The Genesis

Several years ago I moved my family out of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, opting to settle in what many from our old surroundings would consider the country side. The move itself was less than two hours away from the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area but it could have been worlds away. I arrived here with some knowledge of farming, brewing, fermenting, cooking, animal husbandry, distilling, and curing. The goal has been to rely less on the industrialized agriculture practices all too common in our society today and become more self sufficient. Obviously this comes with at a cost, it is far more expensive to for example produce your own organic eggs than buy them off the shelf. My flock of hens is free range, but for truly healthy birds I have to augment their diets, especially in the winter months when the pickings are slim. Grain feed is not cheap, a bag is about $12 and my hens can dust a 60lbs sack of feed grain in about a month. To date I would say the average egg I receive has cost me out of pocket several dollars at the very least.


Being a small holder by definition is not profitable in terms of raising animals, and in some cases growing veggies. If profit is your goal you will need more than what we have in terms of land (an acre and a half), and be looking at an allotment which is 50 acres or more. Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat, you always want more than what you have it is the nature of man and there is nothing wrong with that. I would love to get off this parcel onto at least 5 acres if not more as soon as possible. With more land I would grow more animals and farm more produce. Sell some of it to pay the property taxes, which in California are excessive for what the State government provides in return.

That being said there is a lot you can do with whatever space you have available, regardless of where you live, or what season it is. The purpose of this blog is to help you understand how to do certain things efficiently regardless of space, geographic area or season.