I plan on growing a 1 acre garden like I usually do, growing everything from asparagus to zucchinis. Aside from that I also raise a few cows, turkeys, I hunt year round, and I forage for wild mushrooms and plants like ramps and fiddleheads.
The farmwork is rewarding and my food bill is essentially nothing. Does anyone else on Veeky Forums live the natty life?
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I bet money you have a beard and a pair of those Velcro hiking sandals.
I do have a beard, but I wear boots when working outside. Sometimes I like walking barefoot in the dirt though.
Why not raise chickens, instead. They are probably a little cheaper, take up less space, and they have more eggs, which means that you can eat more eggs and more chicken.
I just like turkeys. I find them to be adorable and I think they taste a little better. I normally hunt partridge and goose most of the year so I normally have a ton of poultry in the fridge.
That's cool. Could you give me a quick rundown on what plants you plan on growing?
this lifestyle actually sounds pretty nice...
>raise chickens
How much does it cost to feed chickens?
Is it cheaper than buying eggs?
After a while, they just feed themselves. They eat bugs. In the long run, it's probably cheaper, yes.
Beans, peas, carrots, beets, asparagus, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash, zucchinis, potatoes, tomatoes, hot peppers, sweet peppers, potato bean, cucumbers, yams, winter squash, pumpkins, various herbs. I'm probably forgetting something but I like to grow a diverse amount of stuff, keeps dinner from getting boring.
It's a peaceful and slow life. It's nice being able to raise a calf into a steer, playing with it's ears and knowing exactly what the animal eats. Every year I sell one and butcher one.
>
If you free range them, they don't cost anything really. If you grain them, it really depends on what exactly you feed them, I give them and my cows my extra vegetables, they seem to enjoy it. The eggs are essentially free if you plan on eating the birds.
Nice, man. Good stuff.
Raising your own food makes you really appreciate that you have to kill in order to eat.
Most people take for granted that things have to die for you to survive.
Raising chickens on proper pasture costs next to nothing but your own time.
Can't find pasture raised eggs easily where I am right now, I do miss them. The difference is night and day between factory eggs. Pasture eggs can be a deep orange-gold, flavor is intense, nutrition is like 2x better per egg.
Comfy desu. How far from the closest city/town do you live? Do you ever miss some things that are difficult to acquire with your current lifestyle? Thanks desu
Raising chickens is dirt cheap.
The nearest town of more than 500 people is about 20 minutes awhile, while the nearest place with around 10,000 is about an hour.
>Do you ever miss some things that are difficult to acquire with your current lifestyle?
I'm not really deprived of anything.
I've considered just going to live in the woods for a year. I'll still go out and visit people and stuff but I want to have a sanctuary away from things and to hve distraction free time to read, exercise, grow food and raise animals. It would be great to learn as well. All the time in the world to go over math and physics texts I have.
Make your own compost/natty fertilizer, don't till your beds after the first year, let 25% of your crop go to seed and then collect seed
Permaculture baby
Living the dream. What do you do for work (if anything) that allows you the time and freedom to take care of all this?
You can sometimes get long house sitting gigs for people who own small farms etc and can't tend to it for a while, if you want something low commitment. Google it, there are websites dedicated to hooking people up.
wwoof and workaway are pretty good, i wwoof'd for about 6 months
Blacksmithing. I have a workshop and do odd jobs, sell some of what I grow and harvest. It's like I have one foot in the 19th century and one in the 21st.
>pic related, chainsaw damascus hammer I made
HAHAHA GUYS GET A LOAD OF THIS KEK
I HAVE A SIX FIGURE SALARY THAT DOESN'T STAT WITH A 1 HAHAHA
STEM MASTER RACE
SURE I WORK 60-80+ HOURS A WEEK AND DON'T GET OVERTIME BECAUSE IM CERLERIED
BUT AT LEAST I DONT HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE, ENJOY THE SUN, FEEL CALM AND CONTENT WITH A DAYS HARD PHYSICAL WORK AS I TEND TO MY CROPS THAT TASTE SO GOOD EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE SMALL, THE SOUL, AIR
HAHAHA
THANK CHRIST I'M NOT YOU BUDDY
I BET YOU FALL ASLEEP AT NIGHT WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE PILLS AND YOUR BODY AND HAIR AREN'T FALLING APART BECAUSE YOUR BOSS TOLD YOU YOUR REVIEW IS COMING UP AND YOU NEED TO COME IN ON YOUR FREE TIME
FAGGET GET A FUCKING LIKFE
I BET YOU EVEN HAVE TIME TO SEE YOU FRIENDS AND SICK PARENTS WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT THE RENT TAKING UP FULLY ONE THIRD OF YOUR INCOME AND DEALING WITH VAPID CITY WHORES AND GOLDDIGGERS
I CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY WANT THAT LIFE
I'M LIVING THE DREAM THAT I CAN'T WAKE UP FROM AND EVERYDAY IS A STRUGGLE TO GO ON MY LUNGS BURN AND SKIN FEELS DRY FROM ALL THE SHIT AIR AND I NEED ALCHOHOL AND DRUGS TO EVEN ZONE OUT FROM MY EXISTENCE
I CRY EVERY OTHER NIGHT WISHING I COULD BE A KID AGAIN THEN AFTER THREE HOURS SLEEP DRAG MYSELF OUT TO WORK ANOTHER WEEK FOR CUNTS WHO KEEP SPELLING MY NAME WRONG AFTER TWO YEARS
HAHAHAHA
KILL ME, PLEASE
>SURE I WORK 60-80+ HOURS A WEEK AND DON'T GET OVERTIME BECAUSE IM CERLERIED
My retard friend was offered a high paying non-salaried engineering job, and talked the boss into making it salaried, because he didn't want to be forced to stay if he finished his work early. His boss is getting the last laugh, by making him work 60-80 hour work weeks.
AHAHA IT'S LITERALLY 2017
SO GLAD I'M GRATEFULLY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
THANKS BOSS
Too real.
Anyone wanna band together and start a hippy commune?
If you're smart, you'll get enough experience to start contracting and pull $55-75 an hour with Corp to Corp payments - pay yourself enough to avoid IRS penalties and you're golden. Though it's a bit of a shit situation now with Obamacare - if you have kids you'll probably be faced with paying $1,200 a month for individual plans and end up having to go back to being salaried.
Well, we're in our mid 20's. He was offered $44/hr starting pay with full benefits. But like I said, he didn't want to be forced to stay if he finished work early. Everyone told him not to be stupid, and to leave it, but he talked his boss into switching it to salary anyway.
What breed of cattle do you raise, OP?
Cowboy user here
I don't get it, doesn't working 60-80 hours a week mean he's staying for that length of time anyway? Or is he just being given a large enough workload that it takes that long?
If he had left it as wage, the extra 20-40 hours would have been overtime. Instead, he's not getting paid for it at all.
>but he talked his boss into switching it to salary anyway.
Ha! He fell for the Boomer's "It's still the 1950's (but with all the ass fucking 2017 advantages) to me!"
Why would anyone work for someone else these days? I'm struggling to come a with a reason to stay at my job aside from the paycheck?
Angus/holstien mix. I like my cows to not be raging assholes, so I don't raise pure angus. I like to be able to pet my cows behind the ears and rub their jaw.
Hey OP I'm thinking of going off the grid and just growing my own shit and not being a part of everything cause fuck that. How hard would you say it is to maintain yourself? Also I'm vegan if that changes anything.
I lived "off-grid" for two years senpai.
When I broke my leg in the middle of nowhere while chopping wood in Winter, got a staph infection, and nearly died like that guy in that movie where he lives in a bus, I realised there is a reason humans tend to congregate together.
You'll find this out for yourself.
I'd recommend pseudo-off the grid.
>my food bill is essentially nothing
Surely it must cost something to grow vegetables and raise animals. Do you really come out ahead?
What exactly is "pseudo-off the grid" my dude?
I wouldn't recommend it. Living without power sucks balls. My well is spring fed, but having an electric pump is almost a requirement if you need any amount of water.
I sell a cow to buy two more calfs, I have hay fields that I lease out for a portion of the hay. The turkeys only cost a buck or two as chicks, and I already have all the seeds I need. I don't make a ton of money, but it's a pretty self-sustaining system.
what are the easiest stuff to grow? i bought a zucchini plant for $3 lowes today. might go back tomorrow for tomato plants. i live in texas so i should be able to grow anything
who thinks this? both paths are legitimate and praiseworthy if done well
different people should live differently
have you watched escape to river cottage? comfy as fuck
>What exactly is "pseudo-off the grid" my dude?
Basically off the grid, but if you're in an emergency you can get help before you die.
Holsteins aren't very efficient. Have you considered Corriente or a cross? They're cheap and scrubby and you could tame them pretty easy as heifers if you're patient.
>I'm not really trying to tell you what to do, I just never get to talk about cattle on chan
Brovine.
Zucchinis are pretty easy if you keep the bugs off them. In my personal experience nothing bothers hot peppers or tomatoes. You might actually be able to grow hot peppers year round down south.
When they're bred with angus they seem to do alright. My cows get up to around 1200lbs, which is good enough for my freezer.
fuuuuck so off the grid is a no go, where can I live so that I can grow a decent amount of vegetables year round?
You don't need that much room to grow food user. In my neck of the woods and acre costs about $500.
Check out this farming wizard. Here's how to create a self-sustaining chicken coop that makes garden compost.
Good luck user!
How do you pay for all this?
>tfw it still costs money to go off grid
Do you live in the US? What state? I'm in CA rn but might move to somewhere where there's not so many fucking people
Blacksmithing, selling logs, odd jobs, selling to co-ops and healthfood stores. It's sustainable.
St.Lawrence county which is the largest, poorest, and least populated county in New York. Only 100,000 people live here, about 42 people per square mile.
Jelous, 8,000 - 10000 an acre here in South Dakota. Need minimum 20 to build a home.
Damn nigga, sounds like you're living the life. What made you decide to do what you do? Do you have a family?
I honestly envy your life so much my man, you have no idea. Keep doing you breh
this.
OP you are a fucking hero
>tfw you dont have an acre of land to farm vegetables for natty gains
I have 240. I have miles of trails for hiking and hunting. It provides everything I need basically.
>What made you decide to do what you do?
I lived in connecticut, made me realize I didn't want to be around people. I see my neighbor about once a month and maybe speak to him twice a year or if he needs help with something.
>Do you have a family?
They sometimes come over in the summer to swim in the pond, pick berries, and just enjoy stuff. >tfwnogf
>I honestly envy your life so much my man
You can do it too, it's not overly expensive to grow a garden or own a few chickens
>
Even in the suburbs you should be able to grow something. People have been growing plants for thousands of years.
That pic is 100% comfy
>tfw already planning to undertake this lifestyle.
It's in the process though for me.
I want to get a 15-40 acre property. Use about 1-2 acres of it for food maybe. Have a log house built on it too. Build my own little stone/wood hut there for thinking and reading and whiskey drinking. Get some chickens too. Maybe other random farm animals, not sure yet though.
Breh I want to, it's just I'm in my second year at a kind of expensive uni and I feel like it'd be a waste of money if I just left now. BUT, the longer I stay the more money is being spent on my education and the harder it'd be to leave. Fuck this indecision but also fuck how expensive uni is.
Anyone else here waiting for WWIII to start? Trump do ya thing, at least if war breaks out I can leave school and live by myself somewhere until my time comes.
It's supremely comfy. I sometimes like going into my cow pasture and just playing with them, they're just like big stupid dogs.
>pic related
If you're planning on living out there, I'd recommend building a root cellar and growing potatos. You can grow a shitload of potatoes on minimal land.
I'm afraid it would probably be too late by then my friend.
>You can do it too
Im not that user, but man, how you started? like you need a good amount of money to start. to buy a big enough property, to buy all the tools/animals/seeds, having contacts to sell all the stuff you grow...
I always liked the rural way, but again, Im pretty poor and thats just a no-no
>I have 240. I have miles of trails for hiking and hunting. It provides everything I need basically.
What's the point of that exactly? Rural land, it's like they're giving it away, why is it the standard for one person to own so much vs many people owning just enough? Just low demand?
So do you interact with people outside of occasionally your neighbour and family? Does it get lonely at all?
>It's supremely comfy. I sometimes like going into my cow pasture and just playing with them, they're just like big stupid dogs.
Do you feel bad about selling and killing them?
>how you started?
I bought this farm for virtually nothing. The owners needed the money really quickly and I was in the right spot at the right time. Only paid $70k for 240 acres, a barn, wood shed, and 2 store house. The contacts is the easy part, you just contact restaurants, co-ops, health food stores, and ask them if they want to buy what you're selling.
>I always liked the rural way, but again, Im pretty poor and thats just a no-no
A few acres and a small house costs almost nothing up here. You can make it brah.
Basically, NYS fucked up the local economy by regulating factories and mining out of the state for the most part, which completely destroyed the local economy. The population of my county hasn't changed in over 20 years. The reason why things are cheap is because people are dying or moving out of state.
>So do you interact with people outside of occasionally your neighbour and family?
To the people I sell stuff too, I have a lot of acquaintances and friends that I see maybe once or twice a week. I like my privacy.
>Does it get lonely at all?
Not really, I have two dogs that keep me company.
>
>Do you feel bad about selling and killing them?
Not at all. They get hand fed grain once a day, they get brushed and pets, all the fresh grass and hair they could eat. For 2 years they live like kings and then their time is up. Sort of like Logan's Run, but for cows. I name my turkeys and pigs too when I have them, Don't even think twice about shooting them in the head and butchering them.
>tfw just want to live in nature with my gf and start a family there away from everyone
>tfw also want kids to get a good education
>tfw will definitely miss family members and so will gf
>tfw dream can never be a reality
Such is life
>Only paid $70k for 240 acres, a barn, wood shed, and 2 store house.
Dayum. No catch? Why doesn't everyone do this?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, dude. Did you grow up in this sort of world, or make a change from city/suburbian life?
>only 42 people/sq mile
>only 100,000 people in the county
Holy shit, you East Coasters have no idea what depopulated really means. Come on over to Montana, we are the 4th largest state, with barely over 1,000,000 people. 6.5 people/sq mile. It gets hot as fuck during summer, and cold as balls in the winter, though, and the whole state is basically either mountains or desert or both.
>tfw the US army acclimates soldiers for the conditions in Afghanistan here
Corn sweet potatoes?
I'd eat those over squash.
No fruits?
>Dayum. No catch? Why doesn't everyone do this?
You need to live in a place where the economy is basically in ruin and everyone is fleeing
>
>Holy shit, you East Coasters have no idea what depopulated really means
Most of the people are centered in two 'cities'. Most of the county is basically empty towns.
>No fruits?
I have over 200 apples trees spread all around my property, probably from a couple hundred years ago when several farms were on this plot. I also grow black currants, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I make a shitload of money selling blueberries to people, I get $6/quart
>You need to live in a place where the economy is basically in ruin and everyone is fleeing
Could that happen to you one day?
That's my current life. I'm pretty well insulated because I just need to pay taxes and utilities for the most part. I don't have a mortgage or any debt.
Will I leave? Maybe if it gets too bad or if NYS does something super retarded.
pretending to get off the grid to cultivate your hippie mystic, while largely posting on social media about your rustic living.
You know,
Good ol' American honesty
Do you make money or do you pay for taxes and shit out of savings?
mirin OP. got inspired.
nice /outfit/
>Do you make money
Not a lot, but I don't need much anyway.
so....
where do you live? sounds comfy.
How do you deal with ticks, mosquitoes and other bloodsucking insects , OP?
>I'M LIVING THE DREAM THAT I CAN'T WAKE UP FROM
user, I...
zucchini grows itself, but most things depend on the soil composition
>last summer grew tomatoes and bell pepper because wanted to try it out at parents'
>ended up forgetting about watering them some days
>was too lazy to weed out shit
>was a dry summer
>tomatoes and bell peppers were beautiful and bountiful, even tho you could taste that the bellpepper was more spicy from lack of water
all of this was because my parents land was good
>tfw my country cheats its farmers out of their money so that they can buy their land
I think Id be too lonely too, but it really sounds good.
>they're just like big stupid dogs.
that must sound fun as fuck
>they're just like big stupid dogs.
Y'all should look up that video of cows prancing out of their barn after winter and rolling around in the grass like hyper puppies
New York. The state is beautiful, you just have to deal with NYC
Mosquitos don't bother you during the day. Horseflies and deerflies are the worse fucking things on the planet, but if you wear a hat with ducttape on it they'll genocide themselves.
>tfw my country cheats its farmers out of their money so that they can buy their land
I applied for tax breaks because I'm a 'farm' I pay almost nothing in land tax because of it
>I think Id be too lonely too
Think of it as self-reflection, not loneliness.
>that must sound fun as fuck
They love being brushed and rubbed. Sometimes when I go out to give them grain they get so excited they prance around in circles.
user we'll probably never meet but just know that I love you. I feel like crying reading your posts and idk why, but I love your lifestyle and everything you do. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Who knows, I might end up following your path in life.
full homo
kys
>Sometimes I like walking barefoot in the dirt though.
Absolutely peasant.
This is the dream
Any particular reason you feed your cows grain instead of healthier options like grass?
Hunter grower mastereace reporting in
Literally living the dream. I would have to live somewhere a little more developed for my future career (if it pans out like I hope it will after uni) but I could still make it work. Even in the city you can still grow a decent amount of food on a small land if you own a house, no animals except chickens and only if your neighbors don't report you to the police or whoever regulates that.
Right now I have a small garden I'm working on growing things so I can possibly live of my own produce in the future without downright killing everything. I always struggled before but this semester I started to volunteer at my uni's arboretum and I basically copied their edible garden design on a much smaller scale. It's working fantastically. Now all I have to do is convince mummy we need another 8by8 raised bed so I can grow more stuff for now...
Also weeding is great for your spinal extensors.
People often talk about how hard this sort of life is, how farmers are some of the most stressed out and suicidal people out there, how those who dream of this sort of life are often kidding themselves and bound to give up. What would you guys who are living it say to that?
>Do you actually work out?
>How do you fit it into your schedule?
>How much farm work do you do a day?
>Does it effect your gains?
>How much sleep do you get?
thanks in advance
How do you start to learn how to grow plants and look after land? I used to do gardening around my neighborhood as a teen, but that's about it. Should i read any books or go to any events to learn?
How often do you get to eat meat? Like twice a week? In what quantity?
i've always thought it'd be cool to purchase a couple hundred acres and reap the land. add a skilled manly craft like carpentry or guitar playing to your daily routine and ur talkin real nice lifestyle
What's your average daily routine?
Also do you think it's possible for me to build my own cabin with little to no carpentry experience?
P-please respond, farmer b-bro
bumping with another question:
How did you learn blacksmithing? apprenticeship or something of the sort or did you just teach yourself?
>NO LAND LADS LISTEN UP
You can grow at least something in small planters. I have a smallish garden but still have 3 little beds similar to pic related that I built with leftover from re-roofing one side of the house, plus a compost heap tucked into the corner. It's not much but that homegrown shit tastes fantastic and nurturing your plants is comfy as fuck.
You can make compost out of a lot of your waste food like teabags/leaves, eggshells fruit peels, offcuts from your veggies and pad it out with cut grass if you have a lawn plus any weeds you have.
Eating rice and chicken cooked with homegrown tomatoes and chillies on a warm September evening is a feel that everyone should feel at least once.