Liz Proko

I'm very interested in passive solar design (it just makes so much sense!), and want to build a straw bale house someday. We're still a long way from building, but I want to learn as much as possible before we even start planning in order to mitigate design mistakes. Could anyone recommend any good books or resources that would be helpful for a beginner who really wants to learn? Should I be reading any architectural design textbooks or something like that? I've read The Resilient Farm and Homestead and really enjoyed it, but it doesn't go as in-depth as I would like. Thank you very much in advance! I appreciate your help!

Thanks, John! That was a very helpful link! I can tell I'm going to be spending a lot of time at that site

Hi awesome people!

I'm new here, so please bear with me. We are moving in a couple of weeks to a beautiful farm of 30 acres in Missouri (so very excited!) I want to plant a variety of fruit trees (apples, pears, plum, apricots, you name it) and am having trouble finding information about how to start an orchard with multiple varieties of fruit trees. We plan to have pastured pigs and chickens and I'm not sure where to plant the trees. Do I put them on the hill by the house, or spread them around the pastures so that the animals can get the windfall? Also, how do I work nut trees into the mix? Can anyone recommend books or articles that I could read? Of course, any advice is much appreciated!