Whether you (and perhaps some friends) are renting, leasing, managing, or buying a small farm, you'll need some knowledge about the land itself.
First of all, consider size. If properly managed, half to three-fourths of an acre of good land will grow nearly all the vegetables and small fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes) used by five persons.
About 1 acre of good land is enough for raising fruits and vegetables for home use, and for a small flock of chickens, a cow, and two pigs. You could not, of course, raise feed for the livestock on a plot this small. If you want to raise feed or carry out some enterprise on a larger scale, you'll need additional parcels.
In deciding how much land you want, take into account the amount you'll need to bring in the income you expect.
Next, you'll have to ponder the quality of the land. Experts advise these test questions:
- Is the land exposed to the sun?
- Is the land rocky?
- Is the land steep or rolling? Flat or level?
- Is there good drainage-for both air and water?
- How deep is the earth layer?
- What type of soil is there?
- Do you have access to sufficient water?
Bring a spade, and dig. Soils less than V/2 feet deep are questionable for farming, especially if you plan to plant trees. In looking at the depth of your soil find out what it is like down 3 or 4 feet. Layers of heavy clay at a shallow depth may prevent adequate drainage.
Some land can be totally unsuitable for your purposes. The topmost earth layer, for example, may be so alkaline that it is salt white. (And alkalis are salts.) It would be difficult to grow anything here. Too much sand, too much clay, and large rock deposits under the topsoil will all create difficulties. Will you be buying quality land? Ask a neighboring farmer for an opinion.
It is also a good idea to think in terms of soil tests. Some science-minded people do their own testing by means of a kit bought at a hardware store. Other people turn to the nearest
- Agricultural county agent
- Agricultural experiment station
- University Cooperative Extension Service
- Farm store co-op
- USDA
Never check land in winter. Winter is a poor time to select acreage because all earth surfaces are solid when frozen. This is especially important if you consider regions such as Alaska, Montana, Maine, or certain Canadian provinces where long winter seasons keep your land concealed under the snow. Many settlers have arrived in the North when snow is on the ground, rushed out, taken a quick glance at a piece of ground, and promptly filed on it. Some homesteaders later find that once it thaws out, they can't drive a jeep over their swamp. Or that their purchase is all rocks.
The Part-time Farmer
The above knowledge can be crucial even if you rent a small place in the country, hoping for a little income from crops. Nancy L., a Utah friend of mine, was wise enough to ask neighbors about the land. It turned out that the soil had been productive. Nancy, a professional illustrator, rented part of a house next to the acreage. Her goal? Profitable, professional organic gardening. Her hopes materialized. Every mid-June, she begins to plant various types of corn and other edibles, which mature in succession. All through September, members of her church come to her gardens to buy Nancy's delicious corn. She also supplies the local co-op market. And naturally, she grows all the other food items for her own (vegetarian) table.
It was Nancy's luck that her landlord likes to till the soil in exchange for some fresh corn and other vegetables. "I use no chemicals," Nancy says. "And to save on sales taxes, I buy the seeds by mail." Here are the addresses of several seed companies:
W. Atlee Burpee
Warminster, PA 18991;
Clinton, IA 52732;
Riverside, CA 92502 Stokes Seeds, Inc.
Box 548, Buffalo, NY 14240 Farmer Seed & Nursery
Faribault, MN 55021 Thompson & Morgan
Box 24, Somerdale, NJ 08083 Joseph Harris Seed Co., Inc.
118 Moreton Farm, Rochester, NY 14624
Do mini-operations make sense? The answer may be yes, for experience's sake. Absentee farm owners may let you take care of their acreage in exchange for free housing; you'll be asked if you've worked the soil before. And if you eventually want to acquire some ground yourself, a little prior agricultural knowledge also comes in handy. Too many future farmers start without any knowledge. Gene Nelson, a specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, warns young people:
Unless you have had actual, practical farming experience or have completed considerable work in an agricultural school, your answer will likely range from zero to very little. Perhaps that doesn't bother you because you're young, you learn rapidly, and you haven't had much experience in any other type of work either. But remember, you can usually get a job in other fields where someone else takes all the risks while you get paid for learning. When starting your own farm, you take all of the risks and your lessons can be costly indeed.
Experts will alert you to make a personal inventory. A small part-time farmer needs some mechanical aptitude, excellent health, and patience. Most of the mini-farm work will still be seasonal; many such Mother Earth types hold jobs during the rest of the year. Some people grow products sufficient only for their own use and not for sale.
To be sure, your part-time farming can keep you (and your mate or children) in a state of contentment derived from the calming effect of gardening, your child's new acquaintance with a farm animal, and other intangibles that compensate you more than the (probably small) income. You'll derive a joy from observing the development and unfolding of various edible plants. ("They're dependable! They're befriend-able!" sings a vegetable-lover in The Fantasticks.) You might also keep in mind that home-grown vegetables taste much better than the supermarket variety. Most part-time farmers manage to eat better green beans, tomatoes, and lettuce, fresher eggs, and juicier fruit than city folk.
A few apple or peach trees make a welcome addition to your food supply. However, many part-time farmers find it less expensive to buy tree fruit than to grow it. Many who have fruit trees neglect caring for them; as a result yield is small and fruit is of inferior quality.
About ten bearing trees of different kinds will supply plenty of fruit for five people, providing that the trees get enough attention. You'll have to cultivate, prune, fertilize, and spray them.
Some part-time back-to-the-landers who aim for bigger crops make more money but also create more expenses for plowing, seeds, plants, and insect control. If you need help in deciding which crops can be grown successfully on your soil, consult an experienced local farmer, county agricultural agent, or vocational agriculture teacher, the nearest state agricultural college, or an experiment station.
Look into major outlets for fresh vegetables: the fresh market, packers and distributors, and processing plants.
You will receive more for your crops from the fresh market. But selling takes more time and spoilage losses may be higher. Also, the fresh market in towns and small cities can easily be oversupplied.
Packers and distributors pay less but provide a fairly steady and reliable market. Selling to them does not take much time. Some buy the crop in the field and harvest it.
Processing plants pay the least, but they offer security. Many of them contract for the crop at planting time, provide technical guidance, and make loans to cover the costs of seed and labor.
For more ambitious types, extra income can also be derived by setting up a roadstand. A roommate, friend, or youngster can often look after your products while you're working elsewhere. Successful roadside markets require some automobile traffic, of course, and passing motorists won't generally buy stale produce or fruit. Other mini-farmers own a truck and peddle their products to a regular clientele in the nearest community.
More ideas? If you own a cow (see Chapter 7), you could sell a little milk; other small-parcel farmers breed chickens or rabbits for resale, invite the public to buy eggs at their house, rent a horse to others, make cider or vegetable juices. Or they combine some farming with income from home baking. The sale of home-grown spices and teas can pay off; mint, for instance, multiplies as rapidly as if it were a weed; you plant it just once and find yourself perennially in masses of plants that can be sold fresh or dried at a profit. Dill, parsley, oregano, tarragon, and thyme may all grow in your area.
Joining a Commune (for a little while)
Some temporary or part-time farming may prepare you for a stint at that foremost outpost of the alternative life style, the farm commune. Many communes will accept a few extra hands at harvest time; a typical example is a western cooperative group with a large number of apple orchards. The members can handle all the assorted chores during the off-season; but come harvest time, the trees must be picked by some additional brothers and sisters. Likewise, "communities" (communes) that specialize in berry farming seek some help to get the perishable crop of? the plants. Except for the Israeli kibbutz (see Chapter 4), American communes generally do not encourage your joining for just for a little while; the practice is further discouraged by asking newcomers for an investment that can be hefty. America's largest farm community, The Farm, in Tennessee, demands that accepted members make a "poverty vow," signing over all their private savings accounts, stocks and bonds, real estate.
Some of the better-known cooperative farms also believe in a long screening process. One typical alternative community in Virginia, for example, sends a letter to prospective workers:
If you're interested in us as a home in the near future, we'd like to know more about you before inviting you to visit. Please relate:
- What you've been doing recently, what you care about; why you are drawn to this community; when you might be able to visit.
- If you wish to come with a friend, your friend must write a letter covering the same points. It may be advantageous to stay for a month or so, or to return for other visits before making a final decision. If you're accepted by the membership team you will be placed on that list, until turnover makes a space for you to come and live here.
This particular commune, the Twin Oaks in Louisa, Virginia, is open to any able-bodied person in search of the alternative life style. "The only common causes for which people are rejected are laziness (we work very hard here) and hostility, which we like to avoid."
How long do people remain? That depends. Communes hope for more than transients; the Twin Oaks statement applies to other groups too: "Though we don't demand a declaration of intention to stay with us forever we value commitment and constantly seek ways to reduce our 25% turnover."
Communes have been around for a long time. But because of our big cities' depersonalization, the idea has become more potent than ever. "Americans are superficial," one girl told me. "They don't know the meaning of friendship. Or of the common good. You find both mostly in collectives." At the same time, alternative lifestyle cooperatives differ in their outlook toward political action. Some communes are not at all interested in politics, or in the world beyond their own farm borders. Still others take a genuine interest in various parties or what the U.S. government is up to.
It is remarkable how communes can vary in their philosophies, agricultural working methods, membership, size, and even sexual mores. Few people know, for instance, that many large cooperatives-The Farm in Tennessee serves as an illustration-are motivated by religion. In fact, The Farm expects singles to remain chaste. Sex among singles? "You're just supposed to court," says an ex-member. "And then get married." A leader of the 1,200-person farm community states officially: "We're doing what we're doing because we're spiritual and because we're collective. We consider it a Holy duty to be careful of the precious knowledge that prayer is real and that healing is real."
The Farm isn't unique in its spiritual aims; a number of American communes were started and are still guided by Baptists, Universalists, Buddhists, assorted Yoga swamis, the Divine Light Emissaries, and so on. A scholar could possibly see a link of certain Catholic-oriented communities with the liqueur-making monks in medieval Europe; an agnostic "God-Is-Dead" North American, though, will want to think twice before joining serious religious groups. As for variety, there are cooperative farm ventures for gays, meditators, vegetarians, Marxists, feminists, and types who believe in extreme mechanization on the land (some super-successful communities-the Farm, for example-operate almost entirely by machine). Membership can vary from 1,500 persons to as few as five; from thousands of acres to less than one hundred.
The approach to money differs from place to place. The Farm, for instance, boasts "current assets of $1,051,000" which include a successful printing and publishing empire. Other communes are just starting out with a few thousand dollars, a little old lumber for farm buildings, and a rickety truck. According to Dale Welch, a westerner who made the commune scene for a number of years, some places are "into money. Bring lots of it!" In short, you're sometimes asked to buy in, to help pay for the land, or even lease your share of it. In many cases, your work simply doesn't suffice- even though a lot of work is expected by all agricultural collectives. If you want to join the Farm, you must sign a "Lifetime Agreement" that turns over all your possessions. No refunds for those who after a few months change their minds about commune life.
Naturally, many collectives demand much less from you; at some you can arrive with a backpack and nothing else. Before you leap, though, you may want to write these major communes for more info:
The Farm
P.O.Box 156
Summertown, TN 38483 Twin Oaks Community
Louisa, VA 23093 East Wind Community
Tecumseh, MO 65760 U & I Ranch
Rt. 1, Eldridge, MO 65463 Ananda Cooperative Village
900 Allegheny, Star Rt., Nevada City, CA 95959 White Buffalo Commune
Paonia, CO 81428
Field Harvests, U.S.A.
P. O. Box 46, Postal Station M, Toronto, Ontario, M63 4T2,
Canada Hillak Farms
5987 Miller St., Arvada, CO 80004
For more complete listing of groups, you may obtain the most recent copy of the Communities Magazine Directory of Communities by writing to Communities, Box 426, Louisa, VA 23093; indicate that you want the directory issue, and ask for the current price.
