What Sort of Place Do You Have - Or Want?
March/April 1970
By the Mother Earth News editors
WHEN we first wrote our "Have-More" Plan we thought of it simply as a way a family could raise a good deal of its food on an acre of land. "A little land - a lot of living" was our idea. Imagine our surprise when we began getting letters such as these:
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"Dear Ed and Carolyn,
"Your Plan is just what we've been looking for out here
on our 2,200 acre
cattle ranch. Why should we drive 40 miles for our groceries? We are putting in a big freezer and raising our meat, fruits, vegetables, etc. . .
"Dear Carolyn and Ed:
We think your Plan is wonderful. Of course, we aren't interested in raising our own food, but we have bought two-and -a-half acres so that our two children, Emily, 4 and Johnnie, 2 1/2, can have a nice yard to play in.
Keep up the good work. We are recommending your Plan to lots of our friends."
From many letters we saw that, in reality, our Plan is basic to five different patterns of country living:
1 Country Home for City Workers: In this set-up a family's main income comes from a "full-time" job. The land that this family can use productively is limited to what can be cared for in "spare time". However, with only an acre and an hour's spare time a day it is surprising how much of its food a family can produce, how many improvements it can make, how much repairing and maintenance it can do. In fact, with proper instruction a willing family can make an acre home in the country productive enough to pay for itself. More important than any economic considerations, however, are the wholesome aspects - a country home
gives a family a chance to work together creatively outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. As the length of the work week shortens and city workers have more time to themselves, home ownership on an acre or so is going to become even more popular.
2) A Part-Time Commercial Farm: The distinction between a "Country Home for City Workers" and a "Part-time Commercial Farm" is a difference of degree. But because a Part-time Farm generally requires a good deal more than one to three acres of land, the distinction is important. Inasmuch as the Part-time Farmer will raise some crops for cash, the whole subject of what to raise becomes complicated by the necessity of considering a market. Generally, "part-time" is associated with hobby farming or "subsistence" farming - but thousands of part-time farmers, particularly truck gardeners, nurserymen, and even turkey raisers, farm during the growing season and work in industry during the winter and do well. The most profitable crops for the part-time or small farmer are those produced for home use.
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