Suburban homesteadBy: Orlando Lira

Introduction My name is Orlando Lira. I am a 25 year old marine

veteran who currently works as an inventory specialist for Conoco Phillips. The reason why I am getting into sustainable farming and agriculture is because my eventual goal is to run a full time farm with my family and friend. I also wish to participate in the veteran farming coalition which is a non profit focused on helping veterans with PTSD transition into civilian life by working as farm hands. This goal is far and away due to need of land and my own lack of experience in farming. My goal in this course is to obtain the basic skills I need in order to run a sustainable farm.

Goals 6ftx6ft Self sustaining garden using

minimal outside materials. Renewable composting using waste

from the house. Basic water harvesting from rainwater

collection.

Infrastructure Existing backyard .25 acres Chicken coup Wire mesh Fence posts

Animals Chickens x6 Rabbit x5 Dogs x2 (pre-existing)

Growing Methods Edible landscaping Container gardening

Types of crops Tomato Squash Zucchini Cucumber

Compost Food scraps, animal feces (nitrogen) Newspaper, paper bags, leaves, grass

trimmings (carbon) Azomite, bbq pit ashes (re-mineralizer) Composter

Water Harvesting For a small garden such as ours we will

only need simple rainwater collection from 5 gallon buckets.

Pest control Manual control (handpicking pests and

free range chickens) Organic pest control (Neem oil based)

Preservation Canning via a steam canner

Timetable Acquisition of materials and building- 2

months Tomato- 70 to 75 days Squash- 35 to 45 days Zucchini- 50 to 60 days Cucumber 50-70 days

Conclusion Learning permaculture and homestead

farming is my first step towards my eventual goal of full-time farming on my own land. My goal from this course is to learn sustainable organic farming with emphasis on a minimal environmental footprint.