Not really a communal question....

This isn't really a communal question... It's a farming one. But I figure some of you must have some experiences with farming.
I just bought a farm and my goal is to get it up and running.... but I need some help. I want to be as self sufficent as possible and was wondering if you guys had any tips as to how to go about this. I hate how the government robs us and calls it taxes, and would like to minimalizes the money I give them.
I had some pigs, but ran into some.... problems (see the animal forum) with them . Ultimatly I want to raise a couple cows and pigs and maybe a lamb or something. I tried the chicken thing, but my dogs didn't agree with that one either.
I also have a veggie garden thhat's about a square acre. I've never done any serious gardening and was wondering if there's anything I should know.
As you can probably tell.... I have no idea what I'm doing, and everthing that can go wrong seems to be doing just that. I just need someone to give me some pointers on how to SUCSSESFULLY raise farm animals and maybe a garden. Seriously guys, I'm from Toronto. I need some help.
ANY adv ice would be much appriciated.

 

i never farmed but i just bought 2 books that would probably help you out a lot. 5 acres and independence by m.g. kains. also, solviva by anna edey which was recommended by yogi for peace. if i had a farm i would plant a lot of fruit trees. also berries. here at our suburban house i've planted apple, cherry, peach, plum, pear, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. there's nothing better than eating fruit off your own tree. ask adam and eve. we also have a lot of happy birds and squirrels. where's your farm? are you looking for more people to move there and help out? tell us more about what you'd like to happen there. peace nwrfred

 

Wierd. My farm's 5 acres. I'm not really sure what I want to do with it. We got a trailer on it already that a couple of our friends live at and we were thinking of building a couple of straw bail houses on it so we could have a bunch of cool people living around us. There's also a 5 acre lot beside our property that we're looking for some people to go in on with us. It's only like 50,000$ can. All I want to do right now is get the animals and the veggie garden going. We have a bunch of plum and pear tree's already, but one day I want to get some oranges or lemon trees.
For now though, just the animals and veggies and any other ideas of stuff I could make myself instead of buying.

 

try Carla Emery's "the encyclopedia of country living 9th edition" it has all sorts of info on just about every to do whith running a farm and much more

 

Here is some links for useful e-books

http://www.weblife.org/library.html
http://journeytoforever.org/index.html
http://www.soilandhealth.org/index.html

 

I can't really offer you any useful advise (I'm just starting out farming myself) but theres an excellent homesteading forum I go to for my questions...www.homesteadingtoday.com Check it out, theres alot of info there.

Good luck!

 

First off you might want to consider training your dogs. They should be protecting your live stock not consuming them. There are lots of good books on training dogs.

Also, get as much info as you can about breading animals.

Where is your farm located. Your climate will be a big factor in deciding what you can and can not grow.

Don’t get discouraged by setbacks. They happen to us all. No mater what happens keep pushing forward.

Sounds like a great project and I wish you the best of luck with it.

[edit] I just read where you are from. Correct me if I am wrong but, you have some very cold weather there for much of the year. I am wondering if building a large green house so you can grow food year round would help( just thinking out loud here).

 

Wow, your from Winlaw on the SloCan?

I had a friend named Shalamar who may still be living there.
She was connected to a Commune there named 'Madre Mondo'.

You don't know the place do ya?
You don't know her by chance do ya?

5yrs ago she was deep in the 'primitive lifestyle'.

Anyway I just completed an intensive 'Permaculture Workshop'.
But it sounds like your farm is already laid-out so you have to work with what you have.
As long as you compost with leaves and grass, you can't go far wrong.
Just be aware of your soil situation; sandy or clay, and plant accordingly.
What's your water situation?

Keep your chickens inclosed in mobile 'chicken tractors'.
They will automatically weed and fertilize every garden bed you move them onto.

Remember, mulching your garden with leaves and/or cardboard is great for both weed-control and soil-moisture conservation.