posted 12 years ago
I joined this site quite some time ago (and have been lurking in it on and off ever since), but never properly introduced myself. I am from Southwest Ohio and interested in large scale, for-profit (the more money I make the better, oh the horror) permaculture. I've done some travelling and visiting of farms, some organic, some (claiming to be) permaculture.
I plan to buy land (minimum 40 acres, prefer closer to 100) in the appalachian region (maybe around Charleston, WV) once I get enough money for it. I have some money, but not enough that I think I can buy land and start a farm with it yet. In the mean-time I'm turning my mom's land into a permaculture system (and convincing her permaculture works), but it's only 5 acres. I'm a big fan of Wheaton's podcasts (and philosophy), do as little work as possible, make as much money as possible and constantly look for ways to optimize both.
I have a degree in plant biology. Specialty in invasive species (and their removal, though in general I oppose removing them). I became interested in starting a farm about five years ago, and was took to permaculture as soon as I knew what it was (one of the first gardening books I read was Fukuoka's the natural way of farming, because I liked the title and from there I've gone deep into the permaculture world).
I have lots of questions and enjoy experimenting and this seems like a great place to hang out. Current experiment: My mom planted blueberries in not very acidic soil and and they've barely grown in about 3 years (though they are still alive). Being properly lazy, I'm thinking the solution is to plant a pine tree or three over them and let that solve the problem. When the pine trees get to dense, harvest one as a christmas tree, then throw the remains back over the blueberries. It would be a slow solution, but seems likely to work.