We prune our 2 dozen standard size fruit tree every April. My tools consist of: 12 ft wooden pole trimmer 16 ft Stihl power trimmer Light weight electric chain saw Swiss looper Swiss hand shears

I keep the tree heights to 12 feet for ease of harvesting . Low branches are removed to facilitate mowing

Tree are mostly heirlooms with a few modern varieties. The tree shown is a Red Astrachan , our earliest apple which produces delicious pink cider and red Apple sauce. We keep our fingers crossed we don’t get late killing frosts while the trees are in bloom. This is a no spray orchard. We press and freeze cider, can applesauce and keep dessert apples in a frig for fresh eating. Our orchard is labor intensive but very rewarding .

Thank you for the advice on how to handle a bit more logs than I'd anticipated https://www.reddit.com/r/homestead/comments/1jj5nyb/advice_on_my_agricultural_indiscretion/

We were able to break down all but the largest chonks (still figuring those out) and Ft Mushroom is now built and inoculated with blue oysters! Fingers crossed - I'm guessing this is a type of poplar or something - unfortunately didn't get the info from chipdrop

Also plan to add some winecaps in there too!

I'm clearing around two acres for an orchard and garden. I found this monster of a wisteria vine, I'm estimating it is around 30-40 years old. Thinking of seeing if the wood is good enough to make bowls or something out it.

On the same topic, how would you guys handle a massive, mature wisteria and privet infestation? I was thinking goats but wisteria is toxic to them in large quanities. I'd like the save the mature hardwoods so I don't really want to just clear it and remove the top 6 inches of soil

I leveled some of my land yesterday before the rain, how long do you think it’ll before the mud isn’t quite so mucky.

Wife and I would like to try replacing the spotty, weedy, and mossy yard around our house with mini clover. Any tips on removing the current one ? It’s not a large area, couple minutes to mow it. Larger than I want to rake out by hand though. We have a riding mower so I’ve considered a drag harrow and maybe a lawn roller. Tilling it up seems like overkill. Also have a small rotary spreader for seeding.

I have a 150,000 liter (about 40,000 USA gallons) pool that only gets used November-March (I'm in the southern hemisphere). Would it be possible to use it over the off season to raise some sort of edible fish?
It reaches freezing in my area a few times each winter, the pool never freezes over. I'd rather not buy a ton of equipment, imported things are expensive here. Ideally it would be something i could chuck in the pool at the end of the summer and harvest in the late spring. Am I dreaming?

Okay. I have been searching and searching the internet and I am almost certain I have the dumbest question ever asked, but if I don't ask, it's going to suck.

I plan to have a small flock of chickens, a couple of ducks, and a goose or two for protecting the flock. How, for the love of Pete, do I keep my ducks and geese from flying away?

I feel dumb as heck, but every search I look at just tells me how to keep geese and ducks from getting INTO my property, not how to keep them from getting out.

Maybe someone in here has done this before.

Looking for some help. I have a pole barn/carport that is 16x26 and 10ft tall. I need to raise it 2-3ft to accommodate my boat with a t-top. The simple answer is a crane but I’d rather save the $1500 bill and do it some other way if possible. What I’m thinking is using a high-lift on each post and slowly raising each post 2” at a time and placing blocking in each step. Once the desired height is reached, I would cut a 2ft 6x6 and place in the space as final blocking. Then wrap each leg in 2x8’s and lag bolts/screws all the way down.

Time for the age old question: which is better for me, keeping chickens or quail?

My wife and I are really on the fence about which to get. I've read all sorts of opinions already, but figured I'd ask based on our wants.

Our town allows us up to six hens, but as far I as can tell has no limit on quail, not that we'd get a ton.

We have about a 15' by 8' space we could give to whatever birds we decide on, although we could probably let chickens out occasionally.

The small egg size of quail doesn't matter to us, neither does the size of the bird's meat.

We aren't familiar with problems quail can face (other than being dumber than a box of rocks). Are quail problems similar to chicken problems?

What kind of shelter to quail need?

We do have young kids that we would like to get involved in helping with outside chores, including animals. Would chickens or quail be better for kids to work with?

Which bird do people here personally like the best?

Thanks in advance.

Hi guys :D I am currently working as an agronomist/agricultural engineer and when I graduate from MSC I will become a plantdoctor/plant phatologist plant scientist.Im planing to try my luck in australia.In my country we do a lot of "side jobs" for example: agricultural droning, crop testing, prescription of prescription chemicals.My question is is there a demand for these services in Australia? Thank you in advance for your replies:D

(with these degrees i also can work with animals so maybe if you have any ideas about what kind of side jobs are in demand in Australia I would love to hear your advice too :D) Thanks for your answers:D

Any opinions on homesteading in Mississippi? It's on the list of possibilities. Currently have an acre in northern Missouri. Looking to sell it and move up in size

I have a hen who is being mounted and pecked by my rooster. I have 12 hens and 1 rooster. Her head is raw and her saddle is rough. I would say she was molting if I didn’t see the blood on her head. She is also always alone, she doesn’t really stay with this flock; I’ve never seen that behavior from her before. He doesn’t do this to any other hen.

I was hoping for spring chicks so I’d like to keep the rooster, but I don’t care enough for h if the behavior can’t be corrected. What should i be doing here.

Hello, I am hoping to build a 17 x 30 foot catio .It will be joined to my house , on the 30 foot length. I'm thinking of using 3 x 2 joists for the roof , with noggins at 5 feet spaces .Will the joists be able to span the full 17 feet, without upright supports, inside the structure? I am covering it in 16 gauge weld mesh .. No roofing ECT . Many thanks for any help and advice given

As in the title. I know that this type of building thrives in African environment, but I am interested in building a series of interconnected rondavels here in Poland. Would it make sense to do so? Are they fine in winter with heavy snow? Any tips?

I bought land with a waterfall. it will help my to make money and be prepared for anything. If you want help figuring out how to get beautiful land or a homestead reach out to me.