Please Tell Me All About Central Texas

My family and I are considering relocating to Central Texas, Austin area. We visited this past November (have some family living there), and did a lot of exploring, and even looked at some properties. We currently live on the Big Island of Hawaii, but after the last (huge) volcanic eruption, we don't really want to continue living here. I'm not afraid of the lava, but it did displace a lot of our friends, and gave us pause to consider relocating. We found we really liked then idea. There are just tons of drawbacks to trying to homestead here. I think you really have to love the tropics to put up with all of it. I don't.

We would like to be within an hour and a half of Austin, and have at least 5 acres, preferably more. I really like the area to the east and south-east of Austin (Lexington, Paige, parts of Thrall) and am also considering Seguin and New Branfels area and the whole area to the south of Austin, as it would bring us closer to all those nice blue springs for swimming, which I reckon will be handy as my kids get older aren't as content playing at home all the time. I really like the hillier areas, and the bigger the trees, the better. From what I can tell, the area to the west of Austin is hiller, but also rockier, more arid, and the trees generally don't get as tall.

I want to grow a big garden for most of our vegetable needs, and a market garden as well. I am very used to hard work (gardening on top of solid lava is extremely difficult, and I've stuck to that with a stubborn tenacity that borders on insanity). I'd like to plant fruit trees, and keep a few goats, maybe a few A2 cows. I know I can't support the cows on 5 acres (if I end up with that little), but if I did get them I would budget in buying feed for them. After Hawaii, hay prices in Texas seem very cheap!

From what I can tell, selling milk on a small scale is much easier and less illegal there than it is here. Can anyone tell me the requirements to sell milk or milk products?

I'm really curious about so many things there. Probably too many questions to ask. If I can start a conversation here, I'm sure I will have more questions! My impression of the Austin area was that I can grow just about anything without too many problems, if I'm willing to put in the work, and would find a good market for extra produce with all the foodies in the city. I will not be in debt for our property, and will have a little outside income through my husband, but it would definitely be good if I could bring in some income through farming, as I have a lot of projects in mind that all need funding! I do have a fairly green thumb and a lot of gardening experience in Hawaii, but will have to learn a lot in a whole new climate! I'l probably just garden for our family the first year, to learn, before trying to sell anything.

I am reading that root-knot nematodes are a problem there (they are here too). Are they a big problem? I'd like to grow sunn hemp for my goats, so I could probably rotate that in my garden to control the nematodes. What about scorpions? They were coming into our cabin, and our hosts' house, every night when we were there. Are there natural (or somewhat non-toxic) ways to control them? If we have a creek on the property, will we have to worry a lot about water moccasins? I have 2 small children, but they are getting bigger and smarter all the time.

Some plants I'd really like to grow are raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, squashes of all kinds, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, brussel sprouts, kale, lettuce, potatoes, sweet potatoes, melons, eggplant, herbs, onions, garlic... basically all the usual suspects. Any major issues with any of these in Texas in particular? Here in Hawaii we have SO many issues with growing most typical vegetables. Being in the South, I wonder if Texas would share some of our issues, as they do the issue with root-knot nematodes. I would be irrigating when necessary. I'd like to set up rain-water catchment with a cistern to supplement county water or a well.

One thing that really appealed to me in Texas was the apparent lack of building restrictions, unless you are withing town limits, or there are deed restrictions on your property, due to being in a subdivision. Ultimately what I would like to do is build some additional dwellings for a retreat-like B&B type thing, or for carefully selected workers or tenants to live on the farm, depending on how things evolve (obviously if we have more than 5 acres). Am I correct that you can build pretty much anything you want, if you are out of town limits and don't have deed restrictions or an HOA?

Thank you to anyone who has read this far, and I really appreciate any input.

I've gardened in Central Texas for years and it definitely has its challenges, mainly the unpredictable weather.  We can have drought with no rain for months and then it might rain 12 inches in 24 hours.  In the winter it can freeze at night and be 80 degrees during the day.  Soil here can be very fertile prairie clay, played-out old cotton fields, or tough gravelly caliche.  As far as agriculture, it is worthwhile finding out what the rules are in the counties you plan to look at to see what the minimum acreage is to get agricultural tax status, which can cut your property taxes in half.  Each county is different.

When looking for land, avoid buying something at the top of a hill, as the soils there are usually thin.  Also, avoid buying in a flood plain or seasonal creek, because flash flooding can be a major problem here.  

https://permaculturenews.org/2016/07/01/property-purchase-guide-look-buying-land/

I've lived in Texas on and off for decades and have never seen a Water Moccasin. I've only ever seen one Rattlesnake, but many Coral Snakes, which are only dangerous to little children.

Hope that helps some!

I agree with everything Tyler has said.  

I have lived in several places in Central Texas.  I liked Lockhart the best though I have heard they are now having a problem with feral hogs.

I also really liked Athens though it is half East Texas and half Central Texas, almost North Texas.

Most of Central Texas has too many people and too much traffic for me.

There is plenty of good land within 1-1/2 hours of Austin. There's plenty of rocky land with no access to wells also. It would probably take a week to look around and ask the right questions..

One concern in texas is encroachment. We are growing so fast that corn fields are turning into housing subdivisions. I would go more rural than original thought or look for lazy towns that have an anti growth philosophy. But so many other things to consider like hospitals.

I would look East. Stay off the i-35 corridor.  Grainger, holland, academy. Its on a line of the main hiway that was displaced by interstate 35. Its river bottom land. Not sure if it is hilly though.

The most beautiful hill country imo is Fredericksburg.

I am one hour east of Waco.

Large garden, expanding orchard, bees and chickens.

n Texas, you do two gardens.  A Spring Garden that starts in January and lasts hopefully through June and a Fall Garden that starts n August and lasts maybe until  Thanksgiving.  Zone 8b is great for growing a wide variety but very unforgiving and harsh at the same time.  Over the years I have learned that extraordinary measures to grow something were generally not economically productive.  I concentrate now on varieties that are generally successful   year after year and that allows me devote more time to the other myriad projects.

It was low twenties here for 3 days straight early this week and then 70s-80s a few short days later.  It appears I lost a good portion of my peach crop.  Apples and plums are yet to bloom. I covered my emerging potatoes with straw and they survived. English peas, onions and asparagus were unfazed.  Bees were going full blast with new brood and overnight their food supply all but vanished.   I will probably have to feed them for the next 3 weeks.

Average last frost date is March 27.  I have spent the last two days planting the entire spring garden.  Rolling the dice because I hope the cold weather is over but I KNOW come June it will be a blast furnace that will burn a garden to a crisp even if you irrigate profusely.

Raspberries (for me) were a losing challenge.

Good point Stephen. Blackberries yes, raspberries no.

I plant different peaches.  Out of 5-6 each trees, one bloomed before freeze, the others are just now blooming. I call my multi chill hour approach a success. I hope to get some peaches every year from some trees.

Pear is in full bloom.

Oh, raw cows milk can be sold here. Local sellers get $8 gallon for it. Not sure what inspections are required.

Tyler Ludens wrote:I've gardened in Central Texas for years and it definitely has its challenges, mainly the unpredictable weather.  We can have drought with no rain for months and then it might rain 12 inches in 24 hours.  In the winter it can freeze at night and be 80 degrees during the day.  Soil here can be very fertile prairie clay, played-out old cotton fields, or tough gravelly caliche.  As far as agriculture, it is worthwhile finding out what the rules are in the counties you plan to look at to see what the minimum acreage is to get agricultural tax status, which can cut your property taxes in half.  Each county is different.

When looking for land, avoid buying something at the top of a hill, as the soils there are usually thin.  Also, avoid buying in a flood plain or seasonal creek, because flash flooding can be a major problem here.  

https://permaculturenews.org/2016/07/01/property-purchase-guide-look-buying-land/

I've lived in Texas on and off for decades and have never seen a Water Moccasin. I've only ever seen one Rattlesnake, but many Coral Snakes, which are only dangerous to little children.

Hope that helps some!

Thank you! I was hoping to find something with some elevation change. Floods are a little scary to me, so I'd like to have a small hill to build on, and lower land for gardening, etc. I will be sure to pay very close attention to flood plains. I already go around digging around in the dirt when looking at properties, and I did find that soil quality can vary a lot! But after growing on solid lava and having to provide every single bit of soil for my plants, either by hauling it in or by composting, I have a real can-do attitude when it comes to improving existing soil. But, of course, i would prefer to start with something nice so I can focus my efforts elsewhere!

Good to know about the snakes. I'll be sure and educate myself and the kids about coral snakes.

Anne Miller wrote:I agree with everything Tyler has said.  

I have lived in several places in Central Texas.  I liked Lockhart the best though I have heard they are now having a problem with feral hogs.

I also really liked Athens though it is half East Texas and half Central Texas, almost North Texas.

Most of Central Texas has too many people and too much traffic for me.

Thanks! I did like parts of Lockhart as well.

wayne fajkus wrote:There is plenty of good land within 1-1/2 hours of Austin. There's plenty of rocky land with no access to wells also. It would probably take a week to look around and ask the right questions..

One concern in texas is encroachment. We are growing so fast that corn fields are turning into housing subdivisions. I would go more rural than original thought or look for lazy towns that have an anti growth philosophy. But so many other things to consider like hospitals.

I would look East. Stay off the i-35 corridor.  Grainger, holland, academy. Its on a line of the main hiway that was displaced by interstate 35. Its river bottom land. Not sure if it is hilly though.

The most beautiful hill country imo is Fredericksburg.

Thank you! I wanted to get out to Fredericksburg, but did not make it on that trip (2 small kids in the car that would rather not be). I'll also have my elderly parents living with us, so yes, things like hospitals become a concern. My husband also likes to be not far from a city, the opposite of me, but I can at least see how a large city nearby can benefit us economically.

Howdy. I'm originally from the Austin area. CenTex is a great place to live. Or not. It depends. It gets quite hot & many people can't handle that. Austin is not the same since the Armadillo was closed.  the dillo

Austin & the nearest towns have become very expensive places to live due to the large influx of people in recent years. The Giddings & LaGrange areas aren't quite as pricey & are more suitable for country homestead living. The pastures start getting less rocky & greener as you get toward those areas too. One cow/5 acres is optimistic west of Austin & north into the hill country. The dry rocky land just can't support that. People do raise cattle there but it normally requires huge external inputs &/or huge amounts of land. Those two cities are fairly close to Austin as well as Houston & San Antonio. Bastrop & Lockhart are nice country areas but they are effectively part of Austin already. Wimberley area is nice but has many tourists in the summer months.

Being completely off grid there is not as straight forward as it might seem. I know the owners of the greenest home in Haye's county. San Marcos area. They are very environmental people & she was an architect that designed their house. They were required to hook into city water & septic & electric. The official policy was you don't have to use it you just have to install it and pay for it. I looked into homesteading properties all around the area & found that to be true pretty much everywhere in CenTex. That might be different an hour or more drive from Austin. About half way to Waco seemed to be less restrictive.

CenTex scorpions. One normally only sees those during breeding season or when moving rocks. Their sting is rather nasty but not life threatening or even dangerous for most people. No doubt there are people who are severely allergic though. For the most part scorpions are not a big problem unless in an infested area. They glow under UV light so that is fun to see.

Venomous snakes. Those are a very real concern. Some places have them & some don't. Coral snakes are very shy & rare to see. Rattlesnakes are more common but also shy. Those will simply go away given half a chance to escape. Unless you have a large gathering of rattlers living in one area. That is a more serious problem to deal with. They do make nice belts & taste great. Be aware that rattlesnakes mate for life so if you see one there is probably another nearby. Water moccasins on the other hand are very aggressive. They will charge right at you to defend their territory. They are true reptile reprobates. My favorite snake bite kit.    

Wild pigs. They are a big problem in some areas. They taste excellent marinated overnight in homemade peach brandy & slow cooked in the ground Hawaiian style. Or BBQ'd with mesquite. YUM!!!

Gardening was a year read round activity for me there. Never had much luck with potatoes, corn, or berries though. Figs grow there easily. I planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, & the usual assortment of green veggies in early spring. Would get a decent crop by June. Then spent summers watering trying to keep them barely alive. In early fall they would thrive again & produce a bigger & better crop than spring. Chards do reasonably good there most of the year. Broccoli planted in late summer or early fall would produce a few heads throughout winter & then more large heads & side shoots in the spring. They would then flower & attract bees & make seeds. Packman broccoli, no longer available for sale. Planted cilantro once & it self seeded every year after.

Floods. Oh yes. Big ones. Water is a huge concern in CenTex. It seems there is either too little or too much. Edwards aquifier (the primary water supply) is already severely overdrawn.

Fair warning. Chupacabras. (couldn't resist)

Sam Stephens wrote:I am one hour east of Waco.

Large garden, expanding orchard, bees and chickens.

n Texas, you do two gardens.  A Spring Garden that starts in January and lasts hopefully through June and a Fall Garden that starts n August and lasts maybe until  Thanksgiving.  Zone 8b is great for growing a wide variety but very unforgiving and harsh at the same time.  Over the years I have learned that extraordinary measures to grow something were generally not economically productive.  I concentrate now on varieties that are generally successful   year after year and that allows me devote more time to the other myriad projects.

It was low twenties here for 3 days straight early this week and then 70s-80s a few short days later.  It appears I lost a good portion of my peach crop.  Apples and plums are yet to bloom. I covered my emerging potatoes with straw and they survived. English peas, onions and asparagus were unfazed.  Bees were going full blast with new brood and overnight their food supply all but vanished.   I will probably have to feed them for the next 3 weeks.

Average last frost date is March 27.  I have spent the last two days planting the entire spring garden.  Rolling the dice because I hope the cold weather is over but I KNOW come June it will be a blast furnace that will burn a garden to a crisp even if you irrigate profusely.

Raspberries (for me) were a losing challenge.

The extreme weather changes did concern me a bit. I do like to know what to expect! We experienced a bit of that when we were there in November. Days in the low 50s, and then all of the sudden we were back in shorts in the high 70s. Have you noticed the weather being more unpredictable in recent years, with climate change? I am curious if it is getting worse. I feel like this may be the thing that drives me crazy trying to garden there. But if there are certain things that do well overall, I think I can be satisfied. I'm sorry about your peaches, though. I think that would about break my heart!

I was told if I move there I should just take the summer off from gardening and go swimming.

wayne fajkus wrote:Good point Stephen. Blackberries yes, raspberries no.

I plant different peaches.  Out of 5-6 each trees, one bloomed before freeze, the others are just now blooming. I call my multi chill hour approach a success. I hope to get some peaches every year from some trees.

Pear is in full bloom.

Oh, raw cows milk can be sold here. Local sellers get $8 gallon for it. Not sure what inspections are required.

Good to know! I'll be sure to plant a variety of fruit trees and hopefully get a decent harvest of something most years.

According to some models, this region is supposed to become more extreme with longer droughts and bigger floods as the climate changes.  Could get hotter in summer and colder in winter, but not predictably.  So if you like gardening excitement, this is the place for you! :p

Some very valid points in these replies.  Notice most of them revolve around temperature and rainfall. The Texas climate has always been unpredictable back to the days of the first homesteaders on the Spanish Land Grants.  Later, settlers from the South brought their pigs - which promptly died from the heat.  That is why our dominant barbecue is beef brisket.  Pulled pork, so common in the South,  is a late arrival here.  Early settlers also stopped roughly along the north/south line of I-35 because "My God, there were no trees!"  They just pulled back into the Piney Woods and got by just fine.  Later emigres were braver and ventured farther westward.  It takes 25" (at least) annual rainfall to support hardwood trees.  The only thing I water during the high summer is the orchard. I remember my first summer here when I was amazed that the wind was so hot it seemed to burn your skin and ALL my landscape plantings put in later than I should have on a new home died regardless of how much I watered.  That was 30 years ago and I realized quickly I was not in Georgia any more.

A bumper corn crop always eludes me.  Celery and rhubarb don't work either.

I spent a decade in the Eagle Ford of South Texas where rattlesnakes were a weekly occurrence.  Fewer of them up here but we do have an abundance of copperheads.

The varmints will ruin a garden.  Skunks,rabbits,armadillos are bothersome. Hogs and deer are a garden and orchard disaster.  A solar powered electric fence around garden and orchard and a German Shepherd dog thwarts much of the damage.

The chicken coop is varmint proof to date.  NO chicken wire!  1/4'' hardware cloth completely encloses the run.   I lose several chickens every year during the free range portion of their day to coyote and bobcats.

I don't recall if you plan on being off grid or not but air conditioning during the summer is almost imperative.  I am in the home stretch of finishing a small cabin with a hybrid power system.  I flip the main disconnect on the grid power usually late September and I sometimes last into May before I have to energize it again. My off grid power source is 1250 kW solar.

Building restrictions here are minimal.

Mike Barkley wrote:Howdy. I'm originally from the Austin area. CenTex is a great place to live. Or not. It depends. It gets quite hot & many people can't handle that. Austin is not the same since the Armadillo was closed.  the dillo

Austin & the nearest towns have become very expensive places to live due to the large influx of people in recent years. The Giddings & LaGrange areas aren't quite as pricey & are more suitable for country homestead living. The pastures start getting less rocky & greener as you get toward those areas too. One cow/5 acres is optimistic west of Austin & north into the hill country. The dry rocky land just can't support that. People do raise cattle there but it normally requires huge external inputs &/or huge amounts of land. Those two cities are fairly close to Austin as well as Houston & San Antonio. Bastrop & Lockhart are nice country areas but they are effectively part of Austin already. Wimberley area is nice but has many tourists in the summer months.

Being completely off grid there is not as straight forward as it might seem. I know the owners of the greenest home in Haye's county. San Marcos area. They are very environmental people & she was an architect that designed their house. They were required to hook into city water & septic & electric. The official policy was you don't have to use it you just have to install it and pay for it. I looked into homesteading properties all around the area & found that to be true pretty much everywhere in CenTex. That might be different an hour or more drive from Austin. About half way to Waco seemed to be less restrictive.

CenTex scorpions. One normally only sees those except during breeding season or when moving rocks. Their sting is rather nasty but not life threatening or even dangerous for most people. No doubt there are people who are severely allergic though. For the most part scorpions are not a big problem unless in an infested area. They glow under UV light so that is fun to see.

Venomous snakes. Those are a very real concern. Some places have them & some don't. Coral snakes are very shy & rare to see. Rattlesnakes are more common but also shy. Those will simply go away given half a chance to escape. Unless you have a large gathering of rattlers living in one area. That is a more serious problem to deal with. They do make nice belts & taste great. Be aware that rattlesnakes mate for life so if you see one there is probably another nearby. Water moccasins on the other hand are very aggressive. They will charge right at you to defend their territory. They are true reptile reprobates. My favorite snake bite kit.    

Wild pigs. They are a big problem in some areas. They taste excellent marinated overnight in homemade peach brandy & slow cooked in the ground Hawaiian style. Or BBQ'd with mesquite. YUM!!!

Gardening was a year read round activity for me there. Never had much luck with potatoes, corn, or berries though. Figs grow there easily. I planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, & the usual assortment of green veggies in early spring. Would get a decent crop by June. Then spent summers watering trying to keep them barely alive. In early fall they would thrive again & produce a bigger & better crop than spring. Chards do reasonably good there most of the year. Broccoli planted in late summer or early fall would produce a few heads throughout winter & then more large heads & side shoots in the spring. They would then flower & attract bees & make seeds. Packman broccoli, no longer available for sale. Planted cilantro once & it self seeded every year after.

Floods. Oh yes. Big ones. Water is a huge concern in CenTex. It seems there is either too little or too much. Edwards aquifier (the primary water supply) is already severely overdrawn.

Fair warning. Chupacabras. (couldn't resist)

Thank you! Yes, I liked Giddings and La Grange quite a bit too. Very pretty, to my eye, and seemed like good land for what I want to do. I did not make it to Wimberley, but did to San Marcos, and do want to explore that area further next time.

I'm not really planning to be completely off-grid. I just like the idea for not having to get permits to add on or build a guest cabin. And I like the idea of being able to experiment with things like straw-bale or cob building without having to clear it with the county.

I guess our hosts' place must have been infested with scorpions; there were a lot! My daughter got stung and it was much like a bee-sting. Not a huge deal, but not something you want to be surprised by in bed. I was told free-range chickens will help bring their numbers down. We did patrol the house with a black-light pen every night, and yes, that glowing trick of theirs is very cool!

Good to know about the snakes. I grew up with rattlesnakes in California, and we just learned to be cautious as kids; learned where they were likely to be and were careful. I doubt Texas will be any worse. There's just something extra creepy about a venomous water snake, you know?

We have a huge problem with wild/ feral pigs in Hawaii. They are a huge nuisance and so destructive. I'm guessing, in Texas, a fence and a couple of livestock guardian dogs would keep them, and the deer away? I love deer, but wow, they were everywhere we went in Texas, even walking around the edges of suburban neighborhoods in the evenings, eating from people's yards and gardens. I think I would budget in the cost of fencing, if not the whole property, then at least an area around the house for garden and orchard. I just wonder if I would need high fencing for the deer if I had dogs keeping an eye out.

It sounds like even with the overly hot summers, and unpredictable temperatures, I would still be doing a lot better gardening there than here, and be able to grow many more of the foods that we actually like and eat. Looks like a large garden and orchard with plenty of diversity is probably the key.

Sam Stephens wrote:
Some very valid points in these replies.  Notice most of them revolve around temperature and rainfall. The Texas climate has always been unpredictable back to the days of the first homesteaders on the Spanish Land Grants.  Later, settlers from the South brought their pigs - which promptly died from the heat.  That is why our dominant barbecue is beef brisket.  Pulled pork, so common in the South,  is a late arrival here.  Early settlers also stopped roughly along the north/south line of I-35 because "My God, there were no trees!"  They just pulled back into the Piney Woods and got by just fine.  Later emigres were braver and ventured farther westward.  It takes 25" (at least) annual rainfall to support hardwood trees.  The only thing I water during the high summer is the orchard. I remember my first summer here when I was amazed that the wind was so hot it seemed to burn your skin and ALL my landscape plantings put in later than I should have on a new home died regardless of how much I watered.  That was 30 years ago and I realized quickly I was not in Georgia any more.

A bumper corn crop always eludes me.  Celery and rhubarb don't work either.

I spent a decade in the Eagle Ford of South Texas where rattlesnakes were a weekly occurrence.  Fewer of them up here but we do have an abundance of copperheads.

The varmints will ruin a garden.  Skunks,rabbits,armadillos are bothersome. Hogs and deer are a garden and orchard disaster.  A solar powered electric fence around garden and orchard and a German Shepherd dog thwarts much of the damage.

The chicken coop is varmint proof to date.  NO chicken wire!  1/4'' hardware cloth completely encloses the run.   I lose several chickens every year during the free range portion of their day to coyote and bobcats.

I don't recall if you plan on being off grid or not but air conditioning during the summer is almost imperative.  I am in the home stretch of finishing a small cabin with a hybrid power system.  I flip the main disconnect on the grid power usually late September and I sometimes last into May before I have to energize it again. My off grid power source is 1250 kW solar.

Building restrictions here are minimal.

I really loved those Loblolly piney woods! I looked at  a few properties with huge, towering pines on them. So pretty, and serene, and I'm sure they cool things down at least a little too. I admit, the descriptions of the summer heat give me some pause. But here in Hawaii, I am just a little too hot almost all the time, if I'm out working, which I am almost every day. If I'm not hot, it's because it's pouring rain on my head, which is often. So I'm thinking if for 6 months of the year I can be pretty comfortable, over-warm for 3 months out of the year, and then be forced to take 3 months off during the summer to just swim and play with my kids, maybe that isn't such a bad thing.

I would not be trying to live without AC, much as I hate using the power on it. A lot of the properties I am looking at have manufactured homes on them. Or on raw land, a second-hand manufactured home can be brought on very cheaply. I was thinking to make them more energy-efficient, i could build an over-roof over the whole thing that extends into a deep, shady porch on the North, East, and West sides, and a smaller porch on the South side to allow the winter sun through the south-facing windows, but shading them from the summer sun. My handicapped parents find swimming very therapeutic, so I would build in an above-ground swimming pool at the edge of their north-facing deck (or wherever the prevailing breeze comes from) for easy access for them and so that air passing over their pool might be cooled a bit before entering their house (on days or nights when it is cool enough to have windows open at all, that is). Large shade trees will be a must on whatever land we would buy. Does that sound reasonable?

I'd like to build a "real" house in the future, but I don't want to be renting in the interum while the building process inevitably drags on (been there, done that). So manufactured homes seem like a good solution. And when we do build, they can become guest cabins or additional dwellings for other folks, or whatever. I'd like to use metal roofing and do water catchment in large tanks for gardening, etc. I heard in the old days in the Bastrop area many farmers who did not have a well actually lived on water catchment.

Thank you for all the good varmint info. I was thinking a perimeter fence around the house and stuff I want to protect, and a few dogs.

I heard that corn is hard to grow there due to a particular kind of moth (or the caterpillars that are its young), but if you install bat houses around your place, the bats will take care of the moth and you can grow corn. Corn is nice, but the main thing I miss living here in Hawaii is growing tomatoes. They grow here, but poorly for so many reasons. I really miss the feeling of wealth that comes with having a surplus of beautiful, tasty tomatoes.

Prevailing wind here is out of the south. Get a weather radio for severe weather alerts.  Spring storms here can be rambunctious.

I have a few native bats here but I am not encouraging them  as they are a rabies vector.  A much better choice for insect control are Purple Martins.

Tomatoes are my #1 garden priority and do well here as long as you get them in the ground early.  They will not set fruit when the temps push into the 90's.

You will learn to appreciate shade.  I joke that when I visit my daughter up north and see a vehicle parked under the lone tree in a big parking lot it will have Texas plates.

When I am googling info on gardens and horticulture I will usually append "tamu"  to the search.  That stands for Texas A&M and their research and info is extensive and always spot on.

With your current experience and some adjustments specific to this area you will do fine.

Another thing to consider. Allergies, especially cedar pollen. It hits many people hard. Often after they have been there seven years. Not sure why but there is something about the seven year mark.

Here's a flood video taken in the San Marcos area a few years ago. At one point it shows a large circular pond with a concrete square visible. That square is normally 35 feet above ground. The circular pond is normally a deep hole. About 100 feet deep.

Mike Barkley wrote:Another thing to consider. Allergies, especially cedar pollen. It hits many people hard. Often after they have been there seven years. Not sure why but there is something about the seven year mark.

Wow, I didn't know that about the allergies... I always assumed I started having cedar allergies recently because I had a baby and my body changed... but maybe it's because I surpassed the 7 year mark! lol. I think it took 9 years, though I did live here for 5 years as a kid... Was in Houston in the interim.

I'm still going to say the baby changed things, because that's essentially when it happened :(

Lila, I hope you moved already because prices are just going up up up. Let me know if you ever sell raw milk in the New Braunfels area. I'm more than happy to pay big bucks for some REAL milk.

I did want to share one bit on water moccasins, we experienced a 100 year flood and 500 year flood within a short time frame back in the early 2000s in New Braunfels. At the time we lived in the 500 year flood plane off the Comal river. We mostly saw water moccasins after these floods because they evacuated into our swimming pool! I did see one once when tubing down the Comal, but that's pretty atypical... Especially now that tourism in the area is way bigger than it used to be.

And with all that said, I would love to hear if you moved to the area :)

Hi. I think you may be assuming that TX has alot fewer laws & regs. Livestock and other AG businesses are very regulated here. Selling raw milk will get you arrested. But if you give it only to friends, then it's legal. And 5 acres isn't enough for cows or any livestock. 5 acres is a basic house with a yard! Maybe chickens but no roos.
One area that used to be fairly private is Bastrop County. Thats where the dog-fighting, drug-dealers buy their property because it's pretty secluded. But it can be a little dicey.
Paige is about 2 hrs East of Austin depending on traffic. Has (or used to have) a nice yarn business there. It is quiet but don't expect alot of grocery stores.
Lampasas County is about the same distance but land is cheaper there.
No wells. Good luck getting approved for a permit. And unless you are on City-water, it is pricey to truck it in.
In that Paige area and surrounding, there are no markets to sell your produce. Unless you want to sit outside in 100 degree heat on Hwy 290.
Sorry, but I think you may move here and see that your expectations were a bit unrealistic.
Stay away from any area that has an HOA. They carry more legal weight than any City ordinance.
Also look in Burnet County. Inks Lake State Park is there & is a great hiking, fishing spot. As well as camping. It is very hilly (built on escarpment).
Best of luck to you.

I'm not sure what the deal is with this 'can't sell raw milk in Texas' statement. You can sell, but only directly from farmer to consumer. No farmer's markets and of course no grocery stores and/or health food stores.

I know of three different farms that do raw milk who service my town, they each just do a drop off in town on a certain day and time. Which is a bummer that the farmer has to travel to the customers and also some people can't sneak away from work at that time to get the milk. I just signed up with one of these farms recently.

Aside from that, there's a large farm near Austin that sells low pasteurized milk in the health food stores and some grocery stores around here. That farm also does raw milk- but that of course isn't sold in the store.

Inks lake & the surrounding area is excellent. Bastrop is nice too but have to be selective about exactly where. Most parts outside of town are generally OK. There is a farm a few miles north of Kyle on 150 that sells (or at least used to) raw milk & other wonderful foods. Forgot the name but it has a big sign, can't miss it. Hard to go wrong in the Wimberly area. Some beautiful areas around San Marcos & New Braunfels but that area is becoming rather crowded as Austin merges with San Antonio. Lockhart is generally good. Cattle require lots of acreage per cow or extensive pasture development. Good luck doing that.