My name is Jeanie Whiting and I wanted to introduce myself and offer my verbal assistance to help anyone with small-farm questions they may have. If you, or someone you know, has a question about pigs, cows, goat or milk goats, rabbits, ducks or chickens care, I am the one to ask! I've been raising small-farm animals for seven years now, being raised with them all of my young life as well. We have a small 40 acre farm and many, many, many things that go wrong and right with it. We have learned a zillion things along the way, buying every book on the subject and taking in all the data we could. Finally, I decided to write my own books...and I have been doing just that (in between feeding, planting and raising three kids and keeping my husband happy) in my own small office on our farm. You can see my website and ask a question with email, or visit my email with your quest right here. I welcome all inquiries. And it was nice to meet you! -Jeanie Whiting Author/Publisher/Farmer

-- Jeanie Whiting (Jeanie@foxmtnpublishing.com), March 14, 2002

Answers

Welcome to the forum Jeanie, and thanks for offering your help. If you check out the older posts at the bottom of the page, you'll see that a lot of these subjects have been discussed, but we're always open to new ideas. Looking forward to your posts! Best wishes.

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), March 14, 2002.

My first question is, and this is not a joke, do you have any suggestion in how to get a small farm in Pennsylvania. Let me know and welcome. Ralph.

-- Ralph. (rroces1@yahoo.com), March 14, 2002.

Hello Jeanie,

Are you self-sufficient? Or do one of you work outside the homestead?

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 14, 2002.

Jeanie, that's what this site is about----asking and answering questions. If folks post here there are bunches of other folks who have experience to answer the questions---and for free. Glad you can join us and be prepared for spirited debates!

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), March 14, 2002.

Would like to se your web site, what is the url?

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 14, 2002.

Welcome to the forum Jeanie. It's always nice to have somewone else to share ideas with about homesteading and small farming.

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), March 14, 2002.

Welcome! You may have to yell to be heard at times but I'm sure you'll fit in. Don't be a stranger either! BC check out Jeanie's Email addy Jeanie@foxmtnpublishing.com The foxmtnpublishing.com sure didn't look like a server addy so I added http://www.foxmtnpublishing.com to get her site. Sorry I didn't spend a long time there; do you self publish, Jeanie?

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), March 15, 2002.

Thanks Ross, found it.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 15, 2002.

Good to have another self announced expert here on the site. So why post--just email this gal for all your problems. Good thing hubby is happy and bringing in the money to feed all the critters.

-- FG (footer@yahoo.com), March 15, 2002.

Come-Come now FG. If this had been a guy, and he knows "everything there is" about guns or some such, would you have had the same reaction? I seem to recall a computer "expert" who posted a very similar montra. Also why would you assume she needs her husbands pay check to pay the feed bill? Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.

I have the same reactions towards anyone who self-proclaims themself to be an expert right off the bat. But, I think FG is assuming too much. So what if her husband did bring all the money in? The woman is raising his kids. Nothing wrong with stay at home moms. It's a full time job too.

By the way, I didn't see much of interest on her site, unless you're interested in buying something.

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.

Guess we are all getting a bit of cabin fever..cranky ?? I give her credit for having a family and keeping her husband "happy" ? I'm sure her husband doesn't go to work to feed the animals...we all know that they have to earn their keep or they are out of her...at least on my homestead they are !!! Today the advice I give women is that they should be able to pay the mortgage on their home in case something does happen to their husbands income. This is not women's lib talk either. Just common sense. How many times has some tragedy happened and the wife and kids are out in the street. In this way you life doesn't turn up side down during a difficult time. I have noticed in this part of my state that quite a few women work full time just to keep the health insurance and steady paycheck in the household due to the high unemployment. Please don't assume that women don't work for their homestead needs. Husbands and wives need to work together but please don't just think the little women is playing house and the husband is bringing home the bacon. More than likely she is raising the pigs for that too !!!

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), March 15, 2002.

Hello Jeanie,

I asked earlier if you were self-sufficent? That is my goal of having a homestead. Melitza and I are struggling but, with knowledge, bartering items and growing everything that we can we are slowing acheiving that goal. How about you?

I do work when I can but there is little of that around here unless a person wants to commute 100 miles a day. I stick to doing odd jobs and even that is tough as many of my customers do not have much money and will usually want to barter for the work that I do.

The most recent work that I did was to put in a new septic line for a customer. She bartered with a roll of chicken wire, six bales of hay, a couple of rolls of barbed wire, three roosters, a couple of cords of firewood and a little cash. I think I made out better on the deal since if I would have had to purchase theses traded goods they might have cost me a lot more than the labor that I put in.

This is what I mean about self-sufficiency. Is that what you folks do or does the husband work at a regular job? I know you said that you write and stuff and I am sure you are very busy. My wife stays at home to raise our daughter and the next one is on the way. She is very busy with gardening, raising and butcher our poultry, making lye soap, quilting, cleaning, and all the stuff that makes a home a home. For money she sells her soap on ebay. That is the money she uses to buy Christmas gifts and such.

Our goals have not been easy but, we are slowly getting there. We have been doing all this plus building our A-frame. All cash all debt free. We live on the grid so we do have to pay for electric, telephone, and internet service but, that is all. Our water is pumped from the creek that runs across our property. So, if we make a couple hundred dollars a month with are set. Extra usually goes into building further on the house.

What can you add to what we are doing to make our lives more self-sufficient? When someone tells me they are an "expert" at something I expect them to know more about a subject than I do as I do not claim to be an expert on anything. If you have knowledge that can make our lives more substainable, by all means please share it with us.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.

Ernest, I agree with you that self-sufficiency is the Key. If I want to learn something, that is what I want to learn. Although I recognise that there are many people here who are all struggling toward the same goal, and I realize that each of us has something to teach, the person who I really want to learn from is the one who is living as nearly self-sufficient as possible. I mean there are many cattle ranchers out there, and my family is full of tree fruit farmers. There are chicken farmers, horsemen, truck gardeners. All these people have something to teach. But, what I really want is to attempt self-sufficiency in the way a person had to be self-sufficient 100 years ago. Now I don't mean without the use of modern equipment. What I mean is where all the systems feed all the other systems, with the ultimate goal being a full pantry, and homegrown food all year produced right on my property.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@farm.com), March 15, 2002.

Dear Jeanie,

I have a question for you: In moving toward more sustainable urban housing, grey water systems are often offered as a water and environment saving technique. Here in Thailand, some small urban farmers have got smart and disconnected their kitchen sink refuse drains from the municipal system and collect the drain water in a bucket under their sinks. They then dump it into their gardens. The plants seem to enjoy the phosphate boost from the soap, as well as aphid protection. And the soils enjoy a bit of undigested organic matter. However, what can we do about alkalinity? Is it likely a problem? If it is, what do we do?

Thanks, Carmen

-- Carmenella (farmin_carmen@hotmail.com), March 17, 2002.