Future Plans

Just when you thought all we did was pull down wallpaper and consider wall colors, this is where we start getting into our long term plans for our mini-homestead.

Plans for 2014:

Make maple syrup - I just marked the ten maple trees that will be tapped next February so I can try my hand at making maple syrup.  I have very fond memories of my grandpa's homemade maple syrup and I'd like to see if I can manage it (without burning the house down).  Did you know you can make granulated sugar out of maple syrup?  I sure as heck didn't.  We'll have see how far I can go with my ten little trees.  There's more out there, if this goes well.

Grow food - Our first season will be modest so we don't get in over our heads, but raised beds are planned and the compost bin is being built now.  We'll start with the usual (lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans) and see how we do.

Keep chickens - Yes, we want to raise chickens for eggs and meat.  The neighbors are cool with it so long as we don't have a rooster keeping them up at all hours.  I'm not fond of roosters myself, so no problem.  The current plan is to have a laying flock of six hens and however many meat birds.  Not many to start with so, again, we don't get in over our heads.  Coop plans are drawn and we're starting to consider construction sites.

Longer term plans:

Produce most of the fruits/vegetables/plants/poultry that we eat.

Turn our 'flood plain' into a pond, reclaiming flood area for use.

Build a root cellar.

Add solar panels on the garage.

Plant fruit/nut trees in place of some of the current trees.

Our eventual goal is to be as close to self-sustainable as possible.  We're not preppers or tree hugging hippies, but we like the idea of producing our own food and not having to wonder what we're eating.  We also like the idea that if the power goes out, we won't really notice until we see it on Facebook.  I don't know if it will be cost efficient (probably not), but we're going to enjoy the attempt if nothing else.