Cole Tyler

Been living on nearly 30 rural acres for several years now and like the idea of a female partner to add some diversity and feminine energy to the mix.

Open to any age, as long as you have a connection and passion to create and cultivate the Earth and self, in ways that align with all the universal flows towards growth and a relatively peaceful and accepting co-existence with all life. Of course thats the "goal" per say, but none of us are perfect! The yearning for healing, and understanding the ups and downs along the way in a long-view perspective matters most.

I'm attracted to non-capitalist, fit, unconventional women that are obsessed with plants, seed saving, ecoystem protection and rehabilitation, and don't want a normie 9-5 job. Daydreamers and fools welcome.

I do part-time mechanic work, landscaping, and vegetable farming, along with experience in general construction. Been working on all kinds of stuff around here, mainly garden/earthworks related. Most of the tools and equipment a person would want are here, including a rad little 4x4 digger tractor :) ...usually even have an extra vehicle or 2 sitting around. So you can come with nothing, except your ambition!

Ideal partner would want to stay and team up while enjoying taking the time and philosophy to boost up a small-scale native plant and veg nursery/landscaping operation. For meaningful fun, I made and maintain paths thru the entire place so theres always something to go experience or do in the so called "invasives" management realm. No sprays here, chop and drop only.

Herb and veg garden space is at about max size for me to handle, maybe even too big, oops 😊 I especially like growing corn, beans, okra, squash and taters, among many others!

A root cellar and better shop setup are nearing time to begin, maybe along with watever ideas you have?

Lets talk about it all and share a few pics as mutual attraction and vibes are so important! Im not the greatest pic taker, but I think this place is beautiful - great mix of hilly feral fields and some forest. Thats me planting some black locust seedlings in the snow earlier this winter. Send a PM or just reply here if you'd rather, thanks for reading.

About a month ago I did a 30 foot row in a feral field. Just broadforked it, a 2" layer of composted wood chips then pressed seeds in 2 rows staggered, about every 10" or so. Then covered with chopped leaves.

We shall see, I'm with ya on the ease of just collecting the seeds from another asparagus patch, planting and being patient. What I just sowed is a combination of my own and some I snatched while at another farm :)

I am having OK luck in a section that I transplanted tiny 1st year seed spouts several years ago so figured why not try an even easier way? Kentucky ZONE 6-7

Srry if this has been said, I read thru some of the replies, thoughtful...I like the foraging one.

Can you guys buy a "camp" within an hour or so drive of your place? Haha future homestead ;) in the meantime while the relationship sorts out you can just go there as often as need be and start walking around doing the things. Before you know it there will be a little garden surrounded by wildflowers and a t-post fence.

Rad Anthony wrote:Cmon bub let's turn that frown upside down down lol. I hear though...frustrating at times...man you outta get into rain barrels. I forgot to mention that one on the list. You could easily rig rainwater harvesting, barrels or gardens, with landscaping. I hear ya especially as the weather gets warmer. Best of luck and may you find the help you need to survive and thrive.

... :/ ... Ok I did it!

Thanks for keeping up the positive inspiration and offering up energies and ideas of posibilities.

You mentioned land maintenance/landscaping...

I've been doing it for several years now and in my opinon it can be pretty challenging, but sometimes rewarding.

I've made some pretty good money on certain jobs, which helps me get by - but have also spent some good money and time on getting back and forth to those jobs, and the tools/equipment used.

I'm backing down from it this season, as most people want the work done when I need to be busy in my own gardens! Makes for a very physically and mentally demanding lifestyle juggling the 2. Loooong days which is hard to sustain and keep a decent diet/clean dishes/clothes washed, etc...it's a mess sometimes :)

Another reason I'm backing off is that a vast majority of people don't "get it" and they won't listen to you...they want aesthetic/ornamental, expensive plants and mulch, and also the people with enuf $ to hire you will typically be using poisons around the yard, which is a bummer to work in all day. I've experienced this first hand multiple times.

Maybe someone with better management skills or more disposable income, maybe even a hired hand could pull it off better than me tho! Good luck to anyone pursuing it :)

Msg sent!

Awesome plan and best of luck :)

My dog gets at least a dozen a year (mostly young/babies) she has great hearing and smell. It's a little rough on the gardens tho when she digs.

I like to think that the extra rocks, sticks, and weeds all around give good black rat snake habitat, I see plenty of them out on sunny days and find sheds often.

Thats all I do, and yes I get plenty of nibbles from voles especially on the sweet potatoes but thats how it goes in my book.

As an aspiring farmer who sells the main crops I grow it can be frustrating but I like to take a lot more things into account than just the $. Me and the other farm I co-op with eat the nibbled on ones :)

If I have a serious issue with a crop, my philosphy is just grow more or don't grow it at all. I understand not everyone is able to, or wants to take that approach but it works well for my psyche which I value above all else.

Sunchokes!! I'm super excited!

Also, like several others mentioned, Potato Onion...which is good to see because I recall reading that they are well into a state of decline as a species. Was enuf to make me want to try and get some established.

Aubrey Milner wrote:I just moved to my house from being homeless poor single mom living in Louisville ky how what should I do and grow to save money and cut cost I would love if I could live off the land I know it’s just a dream since I live in the Westens and have a small yard but nevertheless I want to use it for free food

Hi Aubrey! The thread is kind of old, so not sure if you'll get great replies but as a fellow Kentuckian I'll offer my opinion.

Fruit trees are great - but take a while, especially if starting them from seed or seedlings. Larger trees that might start producing earlier can be pricey. So be patient, do your research, and find as local sources as possible. Louisville area, Southern Indiana and central KY in general have some options, look up Peaceful Heritage Nursery, as one example. Do you own the house or plan on staying there at least 5 or more years?

If you are looking for easy to grow, cheap calories try first an early round of spring potatoes. The process of "hilling" (basically mulching) them while growing and digging them out for harvest will help you get to know your soil, and likely improve it's consistency. From there you could even plant sweet potatoes in the same spot to get a fall harvest, too. I'm trying it in a section of my garden this season. But a better option would be sowing a legume based cover crop mix after the spring potato harvest to let grow thru summer until you feel like mowing it down or it dies off. I have found both regular and sweet potatoes do well even in not-so-great, virgin soils. I'm also giving sunchokes a try this year. I do suggest some broadforking and hoeing to prep first if grassy, and compacted.

Then after all that, apply more mulch (compost if you can) and let it sit idle all winter. Come spring next year, you'll be ready to put in some more perennial based stuff like fruit trees and shrubs, and you'll have some experience and time for research under your belt by then to make some hopefully good choices on types/varieties, placement etc.

Of course you could always just start sticking some baby trees  in the ground over the next few weeks, along with any other woody cuttings just to see what happens, if you are able to get your hands on a supply for free or cheap it never hurts to try - sometimes things just live! Like, go find an Elderberry bush, take cuttings, place them in a jar of water or damp container of soil until they root out and walla!!

Good luck, keep digging around here on permies, and in your new yard, congrats

I really like the rice idea, I'll have to try that one easy enuf.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the dessicant packs are essentially silica? Which leads me to believe some finely ground up rocks might just do the trick? (Just hit with hammer until pulverized)

Like Clay posted about, I too had the mold form on some squash seeds I guess weren't dry enuf. The only thing I had on hand that I thought might work to save them was a bucket of wood ash.

So I looked it up and sure enuf it's a thing, so I swished them around in a bit of the ash, let them sit out for another week and we'll see! It does appear to have stopped the mold, maybe they'll be ok...and maybe a little sprinkle of ash in each jar before storage in the future is a good thing?

I gave up on storing in paper envelopes after insects and mice seemed to find thier way in no matter what I did. I think some tiny insects must have been in wild seeds I collected, then its like they transfered over to the other paper packs!? Glass jars for me now.