Homesteading Series part 6 plant selection

So now we move on to the selection of plants.  Again this may be higher on the list, but we will discuss it here.  The reality is that all of these parts are intertwined.

Selection of plants can be broken down into several categories.  First we need to consider what the animals will be eating.  So one consideration is the pasture, the other consideration is the crops.  Second we will look at the garden plants.  Third, and finally, comes the orchard and berry plants.

Plants for the animals.

Pasture:

Crops. View from a bridleway. The different textures and colours are created by barley in the foreground, wheat behind and young sweet corn to the right. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As can be noted from examining the blog here, we are fans of grazing systems.  This allows for less equipment and generally more self-sufficiency.  We prefer rotational grazing, but I digress.  So what plants do you want to have in your pastures?  Pasture should include one or two types of grasses.  Typical types include Fescue, Ryegrass,Timothy, Orchard Grass and Kentucky Bluegrass.  Other plants that are typically included in pasture are red clover, ladino clover, white clover and alfalfa.  It is recommended to have a variety of these plants within a given pasture to provide varying amounts of protein, vitamins, and mineral.  Certain plants also thrive at different times of the year.  By varying the types of plants within a given pasture, the grazing season can be extended both earlier and later in the year than normal.

Selecting Forage Crops

Carsington Pastures, Derbyshire (Photo credit: eamoncurry123)

Crops:

Perhaps crops are what many people think of when they think of plants on the farm.  Crops are used for many different purposes, the main one of which is food for the animals.  Field corn is a crop that is vital to many farming operations.  It is very versatile and can be fed to numerous species of animals.  Corn has traditionally been a very inexpensive feed source, though that had changed some with the subsidization of the ethanol fuel industry.  Soy beans are another crop that is grown in abundance in the United States.  It is used as a protein source and also as a way to fix nitrogen into the soil when used in a crop rotation.  Other crops that are commonly grown are Wheat, Barley, Rye, Oats, Spelts and many others.  Some of these, such as oats and wheat, can be used for two purposes.  The grain is harvested for use as a feed and the stalks can be harvested for use as straw (animal bedding).

Garden Plants

The vegetable garden is one of the main focal points of a homestead.  A garden serves to provide fresh food and also bountiful harvests that can be stored for winter usage.  The plants that can be grown in a garden are limitless.  We will discuss a few here, but the scope of this particular series does not permit for an in depth discussion.

USDA 98c0442 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sweet Corn is the starting point, as it is one of our favorites.  The only downside that I see with Sweet corn is the space required to grow it, though the space can be maximized by using interplanting (we plant melons within the rows of corn, which allows the melons to spread out.  Both melons and corn take a lot of space, but by growing them in the same row, we can capitalize on some of that space.)  Beans are another key crop.  We also raise green beans (Green Jade works well as a variety).  There are many types of beans, several of which can be dried.

Other vegetables that are traditional garden staples include lettuces, spinach, onions, beets, cucumber, zucchini, squash and many others. Heirloom vegetables are those that are passed from generation to generation. They serve to preserve the plant genetic variability. Heirloom plants (as long as they do not get cross pollinated) will produce seed that it is true, meaning that the seed can be saved and replanted. Once replanted, the seed will produce plants that are the same variety as the mother plant. Hybrids plants do not produce seeds that will grow predictable plant offspring. Oftentimes the seed is not viable. At other times , the seed will produce on of the parent varieties that was used to make the hybrid plant. An example of this is Incredible Sweet Corn. This is our favorite sweet corn. Saving the seeds and replanting them will usually produce a dent corn or field corn that was used in the cross pollination to get the incredible hybrid.
We utilize several varieties of heirloom vegetables so that we can save the seeds if desired. A few examples are blue hopi corn (Below)

and golden bantam corn. Heirloom seeds can be purchased from several suppliers. We usually make our selection from Fedco Seeds.

Orchards and Berries

The third and final category for homesteading plants includes Orchards fruits and berries.  This category will be finished in another post due to space and time constraints.

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Homesteading Series Part 5: Containing animals

A sturdy and well-built post and rail fence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here we will specifically discuss fencing.  Fencing plans again depend upon the type of animal that you are trying to contain. I will try to lay this out in an organized fashion starting with types of fences. I will then try to cover fencing for various farm animals. These animals will include cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and horses. I will not attempt to cover chickens at this time ( other than to say clip their wings and make sure your tightly woven fence is tight against the ground).

Types of Fences

There many various ways to classify fencing. The first way to organize it is electrified versus non-electric. Another way is permanent versus temporary. For the purposes of this article, the focus will center around permanent fencing. Systems can be hybrid with permanent and temporary, but the perimeter fencing should be very solid and permanent (in the opinion of this author).

woven wire fence(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are various type of materials that are used to make fencing. Focusing on the modern versions, there are hog paneling, woven wire, barbed wire, high tensile, polywire, vinyl and board fencing. Board

Roll of barbed wire on a farm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

fencing, woven wire, and hog paneling are suitable for non electric systems. Vinyl may be considered here as well, though animals can lean on the vinyl and pop the rails off. I recommend adding one or two strands of high tensile along the top and bottom of vinyl fencing to prevent the animals from pushing the rails out. Barbed wired, high tensile and polywire are typically electrified. These systems can be non electric if enough horizontal wires are placed to make them visible. Most fencing is, after all, mainly a mental barrier and deterrent.

As for fence posts, the options here vary as well. Vinyl fencing utilizes vertical vinyl posts. Board fencing uses wooden posts. For the wire- type fences, posts materials vary from treated wood to cedar to locusts posts. They can also utilize t posts and even some specialized products like kencove posts.

As a side note when planning a fencing project, it is important to draw out the design in many fashions. Talk to other farmers or fence installers about your project.  Describe your setting, animals and goals. Mark out all of the gates that are needed. Gates are needed for entry to the field by the farmer, for equipment and for animals movement.

Cattle:

Cattle may be the easiest animals to contain, as long as they are well fed.  The grass is always greener on the other side, so cattle will test fences if better food is available across the fence.  I like electrified barbed wire or high tensile.  Two to three strands should suffice.  The lower strand should be about 24 inches off of the ground and the upper strand at 36 to 30 inches.  I like a wire in the middle as well.  Wooden fence posts should be placed at no more than 16 feet in order ro have better visibility.  Some places suggest further spacing, but I have found that our fence is great with posts every 16 feet.  Make certain to keep weeds off of the fence, otherwise a short will be created and it won’t take long for the cattle to figure out that the fence is off.  I suggest placing the wires on the outside of the fence posts, so that animals can graze around the base of the fencing.  This gives you more grazing space and less weed wacking.  Other options for cattle include board fence, vinyl and woven wire.  I would add a top strand of barbed wire or electrified high tensile at the tops of the 48 inch woven wire.

Closeup of a smooth wire fence without barbs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Goats

Goats are more of a challenge due to their inquisitive nature.  Woven wire works very well for goats.  The can be deterred by electric fencing as well, but the fence must be solid and provide an adequate shock to keep them in.  Board fencing and vinyl fencing tend to leave larger gaps that the goats can get through or around.  These gaps can be closed using electric barbed wire or high tensile.

Barbed wire fence in west Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sheep

Sheep are basically like goats in their needs for fencing.  It is not their stubborn nor inquisitive nature that make them hard to fence.  The problem with them lies in the thick wool coat.  This prevents them from perceiving the chock of an electric fence.  Woven wire seems to be the best for sheep, though multiple high tensile strands can works as well.  The strands should be placed at 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches from the ground on up.

Horses

 vinyl fence  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Horses love to lean on fences.  They also like to hang their heads over the fence, looking for food to graze upon.  They can be kept in with just about any fencing system.  Traditional horse people tend to prefer either board fence or vinyl fencing foe aesthetic purposes.  One major advantage to these is the decrease in injury potential.  Barbed wire and high tensile work well with horses, but can cause serious injury if the horse gets a leg tangled up in the strands.  Fence posts should be placed no further apart than 16 feet, as the visibility goes down for a horse after that point.

Pigs

Again, I am going from what I have read, not what I have done.  I have read that pigs can be easily trained to electric fencing.  Their snouts are very sensitive.  In fact, they are very conducive to rotational grazing, but be careful where you leave the gates.  It seems that pigs have a good memory, so much that they are reluctant to cross where an electric strand previously stood. The bottom wire is generally set at 5 or 6 inches and the top wire at 10 or 12 inches.  They will train quickly according to several sources that I discovered.  There are other options as well.  Hog paneling is meant for pigs (hence the name….).  Premier Supplies makes several electric netting options for hogs as well.

http://www.greatamericanegg.com/blog/?p=89

I hope that this article has been helpful.  I know that it just touched the surface of a very complex issue.  This is meant to be something to stimulate thought and provide a basis to start.  Good luck and keep raising your homestead, taking more control of what you eat and what you do.

We recently built a fence, which we had designed.  Our intent was to keep costs low, yet be able to try to contain all of the above animals.  The fence that we elected is 6 strand of high tensile, smooth wire fencing.  We placed three large gates to move animals and equipment in and out of fields.  We also placed two other 4 foot “man gates” in other locations for easier access to the fields.  The strands are laid out at 5 inches, 10 inches, 16 inches, 24 inches, 30 inches, and 48 inches.  We electrified the top strand, the third strand down and the second lowest strand.  We went with this number of strands in order to have a sturdy fence that works even without being electrified.   It seems to be working well, though we only have cattle so far.

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Homesteading Series: Part 2: Next Steps

The next phase as I see it in regard to homesteading is to figure out your plans.  There are many things to consider that can play into the homesteading scene.  I will try to go more in depth with each topic, but thought is best to try to lay out the basics.  I will try to think of everything and am certain that I will leave some things out.    In the first part of this series, we talked about site selection.  For this part and moving forward, I am going to assume that step one has been taken care of.  I will figure that a water supply is secured and a home built.  (I suppose that a site could be purchased and set up in a different way than what I am describing here.  For instance, acreage could be obtained, yet the building of the house may be in the distance….so don’t lose hope if you can’t have the acreage and the home right off the bat.)  Some of these steps can be taken out of order.

1. Animal selection.  I recommend starting with chickens because they are cheap and easy, yet you get the incredible, edible egg as a result.  Most consider a dairy cow or a goat for milk production.  Sheep provide wool.  I would also suggest a dog of some sort for protection and possibly as a working dog.
2. Building selection.  This will need to be built around the potential animals.  For instance,
   

   A Chicken tractor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   a small outbuilding works great for chickens.  They can even be managed in a portable chicken coop (or a chicken tractor)which has a variety of designs.  A larger barn is necessary for cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and horses.

3. Animal containment.  This will again depend on the type of animal.  Cattle and horses test fences in ways that are different from pigs.  Chickens are a whole another ball of wax.
4. Plant Selection.  Do you want an orchard?  How about a berry plot?  A grape arbor?  And of course a garden.  I like Heirlooms for seed saving, making yourself more self-sufficient in the process and potentially saving money down the road.
5. Garden site.  Raised beds?  Traditional garden?  Should you build a cold frame or two? (yes!)
6. Medicine strategy.  By this I am thinking along the line of herbs.  You will need to consider which herbs that you will need and want to grow.
7. Storage Consideration:  With homesteading you will likely be saving root crops, making a root cellar a reasonable thought.  You will likely be canning, so you will need jars, lids, and a canner.
8. Tool Selection.  What tools will you need to have on hand?  Again, you might want to prepare for the practical and think toward the possibility of major circumstances changing.  As an example, you may get a chainsaw and a really good handsaw, just in case fuel becomes scarce.  I will suggest some nice tools that I have found for the garden.

I am certain that I have left some things out, so watch for this one to get edited in the future.  I typically write these posts as they come to me, not well thought out and written down onto paper.  Any thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated!  I will get some more thoughts down and put some thought into it as I review a few resources.

Until Next Time.

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CHICKEN PICTURES

A picture of our first Delaware Rooster with a few Delaware hens, a Black Astraporpe hen and a Rhode Island Red Hen

The girls roaming the yard

Our Aracuana Peeps.  Also known as Easter Egger Chickens.  These lay green eggs for us.

See a nice green egg, our first ever!

Rural Areas….the Key to Prosperity and Preservation.

Rural Revival

The past several years have seen the United States, as well as many regions around the world, experience a recession, depression, economic downturn, call it what you will.  Various media outlets cover the world’s economic status differently.

• Glenn Beck warns his listeners and subscribers to GBTV.com to continue to prepare.  In fact, a recent radio show of his featured a $50  bet with Bill O’Reilly that there will be a lot of chaos this coming summer.
• More traditional media outlets continue to preach an economic recovery that is upon us.  They cite decreasing unemployment numbers and increases in the manufacturing sector as evidence that the economy is healthy and vibrant
• Pundits of the traditional media question the validity of those numbers.  Some questions linger about how unemployment numbers can be accurate when the numbers do not include those people who do not have a job, but have quit looking for one.
• Greece and Europe continue to struggle, but talks are underway to bolster those countries that are at risk.

Regardless of which scenario you adhere to and which philosophy you choose, one thing is certain is that the United States economy is not as strong as it has been at points in the past.

With this as a backdrop, where will the recovery and stability come from?  May I suggest that farmers and producers may hold the key to recovery, as well as preservation.  Farming is one of the main things that has made the United States the great nation that we are (or have been).  We are one of the leading producers of the world’s food supply.

There is also an increasing demand for food throughout the world.  There have been food shortages in many countries, such as Greece.  A 2008 article out of the UK suggested that Great Britian could face a food crisis due to many factors.  (Global Food Supply is Growing Problem 2008 the Telegraph)

This article pointed out that food is being used in increasing amounts for alternative fuels.  Perhaps the saddest part of this is that we are spending more in fossil fuels to produce a gallon of ethanol than we actually produce in ethanol.  This is sad as many in our world starve due to lack of food, which often times is restricted for political reasons.

Another trend that hits the food supply hard is the urbanization of the planet.  More and more people are moving to the cities and suburbs.  This not only means less people to do the farming, but more houses built on what was previously farmland.  This sometimes seems a “win” for the farmer who sells the land for development, but is ultimately a huge loss for the potential production of food.  We can only get so efficient with what we produce per acre and the means of increasing that production can be downright scary (BST in Milk, GMO laden products, Increased fertilizers, increases in the amount of glyphosate used, hormones in animals, coccidiostats in poultry feed….the list goes on and on)

So I feel that the US is poised to remain the world’s economic and military superpower if we take heed.  It will take a lot to shift the thinking to increase farm production, as a large portion of our population moves to more and more urban areas.  Some creativity may be needed as well.  There have been some recent strides made as far as “vertical gardening” goes.  There has also been a huge increase in the amount of people raising backyard chickens for egg production.  (MyPetChicken.com and Backyardchicken.com)

Why the economic Revival from Rural Areas? 

Well this seems simply a game of supply and demand.  The demand in the world is rapidly growing as the population grows in what seems to be an exponential fashion.  In the aforementioned article, it was estimated that it would take t $30,000,000,000 (that is thirty BILLION) a year to relaunch agriculture in the developing world and avert future threats of food conflicts.   That is a ton of cold, hard cash.

The United states still has a large amount of acreage in rural areas.  With improving technology, we may be able to farm even more acreage than in the past.  This can be attributed to larger and more specialized equipment.  There are also constant developments that allow us to provide better drainage.  This opens up previously wet areas to a better potential to be farmed.  I am not suggesting we drain out wetlands, but rather talking about smaller areas that are simply prone to flooding.

What can you do about it?

I suggest you start by supporting local farmers.  This can be done in many ways.  The first of which goes to my previous post of supporting your local farmers markets.  Another way is to buy meat from a farmer in your area.  Many farmers are beginning to focus on selling animals more directly to consumers.  In fact, many offer to ship to customers.  We at Heritage Breed Farms hope to someday be able to market more directly to local consumers.  We plan to focus on the quality of our products in that the animals are given no hormones and are either grassfed or free range.  Keep in mind that buying from a small local farm may be a little more expensive due to the economy of scale, but you dollars not only go for more nutritional products, but also support the local economy.

I also think that gardening on whatever scale that you can is a great way to help with the global food supply.  The more you grow, the less somebody else is forced to produce.  This allows larger farms and companies to export more food overseas.  This will help to bolster the overall economy of the US.  You may be thinking: “yeah, right I grow a few green beans and help the economy?”  Well think of it this way, if everybody grew enough green beans for their own use, all the other green beans that the US produces can be exported.  Also, farmers may see the decreased need for green beans and plant other cash crops in their place.  The result will either be lower food prices here, or greater exports abroad.

Well I think that is enough rambling for one post.  Hopefully, that makes some logical sense to our readers.  Hopefully you are encouraged and inspired to help in any way that you can.

 

Containing chickens

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