http://thehomesteadinghippy.com/how-to-grow-herbs-inside-during-the-winter/

On – 25 Oct, 2017 By Heather Harris

Learning how to start a cattle farm throws you into the deep end of the homesteading pool. Cattle are large beasts and require strong fencing, water, grazing land or feed and a plan. Knowing why you are raising cattle on your property should be decided first. Breeding for feeder calves, milk production and meat for your table or market are the three main reasons to raise cattle. There are some breeds, such as the Jersey, which can fill all three of the needs. There are many cattle breeds to choose from. Some cattle breeds are chosen by what is available in your area. Miniature cattle should also be considered.

Cattle farming for beginners can be an overwhelming project or a huge success. My first recommendation for people who ask how we raise cattle on small acreage is to start small. In other words, when learning how to start a cattle farm, do not start with many heads of cattle. What is many? Of course, that is a vague term. We began with two Black Angus feeder heifers. Yes, you can raise the heifers for meat too. This also gave us the option of possibly breeding. We did not choose to use that option, but we had it available.

About a year after acquiring the first two feeder cows, we purchased three more. This was a tricky addition but the price was right. Looking back, I do feel that the additional three cows on our small farm were too much for the land. Cows are large, heavy animals. They eat a lot of hay if you do not have unlimited grazing pasture. The small amount of grazing pasture we did have was quickly eaten. We were able to barter for round bales of hay to keep the cows grass fed.  The amount of hay you will need of course depends on the number of animals and what you have available for forage. In addition, dairy cows may require more protein than what is available in grass hay. Alfalfa hay is higher in protein and calories and may be needed to keep up the dairy cows production.

How to Start a Cattle Farm and Fencing Needs

Fencing is a mandatory part of how to start a cattle farm. Homestead fencing can be wooden board, cattle panels, barbed wire, all reinforced with two strands of electric wire. Cattle may not be the escape artists that pigs are, but they are very hard on fencing. Cows push against fencing while grazing and their weight pushing against the fence can cause the fence to fail. Checking and mending fences will become a part of your daily life when raising cattle.

What Will You Do With the Manure?

Manure management should be considered before you figure out how to start a cattle farm. Just as the amount of food and hay consumed is larger than for other livestock, manure is excreted in greater quantities too. If you are near other neighbors, or in more suburban areas, you may be required to remove the manure from your property rather than compost it on site. Cow manure is smelly. Those who do not raise livestock on their homestead may very well object to the aroma of cow manure wafting across the fence line. Of course, cow manure is a wonderful fertilizer but most of your neighbors won’t care if the smell lessens their enjoyment of being outside. Check the manure regulations first and be considerate of your neighbors when storing manure for future compost.

Taking Care of the Land

Your homesteading land will take abuse from the large size cattle.  We were surprised at how much the ground needed to recover after two and a half years of raising a few beef cows. The manure that was not removed from the pasture quickly piled up. If we had a lot of rain for a few days, the field would turn to mud. The leftover hay from the round bales was smashed into the ground by the heavy cows. After we had all the cows sold and processed, the homesteading land needed to rest for over a year before we could use it for other livestock. Actually, we learned that the space we had available for cattle was not adequate.  Next time we will need to increase the land for keeping cattle by at least two times the three acres we had to use. Each homestead’s land will react slightly differently. I think it is safe to say you will need more than a few acres to raise a small herd of cattle without damaging the land. Keeping one dairy cow will be different than raising five beef cows.

Parasite Control and Pasture Management

Develop a plan for parasite control. When figuring out how to start a cattle farm, figure on two years of keeping the cows healthy, fed and comfortable. Most larger grass-fed cattle farms will practice rotational grazing or forward grazing. These terms refer to how the cows are moved from grazing areas to new grazing areas to keep them from eating grass that is laying near the manure. The manure can break down during the time the cattle are grazing elsewhere, nourishing the land. Meanwhile, the parasites are not being eaten by the host (cow) and die off. The practice not only prevents over-grazing of the grass, it also interrupts the parasite life cycle. If your cattle need to stay in one field primarily, they will probably require a worming program to keep them healthy. Check with your local extension service to find out what you should be worming against in your area.

How to Handle Large Animals

Handling the cattle will be necessary, too. Large animals can be unpredictable with serious consequences. Developing almost a sixth sense about where the cattle are and reading their body language is key. Ears pinned back and eyes fixed on you is an aggressive stance. Learn the body language your animals are showing. A calm cow, serenely munching on hay can change direction in a moment if startled or frightened. Cows can also have very sweet dispositions. Dairy cows are usually more docile than breeds raised for beef. Dairy cows are also more used to people as they are used to being milked every day. Respect the size and temperament of your animals for a more pleasant experience.

We tamed our cattle using small amounts of sweet feed. The amount was small so we still considered our beef grass fed. This was a way to get the cows where we wanted them so we could work in the field or spray fly repellent, feed wormer and other herd management needs. While eating, our cows didn’t care what we were doing. The sweet feed was a treat and a good management tool for our use.

Learning how to raise cattle taught us many lessons about homesteading and raising food for our family. Cattle farming for beginners like us was a rewarding effort. We did enjoy the fresh taste of quality, grass-fed beef. Our freezers are getting empty again and it is time to decide how we will fill the need this time around. The biggest lesson we learned is that you can try to raise too many cows at one time on a small farm. Next time, we will either need to increase the space available or raise only two cows at a time. What did you encounter when learning how to start a cattle farm? We’d love to continue the discussion in the comments below.

https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/livestock/cattle/how-to-start-a-cattle-farm-on-small-acreage/

On – 30 Oct, 2017 By Janet Garman

12 Autumn Activities for the Temperate Homestead

For those who have followed my articles over the years, you might be aware of two things: A recent relocation and the fact that, in fact, I do not yet have a homestead of my own. My wife Emma and I spent quite nearly over two years in search of a piece of land in Central America, and in the end, we watched a couple of deals fall apart and, similarly, our hopes for living tropically dissipate. We now find ourselves in North Carolina, near Asheville, which is an exciting center of sustainable, small-scale food production and localized lifestyle choices. Due to this climate change, we have been reacquainting ourselves with how life may work when we do—fingers crossed—finally procure a small plot upon which to grow.

By and large, we’ve taken the new design approaches in stride. We have appreciated the idea of growing berries, apples, and American pawpaws instead of bananas, pineapples, and papayas. We have daydreamed about a snugly cob cabin as opposed to a breezy thatched hut, a kitchen meant to warm the house rather than one that needs to be outside. We’ve become foragers, enjoying mushrooms and wild edibles, something we were never able to do in Central America (though, undoubtedly, it does exist). Mostly though, we have been learning to let go off the ever-productive temperatures of the wet-dry tropics for the four-season temperate climate.

Having learned and practiced permaculture in the tropics, this changing of seasons has been a drastic shift for us. It’s easy to find new productive perennial plants, interesting to work through different housing challenges, and even exciting to think of a time when things go dormant (There is no rest to be had in tropical gardens!), but that part of the year when things don’t grow provides an adaptive mindset. Suddenly, we are thinking about frosts, root cellars, warmth, bursting water pipes, and energy-free greenhouses. In autumn, the homestead becomes all about making it through the winter, so we are making a to-do list for what needs to be done.

Compost Piles, Leaf Molds & Resting Beds

The leaves are coming down, and the green grasses are waning. It seems that autumn is a time for piling things up to rot. Compost piles have a chance to decompose at a time when we don’t really need compost for plants, and deciduous leaves are in such abundance that one can hardly keep up with clearing them from paths and driveways. It’s also the time when many (not all—but we’ll get to that) garden beds put out their last bit of production before taking the winter off. All of these are ideal moments for building soils and enhancing fertility, as well as crucial times for protecting soil life and capturing heat. Though winter isn’t as productive crop-wise, it is not a time when nothing happens.

1.Making up compost piles: While compost piles seem an obvious choice on the to-do list, we are trying to consider them as more than compost. Namely, they are heat. We hope to use compost piles to add heat to our greenhouse and to passively provide hot water, which could possibly be thermo-siphoned through garden beds for an added heating element. If strategically placed in garden beds, winter greens might also grow very well around the compost piles.

2.Molding leaf piles: Leaf molds are good for creating good soil structure and retaining moisture in gardens. It’s great mulch, absolutely free and in abundant wherever deciduous trees are. We envision these piles along pathways for efficient clean-up and, later, efficient application. Using a line of leaf mold bins could also provide a multifunctional fence/windbreak with the possibility of acting as a trellis during growing seasons.

3.Bedding down: One of the miracles of the temperate climate is that beds get to truly rest for a spell, and for those beds that are going to do so, it’s good form to tuck them. Autumn is the time to plant a cover crop mix (green manures) on rotating annual beds, something to protect the soil, to replace fertility, and to provide mulch in the spring. The other idea would be to provide a thick, mulch blanket for winter, emptying out compost bins, dropping crop waste, and piling up extra leaves. This is earth care.

Canning, Cold Frames, and Food Storage

In the temperate climate, eating in the winter is drastically different than eating during the other seasons. There is a massive shift in what is possible and a notable drop in overall production. Certain foods, both if we wish to have them in the winter (relying on local food sources) and if we wish to use them all, need to be processed. Other foods can simply be stored throughout the wintertime. Even other foods can be set up for continuous harvesting long after temperatures drop below freezing. Getting this in order in the autumn is a key part of the yearly cycle.

4.Preserving food: Whether it is canning, freezing, fermenting, or dehydrating, many of our annual fruits and vegetables required some sort of basic processing (and this not the same as “processed” foods) in order to survive the winter. Berries are great frozen, tomatoes seem to do well canned, apples and pears ferment into magical libations, and most things can be dehydrated, either to act as a flavoring agent or to be enjoyed as dried items, such as tomatoes, raisins, prunes, figs, apricots, cranberries…

5.Storing food: For other foods, processing isn’t quite as extensive. They can be stored in their whole food states, but they do require a little winterizing. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, and winter squash all need to cure. Other vegetables—carrots, beets, rutabagas, turnips, etc.—store best in sand. Some apples will store until the spring. These autumn harvests need to be put away carefully.

6.Prepping cold frames: Despite the packing-it-all-in mentally of winter, in actuality, there are still fresh vegetables to be had, especially greens. Cold frames are an amazing way for keeping temperatures warm enough to grow greens into winter and, in many cases, harvest from them into spring. Autumn is the time to get the cold frames out, and with them, fresh food in the winter becomes an option.

Pipes, Power, and Protection

In the tropics, pipes freezing was never an issue, and heating never a grave concern. Though highland areas might sometimes call for a short stack of blankets or a fire, by and large, temperatures weren’t going to kill us, and pipes were infinitely more likely to burst due to a hastily stabbed garden tool than ice. In this situation, power was not meaningless (We still had to cook, and it’s always nice to see), but an outage was never so imminently life-threatening. At the temperate homestead, we’ll have to be much better prepared for such things.

7.Winterizing water pipes: Water pipes are a huge concern for the winter, and they have to be protected. A burst pipe can cause massive damage, not to mentioned lack of access to water. Ideally, our pipes will be buried below the reach of frosts, but we will have to think of faucets and tanks, which we hope to use as thermal mass heaters. In the winter, water is a major concern, both in terms or drinking, showering, and freezing.

8.Securing back-up power: Emma and I have imagined our house being passively heated via south-facing windows, an attached greenhouse, and plenty of thermal mass. It will be actively heated with a wood-burning stove, a thermal mass rocket heater, and possibly thermo-siphoned “radiators”. Blankets will be plentiful, and we’ll probably still have an emergency propane heater if the wood runs short. We hope to be off-grid, likely solar-powered for electricity, so we’ll need some back-up sources of light as well.

9.Protecting property: It’s important in the autumn, before things start to freeze, to protect stuff. Outdoor water hoses should be drained and stored, patio furniture can be put away, and pot plants brought in doors. The house and other “heated” shelters need to be checked for leaks and repaired. Snow shovels and whatever tools of the trade are needed should be inspected, mended, and made accessible.

Seeds, Stables, and Stacks

Autumn, in most ways, marks the end of outdoor frolicking for man and animal, though there are those of us who have still be known to grab a sled on a snowy day. It’s a time when annual plants have gone through their life cycles and have set seed for the survival of the species. A time when, like humans, many domesticated animals need warm homes prepared for the winter. And, for those of us looking to renewable energy and off-grid lifestyle, there will likely need to be a lot of firewood. Luckily, these are things that have always been part (or not part) of our plan.

10.Harvesting seeds: Obviously, on a sustainable farm, producing one’s own seeds for annual crops is a given. For many plants, autumn is the time that this happens. Tomatoes reach an end, as do things from the squash/melon family and other flowering plants. In addition to harvesting the last of the fruits, it will be important to collect and store seeds for next year’s bounty.

11.Stocking stables: Emma and I are both vegans and don’t plan on having much in the way of domesticated animals. I’ve been considering free-running ducks, both for pest control and the pleasure of watching them, and composting worms. Ducks are good with cold weather as long as they have adequate shelter, and for composting worms, the bin needs to remain covered and can be insulated with straw or hay on the outside.

12.Stacking firewood: Firewood will likely become a huge part of our lives, as we plan to use it for cooking and heating, hopefully with the cooking firewood providing the heat in the winter. Nevertheless, we hope to use coppicing and pollarding (black locust, we think) to provide a sustainable, self-reliant source, and there always seems to be people offering free firewood (Craigslist) to anyone who’ll pick it up. Hopefully, that’ll provide for us while our systems are establishing.

Undoubtedly, there will be much more to learn and add to our list of autumn activities, but we are both excited and hopefully increasingly prepared (at least in theory) for that first autumn on the homestead. I hope this has helped others feel the same. We’d love for those who have faced the winters and lived to tell the tale to further the list with useful and important considerations for autumns in the temperate climate. Then, with any luck by next October, I can write an article about what we are actually doing to prepare for winter on our homestead.

Feature Header: Corn (Courtesy of Ted)

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https://permaculturenews.org/2017/10/27/12-autumn-activities-temperate-homestead/

On – 27 Oct, 2017 By Jonathon Engels

Black Maca, Mashua, and the Richness of Andean Tubers

For thousands of years, the ancient Incan empire developed a strong, resilient agriculture system that thrived even in the tough climate of the highlands of the Andes Mountains. One of the principles of their agricultural development was the diversification of different species that were well adapted to the local climatic conditions. In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN considers the Andes region to be one of the centers in the world for food diversity.

Tubers made up an essential part of the Incan diet, with well over 3,000 types of different tubers cultivated throughout their territory. One of the most commonly cultivated and eaten of these tubers was the maca root which wasn´t discovered by westerners until the mid-1800´s. While the medicinal and nutritional properties of the maca root were well known by people throughout the Andes region for thousands of years, only recently have people in industrialized societ8ies begun to discover the true benefits of this magical plant.

Similarly, mashua is another of the most commonly cultivated tubers in the Andes. This long, white, carrot-like root is a relative of the edible flower nasturtium. The quick vegetative growth above ground mimics the rapid growth of these peppery-flavored tubers that are both healthy and delicious.

Both maca and mashua can be easily grown in several different climate zones and offer several health-related benefits.

What is Black Maca?

Black Maca is known as Lepidium meyenii in Latin. It is a tuber that was originally grown in the highlands of the Andes Mountain in Peru, principally near the Lake Junin region. While this crop was only adapted to the cooler mountainous regions, it was traded extensively throughout the ancient Incan Empire with the highlands indigenous peoples trading black maca root for other lowland stale crops such as corn and quinoa.

For thousands of generations, then, the Andean peoples have known of the numerous health benefits associated with the black maca plant. Similar in size to a large radish or small turnip, this root vegetable also loosely resembles a type of white carrot. The small green leaves never grow more than 20 cm of the ground, making this a unique plant in that the majority of the growth occurs underground.

The actual roots of the maca plant, which are the edible part of the plant, vary in size and shape and can be spherical, rectangular and even triangular. Furthermore, the color of the root can range from a gold or cream color to darker hues of reds, purples, and blacks. Black maca is by far the most common and the most recognized by the outside world for its health benefits.

What is Mashua?

Mashua, or Tropaeolum tuberosum in Latin, is a perennial tuber that grows throughout the year in places without severe frosts. The abundant tubers have a rich, peppery flavor and can be cooked several different ways. Furthermore, this tuber is known as a natural repellant and can be combined with other crops to deter insects, nematodes, and others. The vegetative growth above ground offers unique climbing vines and beautiful flowers that are often grown for ornamental purposes.

While mashua roots are most often white in color, you can also find Mashua roots that are yellow, red, and other colors.

Health Benefits of Black Maca and Mashua

Black Maca is high in Protein and Essential Vitamins

While many people take black maca as a supplement for its health properties that we will explore below, it is actually one of the most overall nutritious foods on the market. One ounce of black maca will give you over 130% of your vitamin C, 4 grams of protein, and 85% of your daily copper intake. It is also a good source of other essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, potassium, and manganese.

Black Maca is a Libido Enhancer

Daily consumption of black maca has also been proven to boost sexual desire in both men and women. The enhanced fertility that supposedly comes with consuming black maca is most likely due to the increased libido that comes with this unique plant. One recent study confirmed that black maca root does improve the sex drive in healthy, middle-aged men.

Black Maca Increases Endurance

Many professional athletes, bodybuilders, and weightlifters have recently begun taking black maca supplements because of the increased endurance that it offers during extreme physical activity. Swimmers especially have found that regular consumption of black maca allows them to go longer and farther during training.

Black Maca Reduces Prostate Size

The prostate gland causes all sorts of problems in aging men. From difficulty with urinating to prostate cancer, many men fear the problems that come with aging. Regular consumption of black maca might very well help to reduce the size of the prostate gland in men. Since larger prostate glands can cause problems passing urine and potentially lead to cancer, black maca consumption is encouraged in aging men, not to mention that it can also help induce sexual desire.

Mashua has Diuretic Properties

If you are looking for a quality natural diuretic to add to your diet, mashua is known to help get rid of excess fluids in the body. While most natural diuretics are taken as a tea, this one can be eaten.

Mashua is a Natural Lice Killer

Everyone deals with lice at some time during their life. Instead of buying chemical-laden shampoos to kill off the lice running around your head, the peppery flavor of mashua is known to kill and repel lice. You can make a simple powder from dried mashua root to apply to your hair or boil the mashua root to make an extract that you then use to wash your hair.

Both mashua and maca roots are unique tubers that offer several advantages both to the ecological resiliency of your piece of land and to your overall health and wellbeing.

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https://permaculturenews.org/2017/11/09/black-maca-mashua-richness-andean-tubers/

On – 09 Nov, 2017 By Tobias Roberts

First things First – Planning

Right, the boring stuff first. Upside-down tractors and falling through floors comes later in the story.

Permaculture common practice says it is best to observe a piece of land for a year, before making any changes.

Well, we didn’t have that kind of time – we had to start developing right away.

Thankfully I was able to see the land during the end of the rainy season, meaning I was able to note where the water was flowing, which is a major factor in site planning. This, along with long walks across many acres was enough to make a rough plan for our site, applying as many permaculture principles as we could.

Through observations, we were able to determine:

• The best location for access/roads that would also serve as water harvesting potentials
• The best locations for power and water lines based off future use (or lack thereof) of the areas
• Where to locate the water tank for gravity fed irrigation
• The best locations for buildings to take advantage of summer shade and winter sun for passive climate control

We evaluated the characteristics of the elements, the attributes of the land it was to be placed on, and what we needed. The intersection of these three was often our best bet for deciding where something was going to be placed on our site.

From here we were able to map out a rough initial site plan that accounted for future locations of major elements like pasture, gardens and additional structures.

http://highsierrapermaculture.com/permaculture-articles/steps-to-developing-raw-land/

On – 14 Nov, 2017 By Bret Glassett