My Story, looking for advice

[swedishfish]

Hi Folks,
I have been straightening out my life to get in line with the self reliance lifestyle. A little background here: I grew up in suburbia, a nice home on a 1/3 acre. My Pop was always into gardening veg, herbs, and some fruit here and there. I know my way around what he called his victory garden, but what I guess we would call a self reliance plan. I went out on my own a little and did go to school in central illinois. It took 5 years but I got a degree.. more importantly I rented a place in the boondocks in a 100 year old farm house on 10 acres. I learned alot about the possibilities just by making friends out in the country and watching how they got by. I was convinced that it was the life for me. Few were rich but most were happy. Given the choice, I would rather be happy which was an awakening with me since my entire life up to that point was being in fear of being poor and full of worry about so many things. Maybe if you can find a way to be happy without being rich.. all the other worries are manageable.

I was broke and in debt up to my ears from school and bad choices as was my lady friend. We both found jobs up in Ann Arbor Michigan and packed up and moved. For those of you unfamiliar with the region.. Ann Arbor is not typical of most of Michigan ( my family is from the UP and northwoods and I spent a lot of time there). Not that is not a nice place, but it is urbanite central. when I started talking about my interests in having a little farm for myself while I still was working in Ann Arbor I mostly received confounded looks or that most insulting of comments... "oh to be young again" or they just laugh at me. I was in despair, not only could I not find my comfort zone with the people, but housing/land in the area is very overpriced. Even if I could afford it, it wasnt worth the crushing debt.

Flash forward 5 years. I have worked my way out of debt following a beans-n-rice/rice-n-beans mentality. I have purchased a home in the urban center of a rural county ( Jackson). I am happy and interested here. It is my first home, I am learning a lot about that while raising my 2 year old and expecting my son first week of this August. I found the time to put in a little garden. It is a small city lot I am on, so I am trying to make use of every little spot I can to try out different plants. Herbs in long boxes around the deck, chives in the front flowerbeds, lavender, patches of tomatoes, peppers in whiskey barrels.. you get the idea. I plan on spending maybe 4 more years here at least to build equity and I can take my time and garden up all sorts of corners of this tiny piece of land. BWH has been a guide to make the most of what you have when you have it so thank you.

So here is my first immediate question:
1.) I have an opportunity to get some laying hens, I have checked and Michigan for all its troubles has some good 'right to farm' laws which means I should be able to keep some chickens in city limits. However outside of BWH mag and some books, I have no hands on experience with anything more than a pet dog. Should I bite the bullet and get a small household flock (6 hens)? I was assuming I would not get a rooster since it could raise eyebrows in the neighborhood. I know I have the right to farm, but it doesn't mean I have to make living annoying for the neighbors.

2.) I have a good paying job with good benefits here in Michigan with a career future. This is becoming a very rare situation in MI. Even though it is not an agri-friendly place in SouthEast MI, should I find my piece of the american dream here or move on? I imagine I would always be living two lives... Ann Arbor and home.

I dont want to give Ann Arbor a bad name, its just not forme. I'm not overly political, but Ann Arbor is "liberal silly". I am pretty liberal ( by central Illinois standards).. Im what I call 'gun toting liberal' and value people who keep out of other peoples business. Most of the other 'hot topic' political issues I keep away from since they seem so distant from me.

So if you made it this far, thanks. I hope to pick up more and more from the mag and the forums and any people who understand what Im trying to do and want to chime in.. I would appreciate it.

[rockymtngirl]

Hi swedish - Well, I don't know how much advice I can really give you BUT = I will say you appear to still be quite young. And I can tell you that I am living in the the suburbs with a great paying job, great benefits, etc and I've been doing that for 25 years. I'm ready to get out knowing that I will have to take a significant decrease in income to get what we are both looking for - a rural home, self suffiency. Having small kids - a new family - I think that would be a challenging time to make the move - on the other hand, the longer you wait I think, at least for me, the harder it is to make that big of a change.

Go for what you can now - get some chickens! Sounds like you have a good start even in your current location. I always believe that when the right time comes to make a big move in one's life, the right doors swing open.

Good luck and blessings to you and yours!

[Cil]

If I were you and the Mrs, I'd start making a wish list of exactly what you want and how you are going to make it happen. Be as specific as possible. There are things you can do now, such as, deciding what you want in your home, what kind of land you want. That sort of thing. Because you can take total advantage about living in the city now. In the city, in spite of the internet, you do have more choices of shops, so you can really start bargin shopping for the country. I hope this made sense.

As for the chickens, if you got the time, money, and space, go for it.


Congratualtions Mommy, Daddy, and Big Sister on the new son! :)

[TNDadx4]

Welcome! Go for the chickens. Start off small and learn as you go. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens is a great source of information.

Also, somewhere on this site, there is an article about chicken run/garden rotation that looks great.

Best of luck!

[ms-woman]

Hi from MS, most of my family lives in Mi, and I have a "liberal aunt" that lives in Ann Arbor, for extra money why don't you try putting in a little bit more in the gardens and I don't know about there but what about selling eggs? I know my aunt is just ga-ga over organic stuff she lives by the university and is always talking about this great little restaurant that lets farmers set up on Thursday nights to sell their products. Maybe you could start a niche market? Find out what people there want and cater to them. Alot of my aunt's friends drive way out of town to the farms for products, what if the neighbor had what they wanted, especially with gas as high as it is! Just a thought! Good luck!

[Clair_Schwan]

Sweedishfish:

Sounds like you could use some advice and encouragement. We are camped out here in Cheyenne, Wyoming, enjoying the prairie. Here is what you might learn from us.

We raise chickens. Your idea of no roosters is a good one. Chickens give about 5 eggs per week per hen if they are well fed and cared for. You'll never regret chickens. They use just a little space and eat up anything and everything that you consider to be scrap.

If you get overrun with eggs, just clean them and put them in cartons and find a spot in the refrigerator. They will last for months. We continue to enjoy our eggs well into the winter when the chickens back off laying.

With respect to gardening, we find that nothing cranks out the food like squash. Summer squash varieties that we like are Butterstick yellow zucchini-like squash, Gold Rush yellow zucchini, and Magda, a short stout light green zucchini-like squash.

The winter squash winners are a full size spaghetti squash and Small Wonder, a spaghetti squash that gives you single serving size squash. All of the summer and winter squashes mentioned are great producers.

Other garden favorites include Swiss chard. If you like greens, this can't be beat. The Rhubarb chard is my favorite. Just keep it watered, and it will keep you fed.

We also like romaine lettuce like Valmaine, Crisp Mint and Little Gem. All are great producers and can be harvested one leaf at a time for a very long harvest season. They are even good after they bolt.

We also enjoy Juliette and Super Sweet 100 small tomatoes. These are prolific varieties that are great for salads or snacks. For larger tomatoes, we like Purple Russian, Brandywine and Hillbilly. All are good producers of good tasting tomatoes.

You might be interested in other tips for growing vegetables and saving money in general. I have a website just for that purpose. You can find it at http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com

I've been down the road of no money, and I am back to my frugal ways. My website shares some insights, suggestions, and a good look at why being frugal works well for many people that want to achieve financial freedom.

I am originally from Michigan, so I know you have a good climate there for growing lots of vegetables. You might look at my Build a Greenhouse navigation bar and learn about putting together a quality homemade greenhouse to help you grow vegetables year round. I suggest Kale, Broccoli and Brussels sprouts as great vegetables that will provide you food well into the winter, with just moderate protection.

That is what we do out here where our weather is more extreme than your location. We are also very dry and windy, so our plants need protection from the drying effects of the winds.

Good fortune to you,

Clair