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A Farm of My Own:  new/future farmer--any ideas?  |
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palmettogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
571 Posts
sue
camden
south carolina
USA
571 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 06:15:22 AM
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| we are working on our new home...part of it was started about 8 years ago by a bachelor...it was going to be his hunting/party house. anyway, he met a girl and ran off and got married and she didn't want to come back to this land. we turned his original house into a kitchen with a loft and then we added on...(we are still in the process---can't wait till it's done!) the house sits on 34 acres (mostly wooded). there is a field out in front of the home with a fresh water pond. down below there is a black-water pond. we thought about getting chickens but the next door neighbor said that there are quite a few foxes on the property and that no matter what,the foxes will get those chickens??? also thought about doing some organic gardening, but the soil is very sandy?? we are in south carolina--midlands. any ideas?? i'm very enthusiastic (or will be as soon as the house is done! which should be the middle of september) the house kind of looks like a barn that was turned into a house. anyone familiar with chickens/foxes and sandy soil? i'll be doing this for fun....don't need to make $$ with whatever we do, although that would be fun!! thanks! |
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rhondacate
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Rhonda
Janesville
CA
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 07:21:57 AM
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We have quite a few brazen foxes on our property and we raise about 500 meat chickens and there are about 60 egg chickens on the property. We keep them safe by surrounding them with electric netting. This means they are "controlled range". They are still out on grass and dirt and eat the bugs, but they are protected from the predators. And it is pretty easy to move them every few days if you want.
We also have very sandy soil and raise 1 acre of vegetables to sell at farmer's markets and through our CSA. My husband has been amending the soil for years with high quality compost and cover crops.
Check out some of the stuff we have grown this year at www.trailsendfarm.org
~Rhonda
http://rmfo-blogs.com/rhonda |
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1badmamawolf
True Blue Farmgirl
2199 Posts
Teresa
"Bent Fence Farms"
Ca
USA
2199 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 10:54:02 AM
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If your chickens are going to be cooped, lay down ground fencing from the up right fenceing in about 4 foot, and cover with dirt, also put a fenced top on, this keeps kit foxes, owls , hawks coyotes etc out of my coops, you can also run hot wire around the outside, about 6 ins from the ground and then again 2 feet, they have solar hotwire kits now, if you don't have power to your coop.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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paradiseplantation
True Blue Farmgirl
1277 Posts
julie
social springs community
Louisiana
USA
1277 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2009 : 07:39:56 AM
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I'll see your foxes, and raise you possums, raccoons and several coyotes. Yet, I still have my chickens. The smart thing to do would be to fence them in (especially at night, and during the day, if you aren't at home). Teresa has some great ideas, and another option is digging a 12" or better trench all around your yard and directly below your fence, and bury some tin or fill it in with concrete, to keep them from digging under. As far as the sandy soil goes, Rhonda is right -- amend, amend, amend. Or, go the raised bed route, where you can mix your own soil. Sue, it sounds like you have a great place! Good luck with it. I just know it'll be a showplace before you know it!
from the hearts of paradise... |
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Brenda Kay Groth
True Blue Farmgirl
100 Posts
Brenda
Manton
MIch
USA
100 Posts |
Posted - Sep 10 2009 : 11:47:35 AM
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what about a few raised beds at least for some veggie gardens..even with the sandy soil you can always improve a small area a little at a time..yeah we probably have foxes here but if not it is probably cause they got eaten by the coyotes and bears.
bloom where you are planted |
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A Farm of My Own: new/future farmer--any ideas? |
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new/future farmer--any ideas?
