Greetings from Missouri

First and foremost I want to say thanks to Paul, all the staff and the entire community for the amazing knowledge that is shared here. I've been lurking through the forums for a few months now and they have become my go to first stop when I need to learn something. This forum has been very valuable to me and I am so grateful.

My name is Michael and my wife and I are currently moving from our 0.14 acre home in the inner city to 11.11 raw acres in Southern Missouri. Our goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible. We have a 16' diameter round canvas tent that will be our temporary home until we build our cob house. The property is about a mile and a half from any powerlines. We have invested in a small but sufficient solar panel setup so we can charge phones and cordless tools. We have a Sawyer brand water filter for our drinking/ cooking water. There is a small wet weather stream, but it won't be enough to rely on so a well will be one of our first big investments. For now we will be collecting rain water and taking trips about a mile away to fill up at a nearby river. We have enough food and cash to get us through about a year before one of us will have to go back to a "regular" job. Giving us plenty of time to build and grow. Well I'll just end it there so it doesn't get too long.

I will be posting progress and asking questions along the way. Thanks again folks!

Michael Quartz wrote:
I will be posting progress and asking questions along the way. Thanks again folks!

Welcome, and it sounds like you have exciting times ahead.  I look forward to your progress and posts.  Best wishes on your journey!  

We live just outside of Tulsa, OK, on 5 acres, with another 40 acres of raw land about 3/4 mile away.  The 40 is bordered by a creek, but the land is low.  We may dig a pond there (or a couple ponds) and use the removed soil to build up a raised area for a structure.

We are gathering our materials to start our first aquaponics system, with plans to have it producing before winter.  We will initially build a hoop house over the system.  The hoop house will be completed after the Aquaponics is completed and operational first.  The Hoop house likely will not be enough, alone, to get the system through the winter, but we plan to put a Rocket Mass Heater in while building the hoop house to get us through this winter.  By next winter I plan to have a better insulated (more energy efficient) permanent Greenhouse built.  At the least we expect to get some season extension this winter, and an earlier start next spring on our growing with the Hoop house.

I have lurked for a couple years now.  There is definitely a lot of knowledge shared on the forums.  

Again, best wishes on your journey!

Cheers

Jimmy Burt wrote:

Welcome, and it sounds like you have exciting times ahead.  I look forward to your progress and posts.  Best wishes on your journey!  

We live just outside of Tulsa, OK, on 5 acres, with another 40 acres of raw land about 3/4 mile away.  The 40 is bordered by a creek, but the land is low.  We may dig a pond there (or a couple ponds) and use the removed soil to build up a raised area for a structure.

We are gathering our materials to start our first aquaponics system, with plans to have it producing before winter.  We will initially build a hoop house over the system.  The hoop house will be completed after the Aquaponics is completed and operational first.  The Hoop house likely will not be enough, alone, to get the system through the winter, but we plan to put a Rocket Mass Heater in while building the hoop house to get us through this winter.  By next winter I plan to have a better insulated (more energy efficient) permanent Greenhouse built.  At the least we expect to get some season extension this winter, and an earlier start next spring on our growing with the Hoop house.

I have lurked for a couple years now.  There is definitely a lot of knowledge shared on the forums.  

Again, best wishes on your journey!

Cheers

There is so much growth being shared here and it is very inspiring. We will be building our first RMH very soon. It will be used to heat a little hobbit home we are building for our cats, seeing as how a litter box in a tent sounds like a bad plan. The RMH will double as an outdoor cooking surface in the summer. We will also be building a hoophouse but it probably won't be put to use until next spring. I really want to do an underground or wofati greenhouse too.

So many big plans and we can finally get started on them. I am looking forward to seeing how your ponds and other adventures turn out.

You're living the dream Michael! I hope you update as often as possible, I'm looking forward to following your progress!