June 2011 - Aug 25, 2013;
I have spent almost three years here an I feel like I am just settling in. I purchased this close to 150 acre farm located in southwest Virginia, east of the Blue Ridge with the intent of creating a sustainable homestead and ultimately an educational facility around it.
A small steady flowing creek marks the rear boundary. Butterflies and milkweed call these fields home. A small pond is hidden in between the rolling ridges. The land is a mixture of fenced and open pasture, old oak and poplar trees with an occasional cedar. Twenty-five acres are planted in 8/10 year old loblolly pine trees.
Animals have slowly entered the homestead. The first group was Buppert and the girls. A very regal Boer goat, Buppert is definitely a character. When I was small my family got a soft coated wheaten terrier. I wanted to name him Hobart after some comics that I had been checking out from the public library at the time. The name was to close for my dad's comfort as his boss's name was of extreme similarity. He didn't think it was the best judgement to be naming his new dog after his boss. I settled for Brady after the Orioles' first basemen Brady Anderson. So when I purchased my own farm and got to pick the names of the animals. The regal stud got my dad's boss's last name. He and his girls call a five acre fenced pasture home. A small building keeps them dry.
The first group of chickens started living in the basement. As they grew, their pen got slowly larger and larger. Eventually they moved into an old tobacco barn. Chicken wire was rapped around some of the holes, but it was far from air tight. Eggs were plentiful, for awhile. Then I noticed the numbers dwindling. One day my eyes caught the wall moving. It was a large black snake with two eggs inside. My great grandfather past away in 1954. He owned a farm north of Danville, VA not to far from the current homestead. His single shot 12ga is now mine. I went inside to grab this specifically and came back outside. There is no telling how many snakes this shotgun had put down. I can attest to at least one.
Now the chickens live in a very happy space. It is my hope to have approximately 100 layers. Every 21 days 300 eggs can be incubated and lead to baby chicks. These birds will be raised in small chicken tractors for pasture raised meat production. Some birds mature in 8 weeks.
One of the fields is slated for a permaculture food forest. The groundwork has been laid. A really nice blend of radishes, clover, chicory, and vetch was planted. I made a mistake and plowed this back under when I should have let the radishes rot. Over top of that I planted a winter wheat and winter pea. This was chopped and dropped to provide ground cover and start a mulch layer. I then came back and made up for the initial mistake in plowing and planted another round of radishes for tillage. It was really important for me to see what they can do to clay soils.
Starts, to populate the five acre food forest as well as the several acre intensive vegetable patches, begin their lives in the newly constructed greenhouse. Misting systems, vents, and a shade cloth keep the temperature regulated and propane keeps the heat up in the winter time.
I am sorry that I can't begin to tell you all that I have missed. It will come as more time passes. I will continue to update this blog. Check back frequently. For videos check out my youtube page at The Sustainable Homestead Institute.
