Listen Online 
Download 
Get all of the Podcasts in convenient, giant zip files 
Subscribe on iTunes
Summary
Paul continues his call with Kyle and Mark about land buying.
Land that’s mostly steep north-facing slope is a complete turn-off for Paul thanks to the comparative lack of sun, although there are things that can be done there like a freezer wofati, but if that’s all there is it’s just too restrictive. Conversely a shallow south facing slope has the opposite problem: too much sun and runs the risk of being barren, although this can be fixed with several layers of plants, it just makes it harder to start up.
Weeds. If you don’t see any weeds, don’t buy. Even if the land is $10. Weeds that have been trimmed back is fine, but if there’s no trace, it means that the land has at best been sprayed recently, or more likely has persistent herbicides. Deep soil overall is a must – having 4ft deep soil in the valley and squat everywhere else isn’t good. Bringing a shovel to test can be a good idea.
If the land has a creek on it, then problems can arise – first: if the area is quite dry, then keeping animals can be problematic as the creek will attract predators. Second: creeks have regulations around them that create a lot of headaches, possibly even extending to “no gardens within a mile”. Third: if the creek can support fish, the public can go fish there even if the land is otherwise private.
Wells are quite variable – the
water they produce may or may not be drinkable, and they can simply not produce
enough water (such as Paul’s) or even just be completely dry. If it works properly though, it’s great and it saves having to gamble on having one drilled.
Relevant Threads
Homesteading forum
Earthworks forum
Wofati forum
Support the Empire
Help support the empire and get all of the podcasts in a bundle
here in the digital market at permies.
To support production of these podcasts, make a donation
here at Paul's Patreon page.
This podcast was made possible thanks to:
Dr. Hugh Gill Kultur
Eivind W. Bjørkavåg
Suleiman, Karrie, and Sasquatch
Bill Crim
anonymous
Kerry JustTooLazy
Jocelyn Campbell
Wade Luger
Sasquatch
Kyle Neath
Chris Sugg
havokeachday
Bill Erickson
Dominic Crolius
Julia Winter, world's slowest mosaic artist
G Cooper
Penny McLoughlin
Ash Jackson
Mehron Kugler
Lisa Goodspeed
Mark
Pasquale DeAngelis
Sean Benedict
Greg Martin
Rita Bliden
Dana Martin
Candace Dahlk
Keith Kuhnsman
Eric Tolbert
Ruwan Nanayakkara
Polly Jayne Smyth
2
