acadiandriftwood McCoy

Two or three acres, managed well, should be plenty for a small home for many, many, years.

If you have 13 acres, all forest but for one acre, you need not worry. We have 14 acres. I cleared out two acres, and have been burning that wood as our sole source of heat for almost six years. I have wood rotting because I cant use it.

I gave away some too. And I built a small log cabin with some of those trees. I've never had to cut down a tree just because I needed firewood.

I live in a small county in the northern ozarks of Missouri. When my wife and i bought our land, I searched in vain for the number for the county's building department to start the process of obtaining permits. There is no such department. I spoke to the county collector who explained the citizens have never supported the idea of having building inspectors, ect.

I built our house without buying one permit or dealing with a single inspector. I dug my own drainfield and installed my own septic tank.

Its nice here. It's a poor county, lots of gravel roads, but their is much more freedom than in our neighboring county, which has very strict codes. You have to buy a residency permit to live in your house. If you live in a tent on your place for more than a certain amount of time, you can be fined and eventually evicted or arrested for squatting on land that you own.

If you build anything in the neighboring county without the permission of the local government, you will have to pay additional fines and more expensive inspections from an engineer. If not, no occupancy permit, hence fines, hence eviction, possible arrest if you ignore the fines and eviction.

About 11 years ago I worked for a well drilling company in missouri. I wasn't the driller, just his assistant. I hooked up the drilling rod sections and kept the rig running as he did all the control work.

A well of 500ft is really deep around here. With the modern rotary driller we used (cost like $500,000 or something) we could set up and drill it in a day and half for about $8,000. That's with the pump and everything installed.

It's more now, i'm sure. Five years ago I had a guy drill my well of 300 ft. Pump, pressure tank, hydrant, and line 60ft to the house cost $6,000.

I think this is something you needn't feel bad about if you couldn't do it yourself.

These plants are here for a reason. They are able to grow in this pasture because the soil became to poor for grasses and such. Right now, these weeds are working to tilth the soil and draw nutrients.

I'm no expert, but to get rid of the weeds and have suitable pasture immediately will likely require breaking the soil, intense fertilization (maybe mineral supplements if the soil is to acidic or alkaline), and seeding. Money.

The weeds will do all this for you, but it won't be quick. Check out this: 

Weeds -- Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer, Devin-Adair, 1950.

Its a free download on Journey to Forever.org.

I have a small pasture in the ozarks which supported almost no fodder. I removed my animals. I have let the weeds take over and the soil has improved each year. Now the weeds are being smothered out in places by the fescue and clover I broadcast, which could finally grow thanks to the support of the weeds.