Upper Michigan - New to the Area

Hi all,

Other half and I moved into his mom's old house, which sits on 40 acres of mostly woodland, but there's a huge garden area, a barn, large garage, a huge horse pasture, etc. I'm able to mostly take it all over and do something with it. Now I'm just wondering what to do with it all. I don't have much experience except for back yard gardening, but I've been slowly watching permaculture videos on YouTube,

I was going to start small this spring: chicken coop and a handful of hens, starting a garden up. There are already several fruit trees on the property. I'm probably going to build a greenhouse to help grow a bit during winter months, and perhaps a shed somewhere on the property for a place for building.

I feel like getting started in small ways that I can handle. Other half isn't much interested in doing much other than helping build the shed for me. Other than that, I'm pretty much on my own.

I wouldn't mind being in touch with a few other farmer/permies in the nearby area to learn where to go for things, what grows better here, any local questions. Like what to do with chickens in the -10 degree weather at times, and what can I be doing now in Jan. for spring?

I've lived in southern states for the last 10+ years, so this is a new experience for me. :) I'm used to a constant growing season.

Hi Ceil, welcome to Permies!  I may be close to you.  I'll send you a PM (Private Mooseage) so we can chat privately.  You should get an email that takes you to the message.

Growing stuff up here isn't too hard but we do have a somewhat short growing season.  If you'll be getting into seed starting, working on a seed starting set-up is good winter work.  Chickens are pretty tough if you get ones that are suited to our climate.  We had -22F the other day and only one of my chickens got frostbite to write home about (rooster with a big comb/wattle).  Building a good coop and ideally a covered or hoophouse style run helps a lot (I think).