A Thread for the Prairie Permies

As I read forums here on permies, and watch some of Paul’s videos, I notice that it seems like many permies are located in forested regions, and for that reason the ways they manage their homesteads take advantage of their natural resource of trees/wood.

Some of us, however, reside in the prairies (or desert), where trees are scarce and the climate is different. I thought it might be fun to start a thread all about prairie things, that might work differently than in more densely wooded areas. For example, it would make no sense for me to try to use a wood stove as my primary heat/cooking source. While I find round wood timber framing to be fascinating, it’s not exactly something that is practical in my environment.

Tell me about your distinctly prairie things. This can be really broad…gardening techniques, critters, building. Does anybody have an awesome heat/power/fuel source alternative? It seems like solar or wind is the obvious choice in the prairie, but there are aspects of those that aren’t exactly permie. Has anyone coppiced a caragana? Tell me all about your unique solutions that our woodland permie friends wouldn’t do!