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Old 11-04-2019, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Port Aransas, TX
4 posts, read 4,033 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi all, my wife and I just became Full Time RVers a couple of years ago, I was born in TX, raised in Oregon and N. Cali, so I am used to snowy weather, trees, hiking and the like, and worked on a subsistence ranch in Eagle Point OR as a kid.

We are now on the Texas Coast, but have been all over TX, I moved back from TX from Oregon to complete high school and from there, have continued to live and work all over the U.S., except the East portion of the country.

We are looking to homestead, are 420 friendly, are DIYers, just wondering what kind of homesteading setup we should consider up there.

The growing season is fairly short from what I understand, so we hope to grow root veggies and can/store them in a root cellar for winter. How is raising poultry up there?

We are both tele-commuters so we work from home, so employment isn't an issue. We're more interested in what we can grow on our own, and we are very 'to the point' kind of people, not typical Texans that want to share our life story with folks, hoping to find a cabin with some ability to grow food and so on.

We will be in Bangor ME on May 15th, looking forward to being there, any response is welcome and appreciated!

-Pete
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Old 11-04-2019, 02:42 PM
 
Location: Northern Maine
10,428 posts, read 18,608,043 times
Reputation: 11562
Most people moving to rural America want 25 acres or more, some woods for fuel, a field, water source on the land and dead end or very low traffic on the road. This is all available in rural Maine. People middle age or beyond want gently rolling land. They do not want to build on a steep hillside, not even for solar.
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Old 11-05-2019, 07:11 AM
 
Location: Newburyport, MA
12,135 posts, read 9,204,759 times
Reputation: 15581
The University of Maine's Cooperative Extension should be a good resource for you, whether it's for plants and trees that do well in local soil and weather conditions or what have you - I saw a free class for winter care of chickens for example on their calendar.
https://extension.umaine.edu/

Here's a little story on a guy who's extending the growing season year round with a simple-to-construct tunnel greenhouse with poly glazing over a tubular metal frame. He's selling produce, but this can also be done on a smaller scale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QGmoymQ2-A
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Old 11-05-2019, 08:39 AM
 
1,453 posts, read 2,193,973 times
Reputation: 1740
Coming in May with an RV will give you a chance to get perspective. Poultry is fine, we got rid of our flock a couple years ago, and miss the runner ducks and the great eggs, but we got too busy.

You might want to study where you are going to park your RV when you arrive and fan out from there. I've looked at coastal lots to put in well and septic and leave the RV (build a roof over it) year round. Seller financing is possible, but land prices have escalated some. The further North of Bangor the cheaper.

Where you locate depends on services, entertainment, distance from points of interest to you. Bangor region works well for that.
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Old 11-05-2019, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,312 posts, read 61,111,691 times
Reputation: 30244
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Conrick View Post
Hi all, my wife and I just became Full Time RVers a couple of years ago, I was born in TX, raised in Oregon and N. Cali, so I am used to snowy weather, trees, hiking and the like, and worked on a subsistence ranch in Eagle Point OR as a kid.

We are now on the Texas Coast, but have been all over TX, I moved back from TX from Oregon to complete high school and from there, have continued to live and work all over the U.S., except the East portion of the country.

We are looking to homestead, are 420 friendly, are DIYers, just wondering what kind of homesteading setup we should consider up there.

The growing season is fairly short from what I understand, so we hope to grow root veggies and can/store them in a root cellar for winter. How is raising poultry up there?

We are both tele-commuters so we work from home, so employment isn't an issue. We're more interested in what we can grow on our own, and we are very 'to the point' kind of people, not typical Texans that want to share our life story with folks, hoping to find a cabin with some ability to grow food and so on.

We will be in Bangor ME on May 15th, looking forward to being there, any response is welcome and appreciated!

-Pete
Welcome to Maine.

We live about 20 miles North of Bangor in an Unorganized Township.

There are a lot of 'off-grid' homesteaders and subsistence farmers in Maine.

I came here after I retired from the US Navy, just looking to get away from droughts and hoping to find cheap land with low taxes. I had no idea there were so many 'back-to-the-land' homesteaders here already.

When I get to Maine, contact me, we would love to have you over for supper.

We have done a lot of poultry, goats, sheep and pigs. I have about 10-acres that produce fiddleheads, and we have enough mature maples for a few hundred taps.

Don't let the idea of a 'short season' scare you.

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Old 11-05-2019, 02:55 PM
 
Location: Maine
6,622 posts, read 13,489,822 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Conrick View Post
The growing season is fairly short from what I understand, so we hope to grow root veggies and can/store them in a root cellar for winter.
A lot of people will agree with the short season but I think it's quite long. I start planting in late April (as long as the snow is gone and ground thawed) and am still pulling roots and cutting kale. Learn about cool and warm crops and succession planting, amend the soil as needed, and you'll be just fine.



Quote:
How is raising poultry up there?
As long as you provide a secure coop and protection from predators it's easy. I raise chickens, ducks, and occasionally turkeys, and a neighbor has guineas.
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Old 11-14-2019, 01:59 PM
 
1,453 posts, read 2,193,973 times
Reputation: 1740
Yes, predator problem. There's fresh coyote tracks all around the house. Somehow the cat has avoided them for years. If you let your flock run during the day, keep an eye on them. We had a fox that . . . well, that problem was dealt with. We posted a large area around the coop with cedar posts and put up 8' chicken wire. Thing is, the birds will turn it all into a dust bath over time. They tear up everything. And Maine is all about 420. It's silly. Nothing has changed in 50 years. It's just the authorities and the industry want their taxes, fines and profits now instead of focusing on the criminal aspect of days of yore. Matters not to us old folks.
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Old 11-15-2019, 08:38 AM
 
Location: Port Aransas, TX
4 posts, read 4,033 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks to all for posting responses to my queries! My wife and I will be winding our way up through the Deep South during the Winter months and then up the Atlantic Coast to get there by mid-May. As we get closer to you guys, I will be reaching out more for information on the areas we plan to visit.

We are looking at the towns of Ellsworth, Hampden, Belfast, to name a few.

Thanks for all of the tips on the growing season as well, we will definitely be building a greenhouse and will be undertaking a number of projects once we get there and buy our property. I am nearing 50 years old but am still fit and able to handle out-door work luckily!

We're really excited to be there, my wife, father-in-law, and son all have been there, my son had a chef gig in Portland ME area and loved it, I am the only straggler that hasn't been up there. But I take my family's word on the fact that it's beautiful and just can't wait to get up there, if only time could move faster, guess I will just have to be patient...
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Old 11-15-2019, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Bath, ME
596 posts, read 814,314 times
Reputation: 589
Just keep in mind as a WFH-er that there isn't reliable internet access all over the state. I expect there is in the towns you named, though. Someone more familiar with them may chime in.
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Old 11-18-2019, 09:56 AM
 
Location: Downeast
846 posts, read 1,014,171 times
Reputation: 974
My wife works from home in Washington County,no internet issues at present with whatever they call Time-Warner this week. We understand fiber optic will soon be available . We are 5 miles outside of town. We do a lot of foraging out in the bush. The purchase of a side-by-side expended our ability to participate in this. we are 60+years each, so not as physically gifted as we once were. The plan is to have our first vegetable garden this year. Best of luck to you. The people here for the most part are welcoming. My only suggestion is if you hire any contractors around that you get references so you don't wind up with a $14,000 parking lot that causes all kind of drainage problems that have to be expensively addressed like we had to.
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