Alrighty... fair warning, I'm known to be long-winded...
Central Floridian checking in... first time
poster, short time
permie enthusiast. Short-time as in, couldn't sleep a couple nights ago and rabbit holed
permaculture stuff until my eyes hurt and my mind spun (in a good way). I'm a dreamer... and have been dreaming of being self-sustained forever. Been stuck in the rat race chasing money, but over the last few years I decided it sucks and I want out. Been in my head about it for far too long and all the covid crap has motivated me beyond, "maybe some day"...
I have about 10 minutes of
gardening experience ~8 years ago in which everything died except a pepper plant that produced like 6 peppers which were tiny, but delicious... Kinda started messing with avocados about a year ago... transplanted two willy nilly and both promptly died. Apparently throwing a sapling in a hole with no regard isn't the best move... Currently got a pineapple started in a pot on the back porch, an avocado tree in another pot, and two mangos just breaking through. The pineapple will
fruit, but the others are more experiments in "does it live?"... Just bought some seeds online that looked easy so I can start a wall garden and grow something to eat (again, all experimenting).
My wife and I are looking to buy our 'forever home' next summer... Our visions of perfection are quite different. Me -
cabin in the woods, tons of
land, never see another person again forever. Her - McMansion in the suburbs, pool and a little
yard for the kids (5 & 2), around the corner from the grocery store. We have decided to compromise as little as possible. We'll do a half-McMansion in the outskirts of the suburbs, have a bit of land to play with (more on that later)... and the pool (not gonna lie, I miss our old place only because of the pool).
Off the top of my head, this is our ideal compromise: 2000-3000sq ft, largeish yard for the kiddos and toys, pool, no HOA nannies, mostly (if not completely) self-sustaining... well/septic,
solar, and garden... or now, food forest.
I'd love to spend a few years building a
permaculture on the property that will
feed our family. Like, we'll still hit up the grocery store for some things (beer and ice cream heh), but it would always be optional. I'd love to be able to give some things away to friends, family, and
people in need too. I love big, stressful, cumbersome projects that almost kill me and pay off over the long term... I spent about 3 months renovating our home by myself (literally) - everything outside the drywall was redone... tile floors removed/replaced, full kitchen, full bathrooms, all new light fixtures, painted in/out, landscaping, etc.
We know the area we want/need to be in, the type of property we want, and the budget... the big question I have now is... how much land do we actually need? How much dedicated space is needed, given my climate, for me to grow/raise our own food? We are not picky eaters and the lower maintenance the better... year round production with
enough excess to give some away. Of course I know the specific property will determine what/how much, but unfortunately Zillow doesn't have a, "can I grow a kickass garden here?" search option so just ballpark.
Other questions are a matter of resources... particular threads or other resources to get me started on understanding the basics and help start my journey. Ideally I'll be moving into our new property this time next year and will be ready to build out our
permaculture.
Thanks in advance!