I hope you enjoyed the property tour! Here are the TIMESTAMPS for your convenience: 0:00 About The New Property 2:55 Front Property Tour 6:12 Rear Property Tour 9:52 Ceremonial Tree Planting 12:41 Adventures With Dale
Be careful to leave some woods there, please! There are many many native FL animals that are going extinct and survive in these little pockets of FL palmetto brush/woods. Some endangered animals include the gopher tortoise, bobcats, FL panthers, scrub jays (super friendly), bald eagles, osprey, indigo snakes (they eat rattlesnakes supposedly), red rat snakes (very pretty and friendly) and many more. Source: Born and raised in FL.
Congratulations to you and your family! You could always take mini trips over there just to plant trees before you move permanently. Watch out for cougars/large wild cats regarding Dale, my parents have them where they live in the gulf coast area of Florida. Not sure if you'll have any big cats in your location but my parents sure do. Gators as well.
Congratulations! Hope it works well for you! Don't brush hog it until you get David The Good to give information about native edibles that could be hidden in there. Lots of sand, lots of nematodes. You can do it! 4 acres is plenty!
I actually would not even buy the property without asking Dave to consult on it. There is nobody with greater knowledge of Homesteading property in Central Florida.
I planted my vegetable garden before I even officially moved to my new place, so I can relate. Figuring out where I want to plant fruit trees is a bit trickier though since there's less space and I need to decide whether I'm going to keep all the pre-existing trees - lots of small ones that will eventually shade out much of the yard if I don't remove them.
I just got home yesterday from the property. Surprisingly, the persimmon survived. It's actually growing. I'm pretty surprised it tolerated being planted in mid-August in maximum Florida heat and humidity with zero human intervention. That bag of Black Kow was worth every penny. Is there anything a deep compost ring can't do?
Congratulations on your next step in life. I have been in Central Florida for more than 3 decades and i love it. You can grow almost anything here. It is now November and you will start to really appreciate our winters without snow. So welcome neighbor! Start taking cuttings of all those beautiful trees you have and you can take all your pots with you. How exciting. ❤❤❤hearts for Dale. Florida Gardener Zone 9a
Im sooooo happy for you. You are such an inspirational young man, setting an exemplary path for other young people to hopefully follow. Growing our own food without poisons is the only way to ensure the future health of ourselves and our families. We can do it in a little space, or a lot. Well done to you and your family. Wishing you great and continued success, from Australia.
Dang - wished I knew you were looking ... I have a great 8 acre property on the panhandle with creek and woods as well as pasture for sale - soil is crazy good ... way better weather and soil up here than central florida. Looking for a great prepping family to settle here
Thanks. Brittany wanted to be near the springs for diving. There are a lot of good springs in the central area. I was trying to find a zone 9b. I’m hoping I can swing a mango and a few avocados. It was a good compromise location that met our needs. The soil isn’t great, but that’s what I’m used to now. Nothing that compost, wood chips and time can’t fix.
Howdy neighbor!! So glad for you!! Kiss your seasonal depression good bye!! Dale is going to LOVE his new home🐕❤🌳🍀🌻🌞🦋✈️💜 Congratulations well deserved!🎉
Nothing will be mowed for 5-10 years 😂 I just went back to visit last week and the weeds are already a foot high. I'm not doing anything with it until I can move, which won't be for a long time.
Congratulations on the purchase of your new homestead property. Looking forward to see how you develop it into a future working homestead. Exciting times ahead for you.
Congratulations on your land. Perhaps you could use the creek bottom to build a pond. You could use it as a source of water and also have a lovely outdoor sitting area next to it. Since the weather doesn't get very cold, you might be able to make it lovely with water lilies and koi fish, or raise some kind of fish you could eat. So many possibilities...
Congratulations my friend. There is nothing better than having some acreage. You will live free from any HOA restrictions And you can plant whatever you want. One of the drawbacks of living in Florida is the soil and water. The soil is very sandy and still has some salt deposits . You can hardly see people growing fruit trees especially fig trees. As for water, it has a high percentage of iron and sulfur. You definitely need a filtration system unless your lot is in an area where the water is naturally free from such elements. Well I wish you well and look forward to seeing more content from this land.
So excited for you and family! Funny I just commented on one of your videos that I couldn’t wait to see you make the switch and get some land. My husband and I recently built a house on 13 acres not far for you in Greenville, NC. The kids, cats and dog love it. Over half of ours is also wooded so I get the struggle with useable growing space. Can’t wait to see what you do with it. Now youll need a Kubota and some chickens 🙌🏻🎉❤️ Please tell me you’re taking that Satsuma with you :)
Congratulations!! Hope you were able to also get the additional piece of property the neighbors are selling to prevent anyone moving slow to you later. Thanks for sharing. Now I can truly learn more I live in zone 9A Florida.
I am so excited for you, Im in North Florida too! Thats beautiful countryside; you probably have a lot of wildlife there. Just watch where you are walking, it looks like habitat for diamondback and canebrake rattlesnakes, and creek could have cottonmouths. They arent aggressive and will leave you alone if you leave them alone, just watch your step. They are beautiful but deadly.
We have that problem now. I had to remove 6 or 7 snakes from my property this year. Luckily, none were venomous, but several were very aggressive. I will be attacking the property in sections. 2.5 cleared acres can fill up quickly, so I want to break it into squares to make the design phases last as long as possible. I love building.
@@TheMillennialGardener Those snakes werent aggressive, they were defensive. How scary do you look to them? If you have some rat snakes or black racers, keep them around. They wont harm a thing and will keep your property clear of varmints. I have a barn with chickens and chicken feed, and havent had a single problem with rats. My resident snakes take care of them. Racers have been known to eat copperheads, too. Cant wait to see you start this new chapter in your life.
Beautiful property! Congratulations from another North Florida enthusiast! I’ve a gardener friend in Lake City who is moving to Orlando and may have a bunch of fruit trees available for transplanting. Let me know if interested.
Congratulations! Looking forward to years of new content as you turn it into a lush food forest! What's the growing zone there? You will definitely have tons of avacados.
Congratulations!!! I’m so happy for you! I too bought 5 acres of raw, flat land in NE Texas this past June. It has a tiny house & a shed on it. Our first 2 purchases were an aerobic septic system & a 10x10 tornado shelter. We are creating a homestead. As soon as the fencing is done we will be purchasing a couple heads of beef. I’ve gone through a period of extreme rain & wind & now know where my slopes are and where it all gets saturated. I’ve started my garden by planting 220 cloves of garlic & 60 shallots. Every single one has come up 😊. I’ve got cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, beets, radishes & carrots going as well. I’ve got my leeks & onions ordered & due to arrive January 15. Ive got my potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish on order as well. Currently getting the soil ready for all their arrival. My nemesis is fire ants. Our property is covered in them. I took 40-50 bites a week ago, & it has caused me to be laid up for awhile. Those things are incredibly painful & take many weeks to recover from. I hope you don’t have fire ants! I planted my first trees 3 weeks ago…10 Leyland Cypress. It’s all very new planting but incredibly exciting. CONGRATULATIONS!!
Congrats! That’s awesome. So much to look forward to. Have you thought about investing in a rain collection system? Texas is so dry in summers I bet that would be worth it. One of those 500-1,000 gallon tanks look attractive.
Fellow N Texan here. Try Ortho Orthene fir the fire ants. Works great! Can find almost everywhere. Keep on top of em and you'll cut those bites down to one or two every now and then. Evil little @$$ holes!
Congratulations! You are going to have to pace yourself! Remember there will ALWAYS be a project so take care that you take your time. Plan ahead. We are in our mid 60's and had a homestead for 35 years then moved again to a new one with nothing but the house! It's taken us four years to get the garden and greenhouse, chickens and other workshops and projects started and we are no where near what we had before, but we are getting there!
So happy for you. I have 1 acre,zone 10 , San Diego, Ca.and can hardly take care of it anymore. Its been 39 years here. Looking for something smaller now. Stay healthy.
I imagine it's tough in San Diego with the dry weather. I'm hoping to set up a food forest setup where it's self-sufficient and will eventually require little to no maintenance. I'm sure at some point in my life I won't want it anymore if I'm fortunate to reach an old enough age, but my goal is to be able to do this early enough so I can at least live my dream for 20-30 years before that's a problem. I'm hoping and praying
Congrats on the new property! Dale is gonna love living in FL! Most restaurants welcome dogs on the outside patios. I lived in SW FL for 8 years and enjoyed taking the dogs with me a lot. The only places they weren't so welcome are the public beaches. Beware of dog beaches as a lot of dog humans tend to ignore their dogs, allowing bad behavior in the blink of an eye. Kayaking with my dogs was great to explore small islands in the sounds ( I lived right off of the Gulf). I can't wait to hear more about your experiences in the Sunshine State!
I was watching your recent fertilizer tips video when I saw this thumbnail in the suggested vids list & had to "run over" for a quick & hearty CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know how much you've been dreaming of homesteading from comments you've made & I'm so happy and excited for you and your adventure ahead. Be well!!
Big congrats on your new property purchase. I am so looking forward to see what you do with it. I would definitely heed what people are advising you in their comments. They know. They've been there and have lived it!
Thanks. I chose Florida for a few reasons, but one of the top reasons was I'm very used to the climate. The lot has the same soil I'm dealing with now. Our rainfall and humidity patterns are identical. The summer temperatures are identical. The only real difference is the peak UV index season lasts longer there, so I would have to employ my heat protection methods longer. Outside of the summer, the other 7-8 months a year are easier to deal with, because the shoulder season temperatures are more stable and predictable. It's a situation I'm pretty familiar with, and the learning curve won't be as extreme.
Good for y'all! Dale will have plenty of room for zoomies!! May God bless you and your family in this new homesteading adventure. You are going to go hog wild with all of that land planting, and reaping the fruits of your labor. 😊🐶❤
I was thrilled to see your new property as I too own about 3 acres in North Central Florida so when you come this way I will be more than happy to share some of my plants with you!
Since the video was posted, I'm guessing you took the plunge. Thanks for sharing your journey and I hope this ends up being the property of your dreams, be it 5, 10 years or more from now. 👊 Always enjoy your content.
Congratulations!! So excited to get to know your new property and see how you will transform it ❤ We bought 17.5 acres this year and we are working hard to make it a full blown self sufficient homestead. So far we have Cattle and a small garden with 17 raised beds. In the spring we are getting chickens 👍🏼
You may want to check out the "Spanish Moss" to see if itvis actually Usnea Lichen - a very beneficial plant that is frequently mistaken for Spanish Moss. If it has a core (spine) that is a lil stretchy and white, you likely have Usnea there. My friend from FL sends me some periodically to make an anti-viral tincture.
Looks nice! Cleared land is much more desirable. Watch out for Bermuda grass, nut sedge, and deer. Also, find out if there are marauding wild boar. Putting in utilities, a water well, finding out what regulations you need to follow, it can get complex! If if were me, I would build up a half acre well fenced in next to your home site for an intensive garden, and then use the rest as grazing land or protected fruit or nut trees. I would expand on the veggie garden after taming that half acre if needed. A tractor with planned implements to do what you want would be a good investment. I know of one guy that put in a barn and tractor inside only to have it stolen! The neighbors were in on it and did not tell the cops what was going on! I hope your neighbors are not so evil. Being far from your site, it would be difficult to do this before you really live there. Heck though, you are young, strong, smart, and I know you can figure it out if this is your decision. Good luck!
A HUGE Congrats, and Welomme to Florida!! We are Thrilled to have you!! What an amazing adventure you will have. As a Florida native, all I can say about the weather is; you may be able to get used to it... lol The Very Best to you & Yours!!
Congratulations! I’m grateful that you have actually shared this important moment of your personal life! 😇 I hope that you’ll be able to move sooner and be able to have your homestead with a beautiful food forest! 😃
I literally wouldn't be able to do this without the support of viewers. Having an audience has been the ultimate motivation to keep pushing myself for these goals, so I owe it to everyone to share. I couldn't do this without the community. I'm optimistic. It's been a great ride to get this far.
Congratulations on your purchase. Now you will start growing things the other way around because Summer is hot and hummid. I lived in Orlando for almost 7 years and I remember growing my tomatoes in August until December and then starting growing more tomatoes from February until April or June. Just make sure that your house is solid because of the hurricanes 😁
This reminds me of my vision of having a farm in the hills of NC! My brother and his family actually looked at a Christmas tree farm around Boone, it was gone before they could put in an offer. The vision is a large multi-generational homestead farm with an inn like the one my father's family had in NH before it caught fire in the 1970s. I think I might actually want to start with a blank slate like this though! I super hope that you post any updates with future projects!
Can you have chickens or livestock? Test the soil. Check the flood history from that creek. Look for old timers in the area to learn about stuff. For clearing to the creek just cut a trail.. I wouldn't want to remove any of that wood area. Its beautiful. You'll use that area for something trust me. I have a similar set up and I keep my 4 bin compost set up in the wooded shade. You'll eventually get an Side By Side or something. I use an electric golf cart set up as a utility cart. Exciting Stuff!!!
Congratulations on your new property! We are new subscribers to your channel and we love it! We are on the same path as you - bought a property in zone 9a, Chiefland, and are now planting trees. We have a 5 year plan before we can move there. We highly recommend the person who did our Well - his name is John Wright. Good luck on your current and new endeavors. Thank you for all your good content!
Congratulations! You will even have time to plant some fruit trees from seed if you want to do so. I can imagine that heavily bushed area around the creek having some fruit trees. Dale probably got lots of treats.
Soil: Low in nutrients, high in root knot nematodes :) I hope you're able to grow some mangoes. Check out all the new Zill varieties before you start planting.
@@jingwu437there are people that grow mangoes (probably in a pot) in Georgia. TMG is a zone pusher, I'm sure he could figure out a way to do it in North-Central Florida (with some wind protection especially while young). This lady is in Ocala, 9A: th-cam.com/video/i_lPDEKONgA/w-d-xo.html
I struggle with the nematodes now, but the good news is that sandy soil can be transformed through lots of added biomass. I'll have to get in good with the tree companies. There's nothing a constant 12 inch layer of wood chips can't do. The nematodes won't like that.
Congratulations! My ex and I once owned 40 Northern CA acres but he decided it was “too much work”, left the property and the marriage. I miss the land not the man, lol. Hope your partner is into homesteading as well. Bless you!
I am fairly confident that Brittany will never set foot on the second half of the property. She can't keep a cactus alive 😂 Land is lost on her. She likes water sports. One of the reasons why we selected this area is due to the abundance of springs for SCUBA diving, since that is something we do periodically throughout the year.
Oh, just an aside, I know you like to straw bail garden. Here in FL it's virtually impossible to find straw that hasn't been treated with those long lasting herbicides. I have talked to 5 farms here in NCF and they all use those herbicides 😳. I wonder if using something like alfalfa bails would be ok.
Congrats. This gets me very excited for you. I can’t wait to see what you have in store with this property. I’d love seeing a vlog style channel with this property and development.
Huge congratulations 🎊. I started watching you as a new channel. I smile hearing your heart of joy with more space to grow food. Florida is Much different then Coastal NC. You may have so much more native food/fruit than you know. Others have mentioned David the good (compost everthing & grows a food forest), Hollis & Nancy been there for long time. You think fish emultion- they use fish. Gotta check out Wicks on Floridian, 😅
Congratulations and good luck! I would add, check with the Scrubland Farmz folks not far away. (Thats where David The Good has his Scrub Fest every year) They have lots of good locally adapted plants and will also give you good advice for that area.
Your content is perfection and my absolute favorite gardening channel. I can’t imagine how much better it will be now that you have this incredible property to grow on. So excited for the journey!
Very cool video Dale. Your videos are always well done. I'm an older guy from the Piedmont of N.C. just letting you know I follow your work a lot. Its easy to see your passion as I have worked on other farms when not in my own garden. Keep up the good work mate.
Congrats! I also live in North Central Florida...looking forward to getting gardening advice for us Floridians! Let me know if you need that little tree watered! lol
Thank you! I went back to visit several months later, and the tree had doubled in size! I was pretty surprised. It'll be awhile until I'm down in FL, but it's nice to look forward to.
Congratulations! You're close by me, and I have a little fruit forest of peaches, plums, apples, pears, persimmon, blackberry, raspberry, mulberry, blueberry, apricot, loquat, figs, and citrus! I hope your little tree makes it through!
Congratulations! It looks like a nice piece of property. I love the live oaks. I'm actually born and raised in Wilmington, but currently live overseas. We're planning to move back within the next year or two and hopefully start a homestead of our own in Pender County.
Congrats! We used to live in the Tallahassee area and also had 10 acres north of Jacksonville. But, because our retirement plans did not work out, we sold the land. Where in central north Florida are you? I would plant pawpaws in you understory areas. Hope your persimmon works out; better choice than the small native ones. We have a hachiya in your yard here in the Piedmont of NC. You should be able to grow some citrus with your skills and experience and most of central north Florida is Zone 8B. We had fiends who had a grapefruit in a protected area. Explore Pindo palms, also known as the jelly palm, which produces an edible fruit that is often made into jams and jellies. IFAS at UF in addition to your local extension service will be your best resources.
Growing in Florida has so many good and bad points-welcome to the challenge! You'll have to set up an apiary near those sawgrass palmetto- they make the best honey!
There was an environmental study done. The water table is low but that’s what I deal with now. It’s the same sandy soil. Any house would have to be a slab foundation. There are no utilities other than electric and internet so any water would be a well.
I hope you enjoyed the property tour! Here are the TIMESTAMPS for your convenience:
0:00 About The New Property
2:55 Front Property Tour
6:12 Rear Property Tour
9:52 Ceremonial Tree Planting
12:41 Adventures With Dale
Be careful to leave some woods there, please! There are many many native FL animals that are going extinct and survive in these little pockets of FL palmetto brush/woods. Some endangered animals include the gopher tortoise, bobcats, FL panthers, scrub jays (super friendly), bald eagles, osprey, indigo snakes (they eat rattlesnakes supposedly), red rat snakes (very pretty and friendly) and many more. Source: Born and raised in FL.
Congratulations to you and your family! You could always take mini trips over there just to plant trees before you move permanently. Watch out for cougars/large wild cats regarding Dale, my parents have them where they live in the gulf coast area of Florida. Not sure if you'll have any big cats in your location but my parents sure do. Gators as well.
@@Earthy-Artist Florida Panthers* 😉 not cougars, but close.
@@michelle34224 I'm a northerner 🤣 oops!
Congratulations! Hope it works well for you! Don't brush hog it until you get David The Good to give information about native edibles that could be hidden in there. Lots of sand, lots of nematodes. You can do it! 4 acres is plenty!
You got to watch out for those dang nematodes. I would know. I have many years of viewing SpongeBob episodes 😂
Knot nematodes are an issue!!!
I second the David The Good recommendation!
And I third the David the Good suggestion! He was the first person I thought of when he mentioned the property location.
I actually would not even buy the property without asking Dave to consult on it. There is nobody with greater knowledge of Homesteading property in Central Florida.
Planting trees right when you get the property is well planing ahead because it takes long until they are fruiting 👍🏼
I planted my vegetable garden before I even officially moved to my new place, so I can relate. Figuring out where I want to plant fruit trees is a bit trickier though since there's less space and I need to decide whether I'm going to keep all the pre-existing trees - lots of small ones that will eventually shade out much of the yard if I don't remove them.
I just got home yesterday from the property. Surprisingly, the persimmon survived. It's actually growing. I'm pretty surprised it tolerated being planted in mid-August in maximum Florida heat and humidity with zero human intervention. That bag of Black Kow was worth every penny. Is there anything a deep compost ring can't do?
Are you neighbors with Hollis and Nancy? They are in the same general area and are fellow garden TH-camrs
Hollis and Nancy Homestead TH-cam channel has a lot of good Florida homesteading info.
Congratulations on your next step in life. I have been in Central Florida for more than 3 decades and i love it. You can grow almost anything here. It is now November and you will start to really appreciate our winters without snow. So welcome neighbor! Start taking cuttings of all those beautiful trees you have and you can take all your pots with you. How exciting.
❤❤❤hearts for Dale.
Florida Gardener
Zone 9a
Im sooooo happy for you. You are such an inspirational young man, setting an exemplary path for other young people to hopefully follow. Growing our own food without poisons is the only way to ensure the future health of ourselves and our families. We can do it in a little space, or a lot. Well done to you and your family. Wishing you great and continued success, from Australia.
Thank you! I appreciate that more than I can tell you.
Dang - wished I knew you were looking ... I have a great 8 acre property on the panhandle with creek and woods as well as pasture for sale - soil is crazy good ... way better weather and soil up here than central florida. Looking for a great prepping family to settle here
What is the MLS so it can be viewed? Looking for a longer growing season.
Thanks. Brittany wanted to be near the springs for diving. There are a lot of good springs in the central area. I was trying to find a zone 9b. I’m hoping I can swing a mango and a few avocados. It was a good compromise location that met our needs. The soil isn’t great, but that’s what I’m used to now. Nothing that compost, wood chips and time can’t fix.
Can you mention the listing for that property? I’m looking for FL as well.
May you have a beautiful peaceful and prosperous place making happy memories. ❤
Howdy neighbor!! So glad for you!!
Kiss your seasonal depression good bye!!
Dale is going to LOVE his new home🐕❤🌳🍀🌻🌞🦋✈️💜
Congratulations well deserved!🎉
I wouldn't mow anything the first year just to see what native plants and medicinals you have. Congrats!!! The creek is always amazing on a homestead.
Nothing will be mowed for 5-10 years 😂 I just went back to visit last week and the weeds are already a foot high. I'm not doing anything with it until I can move, which won't be for a long time.
Love it! Congrats! You should use goats instead of bush-hog to clear out the forest
Great fertilizer as well
I'm thinking Sheep.
Congratulations on the purchase of your new homestead property. Looking forward to see how you develop it into a future working homestead. Exciting times ahead for you.
Thank you! It is definitely exciting. I find myself daydreaming all the time now.
Congratulations on your land. Perhaps you could use the creek bottom to build a pond. You could use it as a source of water and also have a lovely outdoor sitting area next to it. Since the weather doesn't get very cold, you might be able to make it lovely with water lilies and koi fish, or raise some kind of fish you could eat. So many possibilities...
Congratulations my friend. There is nothing better than having some acreage. You will live free from any HOA restrictions And you can plant whatever you want. One of the drawbacks of living in Florida is the soil and water. The soil is very sandy and still has some salt deposits . You can hardly see people growing fruit trees especially fig trees. As for water, it has a high percentage of iron and sulfur. You definitely need a filtration system unless your lot is in an area where the water is naturally free from such elements. Well I wish you well and look forward to seeing more content from this land.
You might be close to Hollis and Nancy's homestead , They are really great people🤗👍 !!!
So excited for you and family! Funny I just commented on one of your videos that I couldn’t wait to see you make the switch and get some land. My husband and I recently built a house on 13 acres not far for you in Greenville, NC. The kids, cats and dog love it. Over half of ours is also wooded so I get the struggle with useable growing space. Can’t wait to see what you do with it. Now youll need a Kubota and some chickens 🙌🏻🎉❤️
Please tell me you’re taking that Satsuma with you :)
Congratulations!! Hope you were able to also get the additional piece of property the neighbors are selling to prevent anyone moving slow to you later. Thanks for sharing. Now I can truly learn more I live in zone 9A Florida.
I am so excited for you, Im in North Florida too! Thats beautiful countryside; you probably have a lot of wildlife there. Just watch where you are walking, it looks like habitat for diamondback and canebrake rattlesnakes, and creek could have cottonmouths. They arent aggressive and will leave you alone if you leave them alone, just watch your step. They are beautiful but deadly.
@katiem9644 I was all in for moving to North Florida until I read your comment. 😂😂 That's a lot of snakes in one place. 😊
😁Ah dont worry. Ive lived in rural N. FL for over 25 years and have never seen a venomous snake. I think you're safe.@@ChristinesBackyardGarden
@@ChristinesBackyardGarden You can say that again!!!😂
We have that problem now. I had to remove 6 or 7 snakes from my property this year. Luckily, none were venomous, but several were very aggressive. I will be attacking the property in sections. 2.5 cleared acres can fill up quickly, so I want to break it into squares to make the design phases last as long as possible. I love building.
@@TheMillennialGardener Those snakes werent aggressive, they were defensive. How scary do you look to them? If you have some rat snakes or black racers, keep them around. They wont harm a thing and will keep your property clear of varmints. I have a barn with chickens and chicken feed, and havent had a single problem with rats. My resident snakes take care of them. Racers have been known to eat copperheads, too. Cant wait to see you start this new chapter in your life.
Beautiful property! Congratulations from another North Florida enthusiast!
I’ve a gardener friend in Lake City who is moving to Orlando and may have a bunch of fruit trees available for transplanting. Let me know if interested.
Congratulations! Looking forward to years of new content as you turn it into a lush food forest! What's the growing zone there? You will definitely have tons of avacados.
Congratulations!!! I’m so happy for you!
I too bought 5 acres of raw, flat land in NE Texas this past June. It has a tiny house & a shed on it. Our first 2 purchases were an aerobic septic system & a 10x10 tornado shelter. We are creating a homestead. As soon as the fencing is done we will be purchasing a couple heads of beef. I’ve gone through a period of extreme rain & wind & now know where my slopes are and where it all gets saturated. I’ve started my garden by planting 220 cloves of garlic & 60 shallots. Every single one has come up 😊. I’ve got cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, beets, radishes & carrots going as well. I’ve got my leeks & onions ordered & due to arrive January 15. Ive got my potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish on order as well. Currently getting the soil ready for all their arrival. My nemesis is fire ants. Our property is covered in them. I took 40-50 bites a week ago, & it has caused me to be laid up for awhile. Those things are incredibly painful & take many weeks to recover from. I hope you don’t have fire ants! I planted my first trees 3 weeks ago…10 Leyland Cypress. It’s all very new planting but incredibly exciting. CONGRATULATIONS!!
Congrats! That’s awesome. So much to look forward to. Have you thought about investing in a rain collection system? Texas is so dry in summers I bet that would be worth it. One of those 500-1,000 gallon tanks look attractive.
Fellow N Texan here. Try Ortho Orthene fir the fire ants. Works great! Can find almost everywhere. Keep on top of em and you'll cut those bites down to one or two every now and then. Evil little @$$ holes!
Congratulations! You are going to have to pace yourself! Remember there will ALWAYS be a project so take care that you take your time. Plan ahead. We are in our mid 60's and had a homestead for 35 years then moved again to a new one with nothing but the house! It's taken us four years to get the garden and greenhouse, chickens and other workshops and projects started and we are no where near what we had before, but we are getting there!
So happy for you. I have 1 acre,zone 10 , San Diego, Ca.and can hardly take care of it anymore. Its been 39 years here. Looking for something smaller now. Stay healthy.
I imagine it's tough in San Diego with the dry weather. I'm hoping to set up a food forest setup where it's self-sufficient and will eventually require little to no maintenance. I'm sure at some point in my life I won't want it anymore if I'm fortunate to reach an old enough age, but my goal is to be able to do this early enough so I can at least live my dream for 20-30 years before that's a problem. I'm hoping and praying
Congratulations!! Don't forget about all the critters you will be sharing your land with. They love tomatoes & fruit.😍
Congrats on the new property! Dale is gonna love living in FL! Most restaurants welcome dogs on the outside patios. I lived in SW FL for 8 years and enjoyed taking the dogs with me a lot. The only places they weren't so welcome are the public beaches. Beware of dog beaches as a lot of dog humans tend to ignore their dogs, allowing bad behavior in the blink of an eye. Kayaking with my dogs was great to explore small islands in the sounds ( I lived right off of the Gulf). I can't wait to hear more about your experiences in the Sunshine State!
I was watching your recent fertilizer tips video when I saw this thumbnail in the suggested vids list & had to "run over" for a quick & hearty CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know how much you've been dreaming of homesteading from comments you've made & I'm so happy and excited for you and your adventure ahead. Be well!!
Thank you!! I really appreciate it. It will be awhile before I make my way down there, but I’m really excited for the future.
@@TheMillennialGardener I can imagine excited is an understatement! Many happy hours of dreaming and planning await. All in good time!
Big congrats on your new property purchase.
I am so looking forward to see what you do with it.
I would definitely heed what people are advising you in their comments. They know. They've been there and have lived it!
Thanks. I chose Florida for a few reasons, but one of the top reasons was I'm very used to the climate. The lot has the same soil I'm dealing with now. Our rainfall and humidity patterns are identical. The summer temperatures are identical. The only real difference is the peak UV index season lasts longer there, so I would have to employ my heat protection methods longer. Outside of the summer, the other 7-8 months a year are easier to deal with, because the shoulder season temperatures are more stable and predictable. It's a situation I'm pretty familiar with, and the learning curve won't be as extreme.
Good for y'all! Dale will have plenty of room for zoomies!! May God bless you and your family in this new homesteading adventure. You are going to go hog wild with all of that land planting, and reaping the fruits of your labor. 😊🐶❤
I was thrilled to see your new property as I too own about 3 acres in North Central Florida so when you come this way I will be more than happy to share some of my plants with you!
Which part of North Central Florida? I'm currently looking.
Thank you! It's really exciting, for sure.
Super Happy for you Sir! Thank you for bringing us along with you! I’ll be viewing your journey! 👍🏽
Thank you! I appreciate it very much!
Since the video was posted, I'm guessing you took the plunge. Thanks for sharing your journey and I hope this ends up being the property of your dreams, be it 5, 10 years or more from now. 👊 Always enjoy your content.
Oh yes, it's a done deal. I already got the tax bill to prove it 😂 I'm really looking forward to it even though it won't be for awhile.
@@TheMillennialGardener - That's awesome... Congratulations! Already looking forward to TMG Homestead videos a decade from now.
Congratulations! We all look forward to see what you do with the new place. The start of a new era.
Congratulations!! So excited to get to know your new property and see how you will transform it ❤
We bought 17.5 acres this year and we are working hard to make it a full blown self sufficient homestead. So far we have Cattle and a small garden with 17 raised beds. In the spring we are getting chickens 👍🏼
You may want to check out the "Spanish Moss" to see if itvis actually Usnea Lichen - a very beneficial plant that is frequently mistaken for Spanish Moss. If it has a core (spine) that is a lil stretchy and white, you likely have Usnea there. My friend from FL sends me some periodically to make an anti-viral tincture.
I love that you have already planted a tree on your homestead. Wishing you much success and inspiration with this new venture!
'David the Good' has tons of Florida food forest experience
Exactly my plan. I've been looking for the past couple years and North Florida seems to be the only place that's relatively affordable nowadays.
Now, we’re on the same zone.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Congratulations! Excited to see what the future holds for you!
Looks nice! Cleared land is much more desirable. Watch out for Bermuda grass, nut sedge, and deer. Also, find out if there are marauding wild boar. Putting in utilities, a water well, finding out what regulations you need to follow, it can get complex! If if were me, I would build up a half acre well fenced in next to your home site for an intensive garden, and then use the rest as grazing land or protected fruit or nut trees. I would expand on the veggie garden after taming that half acre if needed. A tractor with planned implements to do what you want would be a good investment. I know of one guy that put in a barn and tractor inside only to have it stolen! The neighbors were in on it and did not tell the cops what was going on! I hope your neighbors are not so evil. Being far from your site, it would be difficult to do this before you really live there. Heck though, you are young, strong, smart, and I know you can figure it out if this is your decision. Good luck!
Welcome to Florida!
A HUGE Congrats, and Welomme to Florida!! We are Thrilled to have you!! What an amazing adventure you will have.
As a Florida native, all I can say about the weather is; you may be able to get used to it... lol
The Very Best to you & Yours!!
Congratulations! I’m grateful that you have actually shared this important moment of your personal life! 😇
I hope that you’ll be able to move sooner and be able to have your homestead with a beautiful food forest! 😃
I literally wouldn't be able to do this without the support of viewers. Having an audience has been the ultimate motivation to keep pushing myself for these goals, so I owe it to everyone to share. I couldn't do this without the community. I'm optimistic. It's been a great ride to get this far.
@@TheMillennialGardener Amazing! good to know and wish you best! Keep going please! 😁
Welcome to the Florida heat 🥵
Congratulations on your purchase. Now you will start growing things the other way around because Summer is hot and hummid. I lived in Orlando for almost 7 years and I remember growing my tomatoes in August until December and then starting growing more tomatoes from February until April or June. Just make sure that your house is solid because of the hurricanes 😁
Thank you, blessings to you!!!
This reminds me of my vision of having a farm in the hills of NC! My brother and his family actually looked at a Christmas tree farm around Boone, it was gone before they could put in an offer. The vision is a large multi-generational homestead farm with an inn like the one my father's family had in NH before it caught fire in the 1970s. I think I might actually want to start with a blank slate like this though! I super hope that you post any updates with future projects!
Congratulations! Well deserved I know you'll do right by this bit of earth and turn it into something really beautiful. So excited for you three
Thank you!
Can you have chickens or livestock?
Test the soil.
Check the flood history from that creek. Look for old timers in the area to learn about stuff.
For clearing to the creek just cut a trail.. I wouldn't want to remove any of that wood area. Its beautiful. You'll use that area for something trust me. I have a similar set up and I keep my 4 bin compost set up in the wooded shade. You'll eventually get an Side By Side or something. I use an electric golf cart set up as a utility cart.
Exciting Stuff!!!
So happy for you! Welcome to the club. Homesteading is a wonderful way of life.
That looks like a great property! You could do so much with it. I can't wait to see where life takes you!
Thank you! I'm a believer that everyone needs something to look forward to. Establish goals and chip away at them; that's the dream.
congratulations! thank you for having us with you .
Thanks so much!
Excited for you ! I love seeing others follow their dreams . Looking forward to seeing how you transform the place .
Congratulations on your new property! We are new subscribers to your channel and we love it!
We are on the same path as you - bought a property in zone 9a, Chiefland, and are now planting trees. We have a 5 year plan before we can move there.
We highly recommend the person who did our Well - his name is John Wright.
Good luck on your current and new endeavors. Thank you for all your good content!
Excellent! Having a long-term plan is freeing. Congrats!
Congratulations! You will even have time to plant some fruit trees from seed if you want to do so. I can imagine that heavily bushed area around the creek having some fruit trees.
Dale probably got lots of treats.
Congratulations! So happy you were able to find more land to grow on!
Soil: Low in nutrients, high in root knot nematodes :)
I hope you're able to grow some mangoes. Check out all the new Zill varieties before you start planting.
Where's the best area to grow in ground North Florida?
Mangos could be grown in south Florida, but not in north Florida I think
@@jingwu437there are people that grow mangoes (probably in a pot) in Georgia. TMG is a zone pusher, I'm sure he could figure out a way to do it in North-Central Florida (with some wind protection especially while young).
This lady is in Ocala, 9A:
th-cam.com/video/i_lPDEKONgA/w-d-xo.html
I struggle with the nematodes now, but the good news is that sandy soil can be transformed through lots of added biomass. I'll have to get in good with the tree companies. There's nothing a constant 12 inch layer of wood chips can't do. The nematodes won't like that.
Congratulations! My ex and I once owned 40 Northern CA acres but he decided it was “too much work”, left the property and the marriage. I miss the land not the man, lol. Hope your partner is into homesteading as well. Bless you!
I am fairly confident that Brittany will never set foot on the second half of the property. She can't keep a cactus alive 😂 Land is lost on her. She likes water sports. One of the reasons why we selected this area is due to the abundance of springs for SCUBA diving, since that is something we do periodically throughout the year.
Oh, just an aside, I know you like to straw bail garden. Here in FL it's virtually impossible to find straw that hasn't been treated with those long lasting herbicides. I have talked to 5 farms here in NCF and they all use those herbicides 😳. I wonder if using something like alfalfa bails would be ok.
Thrilling ! great things in store for you from now on.
Congratulations on coming this much closer to your dream!
Those palmettos are worth a good penny when they fruit. People will pay to harvest them.
Congrats. This gets me very excited for you. I can’t wait to see what you have in store with this property. I’d love seeing a vlog style channel with this property and development.
Look at all that land!!! Congratulations!! You will love it here.
There are a lot of saw palmetto on that property. You can harvest some of those for medicinal uses.
I’m looking forward to your grove of figs. Wow
Congrats, a lot of us have the exact same dream as you do.
Welcome to Florida! Congratulations on your new purchase.👍
Thank you!!
Amen brother. It’s really beautiful. I love it. I myself always like bigger land for more gardening. Love it love it 🙏😊
welcome to florida !! congratulations, very happy for you and can’t wait to see more future videos !
Very nice!!
Welcome to North Central Florida!!
Congratulations. Always exciting to start a new adventure
Huge congratulations 🎊. I started watching you as a new channel. I smile hearing your heart of joy with more space to grow food. Florida is Much different then Coastal NC. You may have so much more native food/fruit than you know. Others have mentioned David the good (compost everthing & grows a food forest), Hollis & Nancy been there for long time. You think fish emultion- they use fish. Gotta check out Wicks on Floridian, 😅
Yeaaaaaaayyyy! Congratulations!
I live in Jasper Florida. Welcome to the neighborhood 😊
Congratulations and good luck! I would add, check with the Scrubland Farmz folks not far away. (Thats where David The Good has his Scrub Fest every year) They have lots of good locally adapted plants and will also give you good advice for that area.
Congratulations on the new land. Excited to watch your journey
Thank you!
Central Florida welcomes you! Can’t wait to hear how it goes.
It won’t be years til I get there, but I’m looking forward to it.
You and Dale deserve this step up. We will keep following you for sure. We all support you!
Your content is perfection and my absolute favorite gardening channel. I can’t imagine how much better it will be now that you have this incredible property to grow on. So excited for the journey!
Wow!!! So exciting!!! Congrats!
Wow, what a big step! Considering how much you enjoy citrus, I'm looking forward to seeing how you manage HLB risks in Florida.
Soo excited for you…trying to do the same thing… wanted to thank you for this video. It totally helps me clarify my goals!
enjoy it im happy for you dale will enjoy it
Congratulation Millenniial Gardener. God bless
Thank you!
Welcome to Florida my friend
Congratulations 🎉🍾 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Very cool video Dale. Your videos are always well done. I'm an older guy from the Piedmont of N.C. just letting you know I follow your work a lot. Its easy to see your passion as I have worked on other farms when not in my own garden. Keep up the good work mate.
Congrats! I also live in North Central Florida...looking forward to getting gardening advice for us Floridians! Let me know if you need that little tree watered! lol
Thank you! I went back to visit several months later, and the tree had doubled in size! I was pretty surprised. It'll be awhile until I'm down in FL, but it's nice to look forward to.
Congrats! I love your channel and look forward to seeing how you develop your new homestead over the years!
Thank you!
Congratulations, it looks great.
Congratulations!! Oh and you look extra cute today
Yay!!!! Definitely need an update now!
Congratulations! You're close by me, and I have a little fruit forest of peaches, plums, apples, pears, persimmon, blackberry, raspberry, mulberry, blueberry, apricot, loquat, figs, and citrus! I hope your little tree makes it through!
How exciting! So happy for you
Thank you!!
Congratulations! It looks like a nice piece of property. I love the live oaks. I'm actually born and raised in Wilmington, but currently live overseas. We're planning to move back within the next year or two and hopefully start a homestead of our own in Pender County.
Congrats! We used to live in the Tallahassee area and also had 10 acres north of Jacksonville. But, because our retirement plans did not work out, we sold the land. Where in central north Florida are you? I would plant pawpaws in you understory areas. Hope your persimmon works out; better choice than the small native ones. We have a hachiya in your yard here in the Piedmont of NC. You should be able to grow some citrus with your skills and experience and most of central north Florida is Zone 8B. We had fiends who had a grapefruit in a protected area. Explore Pindo palms, also known as the jelly palm, which produces an edible fruit that is often made into jams and jellies. IFAS at UF in addition to your local extension service will be your best resources.
Growing in Florida has so many good and bad points-welcome to the challenge! You'll have to set up an apiary near those sawgrass palmetto- they make the best honey!
That looks like an flowing spring there ... means shallow water table. Ask the neighbor about well depth to water.
There was an environmental study done. The water table is low but that’s what I deal with now. It’s the same sandy soil. Any house would have to be a slab foundation. There are no utilities other than electric and internet so any water would be a well.
WOW! Congratulations!!!!
Thank you!