I am planning to retire to a self sustainable farm. Anyone out there already running one?

Posted by Dolores
ibanchief asked:


Oh, it must be enviromental friendly.I believe in doing my part in preserving the enviroment.Hopefully be a modle for other farms in the area. I have a 7 acres piece of land with its own spring source which i find ideal for my plans. The land is a gentle slope ending in about an acer of marsh which i plan for some fresh water fish cultivation. My problem is no expertise in this field and quite limited in my funds,which is why i am asking for ideas.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 4:49 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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2 Responses to “I am planning to retire to a self sustainable farm. Anyone out there already running one?”

  1. Bill Says:
    July 3rd, 2009 at 7:13 am

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    What State do you live In? I have a small Farm here in Massachusetts and want to expand. I grow all Brasilian Veggies. We have a large population of Brasilians and they can’t get the food they have in Brasil. I am the only one growing it around here. I groe Okra, Jilo (Eggplant )m and a few others

  2. James Watkin Says:
    July 4th, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    retiring

    You need to visit a farm or ask to help at one for a week or too (and really work it).

    If you have a farm that is self-sustainable, you will need to consider the animals, even farm animals need the vet from time to time. And you never get a day off, they always need to be fed and watered and their enclosures cleaned and maintained. Then when they die and they do, you have to bury them.

    As for gardening you will have to learn to can to preserve food for winter and you can ‘can’ and dry meat also for those times.

    You can use a windmill for generating electricity and/or solar panels. You will need to learn to grow cotton or raise sheep for wool and then how to spin it into thread and weave the thread into material and then to sew it into clothing and for the reuseable toilet paper you will need.

    As for sewage, you will have to dig a place for a septic tank and it will require care to maintain and after so long you will most likely need another one.

    You will have to check your city codes to see about trash burying or burning. Things like vegetable peels and eggshells can be used again in the garden after a period of time and some natural breakdown.

    You have to decide if you want to have two fulltime jobs and live this way as it will be like having two full time jobs. You have to learn about plants and their requirements for growing, animals and fish and their requirements and needs. And you will have to invest money in the place. Even after you purchase your animals, you can grow their feed, but there will be times when you have a bad crop or weather is not kind and you will then have to purchase it. You also will have to learn to deal with field mice and critters that come seeking food and scavenge off your land. You will have to protect your animals from predators as they will see the animals as a source of food. And this is all just a tiny part of it. It is a big task. One that requires a lot of knowledge and hard, hard, never ending work.