Residential farming has grown in popularity, even within urban homes. Farming can be a great way to grow your own food, raise animals, enrich your family, and keep yourself occupied. You can even farm for profits if you’d like! However, a farm costs a lot of money upfront and requires plenty of learning and planning. If you’re ready to take yourself and your kids on an adventure in home farming, it’s useful to grasp some tips to get started first.
Plan Your Farm’s Goals and Budget
You’ll need to figure out what you’re farming for, how big your farm will be, and if your farm will generate income. You’ll also need to decide whether to grow crops, host livestock, or both. If you’re farming for income, you’ll want sizeable space to grow crops or host livestock, and you’ll need proper farm structures and likely some employees. If you’re hobby farming, you can do whatever you want if you have the time, money, and space. There’s no ‘wrong’ way to farm! However, parenting is a full-time job; don’t overextend yourself, or you may experience burnout.
Learn What You Need
If your farm will host animals, you’ll need to know what supplies and buildings you’ll need to provide adequate care. Horses, for example, will require a barn or stable, grass or grains to eat, as well as exercise. If you’re only growing crops, you’ll need the crops themselves, soil, and farming equipment for planting and harvesting. If you’re simply growing a tiny vegetable garden, you’ll likely only need common residential gardening tools like shovels, watering cans, and pesticides. And if you plan to include young trees or saplings in your garden space, adding metal tree guards can help protect them from animals and keep your plants safe as they grow.
Test Soil
Before starting any type of crop or garden, you’re going to benefit from testing the soil. Unhealthy soil can ruin crops and waste money when crops can’t grow. Test all areas on your property where you might plant crops. Once you’ve obtained soil samples, you can do many soil tests at home, or your county’s agricultural offices can provide professional testing for you. You can make soil healthier by adding potting soil, reducing herbicides, and composting or mulching with organic matter.
Learn About Animal Care
If your farm will host any type of animal, you need to learn how to care for the animal before purchasing. It’s likely the smartest choice to purchase a fully trained adult animal for your first time, especially if you’re interested in horses. Learn what type of healthcare, shelter, grooming, exercise, and food the animals of your choice will need. Learn how to identify a good breeder for the animal to set yourself up for success and avoid health complications due to bad breeding. Take your animal for a vet visit as soon as you bring it home to receive a clean bill of health or identify any underlying health issues.
Build Farm Structures
Depending on your farm’s goals and size, you’ll likely want to at least construct a storage shed or barn. Larger farms and livestock require large barns, pens, and stables to shelter your animals. Silos can store grain or bulk food products when you’re not ready to use them. No matter what structure you’re buying, you’ll need to determine what materials and types to use. You can construct pole barns or stick-built barns, and they can feature a wood or metal truss. Each choice will vary your barn’s strength, room, and floor plan, but ultimately, they serve the same purpose—storage and livestock shelter. A builder can walk you through the difference if necessary. If your farm is incredibly small, you may not need structures at all.
Teach Your Kids
Part of the magic of starting a farm is involving your kids. Your children can learn a lot from farming, such as agriculture, animal care, time management, and hard work. As a bonus, farming is a lot of fun and can be a great bonding experience for your family. If your farm is meant to generate income, you can include your kids in smaller doses to allow yourself time to work, but sharing the experience with them can be rewarding for everyone.
Grow Crops for Your Climate
Many crops can’t grow when it is too hot or cold. Learn the specifics about your home’s year-round climate and choose crops that can grow well in your region. In humid, sweltering climates like Florida, cabbage, collard greens, and citrus trees are prevalent. In Alaska’s climates, Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages are hardy to extreme cold. Regardless of what you decide to grow, ensure you can provide adequate irrigation and temperatures for success.
Prepare for Pests
Bugs and pests are natural parts of the environment, and they can become particularly prevalent when raising animals or planting delicious crops. You can skip harmful, poisonous pesticides and use some natural pesticides that are less polluting to the environment. For example, diatomaceous earth is made of fossilized remains, which can harm an insect’s exoskeleton.
Conclusion
Farming isn’t easy, especially for busy parents. However, farms can sometimes be great for bonding, enrichment, and income. Starting a home farm can be successful if you preplan, start a budget, and build suitable structures for your needs. Before buying an animal or crops, make sure you research the best care and climate. Teach your kids the ins and outs of farming to add to their educational enrichment.