Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Fri Jul 22, 2011 4:24 pm by pamela

Oh I love this idea! And the picture is so pretty. Notice, no driveway or car! Also, if you had a really small house you'd have lots more room for other things.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/modern-homesteading/self-sufficient-homestead-zm0z11zkon.aspx

Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:39 pm by rbrgs

This is a joke, right? I see 3 cows, 3 pigs, 8 chickens, and no staple crops for either humans or animals. At that stocking density, all the vegetation will be gone in a week.

Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:14 pm by pamela

I think it's just an idea for what a person could do so long as you could buy the feed rb.
I wouldn't have the large animals myself.
It's still pretty cool what a person could do with just one acre though.
(you old wet blanket you.

)

Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:52 pm by rbrgs

I think it's part of a coordinated effort to keep real estate prices up by convincing people that their suburban lot still has value.

Have we fallen so far down the rabbit hole that buying feed is considered being self sufficient? Mother Earth News used to have more integrity than that.

Oh rb, you're just being silly.
I love you anyway.

Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:44 am by OldNorseman

That illustration comes from one of John Seymors books: "The new complete book of self-sufficiency". A great book, fun and full of practicalities.

He has lived most of his life on small farms in England/Ireland, and really knows what he is talking about.

Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:30 am by Megadoom

OldNorseman wrote:He has lived most of his life on small farms in England/Ireland, and really knows what he is talking about.

Not in this case.

Within a week the cow pasture and the pig area will be nothing but barren field and/or a mud pit. Feed isn't getting cheaper, I promise you.

However, it's not a empty unproductive lawn, and that makes it better in many respect than what is common practice.

Megadoom

Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:42 am by pamela

No kidding. I hate lawns and would rather have a yard like the one in the pic regardless of what is going on.
I wouldn't raise meat other than a few chickens either.
all in all, it's a definite improvement over what people have now.

Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:50 am by Swampman

In PA, we can not have farm animals unless we have at least 10 acres, with the exception of poultry and hogs. By the time the smoke clears and while I am still living, most of our 3 acres will be under cultivation, either with gardens or orchards.

I really think that it is a beautiful diagram and an inspiration. We have about an acre left to clear brush, hawthorns, sumac, and locust from. That area will have our mini-barn and it will be where we raise our rabbits and pigs.

Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:07 am by VaMom

I think the picture is very romantic!! Which is just another way of saying unrealistic. But I like it anyway! The house has a nice little greenhouse/solarium on the left side and I'm sure those are solar panels on the roof! And you can't see it, but the "facilities" are a composting toilet. I didn't see a clothesline ... maybe they use the retractable kind?

Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:20 pm by Earth_Girl

rbrgs wrote:This is a joke, right? I see 3 cows, 3 pigs, 8 chickens, and no staple crops for either humans or animals. At that stocking density, all the vegetation will be gone in a week.

Depends. How many people are we talking about? If you didn't have the larger animals, maybe just the chickens, and two people, I don't see how that would be gone in a week. Seems that would last a month or more. The only problem I see, is there's no water storage facility. But I agree with the point that it makes a good idea, definitely better than a lawn.

I'd like to raise chickens and sheep, if I could. But the sheep wouldn't be for meat, I'd harvest the wool for trade.

Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Re: Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead

Who is online