Farming: It Doesn’t Take An Egg-Head To Do It

When you or I think of farms, we probably can’t help but think of some old-timer chewing corn on his front porch, gazing out at a majestic field full of crops. Okay, so farmers like that do exist out there, but that isn’t the full extent of farming: farming can be a career, hobby or way of life. It’s what you make of it, much like anything in life. Even if you’re a city person, there’s no reason that you can’t get involved with farming too. If you’ve always dreamed of getting stuck in to that lifestyle, whether it was a dream of moving to the country and getting stuck into some hard labour or simply a dream of creating a mini farm in your back garden, there are ways to get started.

Whatever your reasons for pursuing farming, they’re valid. Even if you simply want to do it to give the green-thumbed life a whirl, then you go ahead and do it. There are no rules to becoming a farmer; you don’t need to have lived a long, rich life in the country. You need only dedication, patience and a passion to build something real, natural and beautiful. Here are some tips for the avid farmers amongst you who want to get planting.

Plant crops or tend to animals with the appropriate land.

The land is, obviously, the most important part of a farm. Maybe you have acres upon acres with which you can work, if you’re wealthy, but perhaps you have more modest intentions, and you simply want to work with your back garden in the city.

Either way, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to size; only when it comes to assessing the type of land with which you’ll be working when you build your farm. It’s important that you consider things such as soil testing, of course, because crops require certain conditions to grow in a healthy and efficient way.

You have to work with nature. It’s easy for us, as humans, to get a little carried away and think we control mother nature. We don’t, in actual fact. You’ve got to work with what you’ve been given by the earth, and work your dreams around that. Of course, living in the city shouldn’t limit you. You could keep chickens, if you really wanted. They need a reasonable piece of land, but as long as you have about four square feet of space for a cage, you’ll have room for chickens. There are debates about city life, in terms of the air quality, being good for animals, but then there are debates about city life being good for anyone. If you live on the suburbs, you’ve just as much a right as anyone to start your own mini farm and do your bit for nature; tend to some animals.

If you’re starting a business, plan ahead.

Perhaps you’ve bought a plot of land a little outside the city, because you want to take on farming as more than a hobby. Of course, even as a business venture, people have different dreams when they enter the world of the agricultural industry. It’s a diverse business sector, but you still need to have your business head screwed on, either way. Plan ahead, and ensure that you have a clearly defined plan of your objectives. Figure out what income you need, and how much you’ll need to grow or how many animals you’ll need to keep to achieve that goal.