Hello From Ryan in Ohio

I'm new to this forum in a sense, been lurking for 7 years, but this is my first post. My family is looking for land right now so we can set up a small farm focused on tea and timber bamboo but with also a lot of herbs, veggies, grain, and fruit. We're looking in zone 6b, and have chosen varieties of plants (over 600, mostly perennial; I dare not list them all) suited to our climate. I have a tech school certificate in Horticulture and was the 2006 OJHA 1st place winner of their Ohio state Fair Plant Identification contest. Although steeped in traditional ag ed, I always hated using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. I used to think that was the only efficient way, and then I started reading magazines like Mother Earth News, the Old Farmer's Almanac, and Backwoods Home; and Books like square Foot Gardening, One straw Revolution, Practical Homesteading (John Vivian), Back to Basics, and others. And I began to make bigger and bigger gardens and have more and more abundant returns. And I remembered when my parents would scold me for bad grades and ask me if I wanted to be a farmer for lack of an education, and how I'd always say yes. And I thought, hey, why not? And so for the last ten years I've been preparing for it. Learning to preserve my harvest, how to troubleshoot the problems on a small scale based on balanced ecology, learning blacksmithing, learning ceramics, learning about machines, sustainable power, comparing till and no-till pros and cons in a 4 year experiment in my back yard, studying natural building and architecture, studying practical aspects of restoration ecology, etc ad infintium...

And this brings me to the need to bounce ideas off of others in the same field of study. And so here I am. I hope we can get along and help each other.

Hello Ryan, I'm Justyn.  I'm building a small Non Profit Education Lab on my family farm in Southern WV. "Our Mission is to encourage local food production and ecological awareness through hands-on permaculture and homesteading education."  Nice to meet you.

Land ideas for you.
Southern WV or South Western VA might be a good choice for you if you're looking for land and affordable housing. I don't know much about bamboo as a timber crop, but I do love bamboo. Some of the old coal mining towns down here would suit your needs, The land is rough, but bamboo when introducted seems to do great. (Right now I'm looking for some of that black bamboo, know any sources?)

How to find me.
Mavis Manor FB
Mavis Farmacy FB
Our Permaculture Youtube Channel
Twitter (@xdrfirefly)

Cheers

-Justyn

Hi Justyn,

Nice to meet ya.

Our family is mostly dark skinned (being mostly native to this continent), and the coal towns and the south are kind of a bad fit for us. Fine to visit, but when we visit friends in Tenn and NC, we get enough of the bad vibes to last all year. Wouldn't mind visiting you though.

I do know of a supplier for black bamboo. lewisbamboo dot com, not sure of their reputation as I haven't bought from them personally.

Camelia japonica and japonica/sinesis hybrid varieities rated zone 6 are:
Polar Ice
Snow Flurry
Winter's Charm
Winter's Interlude
Winter's Rose
Winter's Star
Pink Icecicle
April Blush
April Remembered
April Rose
Korean Fire (6b only)
Spring's Promise

Varieties of Bamboo Hardy in Ohio

Macon Rivercane
20ftx1in
hardy to -22F
zone 5-8 tollerates clay and flooded soils

Black Bamboo
16ftx2in
zone 5-7 (may be grown in 6 if sheltered from wind by planting in forest clearing with pallisade fence, needs full sun)
ebony black canes with dense wood good for musical instruments
does well in pots

Slender Crookstem
12-50ftx3in thick walled timber variety
hardy to -10F
zone 6-9
10% of grove's culms(stalks) lean a bit

Yellow Grove
20ftx2in
hardy to -5F
zone 5-8
crooked bases zigzag a bit, useful in crafts for various reasons

Giant Grey
40ftx4_1/2in
Hardy to -10
zone 6-9 drought tollerant

Giant Leaf Bamboo
10ftx1/2in
hardy to -10F
zone 6-9 tollerates flooded soils

Thanks for info.

I grew up in Akron, Ohio. Here is something after spending 13 years in Southern WV.

At least in my part of WV. ( between Beckley and Princeton WV) I will also include Wytheville, VA because I know people from that area.  Skin Pigment isn't an issue with anyone younger then 65. People will still use some interesting terms, but they are said in ignorance, not in malice.  If do have the pleasure of meeting you and your family one day, I will tell you about when Obama was elected. ( Folks in Southern WV voted for him, and he won by a very large margin) It's a crazy story, but better to be told in person.  Lots of whitish looking people, but in reality more people are mutts here then anyone else in the country. I'm a big genelogy fan.

The thing about these parts is they hate government first. The heart of Appalachia also has the Red Headed Blacks, and the Native Americans with Blue eyes and blond hair.  Appalachia was the forgotten realm with the folks hide out. During the Civil War West Virginia was where you went when you didn't support neither side. There is also a strong population of mixed Native Americans. It's funny some of the old timers have Irish, African, and Native blood lines.  Sometimes I honestly feel the state wants the population to drop in this state. Also, WV based on state law, ALL faith are welcome here. Wicca was founded in WV.  The trick to this state is knowing where to go, and understanind you will ALWAYS be from AWAY unless you are from here, or are related to someone from here. ( So, yes I've bee here 13 years 1 third my life, and I'm still from AWAY)

Anyway, I personally think it's more tolerant then many parts in Southern Ohio ( at least SE Ohio)  

Enough about that.

I will check out those places. Thank you again. And if I can be of any help let me know.

My Zone is a 6Aish I joke and say 5c  ( Here on the mountain I rarely see 90F and I've seen as cold as -22F, which at least one day a year in the last 10 being -10F)

Cheers

-Justyn

That is very interesting. I'll have to give WV another look. I have been through there a lot but never stayed long because we were always made to feel unwelcome, even though we often stopped in Pax for the best biscuits ever.

Name dropping. Next time you pass through, tell them you know some folks that live in Flat Top. It's crazy as small as my town is, there is very few people that don't know where Flat Top in WV.

I still haven't picked up an Appalachian accent, so once I open my mouth, i get funny looks. Well, that and the multicoloured hair and my unique blend of 90s fashion. But, once I tell folks I'm from Flat Top, people seem to change their tune and ask if I know so and so. Folks of the state really don't like folks from away. It took me a few years to understand it. It stems back from the Coal Mining hay day. Rich city slicker would come in and by the Mineral Rights of someone land, and then trash it. Or person X would start a makeshift coal mine, and leave in the middle of the night sticking the worker without paychecks and no jobs. WV is a prime example of how corporation practice scotched earth.  ---  Now, once you gain the trust of the people near by they are some of the best neighbors you'll ever hopeful. I personally rarely lock my doors. My keys are in my cars as we speak. Theft is not a problem anymore. Our little town formed a telephone right to share out of place actions. WV is also Open Carry without permit. So, everyone may have a gun. This went into place a few years ago, and petty crime moved to the bigger cities. Yes, crime still happens but it get handles very quickly.

The major downfall to Southern WV is lack of market. Most of the younger people just want to leave, and the older people are on a fixed income. If you can attract people from out of the state, or court business from out of state its good. For 10 years I ran a B&B here. It was always booming. Lots of folks want to visit the mountains. I also offered a unique experience with local organic cooking, high speed internet ( before the local hotels) and farm life. That is were I stumbled onto the idea of an education center. Parents had to move down here, so ran out of rooms at the inn, LOL.

Let's talk Bamboo for a second.
Does the Black grow quickly? Also, if I want to plant a legacy stand, how many would be a good number of plants?
I know wildcrafting, and trees. Bamboo is very new to me, but I just love the plant. I also love how you must build a relationship with it.

Have a good night

-Justyn

The black bamboo grows fast compared to a tree, but not compared to other bamboo in my experience. since all bamboo available are clones (seeds are often not viable and it may be 100 years or more between blooms typically, so they are propagated through rooted cuttings), there won't be genetic diversity gained by adding multiple plants. The fastest growers in my list were Macon and Giant Grey IIRC.

Welcome! I live in the gateway to the south, Cincinnati.
Filled with a mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds,it's also pretty racist.
I'm from here,so I just thought it was normal until i saw some of the world.
This area has a low cost of living,compared to many places.

Enough on that.

The timber bamboo idea is really cool.
Someone just told me area around Galena Ohio has no building codes.

If I had a piece of land isolated by streets or water, I would plant quick growing running bamboo for biomass and to sell as crafts or too crafters.

Hope to hear more from you soon.