Aimee Thompson

[img]Hi All! We were living on some property in Luther, MI- an hour-ish drive from GR...
but decided to move back to the West Coast for a Bizness Opportunity.
Miss Tiny is still there, and is waiting for someone who is ready to take over the project!

We have put over 10k in just in materials, and debated bringing her back here, but thought it might be perfect for someone who wants a project that is almost ready to go

She is on an 8x20 custom tiny house trailer from Ronco in Vista, CA. My husband, a talented woodworker, built a super sturdy subfloor and wall bones.
The floor is super insulated, and the walls are partially insulated. If you finish with our insulation plan, this house will be snow ready. There is space for a storage loft and a bed loft.
It has ceiling vents for proper circulation, Jeld-Wen double pane windows, a handmade door and windows/dressing. Cedar shingles that have held up with travel up the West Coast and to the Midwest.

She weighs over 8000 lbs, so is not ideal for a lot of travel, but she moves well. She needs at least a 3/4 ton truck with 4wd.
Once you get her to a place where you want permanence, you can brace her and lift her onto a foundation, and reuse the trailer.

This was our retirement plan, but have shifted our long-term plans to expatriation. Our loss is your gain, but we are stoked to see her go to someone who will appreciate her!   $8000

Hi Chuck- We are looking for this type of situation for us (mature, respectful adults with a variety of skills) and our 2 children (7, 15)
Aimee

Hi Bri!  That's my daughter's name!  We have been working on our 10 acre farm in NMI since April.  We have decided to sell or lease it as the culture around here is not enough for us and I need more client base for my Acupuncture practice.  We have lived in a number of farms, and has our own 2 acre permies property in San Diego 5 years ago.  We have had layer chickens, meat chickens, turkeys, pigs, and goats.  We are in love with gardening and are craving a place to put permaculture beds in (we have not been here long enough to do so).  I am an Acupuncturist, Yoga Teacher, Holistic Nutritionist, and Holistic Sex Educator.  Hubs is a amazing handy man- he can build almost anything and can fix a lot of things.  He loves to create beautiful, functional projects.  He is also a massage therapist but doesn't have his license here yet.  We have 2 kiddos with us- Alex (a young 15) who loves to read fantasy, build forts, and Legos.  Wes (7) loves animals, helping build, and drawing.  
We'd love to talk with you more about collaborating.
231-388-0315
mamanandi@gmail.com
www.phoenixforestfarmmichigan.con

Hello!  We have been working sooo hard on getting our Organic (Not Certified) Farm going here just outside the quaint village of Luther (North of Big Rapids, South of Cadillac). But, I just got offered an amazing job South of Grand Rapids, and we are going to go for it.  So we are looking for someone to take over our land contract and our farm all in one.  
To be clear, we are not yet certified organic, but the property has never been farmed before us.  We just moved here earlier this year, and would stay but I got offered an amazing job down south. We owe about $29K on the property.  We put $1750 down and have paid $1600 in monthly.  Monthly is $535 until next May, when it goes down to $380. You would just take over the monthly after paying whatever package deal you decide to go with, and we would get the land contract switched to your name
Basically, we have almost everything needed to have a market garden and chicks/turkeys/pigs/goats.  
But we are willing to take $10k down in cash for just the land with the improvements we have made (including the deposit and monthly payments so far)
This includes:
-a cleared road from front to back
-plenty of felled and limbed oak, maple, and pine for firewood and/or a cordwood house
-1/8 acre cleared and tilled (some isn't planted if you can get onto the property early enough), with another 1/8 being cleared by pigs now- put about $800 in compost and $400 in labor
- a 12x12 brooder house that we were planning on turning into a goat/layer house for the winter.  It is tarped for now and we were going to use tin panels.  It is made of hardwood and very sturdy- worth about $400
-a 12x50 PVC hoophouse with greenhouse plastic that we spent 800 on
-a 1700 foot perimeter 8 wire high tensile electric Fence with a Parmak Magnum DC Charger and 3 marine batteries (we put about $7500 parts and labor into this alone).  It will keep out deer and bears and foxes and dogs.  It will keep in goats and is a good perimeter(secondary) fence for pigs and chickens and turkeys

If you want to take over the animal side of the farm, all animals and infrastructure is another $8k. The animals themselves are worth about $15k when sold (more if you count the perpetual piglets that come with having breeders)
Or you could just take some of them.
- We have our Berkshire pigs sold (8 of them-ready in Oct or Nov) so if you move in soon, you can make a profit on them (they will sell for about $350-400 each and we would want 150-200 each, so sell for $2400, pay $1200- profit $1200). Otherwise, we will sell them.  
- We have 19 piglets (some may sell soon) from 2-5 weeks old at $30 each (selling for $40-50 at 8 weeks old outside of this deal- and some may be about to be sold) and one mama due anytime. $600
-There are 5 sows total (including the pregnant one) and a handsome boar for $1000
There are 7 4 month olds and 4 6 month olds for $50 each (normally $75)-$500
-There are 400+ chickens, ready in a month, worth about $15-16.25 each (you would need to butcher or pay for butchering)- $2000 total (obviously taken off if you don't move in until after they are done)
-100+ Turkeys, 4 weeks old, ready for thanksgiving.  Will sell for about $50-$60 each, depending on what you ask for per pound- total $5000, asking $1500 now, and the price will go up due to labor and feeding if you don't move in until later
-2 Nubian Goats in milk $150 each
-moveable Hog pen for pasturing: 8 Hog panels and 11 t posts $200
-nursery pen: approx 20x50 sheep wire and 26 t posts, separated right now into a juvenile poultry side, and a Mama Baby Pig side with a Birthing area $300
-waterers, feeders, scoops $100
-we have about $1000 worth of organic feed and vitamins left

Then, we have optional items that are part of the farm infrastructure:
-2 300 gal water tanks $300
-pump and hose kit for pumping from the river down the road $300
Bravo hammer grain milk almost new $300
-2 3000 gal pools for water storage $200
-electric Hog net fencing almost new 200 feet (great for posturing) $150
-propane brooder heater almost new-works awesome! $250
-earthquake rototiller only used for the 1/8 acre $250
-2 John Deere 212 mowers with carts that need work $200
-2001 Sierra Phoenix Fifth wheel in good condition.  All systems work- has small amount of previous leakage (from before we got it) in the roof but we have kept it tarped with no issues.  $1500
-2003 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton farm truck with fifth wheel hitch Runs well, will need some work soon, can pull and carry A LOT $4000

We are able to do all of the above for $25k in cash

Additionally, we have our amazing custom built (by us) tiny house.  It USB unfinished on the inside, but has space for a sleeping loft and a storage loft.  The floor is heavily insulated and super Sturdy.  The walls need a little more insulation for winter.  
We are selling alone for $17k, will make a package deal with all the above for $40k in cash

Or we can create a custom deal for what you want
Feel free to email at mamanandi@gmail.com or text at 231-388-0315

Hello All!  I have really been enjoying my experience growing oyster mushrooms (those pinks!) outdoors and in a tent in the summer here in Michigan (and will likely expand next year).  My husband and I are looking at our first winter here, and are concerned about our income dropping, so we are contemplating keeping mushrooms going indoors.  Thing is, we are totally off-grid right now.  We have some money to invest, but are having a difficult time finding resources to guide us.  
We are thinking about a reefer container divided into 1/3 spawning/prep room and 2/3 fruiting chamber (there is a 50 ft. one near us for $3K), a DC Snap Fan, a Propane Heater (we have a canopy brooder heater that seems like it would work well), a bunch of marine batteries charged by solar when it is sunny out and by a strong generator/battery charger when it is not, and using cold weather varieties.
What I cannot figure out is how to keep the humidity up without a plug-in fogger, and how to make an off-grid fogger big enough to mist the fruiting chamber (34x8x8 is 2176 ft3?).  We could make the fruiting chamber smaller (25x8x8 at 1600ft3), but still need an off-grid solution...
Any ideas?  Advice?  Feedback?
I really appreciate it- I reallllly don't want to have to work in a factory over the winter
Blessings, Hara in NW Lower MI
www.phoenixforestfarmmichigan.com

Hello Fellow Permies!  We are 5 weeks into our new Homestead/Farm here in Western MI.  I'd love feedback on our plans, as we are intent on creating abundance in all areas.  We have lived on a number of organic farms and ranches and had our own 1-acre homestead, but were not relying on it for income or a large percentage of our needs. I am a Permaculture novice, studying as I can while we go, so if I have missed any fundamentals, please don't hesitate to point them out.
We are in Zone 5, in the middle of a cluster of small villages, 1/2 hour from Big Rapids (small city), 1 1/2 hours from Grand Rapids (big-ish city), and 2 hours from Lansing (medium city).  Our land is 7 acres of slightly south sloping mixed pine and hardwood (oak/maple/elm) and 3 acres of medium sloping south-facing mixed, with 2 acres of Spruce Christmas trees, 1 acre of mature lumber pine, 1 acre cleared garden space, and 6 acres of mixed. The garden space and 1 1/2 acres of mixed land are well-fenced.  
We are about to start 1/2 acre of veg fruit herbs and mushrooms, 1/2 acre of cut flowers and garlic, with 1 1/2 acres for animals, rotationally grazed in Silvopasture style.
Planning on 2-3 Farmer's Markets a week, and approx 30 CSA customers to start.
The 1/2 acre veg/fruit/herb garden is based on JM Fortier's style, with a few hugelbeets to try them out.  We have a small hoophouse for a nursery.  We have a mix of varieties, some traditional, some heritage, some edgy.
The 1/2 acre cut flowers are 75% edible, with many being Chinese or Western herbs- a good way for me to market my other skills as an Acupunturist/Nutritionist/Holistic Personal Chef/Yoga Teacher.
We are planning 3 runs of rotationally grazed 300 Cornish Cross and 150 BB turkeys and 20 heritage pigs.  We are also picking up 2 Nubians in milk for our personal needs and our amazing goat milk soap, and if we have extra, we will offer shares.  We are picking up a GP to help guard.
I plan on offering a number of seasonal veg packs- eg. Stir-fry, Ratatoullie, Salsa, Eggplant Parm, Grilling, etc.
Any unsold fresh produce will feed the animals and-or be dried for snack and soup and tea blends. Or in dried flower wreaths
Value-added options include: smoked onions/shallots/garlic, herbal salves/tinctures/oils (which I have been making for years),
Next year we are fencing off the perimeter, sectioning off the back 3 hilled acres for rotational grazing for 2-4 dairy cows and steers next year. As we sell of the Xmas trees, we will use that space to garden next year, adding in tree guilds as possible. As we harvest the mature pines for our Cordwood house and barn, we will plant acid-loving guilds.
We are innoculating 100+ 4-ft oak/maple/basswood logs with Shiitake, Reishi, and Lions Mane, are planning on 15 bags a week of straw and hardwood for Shiitakes and Reishi and Oysters, and growing Wine Caps in our hardwood mulch.
Other plans include a small pond (enlarging a 20 ft diameter depression) for ducks, a cold room for produce,
Still researching contouring and swales.
Any other recs?
Thanks in advance, Hara at Phoenix Forest Farm

Hi Tom! We just moved to Luther, a 1/1 hour N of BR. We are down there 1-2 a week so far. We are on 10 acres out here with 2 boys 7 and 14. Nice to "meet" you, Aimee Jason Alex Wes

Hello All!  We moved a month ago from Oregon to Luther (1 1-2 hours North of GR), to 10 acres of pine and mixed hardwood forest.  We have lived on a number of ranches and farms, and had a small permaculture property for 10 years in California.  It is quite different up here, but we are already in love!
We are working towards indoor and outdoor mushroom harvesting, a large medicinal herb garden (western and eastern), cut flowers; a 2 acre market garden; a large greenhouse/nursery setup; raising meat chickens,turkeys, and pigs (and possibly a steer or two), 2 dairy goats(probably Nubians), and starting a 4 acre Permaculture Orchard.  
We are homesteading in our fifth wheel and our cute little tiny house this year, and next year will be building a Cordwood House and Barn.
I am also an Acupuncturist, Massage Therapist, Lifestyle Counselor, Yoga Teacher, and Personal Holistic Chef.  Hubs is an amazing Handyman and Massage Therapist.
We have 2 boys, 7 and 14.
We'd love to connect with others in the area, for dinners, campfires, bartering, or whatever other magic happens
Blessings, Hara