Jacob Smith

All for it. Nature loves fire. Fire cleanses the understory of developed forests, it adds needed minerals back into the soil and creates space for air movement and healthier forests overall. Shenandoah National Park is a ticking time bomb.

I built this greenhouse. It is extremely sturdy and could easily be expanded.

I raise all of my rabbits up off the ground in wire hutches. Most of their cages are 36x24 and they are provided with fresh water, organic feed, and fresh wheat grass daily. On top of that I routinely let my breeders out to hop around and act like rabbits a few times a week.

Ethically I'm giving them the best possible life on the wire I can, I'm ok with that, and they seem to harbor no ill will towards me, since they all come to the door for a back scratch when I come out to feed and check on them throughout the day.

I'm in the process of building my second hutch. Basic design principle was solely as a support for wire cages and to protect from rain and wind, secondary design principle was to be aesthetically unobtrusive to my neighbors since we live in the city.







We're using a deep bedding system under the hutch to knock down the ammonia smell. We'll layer it, turn it and then move it to the compost once a month.

Plan is to build another one across from this one in the next few weeks.

I've been experimenting with small scale permaculture in a "city" environment for 4 years. In our way of living, cost is rarely a factor I pay attention to, because nothing will be as cheap as running to "food mart" and buying junk that is available and cheap. My wife and I have a spent a small fortune on tests, proof of theories, and implemented plans simply to be more self sufficient and know where our food is coming from.