Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Emery Mitchamore <emitch@att.net>]

I think Agritourism is the answer to these questions.  Pick your own Blueberries are very big in East TX.  And Bass fishing is similar.  No, water is too warm for Trout.  Their model is straddling the current system and the one that may come.  Makes good sense to me.

On Apr 19, 2009, at 2:44 AM, Pete Vukovich wrote:

I think the article was a little misleading about them farming for 10 years, most of the mix they talk about on it was planted 2-3 years ago according to their website. Their website seems a little thin on their whole model, soil, composting, water etc, lots of stories, but very little systemics.  I initially had a lot of questions (the article is pretty much a fluff piece), but looking at their site only a few remain.

Are blueberries really going to compete with south american imports? And are you really going to be able to harvest 3000+ plants by hand? Why get rid of sweet potatos? There's a big mix of crops here, but is there a system? Teaching cooking is great, but is it as profitable as getting a certified kitchen and finishing a product? Seems like cattle are common in east texas so why do what you neighbors do?  The article says the cattle are hay fed at times, their website says they are strictly grassfed - which is it? Those cattle seem sort of vertical for beef? And what the heck is an heirloom cattle anyway? I know fishermen like bass for the fight, but why feature a predator when you could pick perch or catfish and sell them? Is the lake/pond cold/deep enough for some trout? Does the lake/pond feed itself? Ducks geese? Is it used for irrigation?  Where are the raised beds for the olives? How much of this mix sells in east texas? If you're gonna trap coyotes why not just get some pyrenees or akbashes? Where's the pigs, goats? and bees? Personally I like goats and pigs - they use them in the cooking classes (along with mushrooms),doesn't it defeat the purpose of having a farm if you bring in food?

Seems like they enjoy their land, and spend a great deal of energy putting new stuff into it, but I can't tell how much time they spend trying to optimize it or create a 'sustainable' model.  As a disclaimer here, my questions here are largely the result of my own lack of education.


--- On Sat, 4/18/09, TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:

From: TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net>
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Trading city life for an East Texas farm
To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2009, 9:54 PM

After ten  years on their farm, the Greers have yet to show a profit. Is
this a sustainable model to be repeated?

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 4/18/2009 at 6:53 PM Emery Mitchamore wrote:

>I'll bite.  What's wrong?
>
>On Apr 18, 2009, at 4:01 PM, Tradingpost wrote:
>
>>
>> what's wrong with this
 picture???
>>
>>
>> Trading city life for an East Texas farm
>>
>http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/lifetravel/stories/DN-ns_gr
e
>>
>> erfarm_0419gd.State.Edition1.24f8b93.html
>>
>> 04:44 PM CDT on Friday, April 17, 2009
>>
>> By MARIANA GREENE / The Dallas Morning News
>> magreene@dallasnews.com
>>
>> DAINGERFIELD, Texas – The process of finding the farm provides clues
>> that
>> Sid and Eva Greer have retreated from the corporate life, even
>> before you
>> hear their story. Their midlife change of course is not an uncommon
>> plotline these days, but far more dream of similar scenarios without
>> summoning the pluck to make it happen.
>>
>> 

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E. E. "Mitch"  Mitchamore

www.hillcountrynatives.biz