Markus Meszaros

There are very few trees here, and those few that are, are the few shaded spots on the property, and I don't want to cut them, also the soil here is very sandy. I have an abundance of straw, along with lots of composted organic matter (essentially a mix of kitchen and bathroom compost, which was going to be fertilizer) and I'm wondering if that would work for raised beds. I can't imagine that planting in essentially 100% fertilizer that's been run through by worms would be a bad thing, but I don't know. I want to plant several different vegetables and herbs, and I also want to make a very large raised bed to plant corn on top of.


Help?

There is a lot of talk about how all of these styles of home have a thermal mass that will keep a man warm in the winter and not waste heat, but which of these building styles is best for someone who lives in a very hot climate and wants to keep their home nice and cool?

Sergio Cunha wrote:Since you mention "elsewhere" in Latin América, would you considering Brasil? If so, I can help you with hints on how to avoid buying land that could be sized hier.  We call it "conflito de terra" or land conflict.  It occurs in minor parts of Brasil,  but certainly it does occur.
A few regions hier are infamous for "conflito de terra" but as I said, it  is a minor part of the country.
But first let me know if you're considering Brasil, then I can give you some hints.

I am definitely interested in Brazil, specifically the south and southeast of the country, thanks in advance for any help you may give.

Hey there, I'll keep it simple. Right now I'm living in the southwest US on small acreage, eventually (sooner rather than later) I would like to uproot to another country, somewhere where I can live off grid and do my own thing with minimal interference, where I can purchase a small piece of land affordably (1.5-3 hectares of undeveloped land is what I want and I don't want to spend more than US$20k) and where my land will be secure, I don't have to worry about it being seized or having to deal with angry locals etc. The sort of life that I want to live, the way that I would like to raise my family, just isn't feasible in America. I'm not looking to have a business or take a local job, just live a sustainable off grid life. I'm especially interested in Argentina and Chile, but also Mexico, where do you recommend?

I'm planning on getting dairy goats, three to start. I really do not want to have a Billygoat. As the son of a shepherding family I have a lot of experience with Rams, including a big scar on my side from being punctured by one of their horns, I don't have nearly as much experience with Billygoats as I do with Rams but everything that I've read tells me that they're just as aggressive, moreso when accounting for the fact that goats are more wily in general and that their rutting behavior is a bit more extreme. In addition, my land is not big (2.67 acres, covered in prickly pear cacti, yucca, sagebrush, agave and sparse coniferous trees) and it'd be nearly impossible for me to keep him separate from the does when I don't need to breed him, especially at night.


I'm thinking that the easiest alternative to keeping a buck is to purchase sperm from the internet and artificially inseminate them. That way I don't have to bother with finding another farmer with a suitable buck (not many goats around here, mostly sheep and cattle, and the one goat farm that I do know of only has big Boer and Nubian goats, and I think that would be dangerous for small Nigerian dwarf does) and paying stud fees. It'll just be me, so it would have to be something that I would do on my own, have any of you done it? Any tips or experience? I've seen my parents' horse get artificially inseminated when they wanted a mule and she wouldn't let the donkey cover her, she had to be sedated and the vet was basically shoulder deep in her, what's it like with goats?