You too can live on a homestead
Living isn't always easy on the Marshall's two-acre homestead, but their level of success can't be achieved in any city apartment complex.
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It ain't always easy wringing a living out of a two-acre homestead the way Ivory and Belle Marshall have done . . . but just try duplicating their success in a big city apartment house!
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Issue No. 29 - September/October 1974
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by IVORY MARSHALL
It ain't always easy wringing a
living out of a two-acre
homestead the way Ivory and
Belle Marshall have done . . .
but just try duplicating their
success in a big city
apartment house!
My wife, Belle, and I live on a small homestead just
outside the town of Hendersonville in western North
Carolina. We bought the place 12 or 15 years ago, when I
was still able to work in restaurant and hotel kitchens and
cotton mills. During my off hours I'd haul sawdust, manure
and leaves to put on my rundown soil, since I had the idea
that crops could be raised intensively on our land as it's
done in Europe. Also, we both suspected that chemicals
might have caused my wife's cancer and were determined to
raise our food without them.
Then, about two years ago, I was totally disabled with
emphysema and came home to garden full time. My experience
has given me some ideas I'd like to pass on to those who
want to live off the land.
First—if I were going to homestead all over
again—I'd try to find two or three acres in a
secluded area, with a good spring or some other water
supply. (Of course, a well can be hand dug. . . provided
you don't hit rock so hard you can't go through.)
We bought a small cottage with our place, and I think this
is a good idea because to build and furnish a house is
rather expensive. If there is no dwelling on the land you
want, then your next best bet is to look for a good used
house trailer going cheap.
Otherwise, your homestead doesn't need elaborate buildings.
Scrap lumber available at dumps can be converted into a
barn and chicken coop (or you can find an old building to
tear down for a low price or nothing at all). If you live
near a railroad you can get old ties that have been
replaced. These make good framing for a root cellar, since
they've been creosoted and will last for several years
underground.
I'd advise putting a woven wire fence around your property.
Then if an animal gets out of the pen it won't go over into
somebody's field . . . nor will your neighbors' stock get
into your place and destroy your crops. I have such a
fence, five feet high, around my own land and have set rose
bushes, dogwood and other flowering shrubs against it. This
provides a certain amount of privacy and a lot of space for
birds to nest.
The first thing you'll need to do in the spring is to get
the garden in. Almost any farmer will plow and harrow your
land for much less than it would cost you to keep a horse
or tractor, and having a small place ensures that you can
get the job done early.
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