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Ryan Harp

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posted 9 years ago

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July 11th works for me too.

Also I only have Marie and myself for sure attending the Miracle Orchard Workshop. I'm happy to organize this so we can get the group rate.

Miracle Orchard Workshop
From what I can tell there is a lot of interest in the group to attend the Miracle Orchard Workshop. I'd be happy to register the group. Looks like $450 and from what I can tell 5 of us tentatively have an interest which would be $90 each. If I hear back from at least 2 of you by Sat. (5/16/15) I'll pull the trigger and put down the registration cost. I can wait until the event to be paid back that's fine.

Ryan Harp

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Dan Grubbs

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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posted 9 years ago

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I'm afraid I can't do the workshop now.

Here's a link to a video of Doug Peterson, the NRCS soils guy who is going to come out and has agreed to speak with us. I'm confirming the July 11 date with him via email.

https://youtu.be/4aOU5VMalc8

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Marie Gifford

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Maybe an email of people on your email list about the orchard workshop. I know in the past I was nit getting notifications about replies on thus thread (think it was my fault)So maybe a little personal touch might help get confirmation (yes or no) to get a confirmed number going.
Ryan, if no one else goes we could still do the buy in get on free.

Dan Grubbs

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SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, July 11, 2 pm -- Free event!

NRCS soil scientist Doug Peterson will come to my little farm to speak about soil health. Everyone is invited. Spread the word to anyone you think would benefit.

Doug Peterson is a multi-species rancher/farmer himself as well as a sought-after consultant and NRCS soils experts and speaks at conferences and meetings around the country. This will be an outdoor event, so be prepared for any kind of weather ... especially hot and humid. My little farm, Hebron Acres, is just off of Interstate 35 north of Kansas City and very easy to access. I'll provide a flier soon that will give driving directions and more information. But, here is your save the date notice, so book it now so you don't end up with a schedule conflict. This will also be a good time for us to meet and get to know each other better.

I only have a few emails of people, but I will send an email of the same notice above and later with the flier.

Whooohoooo!

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Dan Grubbs

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Here is the flier for the soils gig at my place with NRCS state soil health conservationist, Doug Peterson.

Filename: Soils-event-invite.pdf

File size: 2 megabytes

Download Attachment

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Marie Gifford

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Great looking flyer Dan! I will be posting this to my Facebook farm page.

Thanks for setting this up!

Dan Grubbs

pollinator

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Hey Marie:
I know it'll be a bit of a haul for you. Maybe you and R Scott can carpool up since you're sort of close. Anyway, it'll be good to see you again ... and Ryan! ... and meet the others who show up. I'm pretty stoaked that Doug Peterson has agreed to talk to us. He's quite a soils rock star and we have him right here in northwest Missouri.

Remember, it's outdoors, so we'll enjoy all that brings with it ... bring a lawn chair.

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Dan Grubbs

pollinator

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Reminder ...

We are 10 days away from hearing Doug Peterson talk about soil health. For those who aren't aware, attached is a flier that will give you the low down.

Basically ... July 11, 2 pm Soil Health Discussion -- FREE
Hebron Acres
Holt, MO

See flier for directions or send me a purple moosage for my phone number.

It's outdoors, so be prepared for mid-July weather and bring a lawn chair and your fav hydration.

Filename: Soils-event-invite.pdf

File size: 2 megabytes

Download Attachment

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Maggie St. John

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Hello KC area permies!

I've been a lurker here for a couple of weeks, and just stumbled upon this thread. I am super excited to discover some local folks!!

I'm in the KC north area, living in a tiny house on about an acre of land. That land is currently all grass except for flowers here and there, and a few trees. For years I've been implementing small changes here and there to make my utility bills lower and my footprint lighter. These forums have given me lots of food for thought!!

I'm new to gardening for food and sustainability, and am extremely interested in ways to make my land start providing for me. I struggle to not to get discouraged and try to keep in mind that learning takes time and experimentation.

I'm planning on putting a small Hugelkultur bed in before winter to start planting in the spring. And once I get a break in the weather (and schedule) I'll be assembling a small 6x8 greenhouse to start experimenting in.

I hope to be able to meet some like minded folks to swap ideas and get creative!

Ryan Harp

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Hey Maggie!

Welcome! I'm excited to have a tiny house owner among us. Tell us all about it!

I very much understand the struggle to not get discouraged when learning these skills. My first year gardening on my own was 2012 when we had a pretty rough drought. Big time Fail! Each year gets a little better and at this point I'm most excited about the things I don't know. Which is a lot. The experimentation and learning is equally as rewarding as the harvest itself.

Ryan Harp

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Dan Grubbs

pollinator

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Welcome, Maggie.

As Ryan said, we're all on a journey of learning. I'm also in the Northland (Liberty) and will be soon building a house on our little farm up in Holt. We do have a fledgling group in the area who have actually met twice. We hope you can participate in what we're trying to achieve together. I won't speak for Marie Gifford, but I think we're wanting to organize a gathering at her place in the fall.

These forums are a great place to pick up knowledge. I hope you're encouraged then to get out there and experiment. I also have had some pretty hard failures in my efforts. However, as a permie, I have come to consider it feedback, not failure.

I also want to tell everyone that I ran across Antioch Urban Growers the other day. It's a beginning nursery that is located on I-35 at the Antioch exit in the Northland. They are working hard to become a food hub and help urban and suburban growers. They recently purchased that nursery there and are getting it back up and running. You might check them out at: www.antiochurbangrowers.com I've met with Mark, the owner, several times and I will be partnering with them to teach about permaculture principles, soil function, etc.

Finally, our materials for my new high tunnel were delivered. I'll begin assembly next week and will share photos here as well as on our facebook page. It's 30' X 72', so it's not a tiny high tunnel. I'm looking forward to that part of our journey on our farm at Hebron Acres.

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R Scott

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Location: Kansas Zone 6a

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Welcome Maggie!

And cool on the high tunnel, Dan. That is an area I need to do more, too.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

Maggie St. John

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Ryan Harp wrote:Hey Maggie!

Welcome! I'm excited to have a tiny house owner among us. Tell us all about it!

By tiny, I just mean small and not a McMansion.

I wish I could live in a REAL tiny house, but alas, myself plus 5 dogs and 3 cats would not all fit.

Thanks for the welcome, Ryan and Dan!

Dan, I also recently discovered Antioch Urban Growers and spent several hours with Mark just soaking it all in. It's already a truly amazing turn around for that place, and his plans for the future and community are inspiring. I'm hoping to volunteer there as much as I can, not only to help him out, but to learn! Please keep us in the loop for when your classes will be, I would love to attend. And congrats on the high tunnel!

Ryan Harp

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Hey KC Permies,

Everyone getting ready for some fall planting? I know I hope to locate a few choice fruit/nut/nitrogen fixing - trees & shrubs. I've found it difficult to locate online sources who are selling this time of year. Seems odd that they focus on spring even though the fall is the ideal planting time. I learned recently that as much as 85% of root growth happens after leaf fall. I knew that was the time that the plant was focusing energy to it's roots but not 85%!! Any good recommends on local sources?

That was actually just one of the many things I picked up from the recent workshop with Stephan Sobokowiak from Miracle Farms last month. I got a ton of great video I hope to edit together and might have a viewing party or something like that. Marie Gifford was also attending and I'm sure she would agree it was a very educational event. Here is a quick edit of some of the footage.

Ryan Harp

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Ryan Harp

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Microgreens... anyone growing these? Thinking about getting started for a winter project.

Ryan Harp

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mandy pauley

Posts: 5

Location: MO (zone 6a)

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Hey there! I've been reading and reading and finally saw MO!! I'm not KC; more Columbia but I didn't see any of those folks. I look forward to chatting with y'all and hopefully becoming very knowledgable!

We have 10 acres that we are VERY slowly improving and I can't wait to get started on each project.

Look forward to picking brains and learning!

Marie Gifford

Posts: 25

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Hey Everyone!!

Hope you all have had a great summer! Mine has been busy, but I am glad that the heat and humidity are done. So are the sheep.

I would like to invite all of you to our small farm Saturday October 17th, 1pm until when ever. We can do a pasture walk, I can discuss what has worked and what hasn't worked with my sheep and pasture management, brainstorm on some "food forest" areas, and if anyone is interested in some hands on with electric netting, we can do that too.

Let me know what you all think? I would like to keep it to just this group and a few others, so not really going to make it a big public affair.

Marie Gifford

Posts: 25

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Welcome Maggie and Mandy!!!

Paul Porter

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Marie,

Sounds like fun. We'll be there.

Paul

Paul Greenhaw

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Marie -- Where is the farm located? My wife and I will have relocated to the Lawrence area by then, and would love to gain some knowledge/get inspired (as we are looking to get the ball rolling on some permie projects soon after arriving)

Paul (and Martha)

Marie Gifford

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Whoops! Guess I should have put my location.
We are south of La Cygne, KS. Which is about an hour south of Overland Park, and about an hour twenty minutes SE of Lawrence.

I will make up a little flyer this weekend with directions and (very loose) agenda.

Was also thinking of potluck lunch or dinner? Nothing real big, but I have some leg of lamb I need to cook to empty the freezer some more. So I could provide that and everyone else could bring something? Thoughts?

Dan Grubbs

pollinator

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Does Marie rock or what?

I'm really excited about the event, Marie. Thanks very much for hosting and sharing your passions with us. I'm sure we'll learn a lot from what you're doing and our sharing together.

If anyone wants to carpool from the KC area, I'm sure we can coordinate something and share gas costs. We could meet at a common location and pile into one vehicle. The potluck idea sounds amazing, but don't let that stress you out, okay? If it doesn't work out, the main thing is us getting together.

Welcome, Paul, Martha and Mandy. Our little Mo/Kan group of permies has met twice and Marie's gracious invitation will make it the third time we all get together. I do look forward to meeting you. Our hope is that we can make it a regular, maybe quarterly kind of thing so we can meet to discuss ideas, maybe do workdays, and simply enjoy each other's company. Next year, I'd like to plan a workshop, such as a RMH workshop or a cover crop workshop ... something. Love to know if there are workshop topics others would be interested in.

See ya in La Cygne!

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R Scott

pollinator

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Location: Kansas Zone 6a

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Argh, again on a day I am out of town.

I am just going to have to get my shtuff together and host one of these next year so I will be there!

Ryan Harp

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Yes Dan... Marie does indeed rock!

New faces and a like minded rendezvous... can't wait!

Ryan Harp

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D Cooper

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I'm excited to find this thread. I've been following permaculture for a number of years now and have made it part way through my online PDC. I've been working on my property near Pittsville, MO for 3 years now. I now have egg layer ducks and a flock of chickens. I had issues with buying the seedling trees in years past. This year I created a sort of nursery bed for them and I'll be transplanting pecan and persimmon trees over the next few weeks. I have a good resource for trees in the fall as well, but I'll have to look it up on my work computer.

YouTube channel: Midwest Homestead Solutions
MidwestHomesteadSolutions.com

Ryan Harp

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Hi DC,

Welcome and I'd be very interested to hear more about your fall tree resource. And your farm!

Ryan Harp

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D Cooper

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Ok. I pulled up my link that i had saved for http://www.twisted-tree.net/ which is run by Akiva Silver. I learned about him from Permaculture voices, and have contacted him about ordering some plants and trees. He said that he ships plants during November and April. I just need to put a list of what i want together and he said he'd get me a total. If anyone local around the Kansas city / Lee's summit area are interested in going in on an order to save on shipping let me know.

If you are interested in some of what i have going on, check out my YouTube channel "Midwest Homestead Solutions" I also have a full setup available to Rent for processing chickens, including kill cones, scalder, commercial grade plucker, evisceration tables and more.

YouTube channel: Midwest Homestead Solutions
MidwestHomesteadSolutions.com

Dan Grubbs

pollinator

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Welcome D Cooper:

I've ordered from Akiva and will be ordering more from him in the fall. He's a great resource and very responsive. When you get ready to put your order together, let me know. I let Akiva know I was interested in some of his trees and will order in the fall, so maybe we can combine our order.

Hope to meet you at Marie's place.

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Marie Gifford

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I haven't been able to get a flyer put together and I leave for out of town on Saturday for a much needed vacation. No cell phone service and very limited WiFi. So I will make some simple directions to my place and a simple agenda for our meet on October 17th

Start time 1pm with some food! I will be cooking a leg of lamb, please bring a side. Nothing fancy! Just "finger food" would be great
Pasture walk to look at my different fencing, pasture growth, note things that I will be doing differently next year, and look at the sheep.

If the ground isn't too hard, I would love to dig up some different legumes and see if there is any nitrogen nodules.
And I would love to do some brainstorming on the best places for a future orchard/food forest.

No set "finish" time.

Quick directions:
From Overland Park area
69 hwy south to La Cygne exit. turn west, go through the town of La Cygne, over the river, to the 1095 road (about a mile from the river), turn south to 1650 road, turn west. Go 1 mile to the first road Newton Lane (it is a narrow gravel road), turn north, we are the first driveway on the west side of the road.

From Olathe area
169 hwy south to 7 hwy exit (Mound City exit) Turn left onto 7 hwy. I can't remember how many miles it is, but you will go over railroad tracks, make 2 big 90 degree turns, go about 7 miles or so and make 2 more big 90 degree turns. After that last turn the next road you come to will be 1650. Turn east. Go about 2.5 miles and to Newton Land. Turn north, we are the first driveway on the west side.

It is about an hour from the 435 loop and about an hour and half from Lawrence. If you start hearing banjos you have gone too far.

I look forward to seeing all of you here!!

D Cooper, welcome! I hope you can make it!

D Cooper

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Sounds like a good time, but I probably won't have the time to make it out. I'll have a very busy weekend and few days before heading south to Louisiana for the earthworks workshop.

YouTube channel: Midwest Homestead Solutions
MidwestHomesteadSolutions.com

Randy Darrah

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Hello all,
I'm about 50 Miles West of St. Louis.
If anyone is interested in Chestnuts I had a pretty good year after the squirrels had their share. My chestnuts are a Chinese-American hybrid and have been raised organically. It does take two for pollination. Feel free to shoot me a message, if interested.

Randy

Dan Grubbs

pollinator

Posts: 686

Location: northwest Missouri, USA

103

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I'm really looking forward to meeting folks this Saturday at Marie's place. We appear to be in for some favorable weather and even a chance to learn about sheep shearing, which I'm really interested in learning about. Marie, my mouth is already watering thinking of that leg of lamb you have prepared. We'll see everyone at 1 pm!

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Curtis EuDaly

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Thanks Marie, I'm looking forward to it. I might be bringing a friend or two who are interested in learning about electric netting.

Natalie Bee

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Hi Everyone! I'm new here; been a vegetable gardener for years, and generous people have let me help with their animals here and there, but I really don't know much at all. I just know that I love permaculture and would like to learn more. I currently live in south KC near Grandview, renting in a suburban neighborhood from friends who are missionaries in Uganda. Since they are doing gardening, fruit trees and animals over there, they are letting me do vegetables & plant fruit trees in their yard, but that's as far as I've gotten on my own. Good to find ya!

Marie Gifford

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Had a great turn out today! Thank you all for coming and seeing my little farm.
I know some of you took pictures so please post!

Natalie made it out after everyone else had already left, but we had a great conversation as well! I am thinking she will be a great addition to you group. Welcome!!

Looking forward to our next get together!

Paul Porter

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Thank you Marie! Had a great time.

Natalie Bee

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Thanks, Marie! It was really great to meet you and see your place. And to get some dog therapy.

Looking forward to meeting more of you in the future!

Dan Grubbs

pollinator

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Location: northwest Missouri, USA

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Marie, thanks for hosting us on your farm. It was a fun day at the fiber farm. Thanks for an awesome leg of lamb -- very tasty. I'm really glad we did the fencing discussion. It put away several concerns for me about electric net fencing. It was great to see everyone. I'll have questions about the ducks soon, Marie. Paul, we'll have to find a working song to sing together! Curtis and Mo, was fun to chat with you. You guys are always welcome to come up north and visit what we're doing (anyone is, for that matter). Loved meeting your family, Josh. And Ryan, it was a blast to carpool down with you; thanks.

So, we didn't get to talk about our own projects too much as we spend good time out in the pastures. Here's what I propose. We set up a Google Hangout on a regular basis. Let's try to determine a monthly day/time. We can discuss the projects we're working on, lessons learned, plan workshops, etc.

Ryan, is there a chance you can take a lead on setting up our first Google Hangout?

My wife and I will be planning a barn dance in the spring and you are all invited. I'll have more info as we get to that time.

I really want to host a rocket mass heater workshop in the coming months. If there's interest in that, please let me know. I think we can talk Ryan into leading a session/presentation on solar/wind power systems at the same event.

Later!

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Ryan Harp

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Marie, thanks for hosting and giving us all a good lesson in electric fencing! I posted a short blog about the day here: ProjectsAplenty.com

Natalie, sorry we missed you, and Welcome!

Everyone... I'd be happy to set up a google hangout session we can all continue our conversations on. How does Saturday November 14th work? 8pm?

Ryan Harp

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Ryan Harp

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I'm still thinking November 14th would be a good day for a Google Hangout session, aka online video conference. I'm working on a flier so please let me know if this date isn't going to work. 8pm too late? The theme will be "Stacking Functions". I'd like to hear an example from each attendee on one way that they are stacking functions (or plan to).

Ryan Harp

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Rocket Mass Heater Manual

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