Per Erik Torske

Thanks for the welcome Daniel and thanks Briannon!

Daniel, I'm curious to hear if you have any specific end goals for that field - that might help point in the right direction. Also, does the land seem fairly compacted from machinery? I'm wondering if some stuff like radishes and native grasses like big bluestem, Indian grass and switch grass might really help penetrate the soil - and maybe provide a decent cover crop with the oats because they grow so fast. Would love to know more!

Yeah, I'd rather skip the mail order stuff and support my local community. Plus, if it was grown here, I know it'll make it here weather-wise!

I'm primarily helping my mother look for land along the I-69 corridor to a strip along Lake Michigan along the western side of the state. It's nothing I'm too invested in beyond being able to help her since she's not often at the house overnight and I plan on using it as a test site for cob buildings and fruit guilds, etc. before staking my own claim. I'm currently entering a 'pre-apprenticeship' certification program for skilled trades. My goal is to do plumbing - it's a very unfulfilled niche I see in these kinds of communities and yet one that's super useful. Plus, it doesn't hurt that it'll get me a lot closer to the 100+ acre potential eco-village mark I'm looking at in the future.

I'm just starting out with mushrooms - these are my first two wooden-dowel inoculated logs with shiitakes. I'll probably try some oysters and other edible mushrooms in the future - although mainly outside. I like edible mushrooms, but what excites me the most is the symbiotic relationships some mushrooms have with tree and other plant roots. In the future I'm looking forward to likely doing some more heavy property reclamation (especially if it means more acres), so anything that helps the native flora thrive is great in my book!

All of your projects sounds groovy and great. I just went to a winter-sowing class for seeds yesterday and got a few cool native plants (and some radishes).



This crazy guy I got some seeds for yesterday is called, "Rattlesnake Master". Not something I'd ever look at and would assume was from around here! I'm also trying to find more seeds, especially if they have lineages from Michigan and more vegetables I can grow that already mesh with the local ecosystem. If you have any insights, let me know!

Excellent. I also have only went to her potlucks - no classes yet, but as I get closer to have my own land that I'll be building on, it'll be higher on my priority list.
I am into building, but I'm pretty new! I do have a book called "Timber Framing for the Rest of Us" sitting next to me as I type this, reminding me I should be reading it.

If you haven't seen already, many of the Conservation Districts for local counties have begun their tree sales and most of the varieties they pick have a tendency to be native. I'm not sure if the fruit trees are the typical hardy, local varieties permies have a tendency to go for, but if you find out first or I do, let's let each other know!

Genesee County

Oakland County

It's kind of far away, but there's also a seller over in Shelbyville who is a permacultrist selling primarily native varieties. If you already know where you're sourcing your fruit trees, never mind, I just thought I'd give some resources I found all within the last week.

And me? I'm not doing too much up here at the moment, hence why I'm here looking for others with more happening. :D I'm growing plants in the kitchen, mushrooms in the basement and composting in the garage (and outside, but that's frozen solid) for now, but that's about it. There's also some folks down in Brighton into permaculture I'll hopefully be helping with a specific spot for their fruit guilds in their yard sometime this spring / summer.

I know a lot of the responses in this post are old, but I thought I'd see if there's still a heartbeat out there somewhere!

My name is Erik, and I currently live just south of Flint (but will likely be moving soon). Over the past few months since I've moved back from Oregon, I've just started to get my feet wet with the sustainability world. Now I'm growing plants in the kitchen, mushrooms in the basement and composting in the garage! I'm looking for more people around the state who are interested in meeting up, attending classes and maybe even want some help on their farm (I love to work outdoors). Also, anyone interested / part of the local tribes and anti-pipeline stuff I'd love to hear more from. I'm about to start an apprenticeship readiness program for plumbing so in the meantime I have quite a bit of free time and would love to make and meet some new friends.

Awesome thread to read about and even see a few of the projects ya'll have been working on! It looks like satisfying work!

Hey Aaron,

I'm Erik! I live in Grand Blanc currently (just 10 minutes north of Holly), so I think we're pretty close to each other. I'm probably looking at moving in the not too far future, but while I'm here I'm looking for people who want help on their land in exchange for conversation and maybe want to go to some classes with me.

Have you visited the Strawbale Studio in Oxford? If you're into natural building techniques it's a pretty incredible place.