Joe Burton

Planning on plant my first plot of grains in 22'. Preferably not wanting to have to buy an acres worth of wheat every year, but I've heard the horror stories of the Monsanto monsters. Any tips for saving seed?

Thanks for the input everyone! We are clearing more land every day so hopefully, I'll be able to actually measure the flow from the source but it looks like we may be using solar/wind combo.

Hello!
My wife and I have been taking the steps to get our homestead up and running. We are not currently off-grid but plan to be within the next year or two. We are planning on utilizing the two four-season creeks we have on the property for power (along with a Vertical Wind Turbine). Currently, we are trying to decide what to budget for, water wheel or turbine. The neighbors have a pond above ours that feeds one of our pond/streams. I estimate the neighbor's pond to be about 10-14 ft above ours and I have no clue water the gpm is. The flow is constant, but it's not high pressure. I could probably fill a 5gal bucket in under 30 seconds. The spot is hard to get to right now with all the foliage. We're trying to decide what would be the most efficient use of our time and money while having reasonable maintenance requirements. I've found a low-rpm perm. magnet generator that claims to put out 5kw at 450 rpm and felt this was a reasonable speed for a water wheel but again I don't know much about electronics. On the other side of that, I've found micro-hydro turbines that claim 1.5 kw and they are a complete setup and designed for the wet conditions the equipment will constantly be in. We kind of just need a direction to go in as we don't know what we're doing any help or resources would be appreciated.

Hi All,
My wife and I recently purchased land in Western, NC. Had a plan looked good on paper, but I underestimated the rainfall in the county we will be moving to. I understand sheep can run into foot problems in rainy climates and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for hot/rainy weather tolerant fiber breeds. Thanks all.

Thanks everyone for the love! One of the things I'm noticing is how wet the county is! Holy cow, I grew up about an hour from where we will be and I knew about the rain forest in the Appalachians but I thought it was mainly around Pisgah. This winter has been unusually wet it seems but still. I'm having to rethink some ideas I have for livestock. If anyone has pointers about some rain/heat tolerant fiber livestock that'd be great. I'll creep around the critters form but figure I'd post here as well.

Howdy,
I've posted a few and read more posts all over these forums. This community has been a wealth of information, so thank you! My wife and I have started making our first official steps toward making our dream a reality. We've decided on the foothills/ edge of the mountains of NC between Asheville and Spartanburg. We found 20 acres at a steal price, it had already been roughly cleared and had a driveway roughed in. The only thing we have to do is build and connect the house up, then, of course, build up pastures, vegetable, and grain plots, then orchards etc... The property is definitely not homestead turn-key, but we are up to the challenge and looking forward to the journey the whole way! The eventual goal is to produce a fully functional homestead with sustainable practices, with a big focus on community outreach and an educational center. Pictures will be up shortly as we haven't had time to break away from our day jobs to get out to the property in a while. I'll keep you all posted as it progresses.

Howdy,
I've been part of this sight since I was a teenager. Always had a dream of being like the pioneers of old. A simple life, with emphasis on hardwork and the small joys of life. Anyway, fast forward to now where I have a bit more capital and knowledge I'm looking for a place to start. Either land for lease, lease to own, or even sale. I'm in Lincoln County NC, west of Charlotte by about 45 mins, so anywhere in that area would be perfect. Thanks a head of time.

Hi,
I'm an NC native and I have recently discovered the legalization of "research hemp cultivation". I understand the process of the growing of hemp but the harvesting is where I'm stumped. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for that link. I'm actually going to be in Wayne County. I'm originally from North Carolina though, near Asheville, but I appreciate the hospitality and information.

I appreciate the information. Danke!