New and Eager

Hi. I am new to Permies. I mean, I've lurked a bit, but haven't posted. I'm finally posting in the hopes I can connect with people in the region.

I currently live in Germany, but we are thinking of moving back to West Virginia after being here for over 12 years due to some family reasons. My husband has land in Pendleton County, WV. Right now, it's nothing but trees and some cleared area.  I am interested in forest farming and setting up a homestead. I've been managing two gardens here in Germany (totally different climate), and have been doing a lot of research on the topography, soil, climate in Upper Tract, etc. As much as I can from afar!

My long term plan is to have a small organic farm there (NTFPs, berries, etc) that is net-zero or as close to net-zero as I can manage. The challenge will be somehow getting it financed and building it all in a way that will be eco-friendly and not disturb the current environment too much. The good thing is that the forested area is about 80% of the 72 acres he owns, and it hasn't been disturbed in a long time. (He inherited, and his dad hadn't touched it, either.) There's a spring!

So, good news, but it is a dry area (Upper Tract is known to be dry). It's steep. It's at 530m elevation. It's mostly northern slopes. There's a road along one edge of it, if we need to plug into to electrical, but I want to try to stay more self-reliant, if we can. We also have very little capital, and we are both middle aged, with mostly-grown kids--one starting college in Maine and one who will NOT want to move to the States. So we will be on our own, mostly. Probably.

Anyway, that's the plan. In the meantime, we are trying to tie up loose ends here in Germany. We love it here, and we have permanent residency, but we don't have the land. I need a forest for my soul.

Welcome (officially) to Permies!

Unless you or your partner are quite familiar with the land in question, I would plan to do as little as possible the first year except observe it and learn what's already there in depth.  This is especially true if much of it is old and undisturbed forest.  There may be rare plants and fungi there which may be valuable or even endangered.  Many of these are ephemeral...that is they only appear above ground for a short season of the year and are otherwise invisible.  It is easy to degrade or destroy them inadvertently in the process of clearing gardens, driveways, and building sites.  Depending on your situation, you might be able to live off-site nearby for this period, or dwell in such a way as to minimize your footprint, and on the most cleared or degraded part of the property (big tent? trailer? tiny house? cabin? etc.)  This also gives you the opportunity to make more detailed plans on site, decide on the micro-scale where the best places for things are, which areas to absolutely leave alone, where erosion or other issues need attention, and so on.  Pro tip....some time in a long hard rain, put on your weatherproofs and go on walkabout....you will see where water moves across the landscape...where it enters and leaves, where it accumulates, etc.  As a beginning point, this is quicker, more intuitive, and way easier than all the mapping and contouring emphasized in all the literature; and when you do get to that part, you will know more about how to go about it, where to start, etc.

Welcome to the forum!

The land sounds lovely and as Alder suggested, observation is the first permaculture principle.

Observe what happens when it rain.  This to me is the most important as you don't want to put your house where it floods. Here in Texas we have wet weather creeks that are dry most of the time though turn into roaring rivers when it rains.

Also since the land is forested, care will be needed to observe what is sunny and what is shaded.  What get morning sun and what get afternoon sun.

Best wishes for your success.

Alder and Anne -- definitely! That's the plan--set up a tent and camp out for a while, observing and communing with the land for a bit. His cousin (who lives across the road) has been farming alfalfa on part of it (just a corner--the only flat-ish part) as a trade to keep an eye everything and to let it be listed as "farm" in taxes. He has been giving us the scoop on what the trees are like, the land, etc. He also has access to the spring for his own house (something prior generations had agreed to). His cousin is retired but has some cows he feeds the alfalfa to.

I don't want to disturb anything I don't have to. That's the point, although I know I will have to disturb something in order to live there and live off of it. That's the sad truth. But I have my own morals and guidelines, and lived experience. I think one of the good things is that it's not my 20-year old self moving there. She was less patient and far more impulsive, and didn't fully understand how interconnected everything was. She wasn't bad, but she was far more naive. I'm in my 40s now, and though I'm still pretty impatient and impulsive compared to some, I'm wiser and older than I was! And I know the damage non-native plants can do.

Oh, and I didn't mean live in a tent year-round. I am not that hardy anymore, unless maybe it's an insulated yurt. We'd rent somewhere nearby or get a camper. I understand the ephemeral nature of forests. We have ramps in one of our communal gardens here in Germany and I didn't know what they were the first year, or that they were there at all, until they started springing up all over. It was like Christmas every other week, discovering what new and beautiful plant would emerge. Once we had morels and they never came back again (it was incredibly random).

Thank you again for your kind guidance. It is appreciated!