I thought I'd share what we do on our half acre. These pictures were all taken in the last year.
My husband and I are in Pennsylvania, Zone 6a. We're both work full-time, blue-collar jobs.
Right now, we've got about 2 dozen chickens, 2 ducks, a goose, 3 rabbits (2 doe, 1 buck), and 2 hives of bees. The garden is about 30'x50'. I grow mushrooms over the winter in a greenhouse tent in the basement.
We've always gardened and canned. The chicken coop was added in 2015. The bees and rabbits came this spring. Some years we raise meat chickens or ducks.
We supplement what we raise and grow with hunting, fishing, and some foraging (mostly mushrooms, berries, and nuts). About every other year we get a hog at auction to butcher. I'd estimate that only about 30% of what we eat comes from the grocery store (primarily dairy and pantry staples).
I've included a sketch of our property, as it is now. We're hoping to add a couple apple trees and a patch of sunchokes this fall.
Feel free to ask me anything.
by -Maggie-Mae-