North Carolina grows a wide variety of produce. Depending on your precise region, growing seasons and crop availability will vary. You can also look up produce by seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) or region.

Apples, August through February (cold storage until spring)

Arugula, available year-round but best in spring and fall

Asparagus, spring

Basil, May through November

Beets, year-round

Blueberries, May into July

Broccoli, May and again in October and November

Broccoli raab, October into December

Brussels sprouts, October through December

>Butter Beans, July and August

Cabbage, May through December

Cantaloupes, July and August

Carrots, year-round

Cauliflower, October through December

Celeriac/celery root, October through January

Celery, September through November

Cilantro, year-round

Chard, March into December

Cherries, late spring and summer

Chicories, October through December

Chiles, August and September

Collard greens, March into December

Corn, June through August

Cucumbers, June through November

Eggplant, June through August

Escarole, September through December

Fennel, fall through spring

Garlic, July and August (stored year-round)

Garlic scapes/green garlic, March and April

Grapes, August into October

Green beans, June through September

Greens, March into December

Green onions, March through November

Herbs, various year-round

Kale, March into December

Kohlrabi, October through March

Leeks, year-round

Lettuce, year-round

Melons, June through August

Mint, year-round

Morels, spring

Mushrooms (cultivated), year-round

Mushrooms (wild), spring through fall

Nectarines, June through September

Nettles, March and April

New Potatoes, March and April

Okra, August

Onions, year-round

Oregano, year-round

Parsley, year-round

Parsnips, October into December

Peaches, June through September

Pea greens, March and april

Peas and pea pods, June through August

Peppers (sweet), June through August

Potatoes, July (available from storage year-round)

Pumpkins, September and October

Radicchio, September through December

Radishes, March into November

Sage, year-round

Scallions, March through November

Shallots, summer and fall (from storage through winter)

Shelling beans, August and September

Snap peas/snow peas/pea pods, June and July

Sorrel, year-round

Spinach, year-round

Squash (summer), May through September

Squash (winter), fall and winter

Strawberries, April through June

Sweet potatoes, year-round

Thyme, year-round

Tomatoes, July into October

Turnips, September into March

Watermelons, June through August

Winter Squash, September into January

Zucchini, May through September

Zucchini Blossoms, May through July

So you’ve decided to start a small farm. But you’re not sure what animals to raise, or what to plant. How do you decide?

What Appeals to You?

It seems obvious, but the most likely candidates for farm animals are the ones that you’re drawn to naturally. If goats seem odd or strange, maybe they’re not for you. Perhaps you have fond memories of petting cows on your grandparents’ farm, or have a fondness for pigs.

If your goal is to start a business with your farm, think carefully about markets for your product, and do some research to see if there is demand for it. If your goal is self-sufficiency, you’ll want to consider what kind of food you and your family like to eat. Don’t raise pigs if you never eat pork!

Be Cautious About the Unusual

Often, people are drawn to unusual or exotic animals. Their thought process is often that something that isn’t “what everybody else is doing” will be marketable. This isn’t always a logical conclusion. While specialty crops can be a great way to generate income, sometimes this can backfire. Be sure there’s a market for your unusual animal, herb, vegetable or fruit before investing a lot of money in it.

Make a List

Make a list of your potential animals and crops. Leave room for notes, and make sure to list the reasons why you are considering this particular animal or crop. Use this list to gather tidbits of information as you get further into the research process.

Read About It

Go to the library or your local independent bookstore and look at everything you can find about the animals and crops on your list. Use the Internet to search for basic information on raising each animal. At this point, you might start narrowing down your list as you find out more details. Whenever you lose focus, look back at your goals for your farm and ask yourself: does this animal or crop further my goals?

• Top 10 Essential Small Farming Books
• Information on Farm Animals
• Information on Crops and Vegetables
• Information on Orchards and Berries

Talk to Farmers

You’ve pondered it, read about it, and thought some more about it. Sometimes you just have to experience things to figure out your path, and nowhere is this more true than farming.

Find some local farmers who are raising the animals or crops you’re considering. Ask them about their successes and their challenges. Go pet the animals, see the housing and fencing that the farmer has chosen, experience the animals in three dimensions.

Now you’ve had a chance to thoroughly explore some potential animals and crops for your farm. You’re ready to choose some to start with! How exciting!

It’s time to take your dreams and make them happen. You are ready to start planning your first year: you have an inventory of resources, both physical and financial, you have some ideas about what animals and crops you want to raise, you’ve done the research into care of the animals, local markets and how to start a business. What’s next?

Set Priorities

Go through your list of animals and crops and pick the ones that match best with your available resources, knowledge and time. Resist choosing too many: one to three is probably the ideal number. With farm animals, starting with one species is a good plan.

Even if your goal is homesteading or self-sufficiency, resist the urge to try to do a little bit of everything. Either do one small, but well-rounded, garden plot, or do just a few veggies – the ones you eat the most of and the ones that are most expensive or difficult to get locally. You can always go pick up that bag of carrots from the farm down the road, for now. Later you can tackle carrots. For now, perfect growing your own greens, onions, and tomatoes.

Check out these easy-to-grow vegetables as a good starting point. Chickens are probably the easiest and least resource-intensive farm animal for the beginning farmer.

Create an Action Plan

You now have an overarching view of what you want to accomplish in the first year. The next step is to take that down to specific, actionable tasks – an action plan. Your actions might involve learning new skills, such as how to write a business plan, or how to operate a tractor. One action might be to build a chicken coop. Or, you might have “locate suitable land” first on your list.

Include what the action is, who will be responsible for doing it, and when it will be done. Keep your action plan somewhere easy to access – perhaps a planning binder where you can also keep farm records.

Adjust as You Go

Farm planning is a process. It never goes quite as you think it will in the beginning. Make sure that you are flexible enough to come back and reassess your first-year plan every month or two, and allow yourself to change your goals or actions as needed. Whatever you do, keep your original vision in mind, and make sure your actions support your values and priorities.

Starting a small business requires determination, motivation, and know-how. Here are the critical steps to provide you with the know-how to have a successful small business startup:

Identify Your Business Opportunity:

Choosing what kind of business to start can be an immobilizing task when confronted with the multitude of opportunities. It’s important to determine where your passions lie and to understand your personality type. Yet, equally important is what skills you bring to the table and whether you are entering a dying industry or a fast growing emerging business.

Read More…

Build a Business Plan:

For any start-ups, a business plan allows you to gain a better understanding of your industry structure, competitive landscape, and the capital requirements of starting a small business. A study mentioned in “Business Plans For Dummies” by Paul Tiffany states that companies with a business plan have 50% more profits and revenue than non-planning businesses. Writing a business plan just makes good business sense.

Read More…

Find Start-up Money:

To start a business, you must invest in the business. The journey of finding start up funds will be different for each individual. Some start ups such as consulting, requires a few thousand to get a website and business cards whereas a retail store could need $100,000 or more. Finding the money you need may come for a source you never thought of or may just end up being the frugal bootstrap method.

Read More…

Name Your Business:

What’s in a business name? Everything and nothing. The right business name will help distinguish you from a sea of bland competitors, provide your customers with a reason to hire you, and aid in the branding of your company. Learn what you need to know to find a name for your business.

Read More…

Choose a Business Structure:

Deciding on the structure of your business is not a decision to be taken lightly. Whether you choose the popular LLC, a sole proprietorship or form a corporation; your choice will have an impact on your business liability, fund-ability as well as taxes due. Don’t fret over your ultimate business structure, because as your business evolves, so too, may your structure.

Read More…

Get Your Business License and Permits:

Starting a small business requires the mundane, yet necessary, paperwork and regulations. Depending on your chosen business structure, may need to register your business with the state authorities. Setting up your small business may require an employer identification number(EIN) which is also used by state taxing authorities to identify businesses. Additional paperwork can entail sales tax licenses, zoning permits and more.

Read More…

Set Up & Determine Your Business Location:

One of the multitude of tasks in starting a business is the setting up of your office. There are many steps in office set up including where to locate your office (home or office space), buying the necessary office equipment, designing your work space and getting supplies.

Read More…

Get Business Insurance:

As a new small business owner, you have the responsibility to manage the risks associated with your business. Don’t put your new start-up at risk without getting the proper small business insurance to protect your company in the event of disaster or litigation.

Read More…

Create an Accounting System:

Unless you’re a number person, the accounting and bookkeeping aspect of running your business can’t be avoided. Setting up your accounting will help you understand the financials of running a business and help you advert failure.

Read More…

Wondering about where to find money for your small farm startup or expansion? Need equipment but don’t know how to pay for it? Well, there are plenty of resources for grant money for small-scale farming. You just have to know where to look.

• Grants.gov is a great place to start your search. You can search by keyword, browse categories, or browse agencies to find grants that may apply to your situation.
• The USDA Alternative Farming Systems Information Center lists resources and opportunities for grants and loans for small farmers and other agricultural producers.
• Check with your Cooperative Extension Office for the most local and individual assistance for your particular situation. Your Cooperative Extension Office can be a helpful source of information and save you a lot of time spent hunting through grant listings that make no sense for your needs.
• The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education organization lists grants available to farmers. Some of these involve partnership with the community or an educational institution. But, check it out – one may be just what you’re looking for.

The resources below aren’t grants per se, but they’re great powerhouses of information and education that will help you on your way as you learn the ropes of small farming. They also include extensive and thorough links to additional resources.

• The Northeast Beginning Farmers Project is offered through Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. It is housed at the Cornell Small Farms Program and funded by the USDA’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program. They offer online courses, a website full of resources, including a guide to farming in NY and farming videos, and host events. Although based in NY, they are reaching out to form collaborations with other organizations in the Northeast.
• The New England Small Farm Institute offers a course called Exploring the Small Farm Dream, geared toward getting new farmers off on the right foot with their business. Even if you’re not in New England, you can work through the book in a self-study format for free.

Attention!

If this is the first time you are visiting this website, sometime ago I wrote a proposal. It was about developing a safe house project in Upstate New York. The details of this project can be found below:

Link: http://govsponsoredstalking.info/?p=1087

The project is now taking a different form:

1. It will be private property.

2. It will be in North Carolina.

3. It will be funded by the revenues generated by the farming of produce.

4. It will have partitioned housing through the use of shipping containers.

5. 75 percent of the profits will go to the owner of the property and 25 percent will go to the safe house cooperative.

6. Participants will be required to assist in the farming of the property (hours and days of service will be arraigned).

7. Intake of individuals will require to complete a notarized AFFIDAVIT and show proper IDENTIFICATION.

If you will be interested in discussing this project further, please feel free to contact me. Thanks for reading and have a good day.

Chris J. Brunson

by H. Michael Sweeney

Note: This is a complex topic and thus is a lengthy post of a somewhat technical nature, and though it is based on knowledge of the U.S. communications network, most things found here generally apply World Wide. Given the complexity, it will not be useful to undertake reading it unless you have time to devote free of distraction, as it is too important for hit-and-miss reading. It is an updated summary review of information (not excerpted) from my book, The Professional Paranoid: How to Fight Back When Investigated, Stalked, Targeted, or Harassed by Any Agency, Organization, or Individual

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