Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Be it here resolved.

So I suppose it is time to publish this years resolutions for the homestead.

We recognize that having food in the pantry is good for both body and mind. We therefore resolve to grow, dry, can and freeze even more food in the coming year. We also resolve to cook even more of our own meals using the quality ingredients we will gather in. It is sad but true that we don't use as much as we should of our own home grown foods and we plan to change that. We plan to experiment with cold frames and possibly a small hoop house in order to extend the amount of the year that we can enjoy our dinner salads. As part of our resolution to grow even more food we plan to rent a sod cutter and a tiller to till up approximately an acre of the yard this spring and plant it.

It is also not acceptable to me that others are not fed properly and I resolve to do something about it. For that reason we plan to plant approximately 1/4 acre of this garden with the intention of giving it away to the local food shelf if they will have it. If not we will find some other way to get it into the hands of those that need it. We will also be asking for food donations at events we host throughout the year.

We also recognize that allowing things to go to the dump is neither financially nor ecologically smart. For that reason we resolve to generate less waste in the coming year. We plan to accomplish this by increasing our recycling and composting operations and also by reducing the amount of expendables we bring into our home.

And finally we resolve to find a way to produce some small part of our own power here on the farm. We believe that though the future is not clear to anyone the wise prepare today for difficulties tomorrow. We also believe that every homestead should be as resilient as possible. To this end we plan to either install a small alternative energy system or solar thermal system by years end. We plan to design the system with an eye to future expansion.

Rick

9 comments:

Kris said...

Excellent resolutions! Sort of makes me wish we had the space and motivation to attempt even 10% of that. How much land do you have anyway?

Jo said...

Bravo on the new year's resolutions. I wish you the best of luck. Please continue to share your successes and failures and all the lessons you learn along the way.

Regarding tilling up an acre of land for a garden, I applaud your ambition. However, an acre is pretty big. You might want to think about a 'plan B' in case you aren't able to take care of it all. I know from experience the damage that a few neglected weeds can do once they go to seed.

If I was very organized and resourceful I would like to try rotational gardening. Till a large garden, split it in half and only garden one side each year, leaving the other fallow with mulch or a cover crop. I think this would help with my weed problems, plus any insects/diseases that would overwinter in the soil. Maybe someday.

Frustrated Farmer Rick said...

Kris, We have around 4 acres but a lot of it is ditch.

Jo, Thanks for the well wishes. I plan to keep a bunch of cover crop seed around and also to mulch heavily. Also I am still working on that seed for you. Sorry it is taking so long part of my ADD I guess.

Joyce Paski said...

Sounds like great resolutions to me, Rick :D !!! I've been meaning to ask you, what does "Caerwyn" mean, and what language is it?

Annie said...

Rick, your posting about plans for '10 has reminded me that I need to do the same.

An acre is doable for sure, if u and the mrs. can be diligent about it. It's the weeding, man, it is so important to do that non stop at the beginning of the growing season.

It's great that you want to help out the local food bank! I think more and more folks are going to need that resource unfortunately.

Frustrated Farmer Rick said...

Annie I am kind of thinking that if necessary we can just eat the weeds. Then the whole thing can be considered crops again. haha!

Jessica said...

As the Mrs., I realize an extra acre of land will be a lot more work. However, one of my resolutions for this year is to be more helpful in the garden and much better about using the vegetables.

Mr. H. said...

You are going tohave one heck of a great garden plot! I look forward to hearing more about it. I'm also very interested in hearing more about your alternative energy system.

Aimee said...

I love your resolutions for the year. We are sort of good about eating our canned/frozen items - but we recently had to resolve that we would eat more of them before we canned/froze more!

I just ran into your blog today and am looking forward to reading about your adventures.