Scott Trauner

Freelance writer and founding editor of The Connecticut Outdoor News (www.connecticutoutdoornews.com) "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." -Benjamin Franklin

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Location: Connecticut, United States

Monday, April 16, 2007

On Self-Sufficiency and Efficiency on the Homestead

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in my best friend Pete's backyard. Most of the yard was taken up by a large garden, with the exception of a chicken coop and the baseball diamond we built for the intense Wiffleball games we played. And a bin for coal. And a long, sturdy clothesline. And a rabbit hutch. And a brick oven. All around a house Pete's dad built himself. Yes, it is a big yard, and now that I have my own, my fondness for Pete's yard has become clearer. I think it is the efficiency with which the elements of the yard fit together like a puzzle that makes me think about it so often now. It was more of a homestead and has become a sort of a model for my own suburban system of self-reliance.

Our house in Wallingford, Connecticut was built in 1920 by its original owner, a poultry farmer who owned many acres before it was gradually whittled down to our current .92 acres. Looking at the old map of the property, you can even see the many structures that once stood around our home; I often find concrete foundations beneath the top soil of the woods. One remnant of those days are the two hatches on the side of our detached garage. I'm not sure if the farmer made these or the hippies that supposedly lived here at one time, but these roughly cut holes are screaming for chickens. And so after four and a half years of living here, I finally set the posts, framed the run and built a door. Now all I need to do is attach the poultry netting and build a few nesting boxes. I plan on getting 4-5 laying hens with the help of good friend and extraordinary beef and chicken farmer Nunzio Corsino. I called our Town Hall last week to be sure it's okay; in a residential area, you're allowed up to 12 chickens- no roosters.

I situated the door of the coop so I can easily rake the chicken manure right into one of my three compost piles: one for yard waste and two for fruit and vege scraps, egg shells and coffee grinds, one further along in its decomposition than the other. This all happens in a corner of the yard out of sight from where we entertain in the summer. I also have my wood pile, with which we fill our woodstove in the winter as our primary source of heat, cutting our oil bill considerably.

On the opposite end of the yard, across the new clothesline I installed and in plain view of guests, is my 15x5 vegetable garden, bordered by scrap wood I got for free at a nearby plant that makes railroad ties. I've already planted brocolli and onions- two hardy plants that can withstand this April cold. I bought them as sprouts, but plan on starting the rest of the garden from seed. By the time summer rolls around, I hope to have my rainwater collection system in full swing, which will have the garden working spigot-free, one step closer to living off the grid!