New York Permie Rollcall

Good Morning Permies!

I figured it would be interesting to see if we have anybody else up in the great state of New York?

I'm located in Washington County, near the Battenkill and the Hudson. Just a hop and a skip from the Vermont line.

Anyone else call NY home?

Hi Timothy and all,

I'm new to the forum and not engaging with it much, but I'm watching this region as my mother homesteads outside of Stamford NY. I myself am eyeing the mountains of West Virginia for my next home.

Sophie

Sophie Marie wrote:Hi Timothy and all,

I'm new to the forum and not engaging with it much, but I'm watching this region as my mother homesteads outside of Stamford NY. I myself am eyeing the mountains of West Virginia for my next home.

Sophie

Welcome to the forums Sophie!

West Virginia sounds like an amazing location. A lot of history in that state and the mountains!

I'm new to this forum/site, but at last:  we are in the process of purchasing the land for our tree farm in central upstate NY!  We are very excited.

Marianna Dolan wrote:I'm new to this forum/site, but at last:  we are in the process of purchasing the land for our tree farm in central upstate NY!  We are very excited.

Welcome to Permies!

What an exciting venture, I love the idea of tree farms/nurserys being closer to the consumer than something that has been shipped from different climates/zones and being pushed to adapt. Especially ones that can 'breed' better locally adapted species for resilience.  

I hope to see glimpses of your adventure in the future.

Well, I've updated my profile with the details I could think of, in case you want to check it out.  I am most interested in propagating usually-grafted tree cultivars on their own roots, on a larger and more permanent scale.  And otherwise enjoying the major morale and health boost that getting out into nature already means to us.  Actively practicing this will only improve our lives.  

Thank you!

Oops, I forgot to include the property streetview I wanted to post so I can link to it in my profile:

Hello all, Just landed back here from out west for a season's work on my agro-forestry project in Forestburg NY 12777.  Happy to connect, compare notes, exchange site visits, trade work, etc.  Best, Patrik

I don't have a place yet, but I am searching for property in upstate NY.  Please let me know if you are aware of any promising real estate. I was mostly looking in the Finger Lakes and Catskill regions but I'm open to other places.  

I will be checking these places out, any opinions?

https://www.trulia.com/home/514-dean-creek-rd-spencer-ny-14883-305443188

https://www.trulia.com/home/180-robinson-hollow-rd-richford-ny-13835-84119963

Ok, getting closer to becoming a New Yorker.  Does anyone have an opinion on north facing slope?  I was hoping to find east or south facing, but there are not a lot of options.  
I've attached a topo map of a property I'm considering.  It has about one acre of cleared flat land, a creek and then a north facing, fully wooded hillside.  I am a mountain person and wanted a sloped hillside like this, just facing the opposite direction.  
Would this be a deal breaker for people in this region?  
Would this be better for growing shitakes and other mushrooms, that are supposed to like north facing slopes?  or am I deluding myself trying to justify north/northwest facing slope?
any opinions would be greatly appreciated, as this is the biggest decision of my life so far.  I've never owned property and am nervous about making the wrong decision.  


I love most other things about this property- the location, the house, the creek, the quiet road.  It is more acreage than I wanted which means a higher price and taxes, but it seems like it has enough pros to make up for this.  I plan to grow mushrooms for profit, produce food for myself, and have chickens and goats.    

hey there all

I'm in the Hudson Valley of NY...recently returned from about a year of traveling...lots of opportunities here...looking for folks interested in collaborating

blessings
Stacy

Hola, We're in the middle of our own worldschooling sabbatical pilgrimage year, involving digging deeper seasonally into southern Catskills agro-forestry base.  Hoping to connect & collaborate with others in region & pursuits.  Best, Patrik

Hello from north of Cooperstown NY
Im by myself and considering giving up.  With Lyme Disease, my energy and strength are not helping.
I have barns, chickens, cats, high tunnel, greens garden, herbs and orchard, kitchen garden, flower garden. all gardens avg 40x40.
baking sourdough from local grains, fermenting kombucha.
im still remodeling the 1850s house.
still need to work water catch systems and woodland water permaculture flow. i do have a working well.
i would like to add small animals and eradicate the Japanese knottweed.

I'm sorry for your solo struggle.  We'll be back through for a few weeks to work on our forestry, orchard, nursery, & planning for the next season.  What could we help with, either during a brief visit (house?) or from afar (water catchment, woodland water)?  There is a permaculture/ agro-forestry community around Ithaca, perhaps someone from there could coordinate some additional support.  With so much already going on, you have the makings of an apprenticeship &/ or immersion program, which could bring you help, company, satisfaction.  

I am now officially a New Yorker.  Still need to change my license and register my car (if I can ever get it started again and if it would pass inspection here), but I now have my own property in Nineveh, NY.  It's 20 acres with a small house and two creeks.  One is small and seasonal but has wonderful rocky waterfalls, the other is still smaller than I hoped, but it flows year round.
It's not the property I previously posted about and not the Finger Lakes where I hoped to be, but it felt right and I plunged.  There is no significant slope on this property, although the terrain has some small hills creating a variety of microhabitats, with great flat spots for camping, building or growing stuff.  The house is safely out of the flood zone, but it needs a new roof and other work.  Most of the land is wooded with red maple and pin cherry trees.   It was once a dairy farm, but that stopped in the 60s and so it's mostly smaller trees.   There are some clearings, and the front lawn gets southern exposure and is ready to be turned into gardens.  

I haven't gotten started on much because I've injured my knee!  It's always perplexing when the universe fills one dream, but then gives you a snag so you can't proceed in the ways you dreamed- but, I'm here and it's home and it's the first time I've ever had anything of value, so it's pretty damn exciting.  

Hey Jolene!  It looks like we're 40 minutes away from you!  Welcome to NY!!!

Marianna Marinda wrote:Hey Jolene!  It looks like we're 40 minutes away from you!  Welcome to NY!!!

Thanks.  Let me know if you ever want to meet up.  I'd be happy to come and help with any projects you have going on.  I'm really new to everything and just looking to learn.  In the spring, I may be reaching out for help, or just some advice as it's all so overwhelming.    

Adding myself to the NY roster for future reference. My land is below the Finger Lakes; it's not mine yet but it belongs to family and will be mine within the year. I currently only get there sporadically, and I'm in the observing & planning stages.

Lee here, from mostly NY lol, Watertown!!  Which is almost Canada by some standards
Born in Oswego, went walkabout till I was in my 40s, came back, farmed, off-gridded, etc.  Now renovating 1870s duplex to be a landlady in my retirement, 4 dogs, hoping to add poultry, with suburban forest gardening under way

Jolene, this is all very new to us too.  (The new land farming part, at least; propagating landscape plants I've been doing for years now).  I know probably many people would think we're doing things out of order:  Getting trees planted before we even have a house?  Yeah, that's awkward.  But I want to get them growing already!

Lol, I think it's just important to enjoy the journey.  

Hey everyone, nice to meet you all. We are an established permaculture homestead farm, no pesticides of any kind, lots of cool off grid stuff happening here, and on grid too. Tim, I've paddled the Battenkill many times. We are south of Bennington, northwest from Pittsfield here in Cherry Plain NY 12040. Nice to meet you all. Our site: www.heartsinhandhorsemanshipllc.com. I train and trim horses.

Hey Stacy, we aren't far from you at all. Rensselaer County, near Columbia County ...

Stacy Ll wrote:hey there all

I'm in the Hudson Valley of NY...recently returned from about a year of traveling...lots of opportunities here...looking for folks interested in collaborating

blessings
Stacy

Hi.
My profile is a little different:  I live on Long Island on a shy acre, working with nature to "create a better world in my own back yard".

Susan Mené wrote:Hi.
My profile is a little different:  I live on Long Island on a shy acre, working with nature to "create a better world in my own back yard".

Hi Susan! I'm currently in suburban NJ. Technically it's considered urban, but as you know, there can be big differences between a downtown of a city and its suburban outskirts, though statistically it all averages out to be called "urban". I think you'll find lots of people here in populated areas and with small parcels. It's the perfect place to figure out how to maximize your space and prioritize. I'm in the process of moving to a more rural area, but in my previous car-sized garden I started out with the typical tomatoes, cukes, etc, but soon realized that everyone around me was flooded with them at the same time, even offering them to me, lol. So I decided to grow more expensive things that would not be as abundant, like bell peppers of all colors besides green, green beans which I'd ferment in jars, etc. I know you'll learn a lot here, I sure am!


EVERYONE in NY, please help me with the definition of "upstate":  
I'm slowly moving to the Southern Tier region of NY. I grew up in NJ calling all of NY state "upstate NY", simply meaning "as opposed to NYC". Some people seem baffled when I say the place I'm moving to is actually west, above PA. Perhaps this is because people from NYC and NJ usually just go north when they visit NY state, and are unfamiliar with anything west except Niagara Falls and Buffalo?

What do all of you long time NY'ers mean, or think someone means, if they say "upstate"? Should it only refer to the regions directly north of NJ & NYC (which are up, on a map, from NYC)? Or does it mean all regions that are in northern NY state? Or am I ok using it to generally mean NY state?

Kim Wills wrote:

Susan Mené wrote:Hi.
My profile is a little different:  I live on Long Island on a shy acre, working with nature to "create a better world in my own back yard".

Hi Susan! I'm currently in suburban NJ. Technically it's considered urban, but as you know, there can be big differences between a downtown of a city and its suburban outskirts, though statistically it all averages out to be called "urban". I think you'll find lots of people here in populated areas and with small parcels. It's the perfect place to figure out how to maximize your space and prioritize. I'm in the process of moving to a more rural area, but in my previous car-sized garden I started out with the typical tomatoes, cukes, etc, but soon realized that everyone around me was flooded with them at the same time, even offering them to me, lol. So I decided to grow more expensive things that would not be as abundant, like bell peppers of all colors besides green, green beans which I'd ferment in jars, etc. I know you'll learn a lot here, I sure am!


EVERYONE in NY, please help me with the definition of "upstate":  
I'm slowly moving to the Southern Tier region of NY. I grew up in NJ calling all of NY state "upstate NY", simply meaning "as opposed to NYC". Some people seem baffled when I say the place I'm moving to is actually west, above PA. Perhaps this is because people from NYC and NJ usually just go north when they visit NY state, and are unfamiliar with anything west except Niagara Falls and Buffalo?

What do all of you long time NY'ers mean, or think someone means, if they say "upstate"? Should it only refer to the regions directly north of NJ & NYC (which are up, on a map, from NYC)? Or does it mean all regions that are in northern NY state? Or am I ok using it to generally mean NY state?

Good question! The western regions are absolutely considered to be "Upstate": from Chautaugua to Broome, Niagra to Oswego, the whole area.

Perception is another matter, and I can only speak from the Downstate point of view

Suffolk and Nassau County (Long Island) , New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Queens County, Bronx County (The Bronx), Richmond County (Staten Island, Westchester County, Rockland County, and Putnam County are definitively considered Downstate.

People who live in the The Lower Hudson Valley area  (Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Ulster, Columbia, Greene, and Rensselaer) are up for debate.  People who live downstate consider them Upstate and so do people who live there.  I'm not sure what the more northern counties think.
 

Susan Mené wrote: Good question! The western regions are absolutely considered to be "Upstate": from Chautaugua to Broome, Niagra to Oswego, the whole area.

Perception is another matter, and I can only speak from the Downstate point of view

Suffolk and Nassau County (Long Island) , New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Queens County, Bronx County (The Bronx), Richmond County (Staten Island, Westchester County, Rockland County, and Putnam County are definitively considered Downstate.

People who live in the The Lower Hudson Valley area  (Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Ulster, Columbia, Greene, and Rensselaer) are up for debate.  People who live downstate consider them Upstate and so do people who live there.  I'm not sure what the more northern counties think.

Wow, thank you for that! Glad my dad's NJ license plate that says "UPSTATE" is correct, then, lol! Yes, I guess he is the only person in NJ to have a license plate that says "UPSTATE", though now that he's passed I guess someone else could use it? Hey, maybe I could claim it! Funny.

Also, where I am in NJ is sometimes up for debate. Those of us who live in Central Jersey know full well we live here, but those in North Jersey or South Jersey say there is no such thing as Central Jersey, and we are part of either North or South. Nice, just like NJ'ans to want to pawn us off on someone else, lol. Even for those who believe in Central Jersey the border is unclear. But I know I exist, and I identify as Central Jersey! lol

kim wills Ha!  All of you from Central Jersey know. there's a Central Jersey.  Maybe the other parts of New Jersey that want to claim you are jealous and just want a piece of you, lol.

I consider anything above the Hudson Valley to be considered 'Upstate'. There might be better sub-categories of upstate such as "The Adirondacks" or "Western NY" but I consider it all falls under the umbrella of Upstate.

Timothy Norton wrote:I consider anything above the Hudson Valley to be considered 'Upstate'. There might be better sub-categories of upstate such as "The Adirondacks" or "Western NY" but I consider it all falls under the umbrella of Upstate.

That's a great map, and I agree 100%.  

Timothy Norton wrote:I consider anything above the Hudson Valley to be considered 'Upstate'. There might be better sub-categories of upstate such as "The Adirondacks" or "Western NY" but I consider it all falls under the umbrella of Upstate.

Thanks for the visual!
And on a related note, when I'm upstate (Steuben County), and say I'm from NJ, they refer to where I live as "the city"! I'm "city folk". As if all of NJ is one big city. I used to think that was bizarre, but as I spend more time up there I can see it. I guess sometimes it's a matter of perspective!