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 Can You Hear Me Now?
  
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | Like small acreage homesteads that are in a couple acres to be self sufficient? I have a great deal of land but between the horses and what's leased out I have 4-5 acres to play with that just sits. I just want to grow everything for myself and sell some to cover expenses and have an extra income. I've been doing a lot of research and it sounds do-able for one person that works (I have a full time job and 23 horses to care for on top of it). What did everyone start out with? I have quail already for eggs but looking at getting more, since I can't always handle chicken eggs. Looking into getting meat rabbits & Chickens as well as goats. I always have had a small garden for one just for seasonal veggies but expanding that too.
Pics of gardens and layouts would be great too!
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 Expert
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Location: Gainesville, TX | So how much do you have to do for the 23 horses? Are they just all out in the pasture and you check on them and feed them a couple times a day or do you have to clean out 23 stalls, groom, and ride a certain number?
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Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | In the summer they are mostly out on pasture (except 5) and I ride 2 every day. In the winter I feed twice a day all of them, and keep 6 inside most of the nights. I cant ride in the winter I have no indoor yet. It's not the horse care I am worried about I just want to see if anyone has experience, I've read every blog and website article I can find about it but still researching. |
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Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | ndiehl - 2018-03-02 1:09 PM
In the summer they are mostly out on pasture (except 5) and I ride 2 every day. In the winter I feed twice a day all of them, and keep 6 inside most of the nights. I cant ride in the winter I have no indoor yet. It's not the horse care I am worried about I just want to see if anyone has experience, I've read every blog and website article I can find about it but still researching.
I was just curious. The lady who watches my little girl also does this. She has a number of goats, chickens, guineas and ducks. She even hatches the eggs in her kitchen lol. But she stays at home most of the time and it looks like a lot of work. I think she has maybe three goats, 15 chickens or so with a rooster, a couple ducks, four guineas. They have maybe four horses too. I am not sure if she gardens. I can ask. |
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Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | oija - 2018-03-02 1:22 PM
ndiehl - 2018-03-02 1:09 PM
In the summer they are mostly out on pasture (except 5) and I ride 2 every day. In the winter I feed twice a day all of them, and keep 6 inside most of the nights. I cant ride in the winter I have no indoor yet. It's not the horse care I am worried about I just want to see if anyone has experience, I've read every blog and website article I can find about it but still researching.
I was just curious. The lady who watches my little girl also does this. She has a number of goats, chickens, guineas and ducks. She even hatches the eggs in her kitchen lol. But she stays at home most of the time and it looks like a lot of work. I think she has maybe three goats, 15 chickens or so with a rooster, a couple ducks, four guineas. They have maybe four horses too. I am not sure if she gardens. I can ask.
Please! Ideally I would like to cut down my hours at work and stay home more... but I need to make more to do that. The horses pay for themselves usually... foals, stud fees etc. but my house is in the midst of renos (which i do a lot on my own to save money too when I have time, older family farm house you know) and it's fairly large so heating and electric keep me working... My neighbour started growing a larger garden and does baking for a local farmers market and does pretty well on that too and while she does that I'd rather deal with animals LOL but some produce is OK. I have her brain to pick at times when I need it for some things. |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | a good place to do your research is mother earth magazine.I think they have some articles on line.you don't need huge number of tomato plants and some lettuce reproduce it leaves so you can have a salad daily. you might want to research aquaponics as you can plant endlessly year round if you have a green house. 5 acres can produce a lot! you have plenty of fertilizer, save it in a pile,spread it on your garden in the fall till it in next spring, makes for healthy plants. |
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| ndiehl - 2018-03-02 12:07 PM
Like small acreage homesteads that are in a couple acres to be self sufficient? I have a great deal of land but between the horses and what's leased out I have 4-5 acres to play with that just sits. I just want to grow everything for myself and sell some to cover expenses and have an extra income. I've been doing a lot of research and it sounds do-able for one person that works (I have a full time job and 23 horses to care for on top of it). What did everyone start out with? I have quail already for eggs but looking at getting more, since I can't always handle chicken eggs. Looking into getting meat rabbits & Chickens as well as goats. I always have had a small garden for one just for seasonal veggies but expanding that too.
Pics of gardens and layouts would be great too!
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I am retiring for the 4th time and intend to go boondocking with no rv park
fees out in the sticks in Florida and grow a veggie garden. (Year around gardening)
I will set up my veggie stand on the nearest interstate and to attract customers ...
I have spent considerable time and thought on the sign I have already made
for my future business.
Always have a business plan and hope for lots of rain and sunshine and a lot
of snowbirds with lots of money to spend on hail damaged veggies ... lol
 (FLORIDA JOB.jpg)
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 FLORIDA JOB.jpg (31KB - 238 downloads)
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I grew up in a family that gardened and canned a lot and I’m slowly expanding my own garden with plans to can and freeze a lot. We also usually process a steer for ground beef and get a hog off our neighbors after their kids show at the fair. I believe my brother in laws wife is going to raise some broilers this year too so we may have her process some for us.
We are far from off the grid, but I feel we do enough to make a dent in the grocery bill and free up funds for other projects...which are never ending. |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
Location: sunny california | OhMax - 2018-03-03 6:32 AM I grew up in a family that gardened and canned a lot and I’m slowly expanding my own garden with plans to can and freeze a lot. We also usually process a steer for ground beef and get a hog off our neighbors after their kids show at the fair. I believe my brother in laws wife is going to raise some broilers this year too so we may have her process some for us. We are far from off the grid, but I feel we do enough to make a dent in the grocery bill and free up funds for other projects...which are never ending.
I dont think many people could truely homestead in todays world but we can reduce our dependency on corporations. I try not spend too much on corporate products and have reduced my dependency .
grocery and houshold products are crazy expensive and true homemakers can really make a dent doing what their grandparents did
i make a lot of stuff by scratch i used to make almost everything i plan on more when i retire |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| kwanatha - 2018-03-03 1:58 PM
OhMax - 2018-03-03 6:32 AM I grew up in a family that gardened and canned a lot and I’m slowly expanding my own garden with plans to can and freeze a lot. We also usually process a steer for ground beef and get a hog off our neighbors after their kids show at the fair. I believe my brother in laws wife is going to raise some broilers this year too so we may have her process some for us. We are far from off the grid, but I feel we do enough to make a dent in the grocery bill and free up funds for other projects...which are never ending.
 I dont think many people could truely homestead in todays world but we can reduce our dependency on corporations. I try not spend too much on corporate products and have reduced my dependency .Â
grocery and houshold products are crazy expensive and true homemakers can really make a dent doing what their grandparents didÂ
i make a lot of stuff by scratch i used to make almost everything  i plan on more when i retireÂ
Well...yes, I enjoy gardening and the effect that it has on my grocery bill. I’ve also never found a store made spaghetti sauce that I enjoy as much as my moms scratch recipe. I was raised with sugar snap peas as my favorite summer time snack, fresh off the vine. I wish more folks were able to connect with their food in that way.
I also work full time in commercial agriculture and see first hand how efficient today’s agricultural food production is and how it provides us with with an affordable, safe food production system - a lot of my customers are incorporated businesses. Americans spend less per capita on food than quite a bit of the rest of the world. It’s all in what you like and how you shop - some of the most heinously expensive food I’ve seen was produce at the tendy farmers market in the last city I lived in. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | As far as produce goes, tomatoes will make you the most money, they do not take up alot of space and have good yields. HOWEVER, you will need to educate yourself on raising tomatoes. My husband is the "Mater Man" in our area. I take no credit, I just help sell them. Don't waste you time on other vegies if you are wanting to sell for $$.
As far as livestock goes, pigs will make you the most money. Do your RESEARCH, not all breeds of pigs will sell as high or as well. We concentrate on Berkshires.
Not hard to sell tomatoes but pork/pigs will take some marketing.
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