Self-sustaining Farm, FINALLY started!

[Ganoderma]

got the land, got a shovel. Everything is as it should be now

I will get some pics up soon, but am looking for discussion on sustainable farms.

i will have a water pond for my greenhouse, which will be financially supporting my farm experimentation, so ti will not be self sustained, but the rest is intended to at least eventually be.

the goal is it can run itself without human additions, ie live on their own through the seasons with me watering/feeding as i will be moving out of country in a few years and only be back once a year to cut things back.


some key points about our environment.
*extreme south Taiwan = Hot/tropical.
*very heavy rains in summer, and typhoons (high winds)
*very dry winters, sometimes 2-4months without a drop.

Some key points about our farm
* dirt currently very hard, not quite clay, but not far off!
*190 meters long by 14 meters wide, long and skinny.
*water can come through ditch to the end (14 meters), but i dont want to rely on that.


Goals.
*make water evenly distributed when it rains
*prevent sever erosion in the floods of typhoons
*Improve soil (richer and more "fluffy)


Definate crops. I am not doing mono culture i am doing a few plants of many species.

Right now i am planning many vines, fruit trees and in between have annuals.

I am totally open to new ideas and suggestions, i got the land, and the motivation, but not a ton of $ to play with cool new toys.


some photos of the beginning.

here is the ditch where i can get irrigation from if i need/want.


the large rectangle is where the greenhouse will be. it is planned at 20x50 feet.


the water pond which is 3 meters diameter and not finished going up yet. i just wanted to get it above the soil line in case it rained and i had to re dig it all.



living in this concrete country i get a little something, i like nature too much. although this is not really nature.....it is still more or less natural. this property has few animals, but noticeable ones. i usually need to work here after work, which means 10pm to 2-3am and then weekends. so i get in touch with the night life, and there are no lights there so its really peaceful. the fauna so far that are quite relaxing at night are bats, owls, fireflies, toads and crickets. i was blessed with the presence of a snake the other night, but being really dark i kept my distance (poisonous ones here).

if i get out there early enough i generally get some kind of sunset, some are spectacular, others average.....puts the mind at rest either way.



now i am making the ditches for water at the front of the farm...really slow with pick and shovel, but quite satisfying i must admit.


to be continued, hopefully with some input from smarter people

[JMJones0424]

I am trying to get an accurate picture of your intentions (beautiful pictures by the way).

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

i will have a water pond for my greenhouse, which will be financially supporting my farm experimentation, so ti will not be self sustained, but the rest is intended to at least eventually be.

Do you mean your greenhouse will financially support your farming experimentation, or your water pond will financially support your farm?

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

the goal is it can run itself without human additions, ie live on their own through the seasons with me watering/feeding as i will be moving out of country in a few years and only be back once a year to cut things back.

Will someone be performing regular tasks during your absence, or will the entire greenhouse be left unattended for up to a year at a time?


I have a lot of thoughts, but to avoid needlessly cluttering your thread, I'd like a little clarification on the above points before responding. As much as I love farming, it has always been the planning that has most piqued my excitement. All the potential avenues to be explored and the inter-relationships to develop, so much potential to be realized. Congratulations on your journey.

[maikeru]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

got the land, got a shovel. Everything is as it should be now

I will get some pics up soon, but am looking for discussion on sustainable farms.

i will have a water pond for my greenhouse, which will be financially supporting my farm experimentation, so ti will not be self sustained, but the rest is intended to at least eventually be.

the goal is it can run itself without human additions, ie live on their own through the seasons with me watering/feeding as i will be moving out of country in a few years and only be back once a year to cut things back.


some key points about our environment.
*extreme south Taiwan = Hot/tropical.
*very heavy rains in summer, and typhoons (high winds)
*very dry winters, sometimes 2-4months without a drop.

Some key points about our farm
* dirt currently very hard, not quite clay, but not far off!
*190 meters long by 14 meters wide, long and skinny.
*water can come through ditch to the end (14 meters), but i dont want to rely on that.


Goals.
*make water evenly distributed when it rains
*prevent sever erosion in the floods of typhoons
*Improve soil (richer and more "fluffy)


Definate crops. I am not doing mono culture i am doing a few plants of many species.

Right now i am planning many vines, fruit trees and in between have annuals.

I am totally open to new ideas and suggestions, i got the land, and the motivation, but not a ton of $ to play with cool new toys.


some photos of the beginning.

here is the ditch where i can get irrigation from if i need/want.


the large rectangle is where the greenhouse will be. it is planned at 20x50 feet.


the water pond which is 3 meters diameter and not finished going up yet. i just wanted to get it above the soil line in case it rained and i had to re dig it all.



living in this concrete country i get a little something, i like nature too much. although this is not really nature.....it is still more or less natural. this property has few animals, but noticeable ones. i usually need to work here after work, which means 10pm to 2-3am and then weekends. so i get in touch with the night life, and there are no lights there so its really peaceful. the fauna so far that are quite relaxing at night are bats, owls, fireflies, toads and crickets. i was blessed with the presence of a snake the other night, but being really dark i kept my distance (poisonous ones here).

if i get out there early enough i generally get some kind of sunset, some are spectacular, others average.....puts the mind at rest either way.



now i am making the ditches for water at the front of the farm...really slow with pick and shovel, but quite satisfying i must admit.


to be continued, hopefully with some input from smarter people

Wow, quite a surprise! My jaw just dropped. Lovely photos. I am so envious. Very, very cool!!! I know this is a bit forward and you don't know me outside of the forums, but if I'm ever back in Taiwan visiting relatives or on vacation, would it be ok if I dropped by your farm? The relatives on my mother's side are from and in Chiayi.

[Ganoderma]

I should also mention i run an online nursery, and most of the things i grow are to be sold (seeds and plants mostly).

Do you mean your greenhouse will financially support your farming experimentation, or your water pond will financially support your farm?

the greenhouse will be financially supporting the farm. i have money, but i prefer to keep the farm running itself, so i will try and generate enough dough form the farm to run itself.

the greenhouse is all set and i have everything all laid out, it is simply making money and growing one of my passions (cacti)

perhaps a good way to think about it is like this. the greenhouse is at the front of the farm, as is the electricity, pond and water supply. so this area is set aside, so lets knock of 40 meters as its already in play. the other 150 meters are fair game.

Will someone be performing regular tasks during your absence, or will the entire greenhouse be left unattended for up to a year at a time?

I should have clarified better. I am here for a few more years, say 5-6 years. So for now its all good. when i leave i will be abandoning the greenhouse and be mostly growing trees (relatively self sustaining).

I have a lot of thoughts, but to avoid needlessly cluttering your thread, I'd like a little clarification on the above points before responding. As much as I love farming, it has always been the planning that has most piqued my excitement. All the potential avenues to be explored and the inter-relationships to develop, so much potential to be realized. Congratulations on your journey.

i totally agree. i love thinking of all the possibilities, so fun to think

maikeru

You and your family, anyone else who happens to find themselves in taiwan, are more than welcome to come visit anytime. afraid not much there yet. It is going to be fenced and locked, and will have many dangerous plants so need to be with someone before entering. Just give me a heads up when your coming we are in Pingtung county.


Some additional notes on the plans. The entire thing wil be fenced, and i intend to grow cacti along the perimeter (thats security). mostly Hylocereus undatus (dragon fruit) And cereus species.



Some species i have planned.
Trees
Anadenanthera colubrina
Pachira aquatica
Delonix regia


Fruits
Annona cherimola
Annona squamosa
Artocarpus altilis
Carica papaya
Citrus medica
Euphoria longan
Garcinia mangostana
Hylocereus undatus
Litchi chinensis
Luffa cylindrica
Nephelium mutabile
Passiflora edulis
Psidium guajava
Punica granatum
Salacca zalacca
Synsepalum dulcificum


Research/medicines etc
Agave sp.
Aloe sp.
Areca catechu
Argyreia species
Brugmansia speceis
Coffea arabica
Desmanthus species
Nelumbo nucifera
Piper betel
Psychotria sp.
Tabernaemontana sp.
Turbina species


Annuals
Artemisia absinthium
Capsicum annuum
Leonotis sp.
Leonurus japonicus
Nepeta cataria
Nicotiana species
Stevia rebaudiana
Withania somnifera


and many more that are still undecided.

[Getting A Life]

Will the cacti on your borders be native? it can sometimes take decades before an imported plant makes the leap to the wild side of the fence - but so many plants do.

My other concern is a greenhouse in typhoon season - get a damn good builder!

I'd be more inclined to have a tree border only because I'd then have an annual source of char but if you are filling much of the property with trees this should not be a problem.

Stevia - extremely hard to grow from seed! This is unfortunate as many plants from cuttings have pronounced aniseed/liquorice type taste. The trick to stevia is selecting the plants that have less aniseed and breeding it out of them. Then you'll have a highly desirable product. Acts as an annual here in temperate climate, same plant returns after winter dieback. Very easily grown - add compost. Also loves seaweed.

Coffea arabica - this plant loves compost and partial shade. The thing I like about coffee is you can grow it under larger deciduous trees.

Anyways, best of luck, I love the planning stages too, it's exciting stuff.

[Ganoderma]

thanks for the tips! fortunately stevia can reseed itself relatively easy here. we have grown it for a few years now and although failed when trying to sow seed, did great when left alone. some species we just dump in pots and walk away

I hear you on the invasive thing. nocacti are native to asia...they are American plants. although some cacti are fairly invasive (usually Opuntia) this particular area is quite unlikely. Cereus (which is what im using as a fence) can gro ok here in the wet, and even flowers but is self sterile and i only have a single clone, not that its fool proof. alsoall 4 borders are farmed heavily, so no cactus would be left alive outside of my fence. this is not a natural area by any stretch of the imagination...no matter how hard i try to pretend it is lol.

Hylocereus will also be a fencecactus, which is already farmed intensively here but has shown not tobe invasive -or even naturalized in my observations-

greehouses are well thoughtout here. taiwan always has typhoons and the last one (google typhoon morakot) was REALLY strong. one of my cacti breeding friends houses stood up great, so that guy is building ours no guarantee of course, but nature will have its way one way or another...all i need is 5ish yearsr out of it to make the money.

i am also keeping trees away from it (9/10 greenhouses destroyed here are from oter things falling/blowing into them.

all the annual crops will be sprinkled amongst the vine/tree crops.

anyone have experience with chocolate? i read they do well on forest edges....i am ideally wanting them under not so dense tall trees. they would get light, but slightly shaded. probably under durian or somethign similar. any thoughts on that?

[maikeru]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

I should also mention i run an online nursery, and most of the things i grow are to be sold (seeds and plants mostly).



the greenhouse will be financially supporting the farm. i have money, but i prefer to keep the farm running itself, so i will try and generate enough dough form the farm to run itself.

the greenhouse is all set and i have everything all laid out, it is simply making money and growing one of my passions (cacti)

perhaps a good way to think about it is like this. the greenhouse is at the front of the farm, as is the electricity, pond and water supply. so this area is set aside, so lets knock of 40 meters as its already in play. the other 150 meters are fair game.





I should have clarified better. I am here for a few more years, say 5-6 years. So for now its all good. when i leave i will be abandoning the greenhouse and be mostly growing trees (relatively self sustaining).





i totally agree. i love thinking of all the possibilities, so fun to think

maikeru

You and your family, anyone else who happens to find themselves in taiwan, are more than welcome to come visit anytime. afraid not much there yet. It is going to be fenced and locked, and will have many dangerous plants so need to be with someone before entering. Just give me a heads up when your coming we are in Pingtung county.


Some additional notes on the plans. The entire thing wil be fenced, and i intend to grow cacti along the perimeter (thats security). mostly Hylocereus undatus (dragon fruit) And cereus species.



Some species i have planned.
Trees
Anadenanthera colubrina
Pachira aquatica
Delonix regia


Fruits
Annona cherimola
Annona squamosa
Artocarpus altilis
Carica papaya
Citrus medica
Euphoria longan
Garcinia mangostana
Hylocereus undatus
Litchi chinensis
Luffa cylindrica
Nephelium mutabile
Passiflora edulis
Psidium guajava
Punica granatum
Salacca zalacca
Synsepalum dulcificum


Research/medicines etc
Agave sp.
Aloe sp.
Areca catechu
Argyreia species
Brugmansia speceis
Coffea arabica
Desmanthus species
Nelumbo nucifera
Piper betel
Psychotria sp.
Tabernaemontana sp.
Turbina species


Annuals
Artemisia absinthium
Capsicum annuum
Leonotis sp.
Leonurus japonicus
Nepeta cataria
Nicotiana species
Stevia rebaudiana
Withania somnifera


and many more that are still undecided.

Will do and thank you! If I am in Taiwan again, I'll give you a ring.

[Ganoderma]

bit of an update. greenhouse is almost done, and we are moving houses. so next week work will continue...starting with outdoor cacti and moving plants to the greenhouse (and of course sowing seeds).

got electricity now too...must admit its nice having music