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I allow weeds in my corn, aiming for clover as the main weed, which helps hold the soil and stabalizes the corn roots.
The corn I grew this year has stocks the size of my wrist and some plants made 4 cobs of silver queen.
My garden started on a hard pan sand horse race track, with out so much as a tea spoons worth of soil, so I encourage weeds to grow on the mounds and in the iles, and harvest these at times for summer composting which is faster.
As soon as the first killing frost comes which may be tonight, I will till the garden, rake up what weeds don't till in, add them to either the wire fence garbage compost or to a worm house (a compost pile in the garden I made to place worms so they don't all get tilled.)
On the worms there was 0 wroms when the garden began, and I went in the woods and found a dozen. Now there is worms every where over 60x 100.
I know this is a pitance of a size, but all it needs to do is feed 3 people harvest to harvest and it did in part last year, and will in part better this year.
Must be nice to have soil to grow in for it just being there.
Almost all the leguminous "weeds" like field peas and clover are excellent companions for heavy feeders like corn, some grasses like vetch as well. They also help protect the soil from erosion and help the soil retain moisture as a 'living mulch'. Plants with deep tap roots like dandelions and amaranth help break up hard clay soils, pulling nutrients up to the surface for shallow rooted crops and making room for air and water. And many weeds, like spiny amaranth and pineapple weed, repel pests that plague certain crops (like cutworm) while attracting beneficial insects (like bees and butterflies).
There are several reasons to hoe down the "weeds" even when you are letting them grow in your rows or field as a companion plant... 1) you don't want them to choke out the main crop, 2) pulling them up loosens the soil, 3) they are "spent" and no longer doing their job, 4) they being harvested as animal fodder, and 5) they are being harvest for human consumption at a certain stage.
Remember, a weed is only a plant that you don't want to be growing somewhere. So, when you look at someone else's field and think it's full of weeds, that's just your perspective... they may consider those plants to be companion plants, or an interplanted crop unto themselves.
They've become "locally famous" as a supplier of artisan cheeses to restaurants - a few in Jacksonville - many in Atlanta - and some markets (including Whole Foods in JAX). I think you're far enough away from them that you'd be operating in different geographical areas - and wouldn't be in direct competition (so they can be friendly ).
Don't know where you distribute your produce and eggs. But if you want to sell out - you might take a look at the Riverside Arts Market. It's supposed to be a food market too - but has more customers than farmers and product. Here's a link to its current "call for farmers":
Riverside Arts Market - Jacksonville, FL (http://www.riversideartsmarket.com/produce.html - broken link)
A few vendors from some pretty distant places have made it a regular stop on their "farmers market circuit". Robyn
Jax is just too far for me to go once a week, although I would love to see one of my friends that lives there more often!
Local restaurants take all we can produce, and want more, local being the Ocala, Gainesville area.
There are some excellent farmers markets in the area, I visit them myself to get what I dont, or cant grow.
Great suggestion about the place in Georgia, I am sooooo gonna chack that out, thank you!
simple, if the animal provides food for humans, it's livestock
In our state, horses on farms are not considered livestock in many instances.
OK - so if I had a wether and never slaughtered him, he's a pet then, not a livestock animal? Or an angora ewe that I never bred and never slaughtered, pet or livestock?
I agree with your statements - but not necessarily your conclusions. Possibly because I live in a suburban (not remotely rural) area - and because I think a lot of people are slobs. They do things like putting large litters of dogs on their back porches - and letting the pups **** on newspapers for days on end until the porch stinks to high heaven. Walking their dogs and allowing them to do their business on other peoples' lawns. Letting their cats roam around (during their roaming they kill a lot of birds). Our HOA has a lot to do in terms of enforcing both its own rules and local laws (e.g., our county has a dog/cat leash law) when it comes to these "domestic" animals.
Also - communities like the one I live in have architectural rules regarding fences. The only allowable fences are medium height with relatively wide slats. Designed to keep children out of yards with pools (they can also contain larger dogs). They won't contain animals like chickens - and we'd never in a million years allow something like a "chicken fence". You also have to deal with state and local building codes (including hurricane wind codes) and community architectural review standards for any structure - including something like a chicken coop (or a dog house for that matter). So I think it unlikely that areas like the one I live in will allow chickens or goats anytime soon. If anything - they will tighten rules on so-called "domestic" animals.
At least where I live - I don't think people should have problems with this. We have all kinds of living in this metro area. From urban to suburban to semi-rural to really rural (my county is the cabbage and potato capital of Florida - lots of big farms). You can pick your property to suit your lifestyle. If you want to live in a suburban golf community - you can move into my community. If you want to raise chickens and goats - you live elsewhere (and "elsewhere" is within 10 miles of where I live).
FWIW - our raccoons' favorite food is peanut butter and white bread sandwiches . Robyn
P.S. I realize I'm not exactly a "poster child" for this forum. I'm not very self-sufficient (but after 40+ years in Florida - I do know tons about hurricane preparedness - guess no one is totally imperfect ).
Yes, there are some folks who just shouldn't be allowed to have animals... any animals... because they won't take care of them properly. But folks who are willing and able to care for an animal properly shouldn't be penalized for the numbskulls who don't... whether that's a cat, a dog, a goat or a chicken.
I think most of the HOA nonsense really comes down to people not wanting their upscale sub/urban neighborhoods sullied up with "them farm animals'... like farming is something to be ashamed of and looked down upon. Not for any real practical reasons that wouldn't apply to any kind of animal of similar size in those same circumstances.
Almost all the leguminous "weeds" like field peas and clover are excellent companions for heavy feeders like corn, some grasses like vetch as well. They also help protect the soil from erosion and help the soil retain moisture as a 'living mulch'. Plants with deep tap roots like dandelions and amaranth help break up hard clay soils, pulling nutrients up to the surface for shallow rooted crops and making room for air and water. And many weeds, like spiny amaranth and pineapple weed, repel pests that plague certain crops (like cutworm) while attracting beneficial insects (like bees and butterflies).
There are several reasons to hoe down the "weeds" even when you are letting them grow in your rows or field as a companion plant... 1) you don't want them to choke out the main crop, 2) pulling them up loosens the soil, 3) they are "spent" and no longer doing their job, 4) they being harvested as animal fodder, and 5) they are being harvest for human consumption at a certain stage.
Remember, a weed is only a plant that you don't want to be growing somewhere. So, when you look at someone else's field and think it's full of weeds, that's just your perspective... they may consider those plants to be companion plants, or an interplanted crop unto themselves.
We have been planting field peas for a couple of years now, to enrich the soil on the Florida property, the soil is very sandy, as you can imagine, and the goats can only poo so much, lol.
We dry, can and freeze as much as we can, sell what we can, give some to the neighbors, and feed the rest to the goats, they love the peas as much as we do!
Yes, there are some folks who just shouldn't be allowed to have animals... any animals... because they won't take care of them properly. But folks who are willing and able to care for an animal properly shouldn't be penalized for the numbskulls who don't... whether that's a cat, a dog, a goat or a chicken.
I think most of the HOA nonsense really comes down to people not wanting their upscale sub/urban neighborhoods sullied up with "them farm animals'... like farming is something to be ashamed of and looked down upon. Not for any real practical reasons that wouldn't apply to any kind of animal of similar size in those same circumstances.
Actually I could easily do away with all animals - except those that are native to the area. And although we have a fair number of large lots in our HOA (over 1100 houses) - many lots are small. I can't see raising any animals on 1/4 acre lots (FWIW - we have rules against things like dog runs too - no discrimination between "farm" and "domestic" animals). Don't reckon there are too many 1/4 acre "farms" in this country. And it has nothing to do with shame. We need gas stations and supermarkets and schools and restaurants - but I don't want any of them next door to my house. Robyn
Nope, that amount of acreage would only be big enough for a medium garden and maybe a few yard birds
And I do understand having some neighborhoods that have restrictions about what kind of animals you can have an the size and types of buildings because that's what the homeowners want... but I just think those areas should be the ones restricted, not the entire area/city zoned to their wishes. If you live in "Sunny Acres" you agreed not to have X, Y or Z when you bought and signed the covenants; but just living in "Pleasantville" may have zoning restrictions that make no sense outside of "sunny Acres".
Gas stations, supermarkets, schools and parcel-size appropriate animals and gardens aren't mutually exclusive. And if a person isn't taking proper care of that animal or garden, then they get their privileges revoked... not denied from the get-go.
Some folks see no difference between city and country.
Another Minnesota city stated chickens would be allowed with permits and any person applying for a permit needed the signature approval of anyone living within 300 ft.
No one has applied for a permit yet despite people demanding it over a year ago.
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).
- lots of big farms). You can pick your property to suit your lifestyle. If you want to live in a suburban golf community - you can move into my community. If you want to raise chickens and goats - you live elsewhere (and "elsewhere" is within 10 miles of where I live).
. Robyn
