Hey!

[Jen]

Good morning, everyone!

My name is Chelsie. My husband and I recently purchased an acre of land in a small town in Oklahoma. I joined this forum seeking information and advice on how to transform our wooded property into the cute little cottage-style homestead that I’ve always dreamt of. I have quite the green thumb, but never had the space for a greenhouse or garden beds. A goal of mine is to be able to grow enough food for my family (we’ve got 3 kids and counting). I’d also like to learn how to preserve and use what I harvest in a way that’s less wasteful, and to potentially make a small profit selling homegrown ingredients and other goods. I’ve also had an infatuation and love of birds since childhood, so chickens, quail, and ducks are a must. I don’t want them for their meat, but having an assortment of farm-fresh eggs for breakfast and pretty feathers for crafts sounds lovely. I’m interested in goats as well, maybe a pig or two. All of my animals, I’d like to develop bonds with. That’s more important to me than raising them to end up as food (I don’t really eat meat and would rather purchase meat products at the grocery store).

Another goal is to educate myself so that I can pass this knowledge down to my children. It’s important to me that they learn the skills that are essential for survival in case the world ever ends during their lifetime. I’d feel a lot better knowing that my kids could take care of themselves and their families should something happen, but that’s not how they've been raised so far (or even how I was raised). Currently, we are unable to build on our property until it’s paid off. This is expected to happen around this time next year, so I’d like to plan out what I want now rather than wait last minute. I don’t know what I’m doing, only what I want and that I’m confident it’ll work out. Lol.

Welcome.

I live in the rural area just outside a small town in Oklahoma. I live just one mile from the geographic center of Oklahoma, in fact. We live on one acre but it is in a development where all the homes are on at least one acre. We have been here for 20 years and love it. It is safe and the people are nice.

I would just love to have animals, but we have an HOA and it limits the type of animals we can have.

A couple of comments on country living. Goats. So cute and so bouncy! If I had goats I would welcome them onto my lap and I would kiss their cute little faces. So. Poison ivy is rampant in Oklahoma. Goats are immune to the effects of poison ivy juices. We have a friend who kissed her baby goats and she ended up with poison ivy all over her face.

I talk to the opossum that lives in my yard as well as the bobcat I saw one night. There are bobcats in central Oklahoma (maybe other places in OK too). They probably won't attack or anything. There is so much wildlife.... I love it here and there is good bang for your buck.

 

[Tim Horton]

Greetings from just west of Lake Superior..
Congrats on your land purchase and dreams.. Best advise on that I can give is ..don't try to do everything at once.. build on many small successes... Keep in mind as you browse the forum.. Many here have done a great many things, but not all at once..

I have greatly improved my lot here from zone 2 to zone 4, but envy your zone 6+.. I am still the definition of ...black thumb... but have had moderate success with local hearty fruits and berries.. Therefore my first advise would be establish an orchard and work around everything else around that.. Best wishes..

 

[Supervisor42]

Op: Last seen Feb 12, 2025

 

[Pearl]

Op: Last seen Feb 12, 2025

I thought we had a winner! The weather has been bad everywhere, so maybe she'll be back!!!