Living off Social Security

[perchie.girl]

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

 

[N F C]

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!

 

[perchie.girl]

May I come live with you?!

LOL.... not much to do up there... I am an artist I make jewelry and do art projects that suit my fancy. The guy that built the house was a painter He painted the window in the living room with a parrot.... He did the window sills with broken Cobalt blue tiles

But the wiring is shot there is a hole in the floor of the kitchen The sceptic tank needs attention... I may just go with composting toilets.

Well goes dry if you pump water too long.... and In order to get cell service you have to drive three quarters of a mile to what I call cell phone hill. So internet wont be an option unless I can afford a way to get Huges put in.

I love it though... No random junk phone calls... No TV except videos. The goats rewired my phones so If I want to make a land line call I have to go to the Meter pole and hook up a phone.

But at night you can walk out side and see the stars... Not just the stars the milkey way.... Hear the sleepy voices and rustling of the chickens... The occasional stomp of my horse....

deb

 

[Dharmachick]

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.

 

[perchie.girl]

I can convert some of that greenhouse to a canning kitchen as well....

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

You might want to look into growing pot in that greenhouse. Good cash crop. I don't know what the regs are for wholesale, but might be easy money?

LOL.... I think the original owner was doing exactly that.... I might grow the limit for home consumption... I hear its awesome for arthritis sufferers... not interested in a full scale operation.

California has just started with legal recreational use... I am too close to the border and some unsavory people on This side... The Desert tends to attract people who want privacy for what ever reason...

Just for the record When people ask me if I were afraid of the Illegals crossing through my area... I say NO. I am more afraid of the locals than the illegals.

I just want to fix the house up so that it is safe and comfortable raise what I can givin my limited mobility and age... Be off grid as much as I can and enjoy the rest of my life... Which could be a very long time... Right now I am caregiver for my 102 year old Grandmother. Longevity runs in the family.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

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

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

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!

 

[perchie.girl]

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?

I want to do solar and Wind power for electricity. .... for the green house Possibly a Rocket Mass Heater then do a heat exchange system for the main house... We are talking a one bed one bath house with one foot thick walls and an R value of more then twenty. I can use a single oil heater for my bedroom and it will get so hot I have to turn it way down.

we do get snow but only about seventy two hours of it total.... over the course of a few weeks in the winter. But IN the desert the wind is Very cold and will blow through the screens so that they Scream.... Horse loves it though... I do want to build her a wind break


Rocket mass heater

The whole concrete looking thing is the mass heat exchange system often times they are integrated as a place to sit... Th 55 gallon drum is part of the system...

Here is a prettier one

My green house is on grade on a slab... and shares one wall with the main house. Right now the one window is a chainlink gate so will have to do something like a window or sliding glass doors.

Rocket stoves are incredibly efficient they burn so efficiently they put out very little in the form of gas.... and ash.

The deal is there are several clubs that teach this form of construction here in San Diego. I am hoping to fund the materials for the class to build me one.

deb

 

[N F C]

Too funny ladies!

This one is 'almost' poultry related (ok, bird related):