Newbie to 'farm' life. Any advice?

Post Reply New Topic

I'm about to be moving to an old house on a small acreage (about 16 acres). Should be there in about a week. It's tank water and pumps and all that stuff. I'll be getting a couple of sheep to keep the grass down eventually but I need to get some excavation/drains (it's a sloping site) and fences done first.

It's the aspie dream, but I feel a bit daunted by it. There's no council garbage collection, you have to take it to the tip.

Any advice or comments?

Seems nice, apart from the lack of garbage collection. Do we get to see some pictures?

pictures? umm eventually. An electrical storm blew the modem out on my regular computer, (ibook) so I'm using a cheap old PC for internet and it doesn't have a photo program on it. I've been slack about getting the ibook fixed cos there's no mac shop/repair thingy here, the nearest is an hour and a half drive away. Once I get moved (next week) in I'll get onto the repair. I do have a quote! It's just whether to mail the laptop down or drive it down, been to busy to bother about it.

Here's some word pictures:

It's an old white fibro-clad place, the original part of the house is from the 1920s and is weatherboard I think, but most of that has been changed or erased or covered. I think the only 'old' feature left is two bedroom ceilings that are made of wooden boards (like floorboards but on the ceiling).

It's on a hill west-facing, so windy at times, but I like west facing. Nice whispering leaves everywhere, the top third of the block is still wooded (native trees) and there's a quarry up there too. The house is on the middle bit and the bottom bit is two large uh paddocks I guess you'd call them. The unwooded bits are like tiers or a series of banks (sloping block). there's very little flat land around the house so I need to create a flat area there, otherwise you're walking up banks all the time.

Gotta do some cheap fencing too, there's hardly any left.

Wow!

I have no advice to give, but I feel compelled to share my envy! If I can come live with you, I'll do my best not to be annoying.

Seriously, I hope it's wonderful. Your description is lovely.

Yeah I'm amazed. I feel a bit too old and I'm on my own but I'll give it a go, it's a city person's dream. Apparently there is a band that practices from time to time in the neighbourhood and it's on the way to the local motorcyle track so you do get bikers on their way to a meet passing by...hey it's better than the whole suburban nightmare.

I could well end up in an asset-rich, cash-poor situation which can mean you have to sell, but that'll take a few years, so I'll see how I go. Should get 10 years out of it hopefully before I reach that point.

The owners stopped doing maintenace some time ago because they presumed it would be demolished and the husband is hopeless/uninterested. I've got to replace deck floorboards and the power box (meters etc) needs a new door (currently covered with black plastic), the bathroom needs a few thou thrown at it (no basin, no shower, just a bath and toilet).

I'm glad for you! It's what I dream of.

Tip: double-bag trash to avoid a smelly car if a leak occurs. Or get a truck.

Sounds like the place will be worth the effort.

It sounds like the house in Mad Max!

I'd probably feel that way if I was reading this thread.

Be sure to put out some rain barrels. Check for termites. Plant loads of wildflowers!

No termites in Tasmania as yet - it's the only termite free state in Australia! I'm crazy for palm trees so I might try and get a couple of metre high ones, there's a supplier iof larger specimens in this state. Anything bigger than that I couldn't 'wrangle' and I'm too old too wait for a little nursery palm to grow. There's two tanks (rain barrels) attached to the roof but depending on costs, people tend to get one big one and sink it underground.

I have known some country living types briefly so I know a few things, not much. You take your garbage and dump it in the local litter bins (I'm 3 mins out of a small town pop about 5,000), if you do that every time you go out, you don't need to go to the tip. I understand there's a local guy who does a tip run in his ute anyway so that's possible too.

Do it in bits. Getting tired, blisters, wounded, makes it all hard, but five minutes, and a tea break, then five minutes, and walk around, and after a while you will be doing ten minute hits, and it adds up. After a month you will be suprised how much you can do, and still feel good.

One trip heavy loaded, you are shot for days, break it into three, and you will get stronger.

There is a line, work harder, get run down, stay on your side. The line keeps moving, you can do more, for longer, and still, keep it in your range. There is a time to work, and a time to sit and look at it.

Slopes build good legs, ask the land what it is doing, you might discover it knows best. Until you have seen it through a season, don't do things that will make puddles. Look at the slope from all angles, level one area, make a cliff in another, and that might get out of hand.

Fencing one acre is work, better a small tight pen, than chasing stock over the countryside. One for a corner brace, then building out, is less work for area enclosed. Digging postholes, or driving metal posts was something I hired out when I was much younger. I will set posts, tampt them in, stringing wire is easy, except carrying it. The wheel barrow is your friend, get one with a big tire, or beter yet, the carts with a heavy bike size tire on each side. They haul tools, materials, and make a handy table and bench.

Don't hurry, don't get mad, and you will get more done, and enjoy the work. You are going to look at it for a long time, and a job well done is a joy to behold. Make yourself happy.

Spread the seed for a good pasture mix before you need it, it takes a few years to establish. It will choke out the weeds and leave a good stand of feed when you do need it, with good roots. It will withstand dry periods, and grazing makes it better.

Ask around, in some places a little lime makes everything better. Hang out at the feed store and talk about the weather. Wear a hat, it makes you look country. Learn about your soil type, the names of good grasses. If you plant field flowers, make sure they are not weeds, that will spread, or toxic to stock. Ask at the feed store, show you are trying to do right.

Not a lot of effort to spread lime and broadcast seed, and in a few years it can make the place look rich. Clover adds nitrogen, alfalfa sends roots deep, good cover enriches the soil, and holds water.

Love your dirt.

I used to live in a small town with no garbage collection or mail. In the US, bears and raccoons will get into your trash and make a mess if you don't secure it. I kept mine in cans with lids in a box. I put a brick on top of the box's lid, and I latched it. Raccoons and bears are clever, so all of that was necessary. I don't know what Australian wildlife are capable of getting into, but it's something to consider.

Usually, when you're on a well, you have no water without electricity (modern wells have electric pumps), and the power goes out more frequently in rural areas (in the US at least). Because of this, it's a good idea to keep a few gallons of water in the pantry. If you can afford one, you might want to get a generator, depending on how much you rely on electricity and how often the power goes out.

Are you going to get a dog to heard and guard the sheep?

It sounds like a lot of fun. I'm envious.

I just thought of something. Where I live, the neighbors have built a compost heap, with a fence around it. We throw all leftover bits of food on it, stuff like veggie and fruit peelings, to cut down on garbage that needs disposing of. Since it gets really hot here, it helps to reduce the amount of smelly garbage that must sit around until collection day. Not sure about your wildlife situation, though. Here we have raccoons and feral cats that sometimes try to get into the compost, thus the fence.