Rural Gardening: Calling all experienced homesteaders - input needed!, 1 by MaypopLaurel

MaypopLaurel wrote:
Hineni, how have you been? We lost track of each other since your move from Atlanta. My most immediate thought is, having started on ten acres and moved to seventeen, beware the "available" surrounding land. Despite the fact that we bought our original acreage in a depressed market, and tried to pick up more land two years down the line, all the surrounding land holders wanted to stick it to us. Of four boundaries, we could only deal with one landholder. Bordering property owners were even threatening to build rental cabins if we did not buy (one did).

The house and property you are looking at sounds great. I'd go pretty rustic to acquire more land. I had no heat (fireplace and cube heaters), running water (hauling from spring), or mechanical yard equipment. I've never owned a firearm though I've had to face off folks on the property with arms. That's me though.

First year's garden was made from a 4x15 foot gravel road bed. PicMatic and what I used to have as a back and neck. Here's the kitchen garden now. I'm on my way to bury compost. BTW, I don't understand why a woman would have difficulty running a tiller. I turned sixty in June and run a Troybuilt pony every Spring. You can do it!