Knowing Your Vegetable Groups

Brassicas
cabbage, kale, broccoli, collards, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts

Leafy Greens
spinach, chard, lettuce

Legumes
peas, beans, limas

Nightshades
peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants

Root Vegetables
beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, radishes, onions, garlic, leeks

Vine Crop
cucumbers, melons, squash

Gotta Have Goats

Goats are a must. They are a multipurpose animal. Great for brush control on your land, can be hitched up and used for light chores on the property. They are inexpensive to maintain. They don't require elaborate housing and don't take a lot of space.

You can raise goats for different reasons. I would prefer the future farmstead to be no-kill or low kill. So I am not interested in raising goats for meat. However milking goats are right up my alley. If you raise dairy goats, each doe will give you about 90 quarts of fresh milk every month for about 10 months of the year. Goats milk can be used for drinking, to make yogurt, cheese or ice cream. Each doe you breed will produce one kid or more annually. Furthermore, every day, each goat will drop a little more than 1 pound of manure which makes great fertilizer for the farm.

My choice for a dairy goat breed would probably be Nubians. They come in many colors and are the most energetic and active of the dairy breeds. (Basically they are fun as pets as well.) I might also consider miniature goats which produce a sweeter, richer milk due to the higher fat-content. They produce less milk based on their size, but if you don't have a need to produce a lot of milk, they can be a great option. If I purchased a miniature goat, a Nigerian Dwarf would be a good choice.

This video is of my friend Kjersten's three goats. Peaches, Annie and Cookie are not raised for milk or meat, but merely as pets. They are great with the kids, the horse and the dogs. They are truly her pets, a great addition to her acreage and her family. They are certainly an inspiration for the future farmstead.

Cottage Inspiration

My farmstead idea is based loosely around a bed and breakfast... but with a farm twist. I am not so interested in having guests stay IN my home. Rather, I would like to create an inviting property, complete with animals and crops, walking trails, ponds, streams, trees and flowers... where people can get away from reality for a weekend or a week. I like the idea of providing guests with private cottages where they can still have the bed and breakfast service, but the choice to be as social or secluded as they wish.

Below are pictures courtesy of Backyard Cabins. I would lean more towards a farm cottage feel in design and finish work, but these cute little cabins are right along the lines of what I'd envision on my property.

Love The Look Of The Land

About a year ago I stumbled across a property that was for sale. It was dirt cheap (for the amount of land) and it was visually stunning. It truly is the vision of what I would like my land to look like. Lakes, streams, rolling hills, trees, green meadows. Add a homestead, a few outbuildings and my guest cabins and away we go. :-)

What would have been Handsome Brook Farms...

I grew up spending many childhood summers in upstate New York. It was an idyllic way to spend my days, riding horses, traversing slippery rocks in the creek, picking wild blackberries, chopping firewood, rope swings. 

Many people will say "I want to give my children the life I never had." However, I've always dreamt of giving my future children and family an opportunity to live a life like I did in those childhood years. 

So for me, my motivation for the future is to actually return to the past... or at least model the future on the experiences of my past. When I started forming my ideas in my head about what I would like my future farmstead to look like, what to name it, I drew from the place where it all started. Upstate New York.

My grandparents lived in Franklin, New York... on East Handsome Brook Road. I thought to myself that the likelihood of me returning to that area to start my future farmstead was slim. But at least I could pay homage to it by naming my farm after it. I thought 'what a perfect name for a farm, Handsome Brook Farms'. I figured the name was unique enough, yet if I was asked about the origins it had enough of a story behind it. So there it was, my future farmstead... until my hopes were dashed with a simple Google search. 

http://handsomebrookfarm.com

Yep, a family not far from where I grew up had a lovely little farm named... Handsome Brook Farms. Not only was it a farm, it was a bed and breakfast offering similar services to what I plan to offer down the road. Sigh. Good on them though. They appear to be running a good show there. If I'm ever in the area I will likely stop by for a visit. But in the meantime, back to the drawing board. :-)

Intro

I'm starting this blog as a way of keeping all my ideas and inspirations for my future homestead/farm-stay (which I'm calling my farmstead) in one place.