Cactusdan Hatfield

I definitely agree with those who said Albizia are not something to fear about planting.

Do they spread on non-native lands? Yes.

However, as others have stated, they tend to be on forest edges and are rather small spread out plants with little footprint on native habitats.

Things like Kudzu, Morning Glories, or Water Hyacinths all choke out native vegetation, which is why they are demonized.

I have never seen anything similar in the case of Albizia.

it all depends on your area, but some SC natives I know off the bat would be:

Pawpaw, Persimmon, Pecans, Black Walnut, Hickory, Blueberries, American Ginseng, Sunchokes, Blackberries, and Yaupon Holly (great tea)

Again, depends on your area.

Well my building will be quite small at about 12' in diameter, and designed to room just myself and maybe one other person.

I like the different shape, as well as the supposed stability of a circular house.

I'm planning on putting a loft ~7' up, which should maximize living space, and was considering having storage that would give that "room" the feel of being a niche.

Awesome advice guys!

I actually am almost finished building the first layer of the urbanite foundation/stem wall, and I think I will be going with the gabled roof.

Would you recommend mortaring the urbanite together with cob to seal any holes?

Hello all,

I'm interested in an establishing a permaculture, perennially/tree based farm on 1-2 acres of an 18 acre lot in South Eastern South Carolina.

The land is pretty heavily wooded and I want to focus on maintaining the current system as much as possible while implementing a greater number of productive trees.



Primary plants seen so far, are oaks, sweet gums, hickory, and Silk Trees (leguminous tree).

Lower plants appear to be poison ivy, virginia creeper, some reeds, Yaupon Holly, Wax Myrtles, and something related to blueberries (I can tell from the habits and leaf structure)

I do however plan on collecting a complete profile of the plant life on the plot very soon.

So my main question is, how would you all recommend introducing productive plants with the most minute change to the current system?

Also:

Shade-loving nitro fixing cover crops and producers?

Would chickens, bees, and/or goats be a viable option in this wooded climate?

Any advice, thoughts, and questions are much appreciated!

-Dan

I'm building a 12' diameter cob cottage in South Carolina.

The only problem is, I worry that the taxes will go up once the structure is up.

Does anyone know what constitutes developed land and if there would be any tax increase?

Thanks!

Anyone know if recycled concrete rubble could be used effectively for the stone foundation?

The biggest thing I worry about with the reciprocal roofs is that it will just be me and maybe one other person working on it frequently, and I fear that may impede on my ability to make it.

I do think I came up with a good roof structure though.

If you know of any step by step tutorials on the reciprocals I'd love to see them and learn more about the process of making them.

So I may have access to 18 acres in Eastern South Carolina and was considering building a cob roundhouse with a diameter of 12' and a wall height of 12'.

The biggest problem I'm having so far is coming up with the best roof design.

I like the idea of a roof like this, but am unsure of what the center fixing is called, or even this kind of roof style.



Does anyone have any suggestions for a first time builder?

I was also thinking about a shed style roof, but worry about the elements on the higher side, plus it eliminates ceiling space.

Questions, comments, and ideas are much appreciated!

I've been looking into this because I'm planning on headed to South Florida after graduation.

So far I think the Earthbag(superadobe) Homes are the most promising.

Cob may be viable if you have a decent amount of clay in your soil.