Happy New Year, you wonderful people!
2016 was fun… but I have a great feeling about 2017. It’s time to Make Agriculture Great Again.
Here are my goals for the year.
Goal #1: Publish Three New Books
I got behind in my book publishing in 2016. I actually wrote two gardening books but didn’t get them finished and published. This year I’m changing that.
My first book of 2016 is slated to be published in March. It’s on zone-pushing, i.e. growing tropical edibles outside their “natural” range. After that I hope to finish Southern Beekeeping, the book I co-authored with beekeeper Allen Dovico. Then, if all goes well, I’ll be publishing a rather crazy follow-up to Grow or Die titled Tactical Gardening.
Goal #2: Purchase a Homestead
My gardening demonstrations and videos have been less than satisfactory to me since I’ve been renting a place.
It’s a marvelous little cocoa farm with an abundance of fruit but I can’t dig in and do some of the experiments I’d like to try. Getting some land of my own is a top priority right now and I’m praying something comes our way soon. I must – MUST – build another food forest!
I’m also looking forward to creating a few different test areas where I can experiment with small space gardening, pumpkins, sloping agricultural land technology and growing fuel wood.
Somewhere there is a place we can settle.
Goal #3: Return to Daily Posting
After a couple of months of dropping down to weekly posting here, and an announcement to that effect, I’ve decided to return to posting regularly.
I’m not only going to post on weekdays, like I did for four years: I’m going to post seven days a week.
It’s too hard to step away and I find writing here keeps my creativity flowing. So… this is the official announcement. My goal is to post at least 365 posts in 2017.
Goal #4: Reach 30,000 YouTube subscribers and Create 200 Videos
Here’s how many subscribers I had on December 31st:
I did well in 2016: over 600% growth from the less than 2,000 subscribers with which I started the year. Hitting 30,000 seems like a reasonable goal, especially as my videos just get better and better.
I hope to create 200 videos in 2017. That’s about 4 per week.
Goal #5: 10,000 Newsletter Subscribers
My newsletter is published once a week or so and features a bit of extra news and inspiration beyond what I publish on the blog. It’s also where I announce new books and sales.
Right now the newsletter has just under 5,000 subscribers. Let’s double it!
So – what about you? Any goals for 2017?
You can have greener thumbs by this weekend!
13 comments
My goal in 2017 is to try and keep up with all the things you are going to be doing so I don’t miss anything. And, in so doing, I probably will not get anything much done myself. :-)
LOL
You’re always working, brother. I’m going to start linking to your articles more often to keep you producing!
I can’t wait for the Tactical Gardening book to come out. Write fast! I know you don’t like to be renting, but there are some people out there that don’t have that choice. How about a book / guide for the land impaired? But otherwise, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers that you find a great piece of land for a really, really low price. I don’t know what the prices are like where you are, but I have been looking at land in Panama and am amazed at the high prices. I may have to stay in Florida a little longer than I had planned.
Yeah, I’ve watched the price of land–and everything else–in Central America skyrocket over the past 15-20 years. It’s just astounding.
It might collapse… if it does, I’m buying. I do hate to pay these prices.
Thank you, Carrie. A book for the land impaired isn’t a bad idea.
My guess is that land here costs about twice what I would pay for land in North Florida. Crazy.
David Need that bee keeping book! Trying to teach myself beekeeping off the internet. As usual I’m finding out 95% of the advice is BS.
Glad the daily blogs are back. Know any good nurseries in Fl that sell fruit trees that thrive in our climate?
Happy New Year! I am sure all your goals will be exceeded.
Have you tried:
http://www.justfruitsandexotics.com ?
I haven’t ordered from them yet so I can’t vouch for them, but they do have some good varieties to choose from. Hope this helps.
That’s a good one. ECHO is another good one. Joe Pierce at the Mosswood Farm Store in Micanopy has good stuff. Chiappinni’s Native Farm and Nursery is good. Chestnut Hill Tree Farm has some nice stuff. Really depends on where in the state you are.
I love all your goals, and know your loving family will be with you all the way too. When we purchased our 5 acres nearly 10 years ago, at a price we could afford, we thought it perhaps wasn’t the wisest idea in hindsight. Not enough rain, slopes and terrible soil that dries to a crisp, during summer. But God moves in mysterious ways. Severe storms have been hitting our State and region, nearly every year now. My In-Laws who live near the coast and get all that lovely, consistent rainfall I can only dream of – they’ve already had one storm severely damage their houses, and it threatens to more so, every year.
In the meantime, the curse of living in the dreaded rain shadow, has now swung in our favour. We get more consistent rain and receive only the edges of the storms. So less intense. We still don’t have ideal conditions for gardening, but my point is, what looks bad at a price you can afford, may just become a better option in the long run. So don’t be disheartened if you find the best places to garden, are financially out of your reach. It might be you need a location that (in future) will become more desirable, as the climate continues to change.
What an interesting change. The climate is always moving around, sometimes for the better.
I would take a parking lot at this point, just so I could have a place to call my own.
Hi David –
You are in our prayers for a great price on really good land and house.
I tried to make a purchase with your 50% off deal but the site isn’t working right.
I’ll check back later this weekend – must be a little hick-up with the site.
I currently have a 2 year old mango that I grew from seed. Florida zone 9a.
Really looking forward to your book about growing outside the zone!
I have it in the greenhouse for the winter.
Thank you for all the knowledge you share!
Thank you, Car – I appreciate it. Grow that mango up!
If you get stuck unable to download, please let me know and I’ll help you figure it out.
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