Other A Farm/Garden Thread

[Wylrin]

So I haven't really seen a farming/gardening thread around here (which may or may not account to blindness on my part) so I thought I'd make one.

Basically, I'm looking to connect with other people who are passionate about things like permaculture, silvopasture, aquaponics, etc.

Small-scale or large-scale, commercial or hobby, I'm looking for anyone who's interested in plants and/or animals - or, to be more specific, crops and livestock.

I'm also looking for people who are interested in environmental welfare and self-sustainability.

You don't have to have much experience - or any, really - with any of these subjects at all to join in the discussion. Heck, I'm still researching these different subjects myself.

But yeah, I'd love to discuss these sorts of things with people, so if you're interested, please leave a comment below! :3

 

[CorralDust]

Hey Wylrin! This is definitely a topic I'm interested in!

I still consider myself a novice gardener even after doing it for a few years now. But each year, I learn a little bit more and improve my garden setup. I've had chickens for awhile, but generally kept them out of the garden completely during the growing season (only allowing them access to it over the winter). But this year, I moved the small coop right inside the garden fence and made a 'chicken tunnel' along the long side of the garden. I noticed a drastic reduction in bug problems, particularly those green hornworms that like to wreck havoc on tomato plants!

It gets hot where I'm at though, so to help keep the biddies cool through the heat of the summer, I got one of the Aluminet shade clothes and set up a fan blowing through the coop, which helped keep it less stifling hot for my birds during the afternoon hours. Thankfully, it never cracked 100 here this summer. Not sure if that shade cloth would have been enough in more extreme heat.

I haven't branched out into other livestock just yet.

What livestock do you have so far?

 

[Wylrin]

CorralDust Hello! I'm excited to see someone here who's enthusiastic about gardening. In truth, I haven't had a garden of my own yet, but I plan on starting a no-till garden next spring. I still need to do a lot of research into that.

At the moment, I have quail. I'd like to eventually get experience keeping other forms of livestock, but for now, I'm learning what I can incubating quail eggs and raising them.

Right now, I'm reading a book called "Cows Save the Planet And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth" by Judith D. Schwartz. It's stressing the importance of the soil, so I'd like to grow perennial crops or perhaps a cover crop that helps out the soil. I may also like to start raising worms, but I feel like improving the soil quality would bring the worms to the land by itself, so I'm prioritizing the soil itself.

What other forms of livestock would you like to keep someday? :3

 

[CorralDust]

I'm not entirely sure. I looked into bees, even took a class on beekeeping. But it was a little more involved than I had anticipated and had a higher start up cost than I expected, so backed away from the idea. (At least for now. May revisit in the future)

I might try some different kinds of poultry or fowl. Maybe ducks, turkeys, or guineafowl.

I'm also considering rabbits, but I'm not sure I wouldn't get too emotionally attached to them to eat them. Ha!

Maybe a couple goats! How about you?

I haven't tried a no-till garden, so I might not have the best grasp on how it works, but wouldn't you have to start it now? (Like, cover your area over the winter to kill off grass and such?)

 

[Wylrin]

I've actually looked into bees as well, but I'm keeping them available as an option for the future, potentially.

Oh, ducks! I'd love to have ducks someday. From what I understand, they don't do as much damage to a garden as chickens.

Yeah, I get that. I was looking into meat rabbits a few months ago. While I was looking into them, I found a type of rabbit that can actually be used for wool production - an Angora rabbit. I had always thought that rabbits were strictly animals you raised for meat on a farm or homestead, so I was pleasantly surprised to find an alternative.

I'm looking into different forms of livestock (and, admittedly, other animals that aren't conventionally considered livestock). So far, I haven't decided what I'd like to potentially have someday other than "I would like to have something other than quail one day."

You have a good grasp on how it works! Yeah, I'm going to be covering up the garden space sometime very soon. When I say "start," I guess I mean the process of putting down the seed. X3

 

[CorralDust]

If you decide to try for the bees, see if your county's extension office offers any resources. That's where I was able to take a class. (I think it was like $5 just to cover the cost of the pizza!) Even though I decided to hold off on getting them, it was extremely helpful to have an experienced beekeeper lay out how to get started successfully.

Best of luck on your garden adventures! Hopefully you're blessed to already live in an area with decent soil. My property was part of a tobacco farm once upon a time and the dirt is horrible! Very little organics and very little life. I've amended, amended, and amended some more to get it in good shape. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off to get a truckload of garden soil to start with rather than trying to turn my cruddy dirt into good soil. I was trying to do it on the cheap (free), but I likely would have had better success the first couple years had I spent the money up front.

 

[CorralDust]

Just dug up my sweet potatoes! Usually I buy the started plants. This years I tried buying the 'slips' instead, which were cheaper. Just as good results!

I think I'll try making some sweet potatoes fries tomorrow.