Thursday, March 31, 2011

Are We There Yet?


I swear these past couple of weeks  I feel like a kid who is waiting  on Christmas morning.  We are signing the contract for the land on the 20th of the month.  After that I guess I can call myself a landowner.  Now that is a first for me! I'm SO excited!! I hope I don't bore you to death talking about it.    Once the contract is signed we can start getting some things out there. There's alot of things that we can be working on while I'm waiting on that dang back pay check.  It shouldn't be more than about six weeks or so.  Then we can afford to move the RV out there and live full time on our very own land!
     I'm hoping to find someone in the area with a tractor that can come and brush hog the place.  And then to plow up a good hunk of land so we can get started working on the garden. It shouldn't be too hard to find someone with a tractor willing to do it. Heck, if all goes well, we just may be able to get some sort of a fall garden in this year.  Wouldn't that be awesome!
     One of the things I've always wanted to do is to raise asparagus. I'm talking about a BIG bed too.  I know that it takes a few years to get it started which is why I've never tried growing it before.  I didn't want to have to leave it behind at some rental place.  The same goes for planting some fruit trees.  Peaches grow well around here and are one of my favorite fruits.  I'd like to plant a couple of plum trees too but I haven't checked out how well they will do around here.  Other fruits we would like to take a shot at are blueberries and blackberries.  The blackberries could be set out all along the fence on the east side of the property. 
     We are  going to be getting some chickens and rabbits this summer. Which means we are going to need a chicken coop and some rabbit hutches. If we can't find what we need off Craigslist and such then Mars will have to build them.  I figure once we get out there things will move pretty fast at first. It will be a real blessing to be able to kind of "jump start" several projects that are now in the planning stages. We have figured that if we are real careful with our money we should have no problems getting most things done.
    Another thing on one of the lists is to get to work on the old pole barn that is out there.  It's going to need tin for the roof and the sides.  I'm thinking we can probably find what we need off Craigslist.  That way we will have a place for the rabbits and a storage area too.  It's approximately 20 x 30 so it is plenty big enough. That's also where I would like to eventually put in a summer kitchen.  It would be great to have a place to be able to prep vegetables from the garden and to can them up right there. A counter space, sink and a stove.   I have all that on a list somewhere as well!  :o)
    We are still trying to figure out what kind of chickens we want to raise.  A friend suggested checking out the Rhode Island Reds and so I've been doing a little reading about them.  We might just end up with a mixed lot, who knows...  The "big" plan is to raise chickens for meat and for eggs and rabbits as another source of meat.  I know that rabbits can be a bit expensive to feed but if we are only raising them for the two of us we shouldn't need more than 2 does and a buck that would have to be fed full time. The kids would go into the freezer.  We've also been thinking about a couple of goats. It would be nice to have fresh milk for drinking and for making cheese.

A person could live just fine with a nice garden full of veggies, a few fruit trees, some milk,eggs and cheese, and some meat from time to time!
                   ~~~  Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~

13 comments:

  1. Never boring. I could read about your plans and what is happening all day - write away my friend. It is truly exciting.

    Congratulations. I am so very happy for you. :)

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  2. Having land of your own gives a great sense of security. I've owned my place since '95 and wouldn't give it up for anything, even though it's getting harder to manage as I age. I wish you every bit of luck and success with yours.

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  3. Congratulations on your land..look forward to many pictures.

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  4. Congrats!!

    Baby steps though lol! Check out the Arbor Day Foundation for trees & shrubs. Trees.. one of the first things to plant as they are an investment paid for with time.

    A lot of forage mixes are also good cover crops. An area planted with alfalfa, clover, birdsfoot trefoil, legumes, etc. can be used to fix nitrogen, attract pollinators, provide green manure, etc.

    May as well make things multitask while you are tackling everything else!

    Congrats again!

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  5. I don't think that very many of us would ever get tired of hearinbg of your adventures on the land! How could we get tired of that?

    I'm so glad that things are working out for you!

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  6. Not sure if you are using a real estate agent or not,but ask the seller to recommend someone local with a tractor.If its a small town,he would know,and a great way to meet neighbors with the skill and stuff you need.We had a neighbor that would disc our garden,then I'd used my pickup with a harrow,that made final tiller work a breeze.
    Dean in az

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  7. SkippyMom- Thanks for the green light! LOL I do worry sometimes about boring folks to pieces.

    Frann - I love taking pictures so I'm sure I'll be posting them all along the way. BTW I love reading about your adventures and the pictures you post as well.

    Anne -What a great idea. I never even thought about checking out the Arbor Day Foundation! I've been thinking about planting alfalfa since the rabbits will love it. I knew that beans put nitrogen in the soil but wasn't aware that alfalfa does the same thing!

    HermitJim I am so tickled that you have been stopping by.I feel honored! Your blog has been one of my favorite places to visit for a long time now.

    Dean - Thanks for stopping by! I don't think the seller will be of much help but I'm definitely going to be doing some "down home networking". We are headed to a "chicken swap" this weekend so I'm hoping to meet some folks there.

    SheChef Thanks for stopping by! I hope your canning is going well.

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  8. I take it you are new to the area? Contact your local Cooperative Extension Agency for all your agricultural needs - the advice is free and is part of your state land grant college paid for with your tax money. They can tell you which variety of green beans or peach tree or cover crop is best for your area. They can help you plan your land's layout for garden, pasture, etc. They have specialists for animals, too.

    Looking forward to hearing about your progress - congratulations!!
    We had the local state forester help us identify which trees to harvest, which to save; we had the local pond specialist tell us what and how to increase the usage of our little 30' diameter pond and I had a food specialist find a pickle recipe for me - a first timer.

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  9. SFC, I never tire of reading your posts and they can't be too long for me. Let me know if I have this straight, you are now in Ark. ( my old home state-Benton- just down from the state mental hospital, surprised they didn't keep me!) and are moving to Oklahoma? I have only been in Ok. overnight. It's all interesting to me as I follow your move and hear about all the things you're going to be doing. Congratulations on the land find and good luck in all your endeavors!

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  10. Congratulations on the purchase and upcoming move.

    Suggestion: Go easy on the brush hogging the land. When we moved to out last property we immediately brush hogged a large section of ground and later wished we hadn't. The native brush would have been great wind blocks. I would suggest only brush hogging what you can work with immediately as there will be lots and lots to do when you move out.

    Chickens: You can't go wrong with White Leghorns for eggs. They lay HUGE white eggs. I also like Light Brahmas. They are brown eggs layers and are so darn cute. They waddle when they run. Ours have been very docile. I compare the size of eggs here: http://wecallhermomma.blogspot.com/2011/01/eggs.html

    Have fun!

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  11. I love hearing about all of your plans. Don't get so busy that you don't have time to write.

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  12. You are not boring us! I love to hear about your place. I'm excited for you too! I think you should start out with a mixer of chickens. That way you can figure out which kind you like on your own, instead of just reading about which ones would be the best. That's how we did it. Then of course, you do what is best for you. lol!!!

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