Homesteading in Mountain Soil

**highlands** · #21 12/24/12, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvestmoonfarm

there's no hope of any type of "pasture" since most of it is still wooded and/or has rocks and stumps.

Clearing works. Stumps and rocks are not an issue for grazing pastures. Our land is covered with both. For a while the stumps of some species of trees put up regen suckers which make good fodder for sheep, goats, pigs and some cattle.

Twice we've cleared forest that had grown up in the fields over the last hundred years. The first tie about 20 acres and the second time about 40 acres on this side of the road plus another 30 or so on the other side. We don't dozer to clear the new fields but instead flush cut the stumps, seed it and then graze the livestock the next year. Works great for creating new fields. It's a slow process but this saves the soil layers and the nutrients in the stumps which then rot into the soil.

See:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2009/08/02/f...apple-skidder/

big rockpile · #22 12/24/12, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I garden in the Ozarks in the summers. I built raised beds. It wasn't worth it to try to garden in soil that grows rocks.

Got to agree on Raised Beds but when I was a kid we raised Corn and Small Grains in the Ozarks.It was alot of work picking all the bigger rocks off the fields but it was done in order to raise grain for Stock.

Over time got to where it wasn't worth it.

big rockpile

Keith · #23 12/24/12, 10:16 PM

We live in the Texas Hill Country and after 2-3" of soil, it's solid rock.

Vines do really well; grapes in particular. There are a lot of grape variety that were bred to do well in very cold climates.

Pecans, peach and other fruit trees do well.

For the garden though, it's all raised beds. We grow a huge assortment of vegetables but terrace raised beds are a necessity.