Kelly Ann Reagan

permacaper wrote:
The first thing I'd consider would be a mixed-species grazing operation.  With some cattle, sheep, chickens, and possibly pigs, you can immediately start improving your land and soil food web (look into Holistic Planned Grazing or some of Joel Salatin's stuff if you haven't already). 

I love this idea.

I would say that a monoculture is probably the worst thing you can do for your land and your soil. I am no expert but I do know that raising only one crop can lead to devastating consequences especially if you are not accustomed to growing on such a large scale. The issue with having one crop is that one disease, insect, or climatic condition could devastate your harvest. My main aim is maintaining and increasing the bio diversity of land. With monocultures you tend to be pushed towards depending on many different chemicals to prevent disease, pests, and weeds. These can come at a high cost.

On another note. Have you checked the regulations in your area state/county to be kept as ag land? Have you talked to your local agricultural extension office about your land and the possibilities? I am in Florida and here there are many loopholes that you can look into to maintain your agricultural tax exemptions without using the entirety of your land. Here many people who have large properties will plant pines on a area of their land which then turns into a forest but they use the rest of their land for whatever purpose they desire. I am sure its not quite so open and shut but I do know many people who dont 'farm' at all; they just have 10 acres of pines.

Just remember that 75 acres can be a lot of work if you have not looked into all your options and planned thoroughly you could end up biting off WAY more than you can chew.

Good luck

Cheers! I am currently reading 'The sheer ecstasy of being a lunatic farmer' by Joel Salatin and I must say that he is brilliant.

I am not expecting to make a huge profit of what I grow at home as I'm looking into doing a larger project with others who are more into the financial mentality. I've never been great at making a good living although I'm really good at growing plants and several other things. I just dont like the energy that money has and the systems I support when I use it. I would rather burn the money!

I just get a bit frustrated when I see individuals who talk the talk and then bottom line their profit margin as the most important thing.

I would like to provide food cheaper than the supermarkets. I think that one of the reasons why people eat so much crap is because it is cheaper to buy much of that processed food in the short term. I say that because in the long term a heart attack, or diabetes or other problems that can come about from abusing one's body are much more expensive than buying high quality food to start with.

I love bartering. That is one of my favorite things. I always get an even trade but what pisses me off about money is that there is no consistency. Some people have to work their butts off to make 20$ whilst others blink and have just made a grand. There is no consistency in the value of a bill that supports a HUGE range of ideals that I understand are extremely ill concocted and redundant at this point in time. So I spose my biggest issue is not the cost of something but the fact that I passionately dislike money and the current financial system that we have all had to deal with. I think it is ridiculous and downright obscene that someone decided that eating was a commodity someone could exploit. I would love it if our human rights included being able to eat and have a place to live instead of all the metaphorical and often whimsical 'rights' we supposedly have.

I guess I have somewhat changed the topic but did not realize initially that I was going to touch on this somewhat touchy subject in my mind.

I have experience with heavy clay soil as that is mainly what I have been gardening in for many years.

The best methods I found were just consistently working the soil and adding rich organic matter. It is time consuming and vicious work if you do this by hand. I do everything I can by hand. I feel the soil and have a great inner meditation whilst doing it.

If you want fast results I would recommend working in raised beds whilst you work on introducing as much composted organic matter into the ground as possible. Work large areas that you have a plan for but dont do little sections at a time as this tends to defeat the purpose. As soon as the roots of your plants get to the heavy clay again they will not be very happy if they were growing in rich compost and your plants will show you that.

We tend to plant pigeon peas in Puerto Rico because they enrich the planting site and help to break up the heavy clay. That could help for some areas so you could leave them to do their work whilst you focus on another area but I have no idea how they will grow in your area. If planted at the right time you might have some success with them.

Have you spoken to any older growers in your area??? My grandmother taught me HUGE amount about working the clay soil. She is a permaculturist and doesnt even know it. I always find that talking to local growers is always a BIG help. They know lots of the tricks and everywhere I have lived people tend to be pretty nice about giving hints and tips.

I used mainly horse manure from local horses that had been cured in sun and rain for long periods of time. I would basically just break up the clay and mix it in over and over until the consistency is what I wanted. I obtained very good results with this method. You can also add sand I've heard but I never thought that was a good idea.

I am not sure what else I can say. There are many more things you can do to help your soil but I would really recommend starting simple by working in raised beds until you get the remaining planting site ready for cultivation in the ground.

Remember to try to be methodical about everything. I remind you and remind myself. I recently started keeping a diary of the events and of my actions with my plants but it is monumentally hard to have the discipline and time to do this. it does help though when you think hmmmm: how long have these been in the ground? did they come up better in what phase of the moon??

Its not too simple but little by little we all learn and I have learned more from my mess-ups than from my successes. So pay close attention to what you did wrong and then next time you will know; well hopefully.

I am in Florida.

I have done some experimentation in Puerto Rico in various different micro climates there but nothing very serious. One of the people I am working with was showing me the system he has begun on his property and he has a long background in horticulture and in organic growing practices.

The best experience is doing it. I am making plans for next spring on my family's property but that is small scale and not for the outside world as we dont have infrastructure to support a larger project on this small piece of land.

My sister met her partner online about five years ago. After meeting they had a relationship for two years before getting married. They now have a beutiful daughter that I get to hang out with all the time.

I am a bit more extroverted online and am definately more honest as I find it easier to type things and think them through that I normally would not say in person. Not that I'm fake or anything I just tend to keep my mouth shut in person so that I dont put my foot in it! Many times I just want to tell certain people that they are not very clever and should reconsider their positions. That tends to drown the social atmosphere so instead of voicing my opinion I just keep my mouth shut! Online tis a different story. I can think through what I'm saying and figure out how to express ideas which otherwize would just remaign in my mind.

I have met a few people online, roomates, friends, and relationships.  I recently met an aquaintance online but later realized hes a selfish extremist and am now thinking I wont bother meeting him in person although cooincidentaly we have ended up 2hrs away in the same state as opposed to the seven hour plane ride distance we were when we met.

Six of one and half a dozen of the other....

I say dont knock it until you have tried it and its better to get to know a person before you let them too close to you. At least that is how I feel.  Going to something KenPeavey said in another discussion you would be lucky to find people with teeth in the area that I am in... not completely true but there is a huge ammount of roudup spraying, HUGE pick up driving, tobbacco chewing, smelly red necks in my area. Not that I have anything against them but I dont feel that I want a partner like that. So you see online is the best place for me to meet people.

thanks that was thought provoking and quite well thought out. seems like you have considered these ideas before. i always strive to do the best I can and always want to make sure that i put the quality of my work first before I decide on pricing things which can range on a variety of different factors.... location, people, landscape, etc...

if I were to price many things though.... people would never pay the price I want for I put everything into my work and then I wonder if what I am getting is worth the effort I put in. Then if I put prices high I wonder whether I am providing value for money to the customer.

The balance is the most important to me. I dont like selling things people dont need or that I myself would not buy.

K.B. wrote:
What type of climate do you live in, and will this just be for the warm season?

WOW

exactly my thought process!

First where are you and what do you have to work with? where will you get your supplies? how will you grow your said food items and what will you be able to grow successfully? how will you plan for a insufficient harvest and other issues that might or might not show up?

I am using the plant and hope method this season whilst I work out the intricacies of this site and the soil (sand rather) that I have to work with. I am just growing what I want to grow and carefully documenting what I plant where, how and what the plants are doing to get a good 'grip'/ understanding of what is going on here.

It helps to put it on paper, by this I mean every thought that you have that might affect your project, then use your mental resources to tackle each item on the list with your thoughts and other advice before you begin a time/financially consuming planting project.

Hindsight is 20/20 as they say so you have to have a good grip on what you are planning before you start doing it. Otherwise you might be disappointed. there are all sorts of what ifs and wherefores which you should be aware of before you just start putting things in the ground for sale.



if I paid for these services I would want mainly veggies for salads and them some that I would use in cooked veggies. this can change depending on the eating habits of the people you are selling to. Are they eating raw or cooking. What is affordable for you and the people you are selling to? Its the same thing I said before....

you need to be aware of everything that might pop up. Being aware is half the battle. that way when a problem or situation presents itself you will be better able to deal with it.

Just for the sake of discussion I often wonder where the line is between production for profit and integrity. Are we just following larger models but still exploiting? How does cost of living figure into our decisions? Who determines your cost of living?

I am examining my family's property (3/4 acre) and planning a planting model for the spring to make some cash mainly so we can cover our cost of fresh produce which I eat a lot of.... my objective is not to go broke or to get rich but to create a balance in what I'm doing and be able to cover the costs of production whilst eating VERY healthy food and being able to share this with my community creating a model for their personal enrichment teaching how to do things in a manner that they might not have thought of before. I dont need money if I can eat; that is just my take on things. Although I love my fast computer and fancy gadgets I realize they are nothing more than another method of personal entrapment if used unwisely.

I find that many people think of the money first and everything else later. Are we trying to impress people with all our 'knowledge' or just trying to be pretentious know betters and do gooders?

just a thought... 

I live in a small town in central florida and we are buying eggs for $1.50 a dozen. We have traded with this lovely person and we get to go visit the chickens which are just down the road. When my collards start producing we will get the eggs for the collards. Pretty neat. The prices I have seen on this discussion are pretty high. I wouldnt pay $5.00 for a dozen eggs even if they were the last dozen on the planet!

Well....

I am a bit intrigued to see what sort of people are on  this site. So far from reading I see many amusing views.... 

So I'm 28 and grew up on the east coast of Puerto Rico in Fajardo and moved with my parents to London, England when I was fourteen. After high school I stayed in London and SE England for another five years and worked in the London underground scene and the British festival circuit doing stage set-up, decor, lighting, sound and teaching juggling workshops @ festivals. Then I moved to Boulder, CO where I practiced body work when I was not working. I detached from my previous lifestyle and lived in the mountains about 20 miles from town. The snow was lovely. Then I went to  California to work on a farm in the emerald triangle where I stayed for five months.... Once I was done with that I went back to Puerto Rico and spent the last three years working on different types of boats and learning about sailing and fixing sailboats.
I now live in Florida with my family and am looking  into starting a sustainable co-op/CSA/educational  farm using permaculture/no till farming and other principles with some other locals.

I get bored sometimes cause I just got here and havent met too many people as I'm quite involved in transforming our large yard into a food forest.

I love reading non fiction, listening to all kinds of music, singing, spending time with my niece, working every possible moment I can in our garden, trying to figure out the food air deal, and finally trying to share that which I'm passionate about with others.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ... a bit long winded ...

so if you are interested in having a friend just send me a message.