I see people post about being self sufficient...

[UrbanGrower]

Quote:
You might know this already:

A bigger hole with improved soil would probably help. Your hole should be no deeper than the original root ball. A tree has a root flare (identifiable break from stem/trunk and root system) and this flare should be just above the soil, which means planting at the same depth the tree was at before transplanting. If the root flare is covered it could rot over time, and overall it's not healthy for the tree. Make your hole 3-4 times wider than the root ball, and then back fill with mostly native soil and a combined total of 30% peatmoss/vermiculite/manure (mixed with native soil). Don't add fertilizer until the tree is established. I also recommend locally adapted bare root transplants, they have a better survival rate and they are less expensive.

Good luck, it sounds like a lot of work ahead for you.

 

[jettgirl24]

I'm really interested in being more self sufficient... It's not possible right now as we live in the city but I'd like to take steps in that direction when we move to the country in the summer. I know we won't be totally self-sufficient on 5 acres but anything we can do I would like to try. I'm thinking of having my girls and a pure flock for breeding... That would be just for fun, not profit. I'm also thinking of finding a grocery store source for fertile eggs and having a free-range flock for eggs and meat (my bf has to do the deed though

) I'm also looking into getting nigerian dwarf milk goats. It sounds like they would be the perfect size and produce plenty of milk for us and for the kids when they're visiting. I'd REALLY love to do bees so sometime in the next few years I'll try and invest in that as well. Other than that, we'll be doing most of our heating with the woodstove with the alders we cut down on our property. We may even put in a second one in the master bedroom if we need it. I'd love to never turn the heater on again

I'll also continue to plant a garden. We've got pretty big beds going at the new house and some unutilized areas that I'll work to plant as well. It will be interesting to see how well we can do on 5 acres, I'm looking forward to the project