Homesteaders

[boskelli1571]

Hi there, Well, it depends on a few things - how much space do you have to plant in, how much sunlight, what do you like to eat. Have you visited Mother Earth news site?? They have a gardening planner (free for 30 days) which can give you a good idea of plant requirements etc. Companion planting will save you a lot of time/space also. For instance, you can inoculate mushrooms between your asparagus rows, cover with straw and wait for your mushrooms! There are several web sites that are dedicated to growing your own produce, just pick out what you need from each!
If you need to dig beds, rent/borrow a rototiller, you should only need it to turn the soil the first year. Raised beds are great for veggies too.
I'm sure others here will pitch in with plenty more ideas, good luck & enjoy!

 

[RustedOak]

Hello all. I am an aspiring urban homesteader in Central Texas who has been reading through this forum the last few days and figured I'd intoduce myself. I am very green to all this but have begun traditional composting and vermicomposting with red wigglers, dabbling in aquaponics on a small scale and am in the process of starting a small container/raised bed garden and building an a-frame chicken tractor for a few laying chickens. I'm also considering raising a few meat rabbits. I'd love to have a large rural homestead but for now, making due with the space I have. I recycle/reuse/repurpose everything I can and also plan on rain catchment. All this, working around a family, a day job and being a vocalist for a working band. (I'll sleep when I'm dead lol) My ultimate goal is to be more self reliant and provide healthy food for my family that I know where it comes from, while making my carbon footprint smaller. Hope top be able to get some good advice/pointers from like minded individuals

 

[waynec1955]

Does anyone have advise for what we should plant in a large wooded area in zone 4 or 5? We are getting asparagus, strawberries, and apple trees for now. We want to grow a large portion of our food this year, but being quite new to this, I'm not real sure what to plant...
Thanks!

Contact your county extension system/agent. They can tell you what does well in your area, where to get your soil sampled, and what to do to enrich your soil.

 

[trsturself]

Hello all. I am an aspiring urban homesteader in Central Texas who has been reading through this forum the last few days and figured I'd intoduce myself. I am very green to all this but have begun traditional composting and vermicomposting with red wigglers, dabbling in aquaponics on a small scale and am in the process of starting a small container/raised bed garden and building an a-frame chicken tractor for a few laying chickens. I'm also considering raising a few meat rabbits. I'd love to have a large rural homestead but for now, making due with the space I have. I recycle/reuse/repurpose everything I can and also plan on rain catchment. All this, working around a family, a day job and being a vocalist for a working band. (I'll sleep when I'm dead lol) My ultimate goal is to be more self reliant and provide healthy food for my family that I know where it comes from, while making my carbon footprint smaller. Hope top be able to get some good advice/pointers from like minded individuals

Welcome! All of my husband's family live in Waco. I wish I could convince them to do something like this! We are like you and trying to make the most of our limited urban space. We have quite a bit of space for an urban lot (1/5th acre) but we are only using a small portion of it since we plan to sell in a year or two, we don't want to rip out the whole back yard. Gotta keep it marketable! We have chickens and 7 raised 4x8 beds. I'd like to get bees but am going to wait until we move. We also want to start dabbling with hydroponics. I'd love to see some pics of your aquaponics setup.

 

[boskelli1571]

Hello all. I am an aspiring urban homesteader in Central Texas who has been reading through this forum the last few days and figured I'd intoduce myself. I am very green to all this but have begun traditional composting and vermicomposting with red wigglers, dabbling in aquaponics on a small scale and am in the process of starting a small container/raised bed garden and building an a-frame chicken tractor for a few laying chickens. I'm also considering raising a few meat rabbits. I'd love to have a large rural homestead but for now, making due with the space I have. I recycle/reuse/repurpose everything I can and also plan on rain catchment. All this, working around a family, a day job and being a vocalist for a working band. (I'll sleep when I'm dead lol) My ultimate goal is to be more self reliant and provide healthy food for my family that I know where it comes from, while making my carbon footprint smaller. Hope top be able to get some good advice/pointers from like minded individuals

Welcome ! You will find this place to be full of ideas and help. Keep up the good work of helping the Earth

 

[RustedOak]

Welcome! All of my husband's family live in Waco. I wish I could convince them to do something like this! We are like you and trying to make the most of our limited urban space. We have quite a bit of space for an urban lot (1/5th acre) but we are only using a small portion of it since we plan to sell in a year or two, we don't want to rip out the whole back yard. Gotta keep it marketable! We have chickens and 7 raised 4x8 beds. I'd like to get bees but am going to wait until we move. We also want to start dabbling with hydroponics. I'd love to see some pics of your aquaponics setup.

Small world! I've lived in Waco all my life so maybe your hubby's family and I have crossed paths. (I'm sure of it, Waco is small lol) I don't currently have any pics but to give you an idea of my setup, look up "Shelfponics"... a very simple indoor system using an aquarium and a fountain pump. I just got it set up so unsure of how successful it will be. If it works well, I'll try for a larger IBC tote setup. I always start small to experiment. For example, when I broke into composting, my first one was in a five gallon bucket. lol Now I've got a three bin system made of reclaimed pallets

 

[rancher hicks]

Hello all. I am an aspiring urban homesteader in Central Texas who has been reading through this forum the last few days and figured I'd intoduce myself. I am very green to all this but have begun traditional composting and vermicomposting with red wigglers, dabbling in aquaponics on a small scale and am in the process of starting a small container/raised bed garden and building an a-frame chicken tractor for a few laying chickens. I'm also considering raising a few meat rabbits. I'd love to have a large rural homestead but for now, making due with the space I have. I recycle/reuse/repurpose everything I can and also plan on rain catchment. All this, working around a family, a day job and being a vocalist for a working band. (I'll sleep when I'm dead lol) My ultimate goal is to be more self reliant and provide healthy food for my family that I know where it comes from, while making my carbon footprint smaller. Hope top be able to get some good advice/pointers from like minded individuals

Start small. Grow as you learn.

Just added Ducks this year. Hatched our replacements for some of our older chickens. 26 out of 30 eggs hatched. My best so far.

 

[trsturself]

Small world! I've lived in Waco all my life so maybe your hubby's family and I have crossed paths. (I'm sure of it, Waco is small lol) I don't currently have any pics but to give you an idea of my setup, look up "Shelfponics"... a very simple indoor system using an aquarium and a fountain pump. I just got it set up so unsure of how successful it will be. If it works well, I'll try for a larger IBC tote setup. I always start small to experiment. For example, when I broke into composting, my first one was in a five gallon bucket. lol Now I've got a three bin system made of reclaimed pallets

My sister-in-law's family has been there forever. They own CMS Air Cooled Equipment. My husband's brother and parents moved down there a few years ago.
Keep us updated on your experiences.

 

[RTFchickens]

Huggstaff13
Welcome! Good for you for becoming more selfsuffucient. This forum is full of like minded folks. We just got meat rabbits (new zealand) we have chickens, and ducks as well. We are transitioning from suburbia to rural woods. It's not always easy being self sufficient, but it is rewarding!
Good luck, and I hope we can help ;-)

 

[roni65gt]

Wanna be homesteader here too. Problem is I am now on disability and cannot afford to move back out of town. I have a small yard and can only plant in the front. (too much shade in the back). But I plan on getting a coop and rabbit hutch built this year from scavenged materials and my son's help. I have been small scale and pot gardening for years. I can, crochet and knit when my hands allow it. I am also researching aquaponics to utilize my 55 gal tank I haven't used in years. So many plans, so little money- but the first step and all that. Hope this thread continues to get some good ideas!