Things are always growing at Off The Rails Homestead. This week we’ve eliminated massive amounts of Japanese Privet and random viny things to make room for new fruit trees. This place already has mature pecan, oak, and pine trees that we don’t want to get get rid of. They provide a beautiful high canopy for the backyard and the side nearest the railroad tracks. Privet, however, is fast growing, invasive, and useless. Not to mention, it repels bees and butterflies. Not good. We’ve been chasing it back for six years. Time’s up. With backyard space already being crowded by two…
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You wouldn’t think a lot could be done with a suburban 1/2 acre homestead. You’d be wrong. Here, we fully embrace the philosophy of “do what you can with what you’ve got”. Six years ago, we landed in Sumter, SC and bought a little place beside the railroad tracks. We cleared out overgrowth and removed strangled trees, we fenced the backyard for our little dogs, and we set about making a plan. That plan outlined a beautiful raised bed garden, hexagon shaped, with spaces for vegetables, herbs, and strawberries. While year one was growing in the backyard, we added floor…