organic farming in new hampshire (Merrimack, Keene: condo, how much, purchase)
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Interesting you being from Iowa and thinking about moving to NH and living off the land. We kept thinking Iowa with its excellent land would be great for going organic, but the White Mountains in NH would add such a beautiful background and playground that even with the less fertile land and shorter growing season it just seems so worth those challenges for the sweeter lifestyle! We met a guy who moved to Littleton from Illinois who said he was shocked at how short the corn stalks were, being used to the midwest corn fields being way overhead. But hey- it is still nutritious- so the crops will be smaller- just have to have more I keep telling myself! Flat, fertile Iowa fields or beautiful, mountainous NH? NH seems to be winning this one for me!
Not a bad idea, a ton of work, but not a bad idea. I would definately make a list of the things you will need to consider to meet your more immediate goals (land to farm) and longer term (less reliance on outside sources) to examine potential properties with. For example- while you *can* put a root cellar in most places...some homes may have a basement with a corner that's already perfect for one. Likewise if you had 20 acres, part of that being a woodlot (and being managed properly with re-plantings of faster growing hardwoods) would let you generate your own heat with no more than sweat labor. Additionally; there is value to having a deep well (reserve capacity/drought resistance) but also a higher water table (easier use of cheaper manual pumps if needed). Also- a home where adding insullation to the walls/roofing...is easy (minimize thermal losses).
chiak
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Interesting you being from Iowa and thinking about moving to NH and living off the land. We kept thinking Iowa with its excellent land would be great for going organic, but the White Mountains in NH would add such a beautiful background and playground that even with the less fertile land and shorter growing season it just seems so worth those challenges for the sweeter lifestyle! We met a guy who moved to Littleton from Illinois who said he was shocked at how short the corn stalks were, being used to the midwest corn fields being way overhead. But hey- it is still nutritious- so the crops will be smaller- just have to have more I keep telling myself! Flat, fertile Iowa fields or beautiful, mountainous NH? NH seems to be winning this one for me!
[CENTER][LEFT][LEFT][CENTER][LEFT][LEFT] Today, 10:49 AM BF66389
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Not a bad idea, a ton of work, but not a bad idea. I would definately make a list of the things you will need to consider to meet your more immediate goals (land to farm) and longer term (less reliance on outside sources) to examine potential properties with. For example- while you *can* put a root cellar in most places...some homes may have a basement with a corner that's already perfect for one. Likewise if you had 20 acres, part of that being a woodlot (and being managed properly with re-plantings of faster growing hardwoods) would let you generate your own heat with no more than sweat labor. Additionally; there is value to having a deep well (reserve capacity/drought resistance) but also a higher water table (easier use of cheaper manual pumps if needed). Also- a home where adding insullation to the walls/roofing...is easy (minimize thermal losses).
Little stuff like that...
Hi chiak, Yes, Iowa is fertile. Iowa does not have the things going for it that NH does. Iowa is quite cold in the winter, and I would say even colder than New Hampshire due to the winds. Our growing season is not much longer than it is there, but with greenhouses/ high tunnels you can extend the season quite a bit as you may know. You do have mountains and that is a BIG thing. Also, NH has history you just don't find here, and the little towns are awesome. BF66389, your "little" points are quite important and worth considering. I appreciate even the few things you threw out there, especially water tables and manual pumps, which did not cross my mind yet. I am guessing the water availability there is good. Does anyone there in NH use spring water from their own property, or is this like asking, does anyone there have brown hair?
Organic, or any other kind of farming, in NH is a very tough rocky row to hoe. The town of Landaff (near Lisbon, south of Littleton) has several closed dairy farms for sale at very reasonable prices. You might want to check the National Grange for information as there is an active Grange in town.
Someone responded that the Littleton area is further from markets. I want to point out that the Littleton/St Johnsbury (VT) areas have a strong organic farming community. Many restaurants in the area are jumping on the "locally produced" bandwagon. There are a couple of co-ops in the area, and there seem to be more and more farmer's markets each year. While the available market might not be as large as what might be found in Boston, there are plenty of opportunities in the North Country/North East Kingdom, particularly if you can develop a niche product.
NH2008, very good points you made! So your advice on making a small farm profitable by living closer to the areas with the most customers makes total sense- but up in the White Mountain area around Littleton, would it be possible to have a small farm/large garden to supply food for a family, not for profit- but to basically be self-sufficient? In other words can a family live off their own land up north?
I don't know how you could do that. Do you have health insurance? How would you afford a car? There is almost no public transportation and not much of a walkable neighborhood so a car is needed. I do think it might be a good place to have a farm but I'm really not convinced you could make a go of living off the land
I would recommend looking in southwestern New Hampshire (Keene area). Many of the river valley towns in southwest New Hampshire have excellent agricultural soils. You will also have a growing season similar to the rest of southern New Hampshire. When you head north in the higher elevations, the growing season gets really short. Land prices will be considerably less than the seacoast and the Nashua/Manchester/Concord metropolitan areas. You will also meet many like-minded people in the region. There is definitely an organic farming vibe in this part of the State.
Late last year my gun club leased five acres of our land to an organic farmer for one dollar a year. I had to fill out the paperwork to the state. I was amazed at how much information they wanted concerning past use of the land in relation to any chemicals.
NOFA Interstate Council: Home (Northeast Organic Farming Association)
and New Hampshire Farmers' Market Association (http://www.nhfma.org/homestead-license.htm - broken link) for the homestead info.
Edible White Mountains (the newest...or one of the newest, anyway... in the edible communities magazine family)
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