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perchie.girl

RIP 1953-2021
9 Years
Nov 29, 2010
28,492
64,634
1,392
San Diego county High Desert
I just realized I will be 65 in June. In kind of backwards way I have been planning for this...

But I feel I need to do some formal planning...

First of all I am a single gal and am very used to doing things for myself. I bought eighteen acres of land in 2003. I bought it according to affordability and location. It is NOT farm land Nor is it Ranch land... its High desert. Though I could raise sheep and goats I would have to buy 100 percent of the feed.

My idea is to make everything dual purpose

Chickens Eggs, meat, feathers
Guinea fowl eggs, meat, keets, preserved pelts, predator alarms including people.
Muscovy Eggs, meat, ducklings
Turkey eggs, entertainment

Yep that's a lot of eggs but there is a market for blown and clean egg shells I can preserve the protein for me later either by freezing or drying.

I can get basic canned food by going to the food bank or using commodity's... two bags of groceries per month. Beans and rice too.

My greenhouse room would be an excellent spot to set up hydroponics for veggies.... Its about fifteen by 24 has a source for water drains and power for extra light if needed. I might even try tilapia but it gets too cold in winter.

There are some trees that grow very well.... mesquite I have and the seed pods can be ground for flour... Pomegranite.... Love it thrives in the desert. Both take minimal water.

Some Citrus can handle the very short winters... Lemon Lime Tangerine and some oranges.

anyway I am looking forward to others ideas and or solutions to living with little to no money.

deb
 
I just realized I will be 65 in June. In kind of backwards way I have been planning for this...

But I feel I need to do some formal planning...

First of all I am a single gal and am very used to doing things for myself. I bought eighteen acres of land in 2003. I bought it according to affordability and location. It is NOT farm land Nor is it Ranch land... its High desert. Though I could raise sheep and goats I would have to buy 100 percent of the feed.

My idea is to make everything dual purpose

Chickens Eggs, meat, feathers
Guinea fowl eggs, meat, keets, preserved pelts, predator alarms including people.
Muscovy Eggs, meat, ducklings
Turkey eggs, entertainment

Yep that's a lot of eggs but there is a market for blown and clean egg shells I can preserve the protein for me later either by freezing or drying.

I can get basic canned food by going to the food bank or using commodity's... two bags of groceries per month. Beans and rice too.

My greenhouse room would be an excellent spot to set up hydroponics for veggies.... Its about fifteen by 24 has a source for water drains and power for extra light if needed. I might even try tilapia but it gets too cold in winter.

There are some trees that grow very well.... mesquite I have and the seed pods can be ground for flour... Pomegranite.... Love it thrives in the desert. Both take minimal water.

Some Citrus can handle the very short winters... Lemon Lime Tangerine and some oranges.

anyway I am looking forward to others ideas and or solutions to living with little to no money.

deb
A lot of really good ideas there! :highfive:
 
Good for you on thinking ahead Deb! You already have some great ideas.

Have you ever considered quail? I would think there would be a market for meat & eggs with them too (but I don't know your area).

Can you do some sort of solar heating for your greenhouse? Maybe you could do the tilapia then. And maybe grow things you wouldn't ordinarily grow in the winter months?

If you can bake at all, that can really help with the food bill. And I'm not just thinking of desserts (although those are tasty) but for example, I make our pizzas with homemade crust & add the toppings we like for about $2-$3 for a large pie, which is 2 meals for 2 people. And nothing better than bread fresh out of the oven, that's just a few cents to make.

I'm going to follow along here and see what other ideas you get!
 
I live on SSDI now, and I sell chicken eggs to cover feed and bedding for the chickens, dogs, and cat. I'll be moving to 2 1/2 acres in grazing land, and hope to plant trees for shade and hiding from hawks, no, not me, the chickens, and have a big garden. It is very, very windy there, so I am looking forward to building a windmill for power. The place has a well and septic, so that will save me $100 a month, and the house will be paid for. I was going to raise meat chickens when I move, and maybe turkeys too. I would love to bounce ideas off you.
 
I live on SSDI now, and I sell chicken eggs to cover feed and bedding for the chickens, dogs, and cat. I'll be moving to 2 1/2 acres in grazing land, and hope to plant trees for shade and hiding from hawks, no, not me, the chickens, and have a big garden. It is very, very windy there, so I am looking forward to building a windmill for power. The place has a well and septic, so that will save me $100 a month, and the house will be paid for. I was going to raise meat chickens when I move, and maybe turkeys too. I would love to bounce ideas off you.
OMG.... You are in Washougal Washington.... My mare came from there. Very nice Quarter horse breeder had her and wanted a forever home for her...

I can do wind power and have been considering putting in a small wind generator along with a small Solar farm to supply the well. I mostly will want one of those batteries to store power for when the power goes out.

deb
 
Good for you on thinking ahead Deb! You already have some great ideas.

Have you ever considered quail? I would think there would be a market for meat & eggs with them too (but I don't know your area).

Can you do some sort of solar heating for your greenhouse? Maybe you could do the tilapia then. And maybe grow things you wouldn't ordinarily grow in the winter months?

If you can bake at all, that can really help with the food bill. And I'm not just thinking of desserts (although those are tasty) but for example, I make our pizzas with homemade crust & add the toppings we like for about $2-$3 for a large pie, which is 2 meals for 2 people. And nothing better than bread fresh out of the oven, that's just a few cents to make.

I'm going to follow along here and see what other ideas you get!
Tilapia require about eighty degree water in order to be healthy they can go down to the mid seventies but risk going into torpor... a mild hibernation.

Its just me for food... I am not a baker but probably will give bread making a go just for toast in the morning.... I am more into sausage and pastrami. Muscovies are the other red meat... You can turn Muscovy breast into proscheuto in a very short time... They dress out much larger than Ducks... I am told... and you can make them into Pastrami, Corned beef and process them into Stew meat in the canner. Ground meat .... etc.

To tell you how little I need to heat my home in winter.... I have a single pot belly stove that will hold three logs about fifteen inches ling.... I go through maybe twenty or thirty logs in winter....

Got to go will be back

deb
 
Tilapia require about eighty degree water in order to be healthy they can go down to the mid seventies but risk going into torpor... a mild hibernation.

Its just me for food... I am not a baker but probably will give bread making a go just for toast in the morning.... I am more into sausage and pastrami. Muscovies are the other red meat... You can turn Muscovy breast into proscheuto in a very short time... They dress out much larger than Ducks... I am told... and you can make them into Pastrami, Corned beef and process them into Stew meat in the canner. Ground meat .... etc.

To tell you how little I need to heat my home in winter.... I have a single pot belly stove that will hold three logs about fifteen inches ling.... I go through maybe twenty or thirty logs in winter....

Got to go will be back

deb
Im so hoping to get a Muscovy flock going for the same reason. The other red meat. I dont have pasture land and only 5 acres so theres no way I can raise even one beef cow here and it be cost effective... my hope is to substitute some of the beef we eat with Muscovy.
 
I just realized I will be 65 in June. In kind of backwards way I have been planning for this...

But I feel I need to do some formal planning...

First of all I am a single gal and am very used to doing things for myself. I bought eighteen acres of land in 2003. I bought it according to affordability and location. It is NOT farm land Nor is it Ranch land... its High desert. Though I could raise sheep and goats I would have to buy 100 percent of the feed.

My idea is to make everything dual purpose

Chickens Eggs, meat, feathers
Guinea fowl eggs, meat, keets, preserved pelts, predator alarms including people.
Muscovy Eggs, meat, ducklings
Turkey eggs, entertainment

Yep that's a lot of eggs but there is a market for blown and clean egg shells I can preserve the protein for me later either by freezing or drying.

I can get basic canned food by going to the food bank or using commodity's... two bags of groceries per month. Beans and rice too.

My greenhouse room would be an excellent spot to set up hydroponics for veggies.... Its about fifteen by 24 has a source for water drains and power for extra light if needed. I might even try tilapia but it gets too cold in winter.

There are some trees that grow very well.... mesquite I have and the seed pods can be ground for flour... Pomegranite.... Love it thrives in the desert. Both take minimal water.

Some Citrus can handle the very short winters... Lemon Lime Tangerine and some oranges.

anyway I am looking forward to others ideas and or solutions to living with little to no money.

deb
May I come live with you?!
 

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