Hi Folks. Im a newbie here at Permies. Im very into the ideas being shared here and want to begin to transform my life into this lifestyle. I am a dog trainer by trade.
Right now, im searching for a property that I can both run my dog training business and practice permiculture on. I just found a 4 acre property that is perfect for my training business. It is set up in a way where I could move in tomorrow and start running my business.(modern construction, not eco-construction unfortunately)
Here in my current location I do a lot of organic gardening. My wife and i would like to create some income from this produce once we move to a larger property. Here's my problem. Behind the house, It has some woods with a little creek, but in front of the house, across the street, there is commercial farmland. A big 70 acre soy field. I understand that this is a huge issue for organic folks, but you gotta realize, I live in Illinois. This is the heartland, chemical farming country. Almost everywhere i go, there is corn or soy. I dont think Ill be able to find another property like this one at this price.
My question is, can i plant a row of trees in between the properties to help keep the chemicals on their turf and away from mine? How much would their style of farming effect my organic style? Would my produce even still be considered organic? I use raised beds with homade compost and homeade EWC, DE, Im totally organic. My actual plants would never touch a chemical other than what they'll breath through the neighbors spraying.
