A 4.5 acre farm site has been found. Going through the paperwork this week!
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land ho!
02 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in Uncategorized
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Ohio River Valley
14 Saturday Apr 2018
Posted in blog, Uncategorized
Tags
access, acreage, concerns, considerations, farm, improvements, Indiana, land, market, Ohio River Valley, property, purchase, search, topography
I am back in the Ohio River Valley and searching for land to purchase! Looking for property that will meet my needs with less start-up work in forming a food forest. Just thought I’d list here some of the things I’m considering, and some thoughts if you’re also searching for that perfect spot!
My top 5 Property Search Concerns
- Acreage. Important to me is at least a 2-acre property, 5-acres ideally, mostly cleared and preferable not cleared recently. In my area the advantages to this include an easy planting start-up and no need to worry about longstanding Black Walnut trees. Disadvantage is open land previously used by local farmers very likely has chemicals in the soils.
- Paved Road. Purchasing virgin land in a farming community means that many of the lots are from broken up larger family farms and now have non-county maintained roads leading into the areas. Wanting to have a farm stand and working my bookselling business, I need paved road access to my property line.
- Topography. The area I’m in is quite hilly and there are many cave systems in the area, thus sinkholes. Sloping hills are great for starting 30 foot wide swales, but of course I’d rather find a spot that has at least an acre or two that is relatively flat for my homestead.
- Improvements. Finding a property that is vacant but with septic, water, and electricity is a plus. While I plan to make my homestead off-grid, septics are required in my county, even when gray water recycling and black water composting is set-up. Locating a ready property will allow for less money down and a faster start-up and build.
- Access. Many of the properties available have large, old growth tress along all of the fence lines, if not covering the entire lot. This means clearing to make access for bringing in equipment and supplies, and for building a farm market stand with parking.
living on a permaculture farm in Hawai’i
26 Thursday Jan 2017
Posted in education, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
aquaponics, education, Good Earth Master Gardeners, Hawaii, Oahu, permaculture, photos, PowerPoint, presentation, travel, UH Kapiolani, vermiculture
It’s been quite a while since I have posted here! But, I had a very eventful year for 2016. I moved to O’ahu, Hawai’i, and lived on a permaculture farm in Waimanalo. I also attended culinary courses in Honolulu at UH Kapi’olani by Diamond Head. The campus is famous for it’s permaculture practices including vermiculture and aquaponics.
Last November I made a presentation to the Good Earth Master Gardeners of Washington County, Indiana, about permaculture and my experiences. The link includes a PowerPoint Presentation and a Photo Slideshow with over 60 photos!
Enjoy!
Dusty
and miles to go before I sleep
27 Thursday Aug 2015
Posted in travel, Uncategorized
Tags
2015, gardening, permaculture, road, route, sustainabiliity, travel, traveling tUUsome
With change comes the freedom of travel! I’ll post updates as we go on the permaculture, gardening, and sustainability aspects of our trip. For our tourism and community visits, you can follow us at traveling tUUsome.
Fall 2015 Route http://www.travelingtUUsome.com
transitions coming my way
10 Monday Aug 2015
Posted in blog, Uncategorized
Tags
2015, August, country, expanding, forest garden, gardening, gypsy, knowledge, learning, permaculture, pets, travel
As life changes so often for all, so goes it for me. Now is a time that I find myself moving on from my little budding forest garden and back into my gypsy life on the road and traveling around our beautiful country.
A determined gardener, I have always, and will yet again, travel with a mini-garden, pets, and an eye for learning and expanding my knowledge of gardening and permaculture.
Launch date is August 19th! Hope you’ll come along for the ride!
first sign of spring
10 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
UPDATE! rain barrels are filling
07 Saturday Feb 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
rain barrels are filling
UPDATE! These rain barrels were a wonderful addition last year! We had good rainfall and both remained nearly full the entire summer. I did not use the garden hose, NOT ONE TIME, for watering! When winter came, I had to open the valves so that the water would pass through and not freeze the faucets on them. Need to figure out a way to ‘bypass the bypass’ so that the water will drain back down the original path and away from the house.
Thunderstorms coming in tonight to both test and help fill our new rain barrels!
Got two 50-gallon rain barrels installed on the downspouts. Not anywhere near the amount I’ll want or need but it is a start.
Hoping to eventually get a large cistern for this end of the house where the basement walk-out area is and then placing the smaller ones on the other end by our driveway.
And while it will take over 300 fillings of each to start saving dollars out of my pocket due to sunk costs on the barrel and downspout redirect, the savings to Mother Earth are enormous.
Every time a barrel fills, that’s 50 gallons less of pumped and chemical filled water being delivered to my door. Also, by getting the pre-made enclosed barrels, we won’t be adding to the summer mosquito problems.
Note to self: Re-level them after a few rains (very clay soil) and then plant some perennials around the bases to help seat them in and to beautify!
Kim Bryant Presentation
25 Sunday Jan 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Bloomington, certified, Ellettsville, farm-to-market, Good Earth Master Gardeners, Kim Bryant, management, organic, presentation, production, Purdue University, seed, State House Market, vegetable
Kim Bryant, Photo Credit: Amanda Field Photography
For members of the Purdue University Good Earth Master Gardeners, the February 12th meeting will feature Kim Bryant, owner/operator of the organically certified Bryant Farm in Ellettsville, Indiana. Kim will be discussing vegetable production from seed, as well as management of her farm-to-market operation.
The farm produces: arugula, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Chinese greens, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, green onions, chile peppers, lettuce, potatoes, pumpkins, salad greens, spinach, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash
“Bryant Farm … produces organically certified fruits and vegetables. Owned by Rex and Kim Bryant, Bryant Farm is almost completely family-run, with their intern Sasha helping out. The farm covers 11 acres and grows everything from eggplant to green beans. Rex is a electrician and Kim worked in a factory as they were raising their three daughters. Kim started growing a few items in the backyard for the family. As it continued to grow, they both made the decision for Kim to leave her job and farm full-time.” — State House Market
“About Bryant Farm: We are a family owned and operated farm, located in Ellettsville. At Saturday markets you’ll find myself, Kim, daughters Jessica, Jade, and Katie, and son Michael. We started attending the Bloomington market in 2003. This is our 11th season. With each year we have been able to offer more vegetables each season. Along with the Bloomington markets on Saturdays we also attend the original Farmers Market on Wednesday, and the Statehouse Market on Thursdays each week in Indianapolis. Each vegetable we offer is started at the farm from seed. The feeding program we follow is the Fox Farm schedule. As far as pest and fungi control we use Neem Oil. Both of these practices are OMRI approved. My favorite crops to grow are cauliflower, because it is challenging, and eggplants because they are beautiful. Come see us at the Saturday Farmers’ Market!” — City of Bloomington, Indiana
Good Earth Master Gardeners
05 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Join my online party!
20 Thursday Nov 2014
Posted in Environmental relations, Uncategorized
Tags
Ambassador, Barefoot Books, children's books, diversity, environment, free books, gifts, healthy, independence, launch party, planet, spirit, sustainable, world culture
Reblog to share my newest venture!
Simply stated,
I believe that Barefoot Books are the best
cultural and earth friendly children’s books
–and they’re fun and beautiful to boot!
So … I’ve become a Barefoot Books Ambassador! Yay!
Join my launch party at:
http://www.dusty-baker.barefootbooks.com
At Barefoot Books, we celebrate art and story that opens the hearts and minds of children from all walks of life, focusing on themes that encourage independence of spirit, enthusiasm for learning and respect for the world’s diversity. The welfare of our children is dependent on the welfare of the planet, so we source paper from sustainably managed forests and constantly strive to reduce our environmental impact. Playful, beautiful and created to last a lifetime, our products combine the best of the present with the best of the past to educate our children as caretakers of tomorrow.
