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A Farm of My Own:  Year nine on our farm!  |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 31 2017 : 8:15:06 PM
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October 18th marked the ninth year we have been on our little 15 acres. As I was going through old photos, I just can't believe all the changes that have taken place since '08!
How long have you been on your current homestead?
(I did a nine year post over on my blog if you'd like to see what we did in '16-'17!) :D
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
6663 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
6663 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2017 : 11:29:44 AM
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Congratulations on your 9th year at your current farm!! Post some photos of your favorite spots so the rest of us can see .
Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015 |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
7227 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
7227 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2017 : 11:43:59 AM
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Congratulations on hitting your 9 year anniversary! That is so exciting! So much can change over that time. I know my life has changed so much just in 9 years.
Krista |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2017 : 7:51:54 PM
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Thanks! Yes, lots have changed. I'll get some better pics to share! I just decorated my front porch so I'll try to get some tomorrow.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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firecatinc
True Blue Farmgirl
1252 Posts
Lenora
Fulks Run
VA
USA
1252 Posts |
Posted - Nov 02 2017 : 4:17:52 PM
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Nine years is a milestone. Lots of work goes in to just keeping a farm going, much less making changes and improvement. Congratulations. Looking forward to seeing pictures.
Nora
Farmgirl Sister #7131
Farmgirl of the Month, January 2017
http://firecatinc.wordpress.com |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2017 : 10:17:41 AM
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We've owned our farm for 24 years, and this year marks our 20th anniversary of moving into the house.
DH would plant a walnut tree on every open spot if he could, but for me, a farm is not just a way to generate income, it is a living, changing, active thing that makes life always interesting and enjoyable. So I have stubbornly dug in my heels and held onto a 3-acre section for creating that magic. Out of my corner have evolved a barn (gotta have a barn!) and pastures for animals around it which have made possible various business ventures, FFA projects, and hobby livestock. I've also developed a fruit orchard with apples, apricots, plums, peaches, and pears. A portion of the original kiwi orchard remains, keeping the extended family supplied with endless winter fruit. I keep a very large area for vegetables and I still have some undeveloped area which I hope next year to convert to a pecan/almond/pistachio planting and maybe an experimental wheat field.
I feel that evolution and development on a farm are as essential as sunshine and water! Keep planning MsDooLittle! |
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2017 : 6:00:57 PM
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Thank you, Lenora! We have learned so much in nine years!
Sara, the farm life is definitely a fluid thing...we are always changing and evolving with our current interests and it shows in our landscape! I wish I could say I had fruit like you do, but sadly my peach/plum orchard has a kind of soil blight that killed most of what I planted 8 years ago. Still, we have lots of muscadine vines, figs out the wazoo, and I did replant with pears. One of my favorite sayings is, "Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall never be disappointed." That is my fruit experience. LOL! But seriously, your farm sounds amazing. I love life out here.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2017 : 10:40:02 AM
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It sounds like you've already learned one of the most important lessons: embrace what mother nature allows you and don't regret your limits.
I'd love to grow mangoes, pineapples and bananas, but I know that won't work!! I've also killed countless blueberry plants. so sad.
I love figs! And what are your doing with your muscadines?
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2017 : 1:28:30 PM
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Yes, no forcing mother nature; that's for sure. I have killed so many blueberry plants, it's a joke. BUUUUT...with my new front yard set-up, I feel much more confident now that I might not kill them? Ha!
I eat about one fig a year. Isn't that sad? But we did pull up the old fig tree this week because I took several young ones earlier this year and set them in our orchard. I also have more babies that were growing up where the old one was. The old one was being overshadowed by an elm tree and there was poison ivy all in the fig's base that I couldn't get rid of.
Right now, the muscadines are still young, so we eat them! But I hope to make jelly with them in a few years.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Nov 06 2017 : 10:15:16 AM
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| Yum! Did you see Mary Jane's article about raising grapes? It really inspired me to expand my table grape varieties. I have a concord for jam and a Thompson seedless for table, and I bought a Red Flame seedless this summer but its still in a pot. I'm thinking about having a mini vineyard with multiple varieties in my new nut orchard area. There's something seductive about a vineyard! What type of trellis system do you have for your muscadines? And have you thought of drying the figs? |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 06 2017 : 8:14:21 PM
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Sara,
I am so terrible; I have months and months of reading backed up! I don't remember that particular article. That is awesome about your grapes, though! Oh, how I'd love to have some of the popular table grape varieties, but we have Pierce's disease here in the South, so they don't recommend planting any of those types. It's kinda like muscadines or bust. Although we also have mustang grapes (in the woods) they are very high in tannins so you can't eat them fresh. People do make jelly from them, though. I tried to grow a Champanel (a recommended Pierce disease resistant variety) and it got black rot fungus. I am not spraying for anything, so back to muscadines!
They are just trellised on our wire fences. I do the 'double cordon' method of growing for them right now. We will see how that goes!
I did once dry the figs. They are very sweet. I should do it again!
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Nov 07 2017 : 07:51:23 AM
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| Waiting for those photos Amanda.....! |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 07 2017 : 07:53:34 AM
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Oh shoot! Thanks for reminding me, Sara!!! And today is cloudy so it will be MUCH better for photos. I'll go snap some :D
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 07 2017 : 7:55:29 PM
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As promised!
Front of the farmhouse. We are still working on enclosing the front porch to make it semi-screened, so please ignore the unpainted columns and random box o' junk. I can't decorate it until we are done.
Porch detail. My sewing project is hanging up out there (I took a pic for the Stitching part of the forum)
One of my little beds by the house. Love this one!
One of my square foot beds. I'll cover it when it freezes and should have the peppers through Christmas if it doesn't get too crazy!
Cabbage and broccoli turning to the South for sun. :)
That's just a few of what is going on at the farm right now! Thanks for 'visiting'!
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2017 : 12:59:39 PM
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Amanda, that is just an adorable country house!
You were serious about the square foot gardening! You have those 4x4 boxes marked out in square feet! Where did you find those metal boxes? |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2017 : 1:33:20 PM
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Thank you, Sara!  We love it here.
Yes, I asked my hubby to make me some bomb-proof beds. He has his own shop and we had these built. They are metal and are 4' by 4'. The rods you see are just rods that have been made so that a nut is screwed in on the end and they won't fall out.
I think I have 2 sets of rods but I just move them around when it is time to plant. I have had them about a year now. When we first started gardening, I had 4' x 8' wooden beds and they worked GREAT. Long story short, we ended up burning them after Bermuda grass worked its way into them and it was taking over. I find that the 4'x4' is just the right distance for me to bend over and reach the center.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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firecatinc
True Blue Farmgirl
1252 Posts
Lenora
Fulks Run
VA
USA
1252 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2017 : 3:48:05 PM
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Very cozy looking. I see a cup of tea and a good book in that rocker in your future. Enjoy.
Nora
Farmgirl Sister #7131
Farmgirl of the Month, January 2017
http://firecatinc.wordpress.com |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2017 : 09:20:09 AM
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Yes, Lenora! Well switch the tea to coffee and you have that right! ;) When the porch is finished, I'd like to put my bench swing back with fluffy pillows. Or I might just switch that out for a daybed of sorts!
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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Tumbleweed
True Blue Farmgirl
1036 Posts
Nancy
Texas
USA
1036 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2017 : 3:30:05 PM
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Wow Amanda
That is a country castle. I hope my future mansion in the sky is as wonderful as this.
TW
The fun begins where the pavement ends! |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2017 : 08:16:02 AM
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Awww, thank you, Nancy!
We really do enjoy where we are. Great neighbors, and woods to surround us. ;) I am sure you will find something! There was one place in Tyler that was AWESOME...but in city limits and right next to my favorite grocery store. It even has a little pond on it! Someone bought it about a month ago. I PRAY that they are the kind of people who appreciate farm life...surely! There were raised beds, a greenhouse...Oh man.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
7227 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
7227 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2017 : 10:53:31 AM
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Amanda your house is so stinking cute! And your garden squares are perfect!
Krista |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2017 : 2:15:29 PM
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Thank you, Krista! :) If you're ever in East Texas, you should visit.
Yes, my husband is a machinist, so everything is to the 1000th. I am the exact opposite. I call myself "Queen of Goodenough". hahaha
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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HodgeLodge
True Blue Farmgirl
662 Posts
Tiana
Berkeley Springs
WV
USA
662 Posts |
Posted - Jan 12 2018 : 1:07:17 PM
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Amanda just finding this thread. Your house is adorable! You should be very proud. Congratulations.
Tiana ~ Farmgirl #4817
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."~ Marcus Tullius Cicero |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Feb 07 2018 : 8:06:22 PM
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Thank you, Tiana!!! I do love our home. Thank you so much! It is our happy place. :)
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.blog |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Feb 15 2018 : 2:15:53 PM
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Amanda, your home is wonderful and so are your gardens. Get that porch swing. I love mine so much I have one on the porch and one outside.
Texas is my favorite state next to Minnesota. Enjoy!
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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A Farm of My Own: Year nine on our farm! |
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Year nine on our farm!
