This morning I opened the garage door and stepped out on a thin layer of snow to fetch the paper.  It was cold at 14 degrees and a gray day as we are socked in by clouds.  I stood quietly for a minute as small snowflakes fell on my head.  I could hear the Canada geese warming up their honkers as they assembled for the morning food run.  A grackle screeched from a nearby tree.  “Ah,” I thought, “a little moment of nature before coffee.”

Urban wildlife was a subject of discussion with my holiday guests this last week, so I thought it interesting that I had two birds identified in the first minute of the day.  Just a few days ago, family members decided they needed exercise, so I shared some of my walking paths with them.  My son, an avid hunter and fisherman, commented on the abundance of bird and animal life.  He also indicated that he didn’t normally see wildlife in his home city neighborhood.

Unfortunately, too often urban wildlife is not seen as it is camouflaged by people hurling through their lives.  Web MD “Health News” reports adults are spending 25% less time in nature this year than in 1987 and the time is declining by 1% yearly.  Research reported by the New York Times indicates Americans take fewer steps daily than any other country in the study – walking only half as much as the next country in the study.  Average distance walked?  Less than a mile. 

While the backyards of our homes do not supply walking distances needed to maintain our needed exercise, they can certainly be a good place to start to observe wildlife.  Watching and feeding birds is a good way to get started and can provide hours of nature education.  Birdwatching can also be the stimulus needed for a bit of gardening or landscaping as one provides a better habitat for food and protection.  With habitat comes wildlife.

In my own neighborhood, I have found that if I spend more time specifically looking for wildlife, I find others are doing the same and are willing to share.  A neighbor half a street down has become a friend “over the fence.” She has the tree that the Mississippi Kites nest in and was able to help me identify the birds that glide the skies.  Another neighbor I came to know on one of my walking trails shared the location of an owls’ nest in a nearby hundred year elm.  Raccoons, rabbits and possums are the subjects of conversations all along my street. 

Just a day ago the family went to a science museum with my grandson.  As we loaded into the car, someone said, “Oh, look, there’s a rabbit in the bushes,” and we all stopped to watch.  “No, there are two rabbits,” my grandson observed, “and a bird.” We waited and watched for five minutes and that led to a discussion of “urban” wildlife.

Even if you live in the largest city, there is wildlife.  It just takes a bit of slowing down and looking for it.  We need to look no further than our own backyard.         

I have been writing for the past two years about the difficulties of dry-land farming in Kansas during an long-term and continuing drought.  This has been the worst drought for the state since 1965. It has, of course, affected our gardens.  Insect invasion – especially grasshoppers - has been a challenge as the hoppers move to the only source of moisture available – gardens.

Our gardens were only an early indication of the stress on the environment.  Pastureland yield was only half of the normal hay harvest and farmers were feeding hay as early as August and September.  Although the wheat crop was adequate with spring rains, milo and soy bean crops were poor.  As farmers planted wheat this fall, lack of rainfall prevented sprouting and that which did sprout has died back from lack of moisture. 

In this second year of drought, we now find that wildlife in the area has suffered.  Game reports indicate drought has resulted in high die-off of the deer population and poor fawning.  Populations of quail and pheasant are low. 

USA Today reported in August that many cities are by necessity preparing for climate change as increased heat and decreased moisture has killed off large ornamental trees and grasses.   Major cities have begun preparation through better planting planning to include native trees and grasses.  Programs have been established to increase composting and water conservation. 

I cannot think of a better time to encourage agricultural and environmental awareness at all levels.  Our children are going to face a different world than we have known.  Climate change is a reality and the effects are real.  We need every single person to help us preserve this precious earth.

As I packed a Christmas box headed for my son’s house this week, I threw in an old bumper sticker I found in the garage.  It said “No farms, no food.”  Never has the message been more important.  We must all do more to learn the best way to protect and nurture our environment – for food and for life itself. 

I know that readers of this blog are already on board, and are educating friends and family.  As I see my own environment struggle, it motivates me to make just a little more effort to spread the message.  Not only is it sad to see environmental abundance decline, it is frightening to think that that slogan is true – “No farms, no food.”

I am not normally a resistive person, but requests to hunt on my private property are beginning to raise my ire.  Here I am, just a small farm owner with a few acres of grassland and a couple of fields.  I go out on a regular basis and work my heart out managing the land so that volunteer trees don’t overtake the pasture or that I allow the thistle to overtake the meadow.  I leave some good grasses where quail and turkey can live normal and protected lives and hopefully, raise their young.

This summer I must have had at least a dozen requests to fish in my pond.  These requests apparently came from individuals who had not noticed that we were having a drought and there was no water in the runoff ponds.

This fall, I am getting requests from individuals who just became aware that the cost of beef and pork are expected to rise and so they are thinking deer meat might be an affordable alternative.  Never mind that my entire property is posted “No Trespassing, No Hunting, No Fishing.”  I guess these requests spring from the hope that it never hurts to ask.

It is the requests to hunt game birds that make me snarl the most.  I love to watch the turkey trail across the edge of the pasture, ducking in and out of the protective trees, peeping, tweeting and gobbling their way to breakfast.  The quail are so bold as to come to drink from the garden pond and eat the scratch from the bird feeder.  Pheasant are more often heard than seen, but I’ve nurtured a pair for years in the far windrow.  When I see any of my residents I feel it is a successful and blessed day.

To be kind in my response, I recognize that requests often come only out of ignorance to the extensive management it takes to have game of any kind on my farm.  People don’t realize that mowing is planned for post nesting or that a stand of trees was left for intentional shelter.  I’m sure most would think a pile of brush in the field unsightly, but I’ve noticed the birds don’t agree much with that.

I stand firm each time I am asked in my reply.  “No, you cannot hunt on my land.  I don’t allow hunting or fishing of any kind.  You see, I’m saving a little wildlife for my grandchildren to see.”

There hasn’t been a lot of news in Kansas other than talk of heat waves, drought, and the presumed consequences of both. It's enough to discourage even the heartiest. 

At my farm, the effect of the grasshopper invasion could be added as well.  A few root vegetables are hanging on and a few distasteful plants in the garden – like horseradish.  Last week the resurrection lilies made an attempt to come up, but the grasshoppers ate the buds at about two inches.

Despite the dismal outlook, I have been trying to keep watering with the hope my old faithfuls will pull through.  A couple of shrubs at the front of the farmhouse had suffered terribly and I decided to put a hose to them one evening.  I was rewarded with six orioles coming to bathe.  Jubilation would describe their attitude.  They were soon joined by two bluebirds, which politely waited their turn by wading in the birdbath for a few minutes.

A fifty year old viburnum at the edge of the yard looked dead, but I hosed it down as well.  Soon I saw one of the wild rabbits had dug a furrow in the moist soil and was enjoying a snooze. As I approached, he gave me the look that said “You wouldn’t dare make me move,” so I moved on, leaving him to enjoy his nap.

My farmer neighbor came by in late afternoon. He had been out carrying water to the livestock tanks.  “Hey, you need a little water?” he asked, gesturing to the big tank on the back of his truck. 

“Oh, dear Lord, you’re there for me today!” I thought as I hugged my neighbor for his generosity.  With a high capacity tank, I was able to give my new trees sixty gallons of water each – and they were still in need.  He may have saved them for me. 

Sometimes we forget that the wildlife suffers with the heat as much as the plants, so I am developing a healthy case of Kansas stubborn about this heat wave.  I just keep dumping as much water on as I can, and I know most of the plants and trees will make a comeback and my wildlife will come out after their month-long hunker down.

I guess you just can’t get an old farmer – or her farm - down.  We are Kansas stubborn.

Are you tired of the rat race and you wonder how can I get started with small scale farming?

More and more people are looking to get away from their high pressure jobs, and they fantasize about living the life of small scale farming. They can experience the joy of waking up in the morning, sitting down at a kitchen table and having a cup of coffee with breakfast while they look out upon their farm and garden.

The day starts, they enjoy the fresh air as they tend to their crops which grow almost by themselves as they enjoy the exercise and lifestyle of a small scale farmer.

• Have you dreamed the same dream?
• Are you ready to move to the farming lifestyle?

If you are, Do you know everything that you need to know to turn your dream of small scale farming into the life of your dreams?

• Where do you want your farm to be located?
• What will it cost for the land?
• What kind of home do you dream of?
• Do you have the experience you need to be successful?
• What does it take to be USDA Organically Certified?
• What are the options to still be an organic farm and not be USDA Certified?
• Do you know someone that has the expertise or the time to coach you ?
• Do you have a plan of action and the help you need?

As you can see, there are many aspects of small scale farming for you to consider.  Keep your dream alive.  Find answers for all of these questions, go for drives in the area that you would like to live and discover what others are doing to build successful, sustainable small scale farms.

Here is a list of questions that you may consider discovering about yourself before decide what you would like build for yourself.

1. Do you want to have an urban farm? Yes, you can live in a city and successfully create sustainable small scale farming.
2. Do you want to start from scratch or purchase a farm from someone who is looking to retire?
3. Can you find a mentor to help you?  Yes, either online or offline there is coaching available.  We are in the process of finalizing our online membership site to help you build your dream.
4. Are there any resources to help me if I want to build an Urban farm?  Lots of them, and we will share some of those with you in future posts.
5. How about financing?  There are some available, even grants for some of your expenses, but the answer is like asking for medical advice without talking or seeing a doctor.  Sorry, for you, you need more help, but we can point you in the right direction.
6. How do I know which way to go, how much do I have to research before starting the journey to my dream life?  The answer is in you, one of the joys of the sustainable lifestyle of farming/gardening or raising fish, is learning to be fluid and your willingness to learn

My recommendation is for you to actively search and learn what lifestyle is truly going to become your dream life.  Get a mentor, join an online community, go to a few webinars.  But one of the best things you can do, is to be active in taking the action needed to become the person that can live the lifestyle that you want to live.

I have lived and worked on farms and ranches.  If you can, sign up for an apprenticeship.  Nothing works better to learn then to help someone else with their dream.  But do not lose site of yours.

Turning Your Dreams Into The Life Of Your Dreams

Chris Downs -------------------------------The Caretaker

Hisfarm.org

Article source: http://hisfarm.org/2461/organic-gardening/small-scale-farming-how-do-i-get-started/ 

Last week I ordered a book written by the famous gardener, Ruth Stout, the “mulch queen.”  Although the original was written in 1961, it has now been reprinted and newly released in 2012.   I am enjoying it immensely – sort of a fifty year celebration of the ideas.

Perhaps it is the title that attracts me – Gardening Without Work for the Aging, the Busy & the Indolent.  I use Stout’s ideas extensively in my garden for a number of reasons.  First, my arthritis forces me to find new ways to garden that remove at least a part of the work intensity from the process.  Second, I have very limited well water on my farm, especially if we are in drought.  Third, her recommendations about mulching seem to produce a better garden than gardening without it.  I suppose I really should add that good mulching also produces an attractive and well-tended appearance.

This particular book is a hoot to read if you like to mix good ideas with dry humor.  She loves to offer the odd and obvious questions asked to her as the preface to the point she is trying to make.  Since some of us ask the same questions ourselves, it doesn’t hurt to laugh at ourselves while learning.  As gardeners, it probably isn’t a good idea to take life too seriously.  Of course, I continue to read her later work as well, and it is in my city and farm libraries – The No-Work Garden Book.   Now THAT is my kind of book.

My garden is looking great right now.  I planted most of it on a warm April day that suckered me into the season.  I’ve had some rain to help it along, and yes, it is mulched.  I had forgotten that I can mulch the asparagus though, so I think I’ll do that this weekend.

If you are so inclined, one of her books would make great afternoon reading – right after the afternoon nap, which is a good thing to do with the extra leisure time.

I thought I might share with you that I garden with arthritis, with the hope of encouraging others who contend with the problem.  Perhaps I can glean some new ideas from you to work around it when “Arthur” is there in the morning and I can’t wait to get to the garden. 

How disabling is arthritis?  Well, it just depends on the day.  There are the days when I shuffle around like a hobbled horse, and there are days when I am pain-free and prancing like a race horse.  Either way, though, if you have serious arthritis, one has to be prepared for the worst days.  Those good days just don’t come that often.

Why mess with a garden, under such circumstances?  Because my mind is programmed to tell me I am a normal person, fully mobile.  Each of us has a self-image of health that defines what we do and how others perceive us.  If we believe we are incapable, we become so.  If we believe we “can’t,” then life begins to shrink around us.  But nature is in my bones.  To become an inactive earthling just doesn’t work in my mind.  First, I still need exercise for my body, and second, my heart and soul take wing in the wild.  I simply cannot imagine life without my gardens. I call that my connection factor to the earth.

I prefer to look at the task of gardening with an eye to “what can I do if I modify the task or procedure,” rather than saying I can’t do it at all.  I believe gardening is well worth the effort, because it provides critical exercise, especially in the areas of strength, stamina and balance.  Perhaps I could go to a gym and get a routine for this (who am I kidding?) or I can get it by gardening.  Besides, I am too well aware of the signals of aging like flabby underarms, gasping for breath on the stairs, and the statistics that one in three seniors fall each year – a balance issue for sure.

Thankfully, gardening has changed over the years and better techniques are available.  Some of those offer excellent alternatives for someone like me.  My limitations focus on the use of feet and tasks of balance, and use of the back, all related to a fall which resulted in broken heels and fractured vertebrae.  I am most grateful for the work of Helen and Scott Nearing who wrote so carefully about composting and water conservation and Ruth Stout, the “mulching queen,” each of which clearly tell me that digging a garden is not appropriate.  By converting to a mulching system, I no longer need to worry about using my poor feet on a shovel, and the weed population is very manageable.  To use up all that time I save from not performing such tasks, I read such magazines as Organic Gardening,GRIT, and even Fine Gardening.  One likes to be reinforced with good current information.

The feet, and the necessity of being on them, continue to be my biggest challenge.  Of course, I use my lawn tractor and attached wagon extensively to carry all manner of material.  I also position either benches or large plastic tree pots around the garden to get me off my feet when I’m working in that area.  As it turns out, I like some of those areas so much that I spend considerable “butt time” just enjoying.  I’m sure there is considerable research supporting the link between meditation and strong gardens.

Time and intensity are also modified for me.  Of course the start-up season is the worst, but once I’m past that I slack off and use the coolest parts of the day for about a two-hour stretch of labor.  I have divided the garden into smaller “rooms” or areas and set smaller goals for daily work.  I admit that I also add compost and bark mulch to these areas in the flower garden as I clean and groom in an effort to conserve water and weed-pulling efforts.  I also use a “one wagon” rule during the summer – this is applied when I begin to tire.  Instead of allowing myself to work to the point of exhaustion, I take my garden cart and walk through filling it with weeds or clippings.  When that one wagon is full, I quit.

Of course, I have also changed tools to accommodate my lesser strengths and capabilities.  I acquired a “lady’s shovel,” swear by my Japanese hoes, and have acquired some adapted trowels.  One of my best friends is a good serrated knife to clip roots. 

So there you have the secrets of my arthritis garden.  I suppose the solutions have to meet the needs for the areas of the body affected, but over time I have managed to get a good work-out and a good garden at the same time.  Are there days when I have pain?  Sure – most of them.  But, I choose to have discomfort while I’m doing what I love,  knowing my body is keeping its flexibility and balance, that I am still strong, and my heart and mind are where they need to be – in the garden. 

There are a lot of folks in my neighborhood that have gardens. Utah is actually a pretty good place for that compared to a lot of other largely urbanized areas. I have neighbors that grow tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and peppers. I have a Thai and Chinese family across the street that grows insanely hot chilies and lemongrass, and another neighbor who grew up on property in Wisconsin that grows corn like he was back on the farm. The one crop that I don’t know many folks that grow is potatoes.

Of course I don’t know everyone in my neighborhood, and I’m sure there are those that do, my point is that potatoes, for whatever reason, seem to be one of those food crops that have been relegated to the likes of large farms or at the very least to large lots within the boundary communities.

Last year I tried to grow them in containers in the back yard. They got a great start but just never really did much beyond that. It’s an idea that I’d like to try again, but on a much smaller scale than the ten containers that I tried last year.

Never to be told I can’t do something though, I decided this year that it was time to get serious about this potato growing business; you know, back to basics. That meant rows and hilling. Rows and hilling was something that required space and space is sometimes a tight commodity in the suburbs. So what’s a guy to do when he’s trying to “grow possibilities” in the ‘burbs? Till some new area that’s what.

One of the features of the particular suburban area that I have chosen to urban farm is the accessory parking strip that resides just to the side of our driveways. It’s usually the depth of our driveway and in many homes has been concreted to provide a home for the RV, or the boat. In our case we had a small 14ft, old wooden boat. It sat on that side yard for 5 years and I don’t think it saw the water even once. So, I moved it out of the way, picked up the scrap wood and bits of trash that had blown in there and got to tilling.

We had brought in a full truck bed of compost last weekend for use around the house and a good quarter of it ended up in here.

After the tilling, I got around to aesthetics. One thing you always have to take into consideration when you’re trying to homestead the suburbs. Happy neighbors make for happy farmers OK? I had gotten lucky though and found some salvage vinyl fencing materials from a home that was being demolished around the corner. It took a couple of days and a good bit of creativity, but I was able to find a way to get the vinyl fencing up around the new garden area.

But all that is moot if I don’t have good beds right? Right! So the next step was to make sure I could take advantage of the deep tilled new soil that I had available. To do that I wanted to make sure that I could get in and out of the garden area with the minimum impact possible. I decided to add an access path and to shore up the useable soil onto one side of the garden bed. I had now officially turned the wasted space on the side of our yard into useable, arable, well tilled soil; on to the planting.

After doing some research and talking to the old man at the local nursery, I determined that this past week was the perfect time to start planting ‘taters. I hoed and turned the soil until it was into nine nearly 10 foot long rows. I mounded them up a little, turned in some organic fertilizer and then to each bed I counted out 7 seed potatoes.

After burying them about three-four inches I covered with soil and left them be. In about six weeks I’m hoping to be steaming up some young new potatoes to eat with my peas.

The most important thing is that there’s almost always an extra little bit of land on our property that, if someone were so inclined, they could find a way to make into a productive little piece of garden. Potatoes aren’t just for the farms … well, at least not only for the big farms. With a good bit of visualizing, and a little hard work we never know what’s possible do we?

P~

You can reach Paul Gardener by email, or check his personal blog at A posse ad esse

It seems that GRIT editor Hank Will and I are “on the same sheet of music” this week. He put up a great post about saving money in 2009 by raising your own chickens on the same day I was planning on putting this one up, so I thought I’d give it a day or so before adding my two cents.

One of the first things that many small scale growers and aspiring “urban pioneers” decide to do after they’ve established their garden plans is to look into obtaining some chickens. I know a lot of the Grit readers probably already have them or have had them in their past so this may be old news to them. I’m guessing though, that with purse strings getting tighter all around the country and concerns over industrial food products in the news so regularly, that there’s probably a good number of folks trying to get a good idea about what it takes to get started with some small scale egg production.

First off, and in my mind foremost, I have to say this; these are not just egg producing fertilizer factories. They’re that too and much more honestly, but they’re also a responsibility as would be any other livestock that any size farmer decides to integrate into their operation. The scale may be smaller but the obligations are no less pressing. That said, I think the most important thing that any aspiring farmer should do, regardless of scale, is to make an honest assessment of what they want to gain vs. what they are willing to give for this addition. The second thing that you’ll need to be aware of, particularly if you’re like we are and you’re in a residential area with close neighbors and often times limiting covenants and restrictions, is whether or not you are even allowed to keep chickens. Take heart if you’ve already learned that they are not currently allowed, however, mine weren’t either when I first decided I wanted them, but with a good dose of persistence and some community involvement, laws can be changed, and anything is possible! And there you go … the caveats are out, chickens are great, but they are a commitment, so then, on with the fun stuff.

There are a lot of websites and good books that can help you to make a decision on what kind of chickens would be the best for you to keep at your home so I’m not going to try and reinvent the wheel here. A couple I recommend would be “My Pet Chicken’s” Breed selector tool and of course GRIT’s Perfect Chickens, a guide to heritage breeds of chickens. Whichever way you decide to go, however, this is another point where you’ll just have to be honest with yourself about what it is that you want from your birds. It won’t do you a lot of good to get a beautiful Bearded Silver Polish hen because you like the way they look if you’re looking to keep a family of five in eggs regularly or to be able to possible sell some at the farmers market. Do your research thoroughly and honestly. You’ll be happier later because of it.

Now, once you’ve decided what it is that you’re looking for and how many of them you will need and can have, it’s time to look into the different ways of getting them. You may have a farm store near you or perhaps you’ve seen the cute little chicks at the pet store. These are both potential ways to get your chicks but you may want to check out some other possibilities. There are a number of excellent hatcheries out there that can provide you with day old chicks of almost any breed. Some have requirements that you order a minimum number of chicks however, so if you have a friend that’s also interested in raising birds, you may be able to split an order like I did with one of my neighbors. It’s a good idea to order 1 more bird than you will ultimately be able to keep as it’s not uncommon for one to get sick and not make it to adulthood. You can also order fertilized eggs that you can incubate and hatch yourself. Either way, you’ll need to set up a brooder for your young chicks.

You can probably find a company that’s willing to sell you some automatic self regulating brooder set-up if you’re so inclined but I’d say most of us are probably the make do with what you have type. I know I am! This is the brooder box that I used last spring to raise my two clutches of hens. I just lined an old computer box from work with some wood shavings and notched a piece of pvc so that it would hang from the top of the box. This allowed me to hang a light from the pvc so that I could elevate the light or lower it as the chicks required. Hank goes into the requirements of the brooders pretty well so I’ll defer to his article at this point.

And that’s the basics of getting started with Chickens in my opinion. It’s not rocket science, but it does take some thought and some planning. There’s a lot more beyond this though as the chicks start to grow; too much to cover in just this post in fact. Check back next week, and we can continue the discussion.

P~

You can reach Paul Gardener by email, or check his personal blog at A posse ad esse.