Leonard Burdek Iii

Right, you're growing in the mulch, not the subsoil. My thinking is to mulch the broken down mulch you're growing in.

"As long as they do some good for you and then re-enter the waste stream correctly, I don't see a problem with it."

Whole heartedly agree! There are times when ideals become belief systems, then belief systems become religions. At that point the original ideals become lost to the dogmas they create. It doesn't make any sense NOT to reuse something that would otherwise be considered waste.

I've recently joined the forum and posted a brief rundown of my background in the introductions section. Feel free to send your email address or other contact info via PM if you see fit.

It sounds like your issue is retaining moisture in the topsoil. Are you using any kind of mulch over it? Shredded leaves do wonders at retaining moisture, I've used straw over our sandy loam here in Michigan with good results too.

There's a free phone app called US Topo Maps Free that will plot your GPS location on your local quad map right on your phone. Having worked as a surveyor I highly recommend this app to anyone spending time outdoors, it's quite good.

I'm in Michigan and have found the USDA cooperative extension offices to be an invaluable source of information on local plants. I've picked up a lot of publications from them over the years on trees, native landscaping plants and wild edibles. They're the same folks that teach the master gardener program and can hook you up for info for pretty much everything that grows.

A former neighbor had a 30 gallon wooden barrel he put the ashes from his wood stove into when he cleaned it. It had a hole drilled in it near the bottom and would pour water into it about a gallon at a time then catch it as it ran out. This along with the fat he had after butchering a hog was what his wife made soap from.

Just found the site about a week ago and am enjoying it quite well! I've had two different off grid homesteads over the years, one in Manton and another just outside of Interlochen. With it being -19f this morning I'm glad to not be living in a tent like I did in the early 90's! Returned to the cities (Flint and Detroit) for a few years and although I can see the potential there It's like herding cats to get more than a couple of people at a time on the same page. Had a landscape gardening business for about ten years, was a land surveyor for twelve and worked several years in the mental health treatment system. If anyone wants advice or help with the design process on thier property, hit me up!

An old four wheel drive Subaru station wagon would make a good choice. The old three wheeled ATV's can be gotten cheap, I've skidded a lot of firewood out of the woods behind one of those. If you can find a pickup that's been wrecked but still runs, that might be good, one guy I know has one with the body taken off and an extra transmission added to gear it WAY low. A bi-pod and a winch makes it a monster for pulling stumps.