/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>26264
>No, because USDA 'organic' marketing bullshit ONLY applies to soil.

You lose all credibility right there. It is much more than just the soil. NO synthetics can be used in production, from fertilizers, to pesticideds, to herbicides. You also must follow a strict crop rotation schedule. You have to maintain records of what you do, where you get your materials, what seed you use. You have to provide receipts for everything.

You know nothing about organic certification, yet you bash it so hard. Considering this fact, I'd say you're just a troll.

>>26176
Seems like you're projecting an air of superiority onto me. Your tone is hilariously aggressive. Calm down, friend. Sounds like you're a bit butthurt about the organic standards. For us, it is an exercise in transparency, not a marketing technique.

What exactly about your system doesn't meet organic standards, and how does that support its sustainability?

>>26114
>Man threads like these give me hope. Everyone thinks I've gone crazy for wanting to do something like this, parents asked whether I needed to see a psychologist...
I got lucky to have this opportunity. Follow your heart and intuition and it will lead you to where you want to be.

>>26121
>"How much money do you make?"
It varies. I pay myself spending money based on profits we make. After all costs are paid for, what's left over gets talked about and distributed to where it needs to go. Finance payments (mortgage, equipment, vehicles) and feed for animals first, repairs and materials second, miscellaneous stuff third, and then I'll get a little spending money if there's some left over, the rest into savings. Living costs are minimal since 70% of my diet I produce myself, and I trade for the rest usually. Sometimes I'll get just $50 a week spending money, sometimes I can take a couple hundred. I don't really need it. I sometimes don't spend money for weeks on end. All finances stay within the farm system and group, it works out nicely.

>>26039
>"Where do you start if you have no previous agricultural knowledge?"
There are some great agricultural programs at local colleges as well as big universities. I never studied agriculture formally though. I read a LOT of books and did a lot of independent research before and after diving in. iTunes U has a lot of free programs, videos, and lectures for agriculture. Finding a kindred spirit to research with you is best. It can be daunting. And then, of course, nothing beats experience, but it's hard to get an apprenticeship on a farm without having formally studied agriculture.

>>26050
>"Do you accept "apprentices"? I'd like to live on such a farm for a while and see how it is. I would pay in labor and get paid in food from said farm."
We don't have the means to keep another person on the farm right now, but we do accept day apprentices if the person and timing is right. We have two ag students that come out twice a week right now. Go to a local farmers' market and ask around there, see if you can go volunteer and get some experience before going in for a full apprenticeship.

>>26013
>"How hard would it be to just drop my job and go live by myself somewhere as a hermit? Preferably using some kind of electricity generator such as those huge fans or solar panels and farming my own food. How long would it take for me to settle and have everything up and running? And more importantly, is it possible and how much money would it take?"

Possible, sure, probable, not really. It would take years of upstart work to get a self-sufficient system running. Wind or solar power are extremely expensive and take a lot of knowledgable upkeep. The closest I've seen anyone come to being able to do this, they had a decent amount of seed money, and spend about 5 summers living on their site getting it set up for self-sufficiency.

Depending on where you are, without the few acres of land you would need, it would probably take a couple years to have it up and running, and $10,000-$30,000 for the simplest of equipment, without the renewable energy sources. It's very hard to do. Producing food for consumers, you have access to a lot of grants and cost-share programs you don't if you just want to do it for yourself.

>>26001
>"Where get seed potatoes?"
There's actually a local organic seed potato producer near here with some nice facilities.

>"For that matter where do you recommend getting your seed crops in general?"
Johnny's Seeds, Seeds of Change, or just a google search for "___ organic seeds" to get the rare stuff we want to grow.

>>25976
>"is your operation for profit?"
Yeah, and most of the profit goes right back into the farm to grow.

>"what vegetables do you consistently/primarily produce?"
We do best with greens. A lot of lettuce, spinach, kale, and chard. We do a wide variety of produce though. We try to do more exotic veggies or varieties.

>"was receiving your organic certification difficult?""
Very. The application takes a good 30-40 hours itself to fill out, on top of keeping diligent records and having a farm plan. We have to have two separate inspections for the crops and for the chickens. It costs a lot too, but the local department of ag pays up to $750 of the cost, so we end up paying about $250 a year for both, which will increase as profits increase.

>>25991
>"Do you sell your organic crops as well, or is this purely a self sufficient thing?"
Yeah, we sell produce, it's a big part of our operation.

>"How large is your land and how much in taxes?"
We're sitting on around 40 acres, and as far as taxes for just the property go, I couldn't tell you. The taxes in total were a couple thousand dollars, but I don't have any clue what kind of breaks we got for agriculture, or how much of that were for cars/equipment/other assets on top of the land and the house.

>>25964
>"Do you hire people to work on farms? Or do you prefer Mexican or South American day laborers."
There are 3 of us living on site, one who works another job full time and one not in the best physical condition, so I carry the brunt of the physical labor. We have volunteers and apprentices, sometimes interns from ag school programs that help out. If we ever do pay someone, it is normally a friend or someone we meet at the market. Most farms use Mexican laborers.

>"How much would an American earn working on a farm?"
Depends on the farm. A big part of the sustainable movement is paying workers a fair wage. We pay $10/hour when we have paid workers.

>"Any chance of a farmer or worker earning enough to live comfortably?"
Depends on your definition of comfortable, but in my opinion, absolutely.

>>25958
>"Hi OP !"
Hello.

>"Can I grow something edible in a balcony?I really dont have much space"
Absolutely. Get some 1'x1', 1'x2', or 2'x2' pots, how ever many you want and can fit, and you'd be able to grow a few heads of lettuce (to be harvested once a month while in season), some kale, spinach, chard (all can be harvested weekly), and maybe some carrots or beets (harvested once, of course). When planting or transplanting, look on the seed packet for the minimum amount of space needed, and use that or just subtract an inch or so if you need. Some people grow tomatoes on their balcony but I don't know many people who have had success with that, and I've only had success with tomatoes in full production in the ground.

>>25908
>"People are fucking stupid. That's why we don't."
That's naive. The reason we don't is because corporations want to force you to support their product/industry. The evidence is there. The ex VP of Monsanto is now the "food czar." The entire government is a conflict of interest. My customers aren't stupid, they ask a ton of questions about their food and make informed decisions.

>>25931
>"Alright, OP. I'm looking to grow only one or two plants inside (Rouge D'Irak tomatoes). I want to try growing it now but it's getting too cold to have it outside. What are some cheap options?"
Tomatoes are extremely seasonal. You'd need a decent set-up to grow them inside, a similar set-up you would need to grow cannabis. Very intensive and involved. Tomatoes require a lot of energy, and the sun is really the best place to get that energy. I'd wait till next season. The only way for people to grow tomatoes out of season is with significant greenhouses, and even then you'd have to have them started already, and they'd only last you through December or so. That's in this region.

>>25887
>"Any good resources on taxes? How do you manage to pay those if you don't really generate any money."
As far as business goes, you won't have to pay taxes if you don't generate money. There are still property taxes and stuff, which you can usually get a break on if you're using the land for agricultural purposes. Luckily, one of the people who founded the farm with me is a CPA, so she handles all the tax stuff. I couldn't imagine not having an accountant.

>>25885
>"I started composting and put fertilizer in the soil. I put peas in which seem to be growing well. The peas are supposed to put nutrients in the soil."
I would contact your local Cooperative Extension agency, or some other local government agricultural agency, and ask them where you can get a soil sample done, and once it's done, ask them to help you analyze it to see what nutrients you need specifically. There are certain cover-crops you can plant which will add various nutrients to the soil. The peas will only add nutrients once they're done producing and you turn them into the ground.

>>25865
>"I'd like to throw up some fruit trees and stuff in my mom's small backyard but this place is rented, meaning it's not really "ours." I skimmed the renter's agreement and don't remember anything about agricultural rights, don't think I'll own a home for a few decades if ever, does that exclude me from performing several renovations and constructions that could help immensely?"
That's really up to your landlord. Normally, if things aren't spelled out directly in the lease, you can assume you can do certain things without getting in trouble. But you should just ask your landlord directly, I really doubt he'd mind you doing some improvement and landscaping. My old landlord was thrilled with the rock-wall raised bed I built in front of the townhome I lived it.

Fruit trees take some time to cultivate and produce fruit though. You may be out of there before they even produce something. I would suggest doing more seasonal fruits, like berries. You would just need a little plot, the plants are reletively small, and they're either gone at the end of the season or you can rip them out when you move out (or leave them for the next tenet). Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries...all these would be good. There's also a ton of veggies you could grow with just a little land.

>>25832
I would never even touch glass greenhouses. We use plastic high-tunnels for winter production and they work perfectly fine, and if you preserve the plastic, it can last 5-8 years. But that's an awesome amount of recycled supplies you were able to come up with, I would highlight that aspect in any grant proposal you write. Since you have already tested a system, you are basically a shoe-in for a grant.

>>25814
>"How do I make my soil less sandy? The soil is dry and thin so it is pretty much dust. How do I turn it into beautiful rich soil?"
There's not a whole lot you can do in a short period of time. It would take a lot of careful and diligent amending with heavy compost, manure, and organic matter. Adding a new batch of compost every season, tilling it nicely, and cover-cropping in the off season will get you in the right direction but don't expect the soil to get better quickly.

>>25786
>"I'd have thought it was for safety reasons. Selling unpasteurized milk and juice and what have you is not something the cdc wants going on."
The "safety reasons" are largely manufactured and greatly exaggerated. As long as it is handled responsibly, raw milk poses the same amount of thread as pasteurized milk. There have been independent studies which completely destroy the statements made by the FDA about many of the regulations they have in place for "safety."

Besides, that should all be beside the point. In a free market consumer society, people should have the right to choose what they want to buy. Full disclosure of risks and other things are fine, but regulating and industry like the FDA does is unnecessary and when you follow the paper trail, it always leads back to big corporations trying to squash the little guys.

On a small farm, the consumer can come and visit the grounds and know exactly how their food is handled and where it comes from. They can't do that with major corporate agriculture, and trust me, there's a reason they don't want people visiting their facilities and grounds.

>>25755
>"Does vertical farming work? By vertical farming I mean having several stories or levels of soil with crops in a fashion akin to skyscapers by taking up more vertical space than horizontal space."
There are concepts similar to this, but your main problem would be sunlight. I have seen tiered systems, where it was build up in sort of a slope, but you couldn't stack the stories straight on top of each other. Most food need maximum sunlight, even a little shade affects production a decent amount. I work on developing ways for people to grow food in their back yard, and I have a design for a 8 foot tower that fits your description with sloped tiers so people can grow small produce in a very small area.

>"What if it is used in conjuction with solar energy to light agriculture?"
Are you talking about growing lights to grow produce instead of directly sunlight? It would take too much energy to effectively produce anything with solar power in that way, especially with solar power we have now, it just isn't efficient enough.

>>25681
>"About point one, I've worried about government cracking down small farms. Maybe it's paranoia, but I get the feeling that if a lot of people start being self-sufficient then the government may take some action to "protect" the economy, the "welfare" of the nation, and whatever bullshit they come up these days."

The crackdown isn't necessarily on "self-sufficiency," you can produce and eat anything you want to yourself. It's what you can produce to sell for others to eat which is being raped by the federal government. They're in Monsanto's pocket and there's not much we can do about it. Well, maybe Occupy Wall Street can bring some light to this aspect of corporations buying our government. Let's hope change actually comes.

>>25663
>"do you have any experience with aquaponics? do you think this could be done with mostly recycled materials? I have done some research and small scale lettuce beds and catfish with my Dad when I was younger with great success and I think I could really do this."
You can definitely do that. I don't have any direct experience with aquaponics but I have seen amazing sustainable systems which produce a staggering amount of food doing just what you're describing. As far as recycled materials, it's unlikely. You may find some recycled frames for the greenhouses, but you would want new plastic, and you'd really want new hydroponic equipment too. But honestly, with an idea like that, you could probably get a grant to get you started. Agriculture grants are disappearing but they're still there, and the innovative ideas always get considered. Good luck bro, that sounds pretty awesome.

>>25660
>"There's a fox that eat my apples. I've seen him. He comes during the day and doesn't give a single fuck. Do you know of any effective way to keep foxes and rabbits away from my veggies and fruits?"
Do you have a couple hundred dollars? A humane and effective way is to get portable electric fencing, like shown in my OP picture (the white netting in the background). Set it up around your stuff and he won't go near it.

>"Am I just forced to fence everything? That would really suck."
The portable fencing is super-easy and you can take it down if you don't need it. Otherwise, yeah, basically. Kill it, trap it, or deter it. There's not really any miracle deterrents, most you find in stores won't work.

>>25594
>"1. I've heard the govt has been cracking down on raw milk and small farms in general. Is this true? Have you been affected by something similar?"
Yes and yes. It is illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption. Producing milk is impossible for small farmers because of this. There are also many other regulations, all a result from special interest lobbies from Big Agri, which makes it difficult for small farmers to succeed. Agriculture is one area where it is very apparent that our government has been bought by major corporations.

>"2. What state or region are you located in?"
North Central North Carolina

>"3. It is my dream to become completely self sufficient. The only way is to become a homesteader. How much money do I need?"
Being completely self-sufficient is a very grand goal, and would take a pretty hefty upstart cost. With no equipment you would need tens of thousands of dollars. Maybe a hundred or more. Honestly, the best way to go is to be part of a community and not try to do everything on your own. A completely closed-system farm is not possible in all climates anyways.

>>25587
>"I grow tomatoes, but they grow so slowly I never get any fruit. Cherry tomatoes end up taking 70 days, and beefsteaks don't even get the chance to produce fruit. I've watered them regularly and give them as much sunlight as I can. What am I doing wrong?"
Are you growing them in the ground or in pots? What season do you try to grow them in, and what is your climate? Could be disease, but that's unlikely. It could also be poor pollination. They are self-pollinating, but they don't always work. You can get a paint brush and try to pollinate them yourself by brushing the pollen onto the buds, or just shake the branches once they hit pollination. Depending on the climate, tomatoes can be tricky. They have a peak season most everywhere.

>>25590
>"What do you feed your hens and how much does it cost per hen per day."
Locally milled organic feed, since we're certified organic. I haven't broken down the per-hen cost, I normally go by egg revenue vs. food cost. But we have anywhere between 100 and 200 hens and open a new bag of feed every other day at least. I have to charge $5.50 a dozen to make it a worthy venture.

>>25578
>"How much land do I need to own in order to realistically grow enough food to sustain myself?"
There are tons of variables for that, from climate to soil fertility, to growing style. Sustainable farming, or farming with minimal environmental impact, takes a little more land than just pumping out produce on a plot of land. In order for healthy and responsible crop rotation, it would take between .5-1 acre to realistically sustain a family. You would have some surplus if it were just yourself. But really, location is everything.

>"This will be a really dumb question... but how long does it take vegetables to grow? Would I be able to cycle through multiple harvests of vegetables in a short period of time? Or am I basically stuck with like one or two harvests per year?"
Everything takes different amounts of time to grow. Normally, you grow in seasons. Some crops are single harvest, like beats, radishes, turnips, carrots, kohlrabi, etc. A lot can be harvested on a weekly basis throughout the season, like peppers, kale, spinach, chard, etc etc. Lettuce can be harvested about once a month if harvested correctly. There are a lot of prolific veggies that produce an abundance that you'll be able to harvest on a weekly basis.

>>25567
>"how much space would a person need per milk goat?"
Depends on how much you want to supplement their diet from grazing. Technically you could keep it in a small enclosed area if you fed it enough. If you wanted to supplement minimally, one milk goat would probably need about half an acre to be happy with minimal worms and diseases.

>"do they need to be pregnant often or will constant milking keep them producing?"
Milk goats have to have a kid every year to keep producing. Normal goats, meat goats, only produce milk long enough for their kid, but dairy goats will produce for a year before they need to have another kid.

>"would you expect difficulty socializing goats to dogs?"
No, as long as the dogs were even-tempered and already socialized. Some dogs are just too instinctual or evil to keep around livestock, but most are fine if you socialize them correctly. Some will just take to the goats right away. One of mine thought he was a goat the minute we introduced him.