Welcome Leigh Tate, author of 5 Acres & A Dream The Sequel!

Glad to have you here  Your perspective on homesteading for us not-so-young folks and some of your tips and experiences helped me when I was thinking about moving to a more rural area and getting some land years ago.  I remember finding info on chicken/compost ideas and also egg storage without power, and recently some of those tidbits resurfaced to mix with others I'd seen over the years as I began my own journey with keeping chickens and trying to find ways to build healthy soil.   Great to have the perspective of someone who's been in a more similar situation for those of us who couldn't get started sooner or do quite so much.

Welcome Ms Tate.   It looks like a great book.   Thank you for writing it.

Congratulations on the new book.

I'm new to the permaculture lifestyle, but I've dove in head first!  We recently purchased out forever home, but it needs a lot of work. It's a few acres but every square of yard is lawn... It's absolutely horrifying. I'm looking forward to getting to know the land, experimenting, building a thriving ecosystem, and learning as much as I can!

Scott, Carson, and John, thank you! I'm delighted to see you all here, and I'm looking forward to seeing your comments and questions here in the homesteading forum.

John, I suggest starting a thread in Permies' lawn forum to find ask about this and find answers. :)

I am new here but want to learn as much as we can. Thanks for this chance to get this book.

Welcome Leigh!!

Welcome Leigh!  I will be interested to follow the discussion and see how your journey of restoring soil health to your land has progressed.  Cheers!

Danny, Stephanie, and Jon, thank you! I look forward to your joining in the various homesteading threads here at Permies.

Danny, I'm honored that this is your first post on Permies. Welcome!

Stephanie, as one of our newer members, welcome to you too!

Jon, I'm glad to see you here! You may be interested to know that your book is in my bibliography. :)  

Hi Leigh, welcome! Do you feel this book stands well on its own, or should the first book be read beforehand?

S Greyzol, thank you! This book truly is a sequel, but I tried to write it in such a way so that it could be read as a stand-alone. I've included a number of quotes from my previous works so that

1. I didn't have to repeat myself
2. To give folks some context for the things I have to share.

Homesteading is truly a journey, and those who read both volumes will (hopefully) be able to see how one's experiences shape not only outcomes, but also goals and how we choose and prioritize our projects. In our case, even our motives were changed, and we developed a whole new way of looking at things. That's one of the things I try to share over the course of the two books.

Welcome Leigh,
I hope to share your experiences so far.
I am a newbe who is looking forward to taking  a similar journey.
Hope rising!
Tunde.

Welcome! Your book looks and sounds amazing. Thank you for being here.

Thank you for your warm welcomes! I look forward to getting some interesting conversations going in the homesteading forum here at Permies.

Leigh, welcome! I have read the first book but misplaced my copy. To now find there is a sequel is wonderful! Being a bit impulsive, I popped over and bought a copy of both of them. If my first copy shows up, I will donate the new one to my library.
     I only have .7 acres, but have been slowly working toward a permaculture approach to growing food here. I am looking forward to reading the sequel!

Lynn Wilson wrote:I have read the first book but misplaced my copy. To now find there is a sequel is wonderful! Being a bit impulsive, I popped over and bought a copy of both of them. If my first copy shows up, I will donate the new one to my library.

Lynn, that is a wonderful idea! I often suggest people request their library get a copy if they can't manage to buy a copy. It puts our favorite books into the hands of so many more people.

I only have .7 acres, but have been slowly working toward a permaculture approach to growing food here. I am looking forward to reading the sequel!

Thank you! I strongly agree that slow but steady is always the best approach.

Leigh, congratulations on the new book.  It is beautiful!

I am looking forward to reading lots of new posts to the Homestead forum.

Welcome Leigh,
Looking forward to reading your sequel.
It's amazing how much of our historical expertise has been lost to convenience and instant gratification.

Refreshing always to see how "slow and steady" DOES win the race. Been doing that here, too.

One of the areas that is a challenge for some is translating the principles and applications to large holdings.
Best way I've found is to look at the design as a collection of smaller, but fully interconnected "homesteads" and focus on one at a time - just have to be sure to always design with the surrounding "homesteads" in mind.

Bought 6 acres 6 years ago and love every minute of rural life.  Working through the process of homesteading slow but sure. I have to remind myself that I don’t have to do it all today.  Welcome Leigh good to have you here.

Welcome Leigh.  So glad to have you here.  I've not read your books (yet) but they sound amazing.  I am older and just started with my property late last year.  I also work it alone so am looking forward to learning about your experiences and hopefully, not have to figure out some of the things you talk to by myself.  

Welcome, Leigh! The book looks great. Excellent cover!

Hello and Welcome to the "permies" site.
I don't have my "dream home" and probably never will, so I'll have to make-do with my one acre plot on the edge of the town I live in.

I actually am pretty well along with what I wanted to do here, but am always looking for ideas that I can incorporate, like buying a bee hive a couple of years ago for way out back and then tilling up a 3 ft. x 20 ft. strip to try and grow flowers for part of the bees activities. The hive isn't so much for the honey, but for the pollinators. It partially seems to be working as I had an unreal tomato crop this year!

I'll have to hit the forum and read all the inputs.

It warms my heart to read all these welcoming messages. Thank you one and all!

My husband and I started later in life. We didn't have much money and had to wait to find a property with potential that we could afford. So I can tell you all from experience that age, financial resources, and amount of land are only a small part of the picture. Step by step we can each find our homesteading niche.

Welcome Leigh !  This is the best forum on the "net".
Great people, advice, and some guy in bibs we are trying to help with World Domination !!  ;-)
Really is a fun and knowledgeable place.

Thank you Dennis! I agree, this is the best forum on the net. :)

Hi Leigh, thank you for your knowledge and expertise. My wife and I are moving this upcoming spring from St. Louis to Asheville NC. We are looking to live a more simple lifestyle and eventually start a homestead. My questions is, what about the Southern Appalachia culture speaks to you the most?

Rob, thank you and welcome to Permies!

I think the thing that is most appealing about Appalachian culture is the artisan crafts and music. The people (I mean specifically the older folk) come from a background that was slow to get paved roads and electricity, and hence have knowledge of survival skills that have almost been lost. Once a very self-reliant people. The younger generations have all the modern conveniences plus television and internet, so some of those cultural distinctions have faded or are lost. But the crafts are still being kept alive. If you haven't already, be sure to visit Folk Art Center when you get settled in Asheville to see what I mean.

Leigh Tate wrote:Rob, thank you and welcome to Permies!

I think the thing that is most appealing about Appalachian culture is the artisan crafts and music. The people (I mean specifically the older folk) come from a background that was slow to get paved roads and electricity, and hence have knowledge of survival skills that have almost been lost. Once a very self-reliant people. The younger generations have all the modern conveniences plus television and internet, so some of those cultural distinctions have faded or are lost. But the crafts are still being kept alive. If you haven't already, be sure to visit Folk Art Center when you get settled in Asheville to see what I mean.

Thank you for the reply. We will be sure to check out the Folk Art Center. One of our goals is to live a simple, distraction free life style akin to what that older generation lived, that you speak of. I have a lit of respect and admiration for what past generations were able to do with what they had available at the time. I would like to live a life that would mirror that lifestyle.

I've been reading your blog from the beginning.  I love to see the progress, very inspiring.

Carolyn, I'm so glad you're here! Permies is where I get a lot of my own inspiration. ;)

Hi Leigh!  I follow your blog all the time 😊. Congratulations on your new book

Katie, thank you and welcome to Permies! I'm honored that this is your first post. Please do explore the homesteading forum and jump right in with your questions and comments.

i've been a fan for years.  i can't wait to read your book.  i'm  a granny training the next gen to learn the "old/new" ways,

din Feray wrote: i'm  a granny training the next gen to learn the "old/new" ways,

I love that! And thank you so much for your kind words; they mean a lot.

Hi Leigh!

Congratulations on the book. I live in Tennessee, near Knoxville. Where are you located and do you have visitors?

Thanks!

ajeet

Thank you Ajeet! We really aren't set up for visitors. I've sometimes thought it would be nice to have tours or hold classes, but sadly, that's not a practical option for us.