Scott Harbach

Thank you for the replies. My mother is in her mid eighties but still gets around and takes care of herself. The point about the steps, accessibility is one of the reasons we don't want to go with an RV or similar solution. While it might not be an issue now time marches on and in two three years it could very easily be an issue.

The kitchen part, we would like to keep as many options for her as possible so she can feel independent. So a true kitchen would be nice but doesn't have to be elaborate, she will probably eat with us but I would like her to have the option to cook for herself if she wants.

Hello: I have an issue where some advice would really be helpful.

My mother's husband died not long ago and she would like to move to Florida where we can help take care of her. Long story short she can still take care of herself and small cottage in our back yard would be a perfect solution (we don't really have the room in the house for another bedroom).

My in-laws used to live in our backyard and had an RV pad with hookups for water, septic and electric installed. The pad is 42' x 14'.

We are looking at tiny home alternatives. I can do basic DIY stuff, but don't really feel confident in building a dwelling for a human from scratch (well maybe if I were going to live in it but not for an older relative).

We have gotten a few construction estimates, but they literally want as much as we paid for our entire house and property to build a 400 sq foot cottage.

I have looked at tiny home kits on Amazon etc. Does anyone have any experience with any sort of tiny home kit? Are any of them any good or worth the money at all? I assume it's all lower quality Chinese stuff?

The prefab "homes" I have found are really just sheds, there doesn't seem to be any in between spot from expensive custom built cottage to cheap garden shed with a few extras.

I am just looking for general advice, any and all is welcome.

I am in Florida btw, we have rules made to encourage "auxiliary dwelling units" so it looks like permitting will not be a big hurdle.

Thanks in advance of any answers I may get.

I'm not the original poster but I have tried to grow kratom trees in Central Florida. We are not an ideal zone but kind of borderline. I purchased seedlings from a company call Tree of Life Kratom, which specialized in trees rather than actual kratom for personal use.

I believe I started several seedlings, I managed to get one to take root and it grew for a couple of years, I know it lasted at least through one winter, but even though it was covered a cold snap killed it off. I am in 9b and it was marginal for me so all I can say is Oklahoma would absolutely need a green house grow. But it's my understanding kratom trees can get pretty large so I don't know how practical that would be.

I know by following the instructions that came with the seedlings I was able to get them to take root and grow without any problem, and I am far from an experienced plant person. So I think the temperature is going to be your real consideration.

Hello: What a wonderful forum! I was searching for some advice on rebuilding an electric motor and this site was recommended by Grok AI. There is so much more here, it is really an impressive site and some of the nicest use of the Forum structure I have seen in many years.

So I guess I am supposed to be introducing myself not gushing over the site. I am in the Central Florida area, between Daytona Beach and the Ocala National Forest, in a town of about 1,500. One of the few "Real Florida" towns left. I am a software engineer by trade, I am married to a school teacher and we both like DIY type stuff. I can't say we are part of permaculture, but we like to do many things that would be permaculture adjacent. I'm sure I will find good information here and hope I can actually provide some.