Homesteading - Augusta, Georgia

flaja · 02-15-2011, 09:20 AM

I am a Florida native, and except for a short period as a child and again while I was in school I have lived here my whole life.

However, I want to leave Florida?s heat and humidity for health reasons, and I am looking at a piece of property in Georgia outside of Augusta. I want to set up an organic CSA farm that can also serve as an environmental research and education center to promote ecologically sustainable food, energy and building technologies. I have a bachelor?s degree in biology (with 40 credit hours in history) from Emory University. I have been around gardening my entire life, and I have almost 30 years experience with my own garden. I have the know-how to set up a vegetable farm and I have enough cash to buy the property and set up the initial infrastructure. But I don?t have good health. I was diagnosed in 2008 with congestive heart failure caused by a leaky aortic valve. I also have high blood pressure as well as arthritis that, with my family history, will likely cripple me within the next 10 years. So I am physically not up to setting up a farm. I am not married and I have no children and my only family is my mother who is disabled with lupus. So I don?t have anyone who can help run a farm.

So I am looking for people who would be interested in joining me. I cannot offer a salary of any kind until the farm is up and running to produce income. I would consider taking a partner or two if I could find people whom I would be compatible with- maybe set up a corporation that would own the land and farm with me and the partners owning the corporation. I would also consider leasing some of the land to people that want to farm it. I would also consider setting up an eco-village if compatible people can be found.

The property I am looking at has 48 acres and 2 mobile homes from 30 years or so ago so they may not be useable. I doubt that I could offer housing until a house is built (using rammed earth, strawbale, earthbag or compressed earth block).

If anyone is interested I can be reached at flaja@att.net.

YelloJeep · 02-15-2011, 10:01 AM

What you are doing sounds pretty cool. Good luck but I remember Augusta Ga being pretty dang humid when I lived there....

ionakana · 02-15-2011, 03:15 PM

yea, I thought you wanted to get away from the heat and humidity. Augusta is not the place if that's what you're looking for.

flaja · 02-15-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ionakana

yea, I thought you wanted to get away from the heat and humidity. Augusta is not the place if that's what you're looking for.

Heat and humidity for 3 or 4 months a year is far better than heat and humidity for 9 or 11 months a year. In an average year here the first 90 degree day comes in the last week in April. The first 90 degree day in the area of Georgia I am looking at isn?t until after the end of June.

The highest average night time low temperature for the part of Georgia I am looking at comes at the hottest part of the summer, but it is only 70 degrees. That time of year here can have night time lows no cooler than 75.

benzero · 02-23-2011, 11:04 AM

Yeah its damn sure more than 3-4 months, but much better than Florida. I am really interested to see how this turns out. I can't offer anything but volunteer support in the very little free time I have, but I'm extremely curious to see this actually happen.

Where will it be located, like south of Augusta?

flaja · 03-19-2011, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benzero

Yeah its damn sure more than 3-4 months, but much better than Florida. I am really interested to see how this turns out. I can't offer anything but volunteer support in the very little free time I have, but I'm extremely curious to see this actually happen.

Where will it be located, like south of Augusta?

I was looking at property just outside of Millen, but that property has been sold. I'd like to keep looking in this general area since I have a natural foods retailer in Augusta that is interested in buying what I can produce. The same realtor has another property that is smaller with a lower per acre price so buying it would leave me with more cash. But this other property has no power, water or buildings of any kind and it is mostly wooded. A lot of physical work would be needed to make the property liveable and even more work would be needed before I could plant much.

But none of this matters at this point since I still cannot find anyone who is willing or able to help with the physical labor.

benzero · 04-27-2011, 01:10 PM

Well I am interested to see how things pan out. I wish you the best and I would love to help in the limited time I have but it definitely wouldn't be enough to get you started.

blucher · 04-27-2011, 01:42 PM

First Google up some maps showing elevations. You may be able to find more relief at elevation. I don't know much of the South but seem to recall some nice country in SE Tenn.

You're describing a sort of commune approach which can work but I don't take you for the commune type. Another approach is hydroponics which can make the labor a bit easier. According to a PBS show I just saw the cutting edge in gardening and agriculture in recent years is pot production grown hydroponically if you're seeking data.

flaja · 04-27-2011, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucher

First Google up some maps showing elevations. You may be able to find more relief at elevation. I don't know much of the South but seem to recall some nice country in SE Tenn.

You're describing a sort of commune approach which can work but I don't take you for the commune type. Another approach is hydroponics which can make the labor a bit easier. According to a PBS show I just saw the cutting edge in gardening and agriculture in recent years is pot production grown hydroponically if you're seeking data.

I am a community type rather than a commune type. I want a group of people that share a common goal and a common outlook on life and who are willing to work together. My big concern with property ownership is to make sure that land that I've put time, effort and money into cannot be sold out from under me. And I wouldn't want to put anyone else in this situation either. But so far all I can find is people who just want and expect more in salary than a start-up farm can pay, or people who want ownership rights to the farm without spending any money to get them.

I plan to integrate hydroponics into my production scheme. But I now refuse to take the prescription medication that my doctor has told me to take for my heart condition. So there is zero chance that I'd ever grow marijuana.

blucher · 04-27-2011, 02:35 PM

Quote:

But I now refuse to take the prescription medication that my doctor has told me to take for my heart condition. So there is zero chance that I'd ever grow marijuana.

Sorry, that confused me. Are you rejecting your meds because of an aversion to meds?

I was once suffering from congestive liver failure and if the two are at all similar you will need medication. I realize that some of what can help us can also make life miserable.

I wasn't suggesting you grow grass but I was surprised to hear the best research in the field of hydroponics came out of illegal growers. Good old free market can do I guess.