What were your "steps" to CL/off the grid? - Page 2

[Eresh]

What about nut trees?  We're helping a friend who is going off grid (and hoping/planning/dreaming of relocating out of the city one day ourselves) and I was thinking of buying her a couple of walnut trees (not the kinds that kills other plants).  I know they won't start producing for a couple of years, but having another reliable source of quality protein that's relatively easy to store sounds good.

[junebugmidwife]

Nut trees are a good idea, I'd suggest hazelnuts, especially in light of the new walnut blight which might wipe out a tree just as it's getting productive, plus they're smaller and other stuff can grow next to them in a plant guild.

HIGHLY recommend you read Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway--great starter book for permaculture design, to think about how you want your land to develop over time, how you use the spaces, etc. 

Fruit trees, nut trees, perennial veggies like rhubarb and asparagus are musts!  Get started on the trees, shrubs, and perennials ASAP, they take time to really produce but are so worth it.  Check out St Lawrence Nurseries http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/ for lots of bare-root stuff you can order to plant this spring!

[nanette0269]

i love earthboxes....take up little space, take up little fertilizer (they also have an organic option), take less water than conventional gardens, and they produce!

[mamabeth]

Wow, I had not been back to this thread for a while (or MDC, oops!) and I really am digging all the feedback!  We are sort of on hold with all this as we are going to try to sell our house and move somewhere with more land/room, a fixer upper kind of deal if we can.  I know it's a terrible year to sell but we want to downsize, so we'll probably take any reasonable offer.

Either way, I love the idea of a nut tree.  We have pecans here in GA and they grow really well, and we all like them.  Dh still wants a pig but we really do need some more land for that, and he has shot us a couple deer for meat so that is awesome (he is a bow hunter only).  :)  We'll plant spring crops soon and then summer, and our big goal is to keep the berries producing and keep the birds out of them!

Take care mamas, keep the ideas coming.  

[thewaggonerfamily]

Originally Posted by BeckyBird 

Also, you should buy a water filter. We bought one that does not require electricity. Here is the one we bought.... http://www.everythingkitchens.com/aquarain_700_400.html
If you want to live off grid, there might be a time when the power goes out and you can't get fresh drinking water. This filter can clean swamp water if needed. We are also trying to set up a little off grid/sustainable farm, and buying the water filter was one of the first steps we made.

I want bees next year ) And lots of flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables......the list goes on and on!

How does this filter compare to a Berkey?