What is this site about?

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We will try to explain what this site is about, but we would like to send-out this notice before we lose your interest with our ramblings of a couple of small, small-time homesteaders.

We've been asked if we accept donations for our farming experiment.  The answer is yes AND no.

At this time we are not accepting financial donations.  What we are accepting is older equipment, used animals, feed stuffs and such.  As of yet, we do not have a corn planter.  If you have a farm implement or something that you are not using... and you think we can, we'll take it.  If we can't use it, maybe we can barter it for something we can.  Right now, a 4 or 6 row planter and cultivator is topping our list of necessities for this upcoming season.

With regards to animal feeds, we are in need of corn-stalk bales, straw and some grass-hay.  Other feeds will not be refused.  Locally, there are many hog, cattle and poultry operations around.  From time to time, feed is left in the feeders & bunks after the animals have gone to market.  Most of the time, this feed gets thrown away.  If it does not have hormones or medication mixed in, we'll feed it to our critters.  If you want, we'll help with part or all of the labor to get it.  Please, don't let it go to waste.

Thanks much for reading... enjoy the rest of the site.

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Below and in the pages to follow, we want to show by example, that one individual, one family, and one simple philosophy can make a difference.

We don't have to do the things we all have been taught.  School does not teach us how to succeed, how to live or how to make a difference.  We learn by example... not the example of movie stars, politicians (Yeah!  We're talking about you Al Gore) or sometimes our parents. We need to find individuals and families that put into practice what they preach.

Did you know that while Al Gore is up in our face about global warming, just one of his homes (the one in Tennessee) uses more energy [each month] than do 10 good-sized, middle-class American homes use all year? 

This site is not intended to be a "dooms-day, OMG... we're killing each other" type of site, but simply a "let's do what we can" or more accurately, a "this is what we're doing" sort of site. 

Some of the things we are going to do will, no doubt, offend some, encourage others and probably make no difference to most of you that find yourselves reading these pages... and that's OK.

Us, Our farm and Our Purpose

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Who Are We?

Our names are Rich and Carol Radtke.  Our household consists of 3 children, Chastiti (21), Austin (18) and Madison (9).  Also, part of our family is Licorice and Waffles (the family cats) and a Beagador puppy named Ellie Mae (like the Beverly Hill's hillbilly).

Some of the things we do for ourselves is make cheese, bread, wines, ciders & vinegar.  Carol is a pretty good gardener, canner & cook.  Here are some of the first things we tried.  click here

Most of our home improvements are done by ourselves and nearly all the farm work is done either by hand or with the assistance of the farm's old, beat-up 300 Farm-All tractor.

We like to barter when we can.  Watching the $$$ leave our hands is rarely a fun thing to observe.

Where Are We?

Our farm is located west of Willmar, Minnesota on County Road 7.  We currently reside in a town call Raymond, making daily trips to the farm.

Why Are We Doing This?

Madison developed asthma in 2004 and I (Carol) started researching (and still am) a more natural way of life. 

In the pursuit of eating healthier, studies have found that raw milk can help reduce the symptoms of asthma in the majority of asthma sufferers.  We now consume raw organic milk from Rich's high-school buddy Mike Lindquist, who is a certified organic farmer just NW of Kerkhoven, MN.  He belongs to the Organic Valley Network of farms. Since the kids started drinking the whole raw milk, Madison has had noticeably less breathing problems.

We garden organically, using the droppings (pills) our rabbits generate.  Rabbit manure is one of the few animal wastes that can go directly onto the garden or in pots... this means there is no need to compost before using.  I do have a compost pile, which I started a few years ago primarily to reduce the amount of garbage we send out.  Contrary to popular belief, these eco-friendly waste-reducing piles have very little odor... if any.  The key is to keep the ingredients balanced.

I started canning all the extra produce from our garden in 2004.  I decided for health reasons a more natural diet would be better for us as a family. So I started reading and learning.  My mom never did much canning but her mother did. Canning came easy to me.  I guess I must have picked up a few tips from grandma as a young child.  I don't remember her canning but I remember eating her pickles and jellies.  For me, walking into my pantry and seeing all the canned goods sitting there, just waiting for us to eat, makes me feel good.  Not only does my family have healthy food to eat, but I'm also helping the planet by reducing what goes into the trash.  Reusing canning jars produce no waste.

When Did This Start?

We took a proactive approach to homesteading practices, when Rich's dad, Richard, Sr. passed away in June of 2005.  Prior to that, Richard, Sr. encouraged us to establish a garden in the back yard of our home in town... and since doing so, the garden has grown every year.  Our approaches to gardening has changed as well.

Before that, we were influenced by Rich's sister Tiff, who lives more of a hippy lifestyle (our words, not her's)  To us, she is a true hippy; she's educated, extremely intelligent, creative, health conscious and she does what she does because it suits her and it makes her happy.  And we want what she has... not to the point that we covet her possessions and her life, but to the degree that it has motivated us to pursue a better, more natural, healthier way of doing things.  Like her, we are not afraid to live (or strive to live) in a way that most would consider or label as 'alternative.'

The point in time we consider the moment of change was during a family Christmas, when Tiff was here.  We noticed some of the foods she had for her son Ki.  They were organic, especially the fruit juices.  It was then that the seed was planted in our minds.  Thanks Tiff!

Please don't get us wrong, we have been reading periodicals such as Acres, Mother Earth News & Country Side Living for years.  I (Rich) remember paging through Mother Earth News in the library in High-school and thinking "wow, this is a cool magazine".  In fact, I made a solar water heater for a senior science project... the plans of which, I got from Mother.

How We Got Here?

The farm we now manage, was Rich's father's farm.  It's small, with regards to the amount of production land (only 80 acres)  Our hobby farm adventure began when Dad passed away in 2005.  Rich and his 2 sisters inherited the farm (in the form of a trust)... that's when we took an interest in the land.  Even though the farm had been abandoned for many many years, we saw that there was potential there - somewhere under all the junk and overgrowth of weeds, trees and bush.  It had the basics... a farmhouse, a dairy barn with a pasture and couple rotting buildings that once housed pigs, calves, chickens and goats.

We worked hard in 2005 and 2006 cleaning/clearing the once beautiful homestead. We hired iron scrappers in 2005 to clear the land of cars and iron that had been stocked over the years.  It took them the fall and winter to finish and what an improvement it was. 

The state DOT was also redoing the highway that goes past the place, so we got a new driveway and lots of trees/underbrush were remove by the highway dept.  We decided to burn down the farmhouse in the fall of 2006.  We did so with heavy hearts.  We hated to see it go, but it was just too far gone to repair. 

We moved in a trailer house that fall.  We also plotted our first 2 acres of land for the vineyard.

In 2007, we planted about 1200 grapevines.  I also ordered 25 chicks to raise for meat and eggs.  Our poultry was now residing at the farm and we were running out to the farm daily. In June, Nick moved into the trailer house to work as our hired man.  Oh, he was a much needed relief. 

Carol was working full-time as a nurse and Rich was full-time at the farm and was needing an extra pair of hands.  We put in a new well and hired an electrical contractor for the electricity to the trailer.  Rich repaired some of the wiring in the barn, which was a big money saver.

That brings us to now.. fall of 2007 when we started the website.  Carol is now experienced in poultry butchering.  We successfully grew 2 organic gardens.  The vineyard is taking shape with another 2400 vines coming in the Spring 2008.  We purchased 2 llamas, who are now putting the pasture to good use.  They will work as guard llamas for the sheep and/or goats that are coming in the spring.

Any Thing Else?

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Yeah! 

At the present time, we are very much interested in pursuing a couple head of heritage and/or rare breeds of animals that fit into a sustainable farm/homesteading application. 

Like the llamas we have, we are looking for a few pigs and sheep that complement our farm setting.  Llamas eat relatively low-grade hay (grass hay) or pasture; they eat very little (about 10% of horse).  Best of all, they hate predators like large dogs or coyotes.

We are at the present time, looking for Kunekune (pronounced koo-ney koo-ney) pigs as well as St Croix sheep.  Kunekune pigs are extremely friendly, small and easily reach market weight on pasture alone.  For us, the interest is for the vineyard and orchard.  The Kunekune breed root very little and tend to leave vines and bushes alone.

The St Croix sheep breed is another animal we're very interested in.  Like the llama and the Kunekune, the St Croix thrive on pasture.  They are a hair-sheep, so there is no need to sheer... they winter well and are extremely parasite resistant.

We are not interested in become breeders, so registered stock is of little interest.  We like what these animals can bring to the table and we want to help these types of animals to flourish.  We also want to show others that just because your neighbor, your brother, your dad or your mentor raises certain types of animals a certain way, doesn't mean you have to or that it is the best thing for your farm.  We urge others to become familiar with the unfamiliar.

We would also love to meet with and chat with others who are interested in clean, more natural living. We are putting in 3 more acres of wine grapes on the family farm, here in Minnesota.  more... >

If you have knowledge about grape vines or are just starting out, give us a shout. We are also interested in learning more about self-sufficient living.

If you operate [or just started] a hobby farm, are raising chickens, rabbits, goats, llamas or sheep, or enjoy eco-friendly gardening... we'd love to hear from you.