We have 1/2 acre total, a little more in the back than in the front. But in the front we have a 20'x30' vegetable garden, a fig tree, apple tree, pear tree, 2 peach trees, a hedge of blackberries blocking our fairly busy 2 lane road, raspberries, 2 blueberry cbushes, a small bamboo grove, a patch of jerusalem artichokes, and our newest addition a fish barrel with water plants and gold fish. Not to mention all the flowers and regular landscaping. We got one citation 2 years ago when I had loaned my mower out and the grass had seed heads at 12" before I got it back. It was cited as being "unsanitary" even though there was not a scrap of trash and a potential "haven for rodents" just because the grass was tall, I have since kept it mowed regularly and continue to plant more food and they have left me alone, not being able to say a word about my "landscaping" because it is not grass, and isn't coverd in the ordinance. Now the back yard, that is where the fun begins, 5 goats, 7 chickens, 4 ducks, 11 ducklings (at the moment) and 3 rabbits. This too, I keep well maintained making sure there is no odor and doesn't get turned into a dirt lot, selling off animals when I need to. So far, so good (three years) I had to get a $25 permit this spring when the officials found out about it. They would have never known had 2 of my goats not escaped from the neighbors yard (where they were performing organic brush control) resulting in a visit from animal control. I didn't meet any of the space requirements for animals (they wanted an acre per goat), however the animal control officer issued me the permit anyway because he was so impressed with my set-up. It is so sad many areas don't allow people to raise their own food. We eat tremendous amounts of home grown produce, eggs and meat all off of 1/2 an acre. I do "tours" on a regular basis just to show that it can be done!
