Howdy folks! I have been lurking here for a while and have decided to say hi. I am somewhat of an information leech, often reading forums but never contributing anything useful. But this seems like the place to be. If ever there was a forum that I have found worth participating in, this seems to be the one. LOL, I think I said that in one of the other forums I abandoned.
I am 30/M and live in Varysburg, NY, 30 miles east of Buffalo. The force guided me here. Like many, I was brainwashed a few years back and ended up with a tech career that I thought would be satisfying, which it somewhat is... but I now know it was not what I really wanted. Too bad those corporate text
books conveniently paired the word peasant with farmer so often that the idea was pushed out of my head by about fifth grade.
So about six years back, I started to feel like crap... well actually, I think I have felt like crap all along, but it just increased to unacceptable levels. It was pretty much the average American complaint of low
energy and such. Then along came daily bursts of intense heartburn which were so bad I could hardly move. The doc's solution completely ruined me... yes the heartburn went away, but so did digestion. And so I was pushed down the path of figuring out how to fix my own problems, which
led to altering the way I ate, which led to organic food, which led to a deep, passionate hatred of Monsanto & friends, which led to a lot of articles, books, podcasts and documentaries... which led to a whole different lifestyle... and it hit the wallet pretty hard... which led to CSA's ... and
permaculture... ... ... ... which led me to a chunk of
land out in the stix, and eventually to this forum... and some other stuff.
I have 8.5 acres of mostly maples and hardwood, but a lot of it is thin and packed too close to grow well. I intend to clear some out and plug with some Shiitake. I obtained the 5 gallon
bucket of northeast friendly heirlooms from Bakers Creek which includes cover crops and such. I ordered about 30 or so fruit
trees and some hazelnut bushes from Arbor Day. I have five hens, a bin of worms and a nice dog. I am missing a human female in my herd though. Maybe I can find one here. Next stop, singles forum.
So that pretty much covers it. I don't expect to convert from my current job to farmer in a day. I do wish to cut my grocery bill drastically and
sell some on the side. I already have people at work buying eggs. I cannot meet the demand, so I'll have to get some more birds. All my organic preaching in the break room has won a few converts. Well, that's all for now. I need some to grab a few hours of sleep, for I am a third shifter.
.png)
