I have some questions about farming. I have three women living on a self-sustaining farm. The idea would be that they grow almost everything they eat, and still have some extra to sell at a farmer's market so they can make some money. So here are my questions.
1. What all would they need to be growing? I'm thinking if they have a substantial vegetable garden, some fruit trees, chickens for meat and eggs, and goats for milk and cheese, they'd be able to do a lot. I assume they would have to buy some things, like flour and sugar. Anything I'm missing?
2. Can three women who have no other occupations handle that kind of workload? They're secondary characters, so I won't be going into much description about the work they do, but I need to know if my expectations for them are realistic.
Thank in advance!
Note from moderator: edited to create [TOPIC].
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13,704 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2008 - 18 57
If their only source of income is the farmer's market then they will have to pull in tons of money just to pay their property tax let alone other expenses like utilities, fuel and equipment (vehicles to get to and from different markets and tables and canopies for the stalls), upkeep on the property, vet bills, etc. If they live in an area with a large enough population there could be markets 5 or 6 days of the week to go to but even then they would still need other sources of income. Maybe one or two could have part time jobs or they have some sort of winter business to bring in cash.
But yeah, it can be done.
----------The Witch of Spokeland - 2007 winner
51,095 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2008 - 19 27
Thanks! That helps a lot.
And you've actually just given me an idea that fills a minor plot hole very nicely, so thanks for that as well.
3,800 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2008 - 02 43
Yes, they can handle the workload.
Unless it's a very small farm, they should also be able to grow grain. They'd either use it as wholegrain or handgrind it (and must have dry storage), but if they're intent on self-sufficiency (is that the word you meant?) and using a carbohydrate-based diet, grain gowing is the way to go.
50,036 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2008 - 03 55
How self-sufficient are they? I mean is it just most of their food or are they off grid for electric (possible with solar panels or other microgeneration methods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgeneration ), what about gas - not petrol the sort you cook with (also possible since they have livestock but more tricky and would smell awful), water (I know someone who had a private water supply on their smallholding).
Are they doing this because they value their independence or for environmental reasons? If the latter you might want to read up on permaculture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture as they'll probably be trying to create a lifestyle that is not just self-sufficient but sustainable. I know you don't want to go into too much detail about the work but how they farm will also effect the description of the place.
Is the workload possible for three women? Depends on the size... my friend who had a smallholding ran it with just her and her husband but she made extra income by having paying guests stay (that's how we met - I went on holiday there). Perhaps your women can supplement the income they have from selling their surplus the same way.
Becky
----------51,095 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2008 - 06 58
Wow, lots of information. I don't have the answers to all of your questions, so it looks like I have a little more planning to do. But you've given me a lot to think about. Thanks!
Oh, and yes, I meant self-sufficient. I want them to do as much as possible on their own.
63,840 / 50,000
Oct 15, 2008 - 15 32
1. Don't forget that many small farmers sell their produce to restaurants, which can often bring in more money than a farmer's market. The restaurant could place standing orders, buy a lot of produce at a time, and so on.
Restaurants would want to go local for food that is very fresh (like lettuce and salad ingredients) and/or unusual (fancy types of beans, heirloom tomatoes, etc - check gardeners' seed catalogs for unusual stuff like purple carrots, lemon cucumbers, extra juicy tomatoes...)
Some helpful books: Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" talks about a farmer impressing restaurant cooks with the quality of his eggs. Mel Bartholomew has a book about making money with small-scale farming by selling produce to restaurants.
2. Your three women could also trade some of their goodies for other farm produce (trading their eggs for a neighbor's milk, perhaps, so they don't have to keep their own dairy animals) or even trading with other businesspeople in their town. I live in a small town and many individuals who are in business for themselves (dance teachers, massage therapists, etc) accept trades.
----------51,163 / 50,000
Oct 15, 2008 - 18 15
Another possibility you might consider, along similar lines to raising produce for sale to restaurants, is contracting with the private individuals and families in the area to provide the majority of the garden produce they would normally buy from commercial stores. In my area this concept has been started by a couple of the self-sufficient farms; one of them is an organic farm owned by an order of Catholic nuns who do all of the work themselves. Families and private individuals establish a contract with the farm owner to get all their produce from that farming operation-- a year's worth of vegetables. They get fresh vegetables, in season, grown organically, and this supply business keeps the farmers busy throughout the growing season.
Have you given any thought to how these three women learned how to manage their farm (I do realize that they aren't your main characters but it could be important information your story)? Were they born to it or did they pick up the knowledge from some source? These women would need to obtain water for the crops from some sort of well. Growing crops take an enormous amount of water during the peak growing season. Will they be using motorized equipment to assist them in preparing the soil for planting or are they doing that by hand labor? You might also consider having them use a small to moderately sized greenhouse in which to start seeds that will grow into small plantlets to put into their garden. They will also need equipment to do fine weeding and cultivation of the soil around the vegetable plantings once those get too big to permit motorized cultivation. Will their garden be organic or will they use some of the safe-for-home-garden pesticides? As an addition to the things they will need to purchase, that you've mentioned, they will need a source of salt, both for their own use and as a feed supplement for whatever farm animals they keep.
This idea is very do-able but with the understanding that your three female characters would be busy from sun up to sun down, 7 days a week from early February, when work in the greenhouse begins, to late fall as the harvest season winds down.
54,150 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 15 23
One thing to consider about growing grain is that not all farmland is suitable. It has to be fairly dry and sunny: for example, you can't expect a crop of wheat in Wales or the West Coast of Canada. So you'll need to look at the climate in the location of your story.
Did anyone mention wool? A hand-shearing, hand-carding, spinning, dyeing etc. operation, a cottage industry of sorts, could bring in some money to pay the bills.
0 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 16 41
White Flour ans sugar are probably going to be reserved for special deserts or "Company." They will need to grow their own grain, asn for most of the country that means corn. Corn meal mush for breakfast and corn bread on the supper table are probably going be the staples most days. Corn fees the chickens as well as the humans, beans can be grown in the same field at the same time as corn, and if they have a cow the cow can be turned in to eat the corn stalks after harvesting. (I don't know if goats like corn stalks, can't think of any reason why not, but I suspect the real challenge will be keeping the goats out of the corn until after the harvest.)
Beans make a good nutritional balance for corn, beans for dinner and supper, again most days.
Honey will be used as the table sweetener most days. Again, sugar will be store-bought, and reserved for fancy deserts and special occasions.
A pig or two is essential on a self-sufficent holding, far more valuable for the manure than the meat. Think of them as leaf mulchers with hooves.
You mentioned goats for meat and milk, goats can produce wool as well. Handspun angora or mohair may be at least part of their cash crop.
Are any of them widowed? Survivor benifits would bring in a monthly check.
How is labor divided? I suppose chores could be rotated, but for some reason I see one as full time cook and housekeeper, one taking care of the plants (irrigation, weeding, pest control, spreading fertilizer, fence mending), and the third taking care of the animals (feeding, milking, egg gatherting, mucking out stalls, butchering). Some chores, planting, harvesting, shearing, canning, would be All Hands On Deck and cold suppers until they are done. (But even then, the animals need to be fed and milked on schedule even if mucking up could be let go for one day.)
Who has time to crew a stand at the farmer's market? Contract growing for restaraunts, produce markets, or organic food stores makes more sense, especally as thier byers would be coming to them. And in most parts of the country, that means extending tomatos and salad greens beyond season, and that means a greenhouse.
50,036 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 18 11
I've been mooching around the internet looking for links for you about self-sufficient living and here's some I thought you might find useful...
http://www.lowimpact.org/factsheet_biogas.htm (infact the entire LILI site - especially the factsheet section - might be useful)
----------http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2005/08/11/off-grid-water-systems/
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago71.html
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ (while this site is aimed more at 'urban homesteaders' it does have some good stuff for you I think)
50,346 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 18 35
What BlueBead is talking about is called Community Supported Agriculture. I subscribe to a CSA and get a box of vegetables every week from mid June to late October -- most of the growing season in Missouri. My CSA is two small family farms, each run by a couple while also raising children. I think both have extended families and/or occasional help for the crunch times--like Wednesday afternoon when they're harvesting and Thursday morning when they're packing the boxes. We don't get meat with our CSA, which is common, but I think there are some that provide meat as well.
One of my favorite farmer families at the Farmers Market is a couple with small children. They make most of their money with chicken and eggs, plus turkeys at Thanksgiving, and some vegetables. They also get help from extended family, particularly for childcare. The chicken and egg business is all year round, which I suspect is helpful -- instead of selling at Farmers Markets twice a week, they run a drop-off location once a month in the winter. Their farm is about 100 miles from St. Louis, so there is a lot of driving involved.
Three adult women with no child care could likely manage the work, with occasional help. Making money is always the rub, but it's fiction so you get to choose whether they're going to succeed or not. I've seen statistics recently saying that because of the new interest in eating local foods that for the first time in a couple of generations, it is actually possible to start a farm and have it be profitable.
30,780 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 20 14
Can't remember where I got it, but here's a list of what you'd have to put by to survive til spring (family of four)
How much to put by:
Beets: 1-2 bushels
Carrots: 2-3 bushels
Cabbage: 30 heads
Brussels sprout: 10-15 in garden
Chinese Cabbage: 20-30 heads
Celery: 10-20 stalks
Turnips/rutabagas: bushel each
Potatoes: 6-14 Bushels
Sweet potatoes: 2 bushels
Endive: 10-20 plants for storage, more in row late fall
Squash/pumpkins: 30-40
Onions: 1-2 bushels
Parsnips: 1-2 bushels
Salsify: 1 bushel
Leeks: 15-40 plants
Celeriac: 1 bushel
Kale: 50-100 foot row
Winter radishes: 1 bushel
Kohlrabi: 1 bushels
Garlic: 25 foot long row 4 cloves wide yields approx. 1/3 peck
And here's what you can pull to self-sustain on veggies:
Eating through the seasons
January
Fresh: Kale, Witloof chicory (Belgian endive), Leaf lettuce under grow-lights.
Frozen: Pea, Bean, Corn, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Greens.
Canned: Tomato, Sauerkraut, other pickles/relishes
Root Cellar: onion; Ch. cabbage, Beet, Carrot, Potato, Squash, Garlic, Sweet potato, Leek, Parsnip, Salsify, Rutabaga, Radishes, Turnips, Cabbage, Celeriac
February
Same as January, plus Jerusalem artichokes if there is a thaw, rhubarb if sprouted in cellar
March
As January, February, some wild greens, not winter radishes, leeks, rutabagas.
April
Fresh: Asparagus, Parsley, Swiss chard, Wild dandelion, dock, winter cress
Frozen and canned vegetables: as above
Root cellar: Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, Beets, Leeks in garden, Parsnips, wintered over, Jerusalem artichokes, Sweet potatoes, Garlic, Salsify from last fall.
May
Fresh: Asparagus, Sugar pea, Lettuce (Leaf), Spinach, Wild greens, Comfrey, Turnip greens
Frozen/canned: as above. Use up last frozen veggies from previous year, clean out freezer.
June
Fresh: Asparagus, Beans, Peppers, Lettuce, Peas, Zucchini, New Zealand spinach, Onions, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Cabbage
Frozen: not used in summer
Canned: seldom used, except for pickles
Root cellar: emptied and cleaned out in June
July
Fresh: All veggies available in June, plus corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and beets
August
Fresh: All vegetables available in June and July except asparagus and peas
September:
Fresh: Tomatoes, Peppers, Corn, Lettuce, Eggplant, Broccoli, Cabbage, Spinach, Zucchini, Cucumber, Potatoes, Apples, Pears, Escarole, Ch. Cabbage, Carrots, Beets,
Root cellar: Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, apples
October
Fresh: Same as September but corn. Winter squash, Parsnips, salsify, Brussels, Kale, Collards, Turnips, Leeks, Rutabagas, Winter radishes, Sweet potatoes, Cauliflower, Beans.
Frozen and canned vegetables: As in January
Root cellar: Potatoes, Onions, Apples, Garlic
November
Fresh: Parsnips, Salsify, Brussels, Kale, Collard, Turnip, Leeks, Head Lettuce, Spinach, Winter radishes, Rutabagas, Broccoli, Cauliflower, sometimes, Escarole, Chinese cabbage, Regular cabbage, Carrots
Root cellar: Beets, Peppers, White Potatoes, Sw. potatoes, Onions, Garlic, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Ripening tomatoes
December
Fresh: Leeks, Kale, Chinese cabbage (Early in month), Parsnips, Carrots, Salsify, Brussels,
Root cellar: Sweet potatoes, White potatoes, Green and ripe tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, Cabbage, Onions, Carrots, Garlic, Winter squash, Escarole, Turnips, Winter radishes, Rutabagas, Parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, Beets
0 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2008 - 02 47
There are a number of folk who are self sufficient or working to reach that stage who also have blogs about their experiences.
This blog - http://sallygardens.typepad.com/ - is the one that I follow most closely. There are links there to other blogs as well and mostly people are very happy to answer questions. May as well get some data straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.
51,334 / 50,000
Oct 25, 2008 - 19 59
I live in a town with lots of farms surrounding it, and we have several farmer's markets that are almost always empty. The only one that ever seems to have customers is the one attached to a gas station. One side is the farmer's market and the other side is the convenience store. Local farmers sell their produce to the owners of the gas station, which means the farmers don't have to spend time selling their produce, and the gas station people are there anyway so it's not a lot of extra work.
If your characters have their own farmer's market, it probably won't make them enough money unless the town is really big or they have some sort of gimmick to attract customers.
3,204 / 50,000
Oct 25, 2008 - 23 10
Have them raise sheep, as well as a source of food, they will also be able to make money as well as their own clothes from the wool. my mum lives on a bit of land and we have about 15 sheep and the wool pays the rates (land tax whatever you call it where you're from). a cow could have a calf each year to be sold, or if a bull, castrated and raised for beef, you can feed a calf and take milk for the house off one cow (dairy cows have been bred to make more milk than one calf needs)
and yes three women could handle it, i mean i know of a couple and another worker running a 600 cow milking herd full time and they have no trouble.
lettuce, beetroot, silverbeet, tomatoes, potatoes(you can grow lots in a small space), carrots, capsicum, onions, spring onions,
if you have a hot house or the right conditions and perserverance you can grow anything.
you might need to be somewhere warmer to have orchards though.
I know that farmers markets are becoming very popular in nz, but some are very upmarket, selling cheeses, homemade wines, all sorts of products that are new and innovative in the food business. people go to normal farmers markets because the vegetables are cheaper there, or because they are of better quality than the ones in the supermarket, which may have been stored for up to half a year or more.
3,040 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2008 - 14 13
I have a bit of farming happening in the background of my story, too. I can't remember where I picked this up (I think on a self-sustaining blog somewhere) but I have land measurements for what a family could grow to live off of:
7.Self-sufficient farming
a.About .43 acres per person needed to grow all the food a family could eat, and support chickens.
i.Well balanced farm would have .044 acres for tomato, .030 acres for spinach, .019 acres for carrots, 3053 acres for potato, .070 acres for oats, .024 acres for wheat, .045 acres for soya, .006 acres for chicken (not free range and with no space for growing feed.
1.This would feed two adults and two children
The writer of the blog suggested the family could get "milk" from the soy beans, meat from the chicken. And eggs and oats are always good for trading with other farms. Hope this helps!