Southern Oklahoma near Sulphur

Turning 20 acres in southern Oklahoma from neglected pasture and woods into a lush and thriving homestead.

Current project is turning an acre of thick bottom woodlands into a pond. Clearing, logging, splitting, stacking...

Livestock on schedule to start living here in late June. Chickens and goats will be the first.
Our home will be on this land as soon as we can.
Meat and eggs from chickens, meat and milk from goats.
Followed eventually by hogs for meat and cattle for meat and milk.
Very small amount of livestock.
Goal is to only provide for family with perhaps a little extra. Farming for profit is the last thing on my mind.

You can watch my progress on FB via the FB page I created. Green Okie Acres

My wife and two daughters are tolerant of my efforts but I secretly think they are waiting for dad to give up on the homestead and go back to being a consumer.

Love, love, love this site. So many ideas!!!

My land is near Sulphur. Once I am up and running, it will be a public welcome, come at anytime homestead.

Howdy Doug, welcome to permies. Some folks here don't do FB so any pictures and stories you could post here will help us all learn.

Miles Flansburg wrote:Howdy Doug, welcome to permies. Some folks here don't do FB so any pictures and stories you could post here will help us all learn.

Will do. Nothing much picture wise worth sharing yet as I am in the very early stages of planning and setting up the infrastructure needed.
I will post as much as I can on the success and failures along the way. I know I will make more than one mistake before I get everything figured out.

Just clearing trees for the pond, and general dead fall removal at the moment. I don't think anyone has worked this land in a very, very long time.

Are you doing any hugel beds with those trees?

Miles Flansburg wrote:Are you doing any hugel beds with those trees?

Have never heard of a hugel bed. Did a quick web search and it seems interesting.

Looks to be nothing more than covering logs and other wood matter with soil for a raised gardening bed.
Thank you, this seems like a fine idea.

Everything about Hugels is right here Doug.

https://permies.com/forums/f-117/hugelkultur

Paul has a great article on it at his richsoil site also.

Absolutely amazing. Yes, I will definitely give these a go.
The photo below is from what I call the "bottom" on my property. It is the lowest spot and all ground water flows through here before leaving. Every tree in this photo is being felled and logged to make room for the 1.5 acre surface, 20ft deep pond.
Limbs will be ran through a chipper, logs split for firewood, and several nice trunks of Osage Orange(horse apple) trees will be turned into hardwood lumber.

I will have plenty of extra material.

The pond will be stocked with fish for family food and pumped out as needed to provide water for live stock.




This now clear path leading down to the pond area was nothing but deadfall and bramble before I started on it. The huge gnarled old Oak in left center frame will remain in place.

Welcome Doug, congrats on the purchase. My parents live in Davis and I have been all over that country in Murray county. You picked out a nice area. I would love to get a hold of 20-50 acres north of Sulphur. Nice rolling hills and some seasonal creeks up there. Once you get rocking along I would love to come out and take a look at what you have planned. Jason.

Jason Talmage wrote:Welcome Doug, congrats on the purchase. My parents live in Davis and I have been all over that country in Murray county. You picked out a nice area. I would love to get a hold of 20-50 acres north of Sulphur. Nice rolling hills and some seasonal creeks up there. Once you get rocking along I would love to come out and take a look at what you have planned. Jason.

Thanks Jason.
You are welcome to come visit at anytime. It will be quite awhile before I get rocking. I am out there almost every weekday after work until dark, and then all day Saturday and Sunday.

Head north from Sulphur on HWY 177. Go past the turnpike entrance for 3 or 4 miles to Nye's Cabinet Shop. That is Buell Green Road. Turn west at Buell Green Road and HWY 177. My 20 acres is the first property west of the cabinet shop, on the south side.
Just listen for the buzz of the chainsaw, and you will find me.

Picture update on progress. These pictures don't do justice to just how much work I have done out here. I can see great progress though.

My Wall O' Wood.
50' long, 5' high, 18"-20" wide. This is just a small portion of the logs I have cut. Only managed to stack this wall. At least as much wood waiting to be hauled and stacked, plus much, much more to fell.



This image faces directly where the pond will be. I will be clearing past that old metal shed about 50 yards farther into the woods. I haven't measured out the exact pond dimensions but the goal is to have as large as one as I can with about 40 ft of cleared grass between the waters edge and the surrounding trees on all 4 sides.



And this final picture is of my nemesis. Which is also why it is taking me so very long to get done what I need.
Gosh dang, thorn ridden, chain saw dulling, arm scratching Osage Orange. My land is just chock full of it. Saving as many straight trunk pieces as I can (ha ha, Straight Osage Orange trunks, now that is a laugh) to turn into lumber.
Although beastly to cut, it is a very hard wood that turns a very nice honey brown color when dry. It is also providing a large amount of free fence posts from the branches.
Not worth a darn for hugle beds though. This stuff does not rot.

Hey Doug how is it going. Haven't posted in a while. I haven't been able to come up there yet but talked to my dad and he travels down that way all the time to see a buddy of his and I told him about your place. His name I'd Mitch so if you see someone coming up on you in a F350 black super duty it is probably him.