Depot for clearanced brambles and shrubs, maybe a tree or two.

If you don't mind my asking, what part of Ohio? The buckeye state is well represented here.

Wow, congratulations! This is a great thread, and one that I will save since if all goes well, I will take possession of my homestead in late October/early November.

Great advice from everyone, and one I will print out and put in a notebook. Ya'll are wonderful to have around!:rock:

Congrats :-)

you can always get a minature cow if you want a cow. That is what we are going to do. Sounds like you have allot of fun ahead. Enjoy:banana02:

IronHorse191

Congratulations and best wishes.

I'm also enjoying all the replies to this thread. Making mental notes. Borrow the book "The Self Sufficient Life and how to live it" from the library. Some good ideas in there for a 5 acre property :)

Hey.. aren't you supposed to be working?! :D

Congradulations, Start slow, don't rush into things. The best advice I got when we moved to our place, was to have a 5 year plan. And to have a 5 year plan you have to live on it for awhile. Our first year plan was to fix barns, fences and plant a small garden (20' x 50'). Second year, to get the chickens/ducks and plant the orchard. Third year, look into larger animals. You can see were I'm going, it is different for everyone. By doing this, we were not overwhelmed, and believe me those plans will change. Things seem to take so much longer than you planned. Then there are the best layed plans that just don't work. Like setting up the duck and chicken barns and finding out it really doesn't work well. So redoing it again. The sheep barn and goat barns, the same thing. You will read about so many great ideas, on this forum and others, but they may not work for you. So be creative and do what works for you. Trial and errror, more error than I would like to think, so that 5 year plan could turn into a 10 year plan. Just hang in there and Don't rush to have everything at once.

Opps...it posted twice

Well, thank you everyone for all the replies. We got the keys yesterday and now I can't sleep!! :sing:

I've been going back and forth on my plans. Right now, I just want to get moved, but....I have been thinking about a Dexter mini cow (although I am in love with Jerseys), and/or 2 goats. I've had a mental debate about the overgrown pastures (about knee to thigh high). On the one hand, we could just have it bush hogged, or on the other, I've heard that it would be wonderful for the goats. What do you think?

To answer some of you, we are just North of Columbus by about 30 miles (North of Alum Creek by about 10 miles) outside of a very small village.

We've already started eating Pears (even though they aren't quite ripe) from one of "our" trees, and the chickens are getting the apples that are on the ground. I need to get the pump house in order as there are bins for root cellar-ing in there, but it is in disrepair. We also found blacksmithing tools and a corn sheller in the barn!!

I'll keep you updated and hopefully get some pictures up. In the meantime you are also all welcome to check in with my blog (and please feel free to leave comments, sometimes I feel like I'm chatting with myself-grin. At least here, someone chats back! :D )

Rickki

Congratulations! And welcome. I'm sure you've found the chicken forum & rabbit forums here, you'll have tons of advice!

Patty

Congratulations on obtaining your homestead! All of the above is excellent advice. I tell anyone starting out to start small and plan.
Moving just before winter be sure your house is tight, chimney clean and stock up provisions for your family. I would hold off getting more animals until spring unless the barn is in good shape and you have a suppy of feed and hay for them. Chickens may be enough for the first winter to care for. Never bring goats, cows or horses home until you have adequate shelter and fences for them
Clearing a garden spot and planting a cover crop to till under in the spring was good advice as well as starting a compost pile. Then keep that first garden a reasonable size so you don't get over whelmed next year with so much work.

Take the first winter to plan and see what has to be done so you can set priorities. Neighbors are important in the country so be friendly without being intrusive. Then try to relax a bit and enjoy nature and life. It passes by too quickly.

Congratulations on obtaining your homestead! All of the above is excellent advice. I tell anyone starting out to start small and plan.
Moving just before winter be sure your house is tight, chimney clean and stock up provisions for your family. I would hold off getting more animals until Spring unless the barn is in good shape and you have a supply of feed and hay for them. Chickens may be enough for the first winter to care for. Never bring goats, cows or horses home until you have adequate shelter and fences for them
Clearing a garden spot and planting a cover crop to till under in the spring was good advice as well as starting a compost pile. Then keep that first garden a reasonable size so you don't get over whelmed next year with so much work.

Take the first winter to plan and see what has to be done so you can set priorities. Neighbors are important in the country so be friendly without being intrusive. Then try to relax a bit and enjoy nature and life. It passes by too quickly.