First on my list is to find some trees to put where I will have the pine tree cut down next week. I hope to have a natural-looking yard, not an overly-landscaped place. I would like fruit trees if I can find something that grows well here. Maybe a pear and a Mayer Lemon. I am not into zones. I don't mind the nice walk to my compost bin. It's a peaceful time for me. My herbs are pretty close, though.

Next on my list is to find a good place and a good type of structure to grow some gourds. These I might use for crafts or for a cash crop.

Next (and this is a BIG project) would be to create a pathway around the property for a walkway or jogging path for when the older kids are home. My property is 438 feet on the west side, about 350 feet on the north, about 400 feet on the east, and 290 on the south. That's a LOT of pathway. Don't know what materials I would use. Something free, I hope. I was thinking of melting those real estate signs that are illegal but ubiquitous in these parts. The county confiscated 300,000 last year and the developers keep on putting them up. I'll have to think about this one.
They can be melted and poured into a frame. There would be some environmental justice in doing this project. -- Marie

Since we live a typical middle-class American lifestyle; many changes will be necessary to move to a permaculture status. In fact, I doubt that we ever reach pure status; but I feel that whatever we do will certainly be an improvement over how we live now. Every little bit helps!
The first thing I plan to do is to hope that the library can track down some books on permaculture so I know a bit more about what I'm doing! Now that I've pled ignorance, please forgive me if I don't have the following zones correct.

Zone 0:

I plan to place a worm bin under the kitchen sink within the next few days, for the its and bits of daily swill. Still need to locate and copy a list of dos and don'ts for what I can feed the little critters. Major scraps from food processing still go to the rabbit, chickens, dog and cat.

In an attempt to wean my family away from indiscriminate use of paper products, I placed a chart showing the per unit cost of each item on a kitchen cabinet: paper napkins at .2 cents each, plates at 2 1/2 cents, paper towels at 2 cents and cups at a whoppping 3 cents each! I didn't include toilet tissue, as I, myself, am not willing to part with it at this time! I also still purchase kleenex for cold season. The men have hankies for normal use. I'm blessed with no allergies, so I don't seem to require one. I have stopped puchasing napkins, plates and cups (except for a secret stash of cups for communicable illnesses). I placed a basket of cloth napkins on the kitchen table; and a small container under the sink to hold soiled ones (If they have to walk to a hamper, they won't use them). I am replacing the paper towel holder in the kitchen with a towel dispenser that dispenses brown kraft paper towels. Baby steps are necessary with this crew! I'm hoping that they won't like them, and will therefore use less of them - aversion therapy, if you will! My Pop is accustomed to using a paper towel as a placemat when he eats; so I have purchased a dozen placemats for table use; and will sew more placemats and napkins this winter as time allows. I already use cloth feminine hygiene articles, but will probably purchase a "Keeper" for use at work; as storage and transport of soiled napkins is difficult at this time - I need to find an opaque, washable, waterproof, sealable bag.

I already start my seeds for transplants inside in recycled plug trays; transplanting them in to newspaper pots as they outgrow the plug stage.

In the shed, there is a bag of whole oats that was purchased by mistake; chickens don't seem interested in it in it's current form, so I think that I will scrounge a flat somewhere and try sprouting them and feeding them that way. I'll wait until the natural greens disappear, so that they are hungry for some greens - maybe they'll accept them a bit better that way.

I'm hoping to talk my Auntie into selling me one of her three wringer washers, so that I can be a bit more careful with my water use; and be able to use the grey water for plant watering and toilet flushing. Low flow shower heads with shut-offs at the head are already installed.

Compact florescent bulbs are on the list for purchase as we use up our current stash of bulbs.

I purchased a featherbed for Pop's Christmas gift this year; he suffers from arthritis, so I hope this will allow him to rest more comfortably, and allow us to use less fuel for heat.

Zone 1:

I'm still trying to talk my husband into parting with the funds to build a cistern. Our well water is horrible, requiring multiple filters and machines to make it fit to use at all - and we still can't drink it or wash most of our laundry at home. At 120' deep, it is also inaccessable during power outages. We have a large shed (30X120) with a metal roof to use as a catch area. By studying and compiling information from rainfall data charts for this area from the past 10 years; I have concluded that we could easily support a 20,000 gallon cistern; but that a 10,000 gallon one should be sufficient for our needs. I currently have a 250 gallon tank set up under just one of the six downspouts on the shed; it fills rapidly with the most minimal rain, and overflows with anything beyond that. I used it for watering the animals and some garden watering this past year.

The garden will be increased in size once again - for a description of my garden, please see the Square Foot Gardening forum: Tell me about your square foot garden! The front section of my garden will be planted with some herbs, to add to the few varieties I currently have growing. I plan to add more open-pollinated veggie varieties; and to reduce the number of varieties I grow in favor of doing more seed saving in the future. I also plan to use more vertical gardening than in the past to maximize my space. The garden currently provides the majority of our fresh vegetables for 6 months of the year; and nearly all of our canned and frozen veggies as well.

Since the garden is on the other side of the house from the shed (better soil, better sun); I plan to place a large 200 gallon plastic tank that I already have on a trailor; filling it from the tank under the downspout, and transporting the water to the garden in that manner. This will allow me to double my water storage, and have it more conveniently located as well. I can also use it to haul water from town in a worst case scenario.

Somewhere in this region (I'll be working on the garden expansion and other plans this winter) will be added a fire pit and permanant benches; and possibly some sort of shelter in the future.

Zone 2:

I hope to add 16 dwarf fruit trees to the mix this next spring, so that we may provide the majority of our fruits as well. I'd like to find a good seedless grape to grow in this area to dry for raisins. These will be in a quasi zone 1 area because....

For eggs, I hope to place a permanent chicken structure/shed for small garden tools in the planned orchard; convenient to the gardens as well for ease in feeding excess or undesirable produce, and for allowing selective grazing of garden beds. I am considering switching from heavy breed chickens for my eggs to banties, as they seem to have fewer health problems, reproduce more readily and are better at foraging; thus requiring a minimal amount of outside inputs.

We will purchase broiler chicks from a local hatchery; 25 chicks, twice a year. These will be rotationally pastured, following the cattle (see below) and supplemented with a purchased broiler feed until we are able to provide our own ration. We are lucky to have a local poultry processor (Amish); so we will not be required to process them ourselves. I can process them myself. I don't want to. I probably wouldn't raise them if I had to butcher them, so this is an acceptable compromise for us. Baby steps!

If I could find a local processor for rabbit, I would halve the amount of broilers, replacing them with rabbit; selectively breeding them for harvest; and maintaining only breeding stock during the heat of the summer.

Our plan is to purchase a couple of "bucket calves" from the Amish this spring; or possibly one in spring and one in early fall. This will provide beef for us and for our extended families. At the present time, since both my husband and I work outside the home, we will purchase milk replacer to feed until the calves are able to graze. When my husband retires (3-5 years) we will probably use a milk goat for this purpose. We do not consume enough dairy products to justify a milk cow. The cattle will be rotationally grazed year round; supplemented in the winter with corn and other grains grown on the farm.

Zone 3:

We have about 9 acres tillable fields that will be put in rotation for local use crops. Some will be enclosed with solar charged temporary electric fencing and grazed during the winter months.

A 2 acre area is next to the garden and is used for several crops. The planned orchard and chicken house will encroach into this area. We currently have about 1/4 acre or so of strawberries, which we used to sell locally, but now mostly trade or give away - this year's trades included flower and garden seed, produce, fish and lots of good company! 1/8 acre of asparagus is also in this area. The remainder of this area is used for 1/2 to 1 acre of sweet corn (which will be fed to the cattle after we harvest what we need for fresh and processed use), melons and pumpkins; with the balance being planted in sunflowers for the wild birds to eat; and for me to enjoy looking at (sunnys AND birds!) Crops are shared with family and friends; excess produce of good quality is donated to a food bank; the rest is fed to the animals.

We have planted a 4 to 5 acre or so area to wheat this fall, some of which will be retained on farm for feed/flour/seed; the balance to be sold locally. The wheat crop will be followed by hay; which we will bale in small square bales and use to supplement winter grazing. Any excess will be sold or traded to local smallholders who can not raise their own. The wheat straw will be baled and used as animal bedding and mulches, before being composted.

The last field will be planted to open pollinated corn, to be used for feed/flour. I doubt that we will have any excess to sell off farm; but if we do, it will probably be sold as ear corn locally.

Our compost piles will also be included in zone three; between the worms, chickens, rabbit and pets, I do not generate enough household compostables to support a nearby pile. I currently pick up grass trimmings and leaves in my MIL's neighborhood on my way home from work; and there are several horse owners nearby who are overjoyed when I pull in with my pick-up to relieve them of a load. I can also haul truckloads of manure mixed with sawdust home from the local sale barn. Life is getting easier, as my husband just gifted me with the best birthday present ever: a 1964 1 ton truck with hydraulic grain bed and stock rails - I may still have to shovel it in sometimes, but I'll be able to just dump it out!

Zone 4:

We currently have a red and white pine windbreak on the west property line; and approximately 19 acres of timber surrounding us on the north and east. We hope to expand our walking paths through this area, adding log benches here and there (darned asthma!) We harvest a small amount of downed trees for firewood, and also will cut diseased trees for the same purpose. We also harvest morel mushrooms, blackberries and nuts in this area; as well as an occasional deer harvested by relatives. A friend is attempting to re-establish ginsing in this area as well. Shade and other trees are transplanted occasionally from this area as well.

Zone 5:

The federal governemnt used eminent domain to condemn and confiscate a large portion of our land (and our neighbor's land as well) back in the 60's to construct a huge recreational/flood control lake. Those of us with fishing licenses set out a trot line a couple of times a year to catch fish (and an occasional turtle) which we use fresh or freeze. Deer are harvested from the legal to hunt areas as well. We will travel by foot back to an inlet of the lake to observe a beaver dam occasionally; otherwise this area is unused - at least by us. We do carry bags along to pick up the trash that other's have scattered.

These are all of the things that I can think of at this time. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

Marie, for your path you might be able to chip the branches of those pine trees and use that. Chippers can be rented if needed. Packed gravel is good too, but not really cheap.

Polly, it does sound like you have a plan going. Maybe the wheat can be sprouted in late spring and the chickens will eat it in summer? For info on the worms ... ask in the Vermicomposting Forum.

Lee AKA Fireraven9
Great woods, you frighten me like cathedrals;
You howl like an organ; and our hearts of misery,
Rooms of eternal mourning where quiver ancient rattles,
Answer the echoes of your from the depths I've come to Thee.
- Charles Baudelaire, Obsession

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermicomposting Forum

Thanks, Lee! I have been perusing the Vermicomposting forum, and I also have an e-friend in the worm business in Alabama who has given me tons of good advice.

It feels good to be circling back to a simpler time in my life; back in the 80's we called what we did homesteading, but this seems to be a bit more involved with the earth than that. I can think of several other things I could do - solar panels on our south facing roof, replacing worn floor coverings with different flooring options - for example; but in order to ease my family into this, I need to move slow. But that just gives me more time to think things up, right?!

I would say it is not homesteading because it can be done in the city and suburban areas also. It is doing what you can with what you have and paying attention to the patterns of nature and modeling ones landscaping and surroundings after that.

We will be putting in some fruit trees (apples and such) and I need to re-seed (with native plants) some areas that were dug up to put in our drip irrigation pipes. There are a few more places that need some strawbale swales (useful when you do not want to disturb the plants that grow in the area) to prevent runoff. We will be taking some hardwood and softwood cuttings to propagate some trees and shrubs next year also. That should save us a small fortune too. We have to thin some of the trees in the back woods this fall and next spring. When branches from trees are chipped we can use them to make a raised path and that helps when it gets muddy.

Lee AKA Fireraven9
Great woods, you frighten me like cathedrals;
You howl like an organ; and our hearts of misery,
Rooms of eternal mourning where quiver ancient rattles,
Answer the echoes of your from the depths I've come to Thee.
- Charles Baudelaire, Obsession

I see this thread has not been touched in awhile. I haven't been here in awhile either and was so pleased to see all the new threads, quite a few that are recent.
I had some things planned and even implemented a couple of them. We added a pear tree to the three peaches we put in last year. I mulched them all this year where I had only done one last year. Guess which of the peaches had the most growth? Right. The mulched one. I have planted garlic and onions around all the trees. This is supposed to suppress some of the pests.
We are going to replace an annual flower bed in the front yard with herbs. I also want to put some herbs around the fruit trees.
My wife has a sewing room now and wants a bird bath and feeder put out where she can see them. Maybe tomorrow.
I have an area that I am trying to let go wild with flowers and grasses. I mowed it yesterday and won't mow again until the beginning of July or when I can't take the raggedness anymore. This area will only get mowed a couple times in the summer and then left to go through the winter so birds can have access to the seeds.
I have a brush pile used for a small animal hiding and bird hangout that I am going to move to consolidate it with another pile so I have a sight line to another wildflower area in the back. It will also be visible from the sewing room. the wildflowers that is.
I need to put in a water line for the garden and fruit trees and that will extend into the back "woods" to drip into a slanted birdbath that will drip onto the ground so birds, butterflies, and animals will have water near cover and food. In this same area I want to put in a pergola so that I can drape my mustang grape on it and get it out of the trees.
I want to put in guttering and a water barrel, too.
I want to start vermicomposting, three.
How about another fruit tree in the front and replace another flower bed with veggies, four.
Create a bog area with drainage from one of the bathrooms and the water from the A/C drain, five.
I better quit, I keep thinking of new things I want done.
Some of these plans may be for four or five seasons from now, but they are plans.
One thing I have found out is that I cannot take too big a bite at a time. Too many new things to establish at one time use way toooooo much water around this Central Texas area.
Mike