[Stepheninky]

Ok so if I read this right you have several available acres to farm. How much will be live stock and how much of the land will be devoted to the gardens?

Also are you looking to use the produce / live stock to just feed the family in time. Or at some point do you plan to sell the farm products to add to the families income?

What kind of equipment do you have? Ex. Tractor or will you be using hand tools?

How much time do you have? Are you retired, working a full time job etc... ?

Seems like a lot of questions but I am asking so that we can all tailor our answers to give you the best chance at success.

Anyways this is what I would recommend if I had the space you currently have.

1. Start with just one or two 25 x 25 garden plots. This is so you can concentrate your efforts on adding manure and compost etc... for the short term to get your garden growing for you as soon as possible. This is also so you are not over whelmed.

2. Any additional areas that you can get broke and ready to plant I would recommend planting as soon as you can with bush beans and some with sweet yellow clover. These are cover crops that will help prevent any more erosion of the nutrients in the soil. They both will also fix nitrogen and both will help build the soil flora. (the bacteria and mycos in the soil) Also look into winter green manure crops as well.

3. Keep a dozen hens, which will produce about 120 dozen eggs over the course of a year. This is enough for each person in a family of four to eat an egg every day, and with more chickens, additional eggs could be sold for profit. They will also produce very strong manure that once composted can be added to the garden. They also keep bug populations down. Most importantly they are relativity cheap and reproduce fast.

4. Keep bees unless there is a bee allergy in the family. One hive will produce about 100 pounds of honey per year, which is more than enough for the family to use. Additional honey can be bottled and sold at farmers markets and at local specialty stores. They will also pollinate your garden and increase yields.

5. Raise a few pigs to supplement the family's diet with some meat. Pigs require only 150 square feet per animal, making them ideal for a family farm. Young feeder pigs weighing 40 pounds will get to a harvest weight of 240 pounds within just 120 days, although they will eat 10 to 12 bushels of corn and 125 to 150 pounds of protein supplement during that time.

6. Keep goats, sheep and cows for milk or for slaughter. Generally just one cow will require about a half-acre of pasture, but goats and sheep can be kept in a smaller pasture of a quarter acre or less. A single dairy cow will produce about six gallons of milk per day. Sheep and goats also produce milk, although the taste will be different from the traditional cow's milk. If money is tight and you have the space get 1 -2 cows, you can call any large animal vet and he can inseminate the cows for you. Then you can either sale the calves, grow them out for slaughter, or grow your herd.

7. Soil building through cover crops can be a bit slow but each year rotate the veg crops into the cover crop areas.

8. If you do not already have a compost pile started, then start one. Not even counting garden and yard compost the average family produces lots of trash waste that can be composted. Almost anything organic needs to go in the pile.

9. Try to use any of the resources you have available to you. Such as this site, talking with local farmers, your states ag dept. and any collage or university out reach programs.

10. Grow what you like to eat, and also find what grows well for you. (Which I notice you are doing already and build from there.

Anyways that's my list of advice. Except 11. look at store prices of the produce, some things like potatoes and onions are fairly cheap. So I would concentrate first on the more expensive to buy veggies. Later as you get things built up and going then add those if you want to.