Hello from Central Mississippi

Hi everyone! My name is Amy and my family homesteads on 75 acres in Central Mississippi. We've been at it for about 17 years. We've got an orchard with lots of fruit/nut trees, dairy cows, pigs, chickens, goats, ducks, rabbits, and bees. We've also got a veggie garden. My main area of interest is leaving our land better than we found it. My dream is that whoever lives here after me will inherit land with clean water, healthy soil, and mature trees. We're first generation farmers, and so much of our time (and money) has been spent on infrastructure. I'd like the next family to live here to have the advantage of stepping on to a productive homestead without missing a beat.

My goal for the upcoming year is to plant more trees - our land is mostly pasture, and we desperately need the shade. Another goal is to grow enough food that I have plenty to provide for my community. I have a big garden, and it's been reasonably successful, but when crops fail I don't always know why. In the past I've just shrugged my shoulders and started over. I'd like to develop a deeper understanding of the "why" so that I can stop replanting squash 5 times before I have a harvest. My garden has always been feast or famine. In the last 5 years I've gotten better, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.

I'm thankful for this site, and I am looking forward to getting to know you all while we learn together.

Amy

Amy, welcome to the forum!

Your place sounds like a great homestead.

Best wishes for your upcoming trees planting adventure.

Have you tried companion planting for those squash plants?

Or maybe planted them with some French Marigolds?

Hi Anne, yes I do companion planting and I've had good success with it. And I've planted marigolds around my squash in the past. This year I planted marigolds 3 times and they never came up! My husband and I have a joke that I am an enthusiastic but inconsistent gardener. My method is usually to plant so many vegetables that even when something fails we still have plenty of other stuff. And then I barter with my neighbors for the stuff that I wasn't able to grow.