Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with farming

Help me start a landscaping business!

Sentus — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:59:42 -0800

I am thinking about starting a landscaping business. I don't really have direct experience in the field. Looking for resources. Hello there,
I am in my mid twenties, moved to a midsized city in Texas about two months ago. As you probably know, our economic condition is not the best these days, which made looking for a good steady job pretty frustrating. To sustain myself I did a bunch of small gigs including small landscaping projects (Through craigslist mostly).

I am thinking about starting my own little landscaping business.

I volunteered in various organic farms for about two years; Have a modest knowledge about edible crops, organic growing methods, love and know my plants. I enjoy working outside, using my body, planting stuff,.

My selling point will be organic/sustainable landscaping.
* Trying to use native plants that require less water. Demand less upkeep and just thrive once established.
* Using organic methods, good soils, heavy mulching, sound irrigation techniques, maybe vermiculture in the future (earthworms castings).
* Showing people the beauty and functionality of edible perennials.
* Down the line get into Permaculture design, and just using Permaculture principles in people's yards.

I don't have a truck or heavy duty tools YET. So I'll have to start out doing smaller projects/rent truck on special occasions (to haul bulk soil/mulch).

Is any one here works/owns a landscaping operation? Any insights? Words of wisdom? Pros and Cons? Warnings?

Any good books on Landscape design? I know there are dozens if not hundreds, do you have any specific recommendations?

Any good software available? With design, plants for climate zones?

What would be cheap and effective marketing channels?

Thank you and have a great day,

What cover crops should I plant on my organic farm?

bengarland — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:48:00 -0800

Starting an organic farm -- cover crops: what, when, and how? I'm in the beginning stages of starting an organic farm in the foothills of northeast Georgia (Toccoa, to be exact if you want to look up weather info). The soil is mostly red clay with a few small rocks here and there. I want to build up the fertility quickly, easily, and relatively cheaply.

I own a hand operated seed spreader. I do NOT have a tractor, mower, or any powered tillage equipment, and I do not intend to buy any at this time.

My question is in a few parts:

1) What would be the best cover crops to plant in this area?

I am interested in breaking up the soil, controlling erosion, and adding organic matter. Right now I am thinking about planting pearl millet in the summer time (perhaps mixed with some soybean or cowpea). For winter I am not sure, maybe winter rye by itself or mixed with austrian winter pea? Still need ideas for what to plant in the spring. I am planning to do year-round cover crops for 2 years before I start farming.

2) For the recommendations in part 1, when should they be planted? Please give specific-ish dates for my location.

3) How should they be planted? I know I can use the seed spreader to distribute the seeds. What about covering them up? Should I use a rake? Drag a large chain across the ground? Do I need to put straw on top? Any other human-powered ideas? Keep in mind that it is about 1 acre that needs to be seeded.

4) Last but not least, a tangent: Can you recommend any good books that cover organic farming and/or cover cropping (especially in the southeast) ? I already have Eliot Coleman's "The New Organic Grower" which is great -- looking for other sources, too.

Thanks!

Meat Processing and the Chemicals that Go into the Meat

watercarrier — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:00:46 -0800

In factory farming, what are the chemicals - additives, preservatives and colorings that are added to poultry? I'm looking for all the processing chemicals that are used in meat butchering and marketing, specifically poultry.

What are the chemicals that the carcasses are sprayed with after killing? What are the chemicals that are injected into the meat to plump them up?

Is there more world hunger today or 200 years ago?

tnygard — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:10:48 -0800

Is there more world hunger today or 200 years ago, globally and in the USA? I am wondering if there is more world hunger today, or before the advent of modern agriculture. I am interested in this both globally and in the USA. It would be especially interesting to see how rates of hunger changed over time. So, for example, are there any estimates of how many people were hungry in 1800, 1850, 1900, 1950, and 2000? In addition to the raw numbers of people who are hungry, I am curious, given that there are so many more people now than in 1800, if we have more hungry people per capita. Does anyone have suggestions for researching this? Are there websites or books that have charted this issue? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

When was steam threshing invented?

tnygard — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:51:02 -0800

When did grain threshing become steam-powered? I see that animal-powered threshing machines were first invented in 1784 by Andrew Meikle, but when did they become steam powered, and who was responsible for that shift? The images I see from the turn of the 20th century all show steam engines running the thresher, but I am wanting to pinpoint the shift. Thanks in advance for any insight!

Most iconic images of a farm?

tnygard — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:24:18 -0800

What do you think the most iconic images of a farm are the twenty first century?

What are the farming essentials?

youcancallmeal — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:22:03 -0800

Seeking advice on farming / outdoor gear. This thread reminded me of a question that I've been wanting to ask: what would be great to have for someone starting work as a WWOOFer / farmer's apprentice in either Texas or New Mexico (I'm not sure yet) over the winter and then in Oregon?

I already have some decent hiking / riding boots, convertible pants, a North Face rain jacket and plenty of long sleeved shirts. What else should I be thinking of, clothing or otherwise? Would waterproof pants be a good investment? Good hats for keeping cool? Good hats for keeping warm? Muck boots? Gloves? Anything that I'm totally not thinking of?

Why does this farm field have a C.S.I. logo on it?

miyabo — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:25:47 -0800

Why is there a C.S.I. logo carved into this farmer's field? It's got to be an attempt at a viral ad aimed at people taking off from Sea-Tac airport. But does anyone even notice it? I haven't been able to find anything online about it, but Google's shot may be a few years old.

I've noticed that some Target stores have a Target logo painted on top, which is pretty neat. Are there any other examples of aerial-view-only advertisements?

What if I want a tiny farm?

zvs — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:37:05 -0800

How big is the smallest possible subsistence farm? Settle a living room bet -- what's the smallest amount of land on which a vegetable farm could feed a family of two for more than a year or two, barring famine or harsh winter or whatever? Let's say an Upstate New York-esque level of soil quality. How would I even go about solving this question?

Looking for rural blogging

Sijeka — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:08:10 -0800

I'm looking for pretty/ interesting blogs about homesteading and living in rural areas I'd like to read personal blogs about life in rural parts of the world - think Prince Edward Island in Canada, or Alaska, or central Missouri... the location doesn't really matter. I like blogs combining personal stories, everyday photographs, recipes and specific knowledge (i.e how to make jam, or how to butcher your chickens, what have you).

A couple of blogs I already enjoy are Meanwhile across town, Tiny farm blog, Throwback at trapper creek and Down to earth.

Bonus point for blogs also involving food politics, personal/feminist politics, and left politics as well, but I'm not picky.

Critical thinking about food

parudox — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:39:20 -0800

What made you first think about how your food is produced? I want to know what books, websites, films, podcasts, experiences, and so on are best at getting people to start to pay some attention to where their food comes from. (In my case it was probably The Omnivore's Dilemma, followed by local farmers' markets, Deconstructing Dinner, etc. But I started off with an interest in food, so I might not be typical.)

It seems to me there is a big mental gap between conventional food and any alternative systems, and that it does take something substantial to bring about critical evaluation of food choices.

Help finding a farming resources newsletter

NormandyJack — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:55:59 -0800

Help me find a PDF farming newsletter I came across a week or two ago. I just don't have enough details to find this with google.

I'm looking for a newsletter/publication. Here's what I (think I) remember.

This issue was geared towards new farmers (and listed numerous resources for them) but according to its description it is not always directed at new farmers.
It was published by an acronymized organization (i.e. NFO, USDA, ???).
It is presumably a monthly or quarterly publication.
Non-black text and accents were primarily brown, green and gray.
I think the last page or two was a regional list of resources (addresses and whatnot).
As far as I know, it was new when I found it, so it is presumably an October issue.

Anyone know what I was talking about.

What does organic mean in practice?

parudox — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:51:06 -0800

What does "organic" mean in practice? Let's say we're talking about what Canada or the US think "organic" means in 2008. What can I expect the difference to be between the production methods of organic and regular milk, meat, eggs, wheat, sugar, coffee, bananas, etc.?

I'd specifically like to know the difference in practice, both for industrial operations and small farms. I'm assuming that practice differs from the ideal, but feel free to correct me.

Could we feed the current world population using purely organic farming methods?

canine epigram — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:49:36 -0800

Could we feed the current world population using purely organic farming methods? I realize this question is probably impossible to decisively answer, but in conversations with a friend, he maintains that it would be impossible to convert over to an entirely organic farming standard and still feed everyone - this is why we had the Green Revolution in the first place. His position is that over-investment in organic farming is essentially suicide.

I don't have enough information to gauge this claim. I do know that current organic food is pricy (Whole Paycheck) enough that in these lean economic times, organic industry is taking a big hit, and a lot of people still can't consider switching to organics because they wouldn't be able to feed their family. Unless that changes, organic food remains a luxury for those well enough off to be able to pay for these sustainable practices.

Any recommendations for books that critically examine the benefits or problems with organic farming as a large scale method for feeding people are welcomed - I'm looking for dispassionate analysis, not mindless boosterism.

Cut out the middleman - just eat the oil

twine42 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:13:50 -0800

Calorie value of food compared to the value to create it. Does it really take more to create than is gained from consuming? If so, do biofuels make an energy profit? Several years ago I saw a BBC program about farming in the US (although I assume it's the same for all 1st world countries) where they stated that before 1970 the calorie content of a field of wheat was more than the calorie content of the various petrochem requirements to create it. After 1970 it was the other way around, with fuel and chemicals having a greater calorific value than the harvest worth.

Can anyone help me find a cite for this "fact"? I've had no luck with Google.

Additionally, I assume that this ratio differs from crop to crop, but how major an impact does this make on the first generation biofuels market? Presumably a similarly huge amount of the harvest worth cancelled out by the energy requirements of growing and harvesting the crop? How does one find out what percentages are lost?

Is this it for this year's tomato crop?

crinklebat — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:09:06 -0800

What is wrong with my tomatoes? I'm growing Early Girls in a pot with some manner of enriched soil on my front porch in Palo Alto, CA. They get sun probably 8 hours of the day and are watered both by sprinklers and also by me, watering from a can. I have not been as consistent as I could have been with watering and because the sprinklers come on at 1am, I'm not certain how thoroughly this plant gets watered. However, it's a huge plant.

A couple of weeks ago I started noticing small yellow spots on the leaves but didn't think much of it, because I was getting dozens of green tomatoes and was too excited to worry.

We got one ripe tomato last week, which was delicious. Today I picked our second ripe tomato...which is worrisome.

It's not like any pictures I can find online. Basically, the blossom end has a bunch of faint black or brown specks, and it didn't ripen. So I have a red tomato with a green and black/brown bottom. I cut it open and it smelled a little off, but I have an overactive imagination so who knows how accurate that is; it's green on the inside corresponding to the green bottom on the outside. I haven't tasted it...yet.

The spots look like the pictures I've found online of bacterial speck, but I haven't seen anything that says bacterial speck can be confined to only the very tip of the tomato, nor that it would inhibit ripening there. What would make sense to be on the blossom end is blossom end rot, but this looks nothing like pictures I can find of blossom end rot. On inspecting the plant it looks like a lot of the green tomatoes have various degrees of the same speckling. I'm wondering if I need to pull these tomatoes off or if this is something I can correct with watering or fertilizers.

If you think you might be able to help if you had a picture, let me know and I'll find a place to put one, or email one to you.

Hillbilly life and history

vizsla — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:39:57 -0800

Do hillbillies still exist in the US? I am refering to the type of people who lived like families parodied in the Beverly Hillbillies television show (which I loved growing up). Any well-known studies/books of the hillbilly lifestyle and origins? How true to hillbilly life were the clothes, accents, lifestyle of that show?

to mulch or not to mulch

dahliachewswell — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:21:11 -0800

Should I or should I not use mulch in an organic/biodynamic garden in Hawaii, and WHY? help me analyze pros and cons of mulching... My situation:
We're intensively growing vegetables in mound/raised beds on a 1/4 acre for a CSA. We're in a hot, dry part of Hawaii. It is summer and the sun is bright many hours of the day. Weeds/grass grow fast and inundate beds. Our soil/Hawaiian soil is not generally deficient in nitrogen. Our boss is opposed to mulch because it robs the soil of nitrogen and other nutrients as it breaks down. We have conceded to not use mulch next to the actual plants but wish to lay it deep in the paths (which will not be tilled for 6 months-1 year or more) to control weeds.

So, is mulching good or bad, what say those with experience farming/gardening and also the experts/books you have read? I've had some difficulty finding info about mulching in biodynamic texts, so if anyone can give me citations from a text that would be great as well.

help me feed my gas-emitting microb-enriched compost pile

brandnew — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:59:36 -0800

Geeky DIY Homesteading For years now I've dreamed of purchasing a bunch of acreage in rural PA and learning how to 'hack' the land and nature. That is, I want to maximize the energy output from the land (using wind, geothermal, solar, other). I also want to maximize the food output from the land (with emphasis on quality and variety, not endless rows of corn). Then, try to figure out some effective and novel things to do with the surplus energy, as well as experiment with various survival techniques.

Basically I'm interested in how to use modern (but sustainable) technology, science, and engineering knowledge (and folk tech, when applicable) in order to maximize rural survival.

My question is not so much how to do this, as I realize that the scope is gigantic. But, instead I want to connect with other people who have had experience in this area. And the more 'underground' the knowledge, the better.

I found this site for a survivalist-type group: Alpha Rubicon , and they seem to have some interesting projects on their site. However, I'm not that big into gun and defense culture. Of course, I have nothing against guns, really, it's just not my focus. Plus, I'm not sure I have the dedication at the moment to commit to their level of expectation. As I would like to gradually experiment with these concepts over the next 5, 10 years, gradually increasing my knowledge and discipline.

So, what are some forums or social-networking groups that I can join to obtain this type of knowledge? How can I meet people like this (of the more peace-loving, hippy, independent, self-reliant, technology-friendly mold)? And how do I get access to restricted project plans and such things (like at the alpharubicon site)?

Backyard fish?

serazin — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:31:03 -0800

Can I raise fish for eating in my back yard? A friend mentioned recently that he'd visited communities in the Philippines where, apparently, folks kept small, personal fish ponds for personal consumption. Surely there are resources on how to do something like this in my urban setting. Any suggestions?

How to fuel a little city girl's love of farming?

Gucky — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:32:19 -0800

How can I support my daughter's interest in the agrarian lifestyle with my urban, black-thumb sensibility in the Bay Area? My daughter has decided to be a farmer. The complications? Well, she's eight, we live in San Francisco and I'm as urban as they come.

She's talked about joining the San Mateo County 4H (even though it's a bit of a drive for us) and I'm trying to find her riding lessons so she can have the horse experience. But how can I give the kid a sense of the farm life and the reality of it – rather than the willing radishes into being a la "Harvest Moon".

Do farms have open houses? Is there "farm camp"? Are there books appropriate for the third grader about the real life on a farm? What's cheap (preferably free) that we can do to get a grasp on farming - that's not so farmy I'll go nuts.

Trees in fields. Why?

proj08 — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:12:32 -0800

Why are there solitary trees in the middle of fields? I don't know what kind of crops these fields are growing. But it strikes me as a huge pain in the ass to have a tree situated right in the middle of the field. Imagine having to mow/harvest around it. There must be a reasonable explanation. Theories I've come up with:

a) The tree provides shade for the livestock. (not all fields have livestock though.)
b) The tree's roots keep the ground from getting washed away in the rain. (but one tree in the middle of a huge field is not going to make a difference, and besides, if this was the purpose, it would make more sense to have trees along the border of the field.)
c) The field is being rotated, meaning, it will be used for something else next season, and the tree will come in handy then (for what, I can't fathom.)

Urban & Farm-friendly

pilibeen — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:11:38 -0800

Looking for some cool cities with close proximity to agricultural work... I'm currently finishing up a degree in horticulture and planning on beginning my job search in the next month. Ideally I'd like to get into small-scale, organic farming, without having to move out to the boonies.

Are there any cities (bigger is better) you would recommend where I could live within the city, and have a relatively short commute outside to rural areas and farmland?

I'm open to moving anywhere in the US and Canada...but if I had my choice would probably prefer the east coast US.

thanks.

How much land does a person need?

sarahkeebs — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:42:44 -0800

What is (or how can I find) the maximum/average food value of x acres of farmland? I can find things about the increased land-per-person needed for meat-eaters and industrialized society, but no basic estimates of how much land is needed to feed a person, or how many people x amount of land can feed. I realize this would vary according to crop, climate zone, etc. I must be framing my searches incorrectly because Wikipedia, Google, and the UN Food and Agriculture Org. site yield nothing, which is too bizarre to be believed. With all the (largely internet-based) discussion of ecological footprints, I thought this info would be everywhere. Suggestions?

Help me survive the coming apocalypse!

incomple — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:42:47 -0800

I'm looking for a program (in NYC, ideally) that will help me survive the coming apocalypse. I'd like to learn a wide set of survival skills (how to make water potable, first aid, self defense, scrounging/farming food, making clothes and shelter, etc.) that will help me and my loved ones escape Manhattan in a crisis situation, and then survive in the Thunderdome world that lies beyond.

Any program that incorporates swimming skills, weapons training, and so forth would be a huge plus as well (or any recommendations for practical weapons training, or swimming lessons for adults, would also be appreciated).

I'm also up for programs outside of NYC (but still ideally in the general vicinity), provided that it's just an intensive few days. Thanks for any recommendations.