Homestead mailing list

[Rob Smith <rob.smith.work AT gmail.com>]

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 6:24 PM, Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com> wrote:

> > Yay, I do have something to contribute. I appreciate listening and
> learning
> > but have very little practical experience as I'm still in an apartment in
> > the city.
>
> Are you planning to homestead at some point?
>
>
I am, although my time frame is wide open. It's really just a case of when
the time is right (I know, no time like the present), but I definitely want
to learn as much as I can before I jump in. The other thing that's making it
difficult to get my feet wet is that I'm in Southern California. The only
land out here that is affordable to me is desert land and doesn't have water
service. I'm looking locally for a house to rent with a decent sized
backyard so I can start putting some of the skills to use.

I plan on starting with square foot gardening to help get the kids into it.
They allows chickens here so I may experiment with them after, but since I'm
not expecting a massive backyard the numbers will be low. I also wanted to
check out aquaponics once I had enough room to grow more than a single head
of lettuce, but I'm starting to think that once I get a traditional garden
going the desire would fade.

The overall goal being to feel confident enough, and have the wife and kids
confident enough, that we can do it before making the leap. I actually think
the kids would be game right now and so would I. My wife is slowly coming
around to it and since we've already had a bad move I don't want to rush it.
Also, having a bit more money saved wouldn't hurt ;).

Rob