u/tdubs702

This is my first year growing potatoes and my first year in zone 5/6. The previous owners of this property offhandedly mentioned something last fall when we first toured the house/garden that has bugged me ever since.

She said they had a big potato crop last year but lost them all when it rained. Apparently they had laid the potatoes out on top of the soil to allow them to cure for a few days when the rain came through.

But…laying them out in the sun would cause them to go green, wouldn’t it? Or am I missing something? Is this a common practice to cure potatoes?

Any tips for bumpy dirt roads? I live rurally and moved to the end of a long dirt road(12 miles total but it’s the last 1-2 that are the worst), not knowing it would be so difficult on me. It’s been a few months and I rarely leave the house now because I’ll wind up in bed for at least a day after. What will help?

New to permaculture and new to 60 acres which has a handful of fruit trees that barely produced and were quickly decimated by insects and birds. Where do I even start to learn how to care for and get a yield from these trees? (usda zone 5/6, arid climate/high desert, apple, pear, and cherry of unknown varieties or ages)

Can you describe what your system looks like and how it differs in different seasons?

We bought and moved onto a 60 acre homestead just 3 months ago. It’s charming and solidly built, but I’m starting to realize how poorly laid out it is.

The compost bin is 1/4 mile from the house, so dumping kitchen scraps is a trek in the heat.

Is it there cuz it’s next to the garden? Nope. The 1/4 acre garden is nearly another 1/4 mile away, long enough to make it hard to just casually check on it. The orchard on the other hand comes before the compost but nowhere near irrigation.

And heaven forbid you forgot a tool when you headed out or you’ll be heading almost all the way back.

The chicken coop is cute, but has two doors into two different run areas that don’t connect for humans to get from one to another (only a tiny trap door for the chickens themselves to move between them). So you have to go in and out and in and out to clean, collect eggs, feed, etc.

The barn bays all point away from the house, understandably so the tractor can get to the field. But there is no foot traffic access from the house side. You have to trek all the way around.

Oh and the pantry? It’s nearly 20 feet from the cooking area…unless you’re looking for other pantry which is ANOTHER 20 feet away in the living room, despite the largest kitchen you’ve ever seen which has zero cabinets and only a large island awkwardly in the middle.

I feel like this place was designed by someone trying to max out their Fitbit. I’ve never put in so many steps before 9am in my life.

I got infected in 2021 and again in 2022. The second one landed me in bed rest with PEM, CF, histamine intolerance, major inflammatory markers and more.

Ive tried so many things but looking back over the past 4+ years, here were the major levers:

The first 3-6 months - got me to 35-40% recovered: I followed a protocol that was on the FLCCC website for LC recovery. I don’t recall the details now but it was extensive. there were so many components I can’t say if it was all of them together or specific ones. But it seemed to break the cycle of inflammation and get me out of bed, although still with PEM and histamine issues.

Months 7-18 - got me to 70% recovered: The biggest lever here was nervous system work. Let me state for the record: THIS IS NOT IN OUR HEADS. But it can be affecting our nervous systems ability to calm the body long enough for it to recover. I tried paid programs but they didn’t click for me. I found that polyvagal exercises did. A lot. I did them almost daily for 15-20 min at a time until I got lots of big yawns. The effect was very quick. Sometimes I’d need a nap after but always my energy would surge and pain levels would decrease. (Tons of free videos and kindle books on these.)

Around two years: this is where it gets complex…

I saw a doctor who recommended genetic testing and we found I have Ehlers Danlos, which is often connected to histamine intolerance. So the theory shifted from “long covid did ALL of this” to “long covid turned up the dial on things I already genetically had but was previously quiet”.

Last summer through this spring: I saw a new doctor who did cellular testing on me, found the fatty acids needed for my cells to recover were greatly depleted. (PC and PB) She does something called a PK Protocol developed by a cellular biologist. It was pricey af but WOW. My energy came back and has stayed consistent, my gut health improved tremendously, my histamine intolerance also improved though not to pre-LC levels. I couldn’t afford to do more treatments but this got me to 95% recovery.

TODAY:

I still deal with some MCAS like flares to high histamine foods, as well as heat and certain sources of stress. Itll cause some joint inflammation in my most EDS-inflicted joints, and mild PEM again. But it’s not often and it doesn’t last more than a few hours. I can take a rest and am up and going again. (I live on a farm so staying active is critical. Honestly the heat is probably my biggest and most annoying trigger to date.)

All this to say:

It’s rarely one thing. And it takes experimenting to find what will work for you.

But don’t give up. Throw any and everything at it. Spend money you don’t have if you have to. You can always find more money but you can get back your time. And in the end, it’s worth it.

for those who live in a fire prone area, and also practice permaculture, what do you do or do differently?

For instance, I was watching a permie video on hugelkulture for creating green fire breaks. But then I spoke with a wildfire fighter in our area who said they often see logs underground that are burning. So how would one do hugelkulture correctly in this scenario?

Fire prone areas are often dry also, so something like wood chipping is recommended but wood chips present a fire hazard, so what would be the best alternative?

We have our traditional steps figured out (keeping understory clear, grasses low, fuel sources minimal etc), but how do you best marry that with permaculture practices that will also work for food production, water conservation and other needs?

What do YOU do or not do or do differently?

I’m honestly a fence sitter when it comes to “rebel“ canning.

On one hand, I’m dubious that the canning recipes keep get stricter…like, did we really not have the knowledge or tech 20 years ago to know what was safe? How is it changing so much still today?

On the other hand, I do understand that botulism doesn’t live on everything and just because a person doesn’t get sick from 100 safe batches, doesn’t mean they couldn’t if there was contamination present.

Is there a balanced middle ground in the canning world?

Background: We live on a high desert mountain. Normal rainfall is 18 inches a year and 5 ft of snow (but it hasn’t been normal lately). We have grasses and aspen trees, plus a large 1/4 acre garden and more space with an orchard. it’s very hilly around us but we’re in something of a small valley. 60 acres total but our valley is maybe 5. Metal roof surface of the house is roughly 1600st and more than twice that for the barn (plus other misc structures). It’s also a high wildfire area. We’re on well water and there’s a spring up the hill from us that we have some irrigation to but it’s only useful part of the year.

We’re wanting to learn about berms, swales, catchment, proper soil mngt, mulch, water systems… any and everything to help us keep the land healthy, the garden thriving and the property safe from fires

Where tf do I even start?

Recommended resources (books, videos/channels, courses, people)?

We just moved to a property in zone 5 with several fruit trees (apple, pear, cherry, currants, but no idea the varieties). Their ages range from a couple years to a decade or more. They don’t look like they’ve been well pruned so I’m assuming the previous owners hadn’t done much else.

What is working well for you? And any suggestions of what to do this first year to support them, given we don’t know much about them?

I bought chicken that was obviously not well handled in butchering because I’ve been in a terrible flare after each time eating it (it was portioned in the freezer between instances so not a leftover problem). Makes me feel so crumby I feel turned off chicken completely now. :(

But when I have a histamine flare I also lose my appetite altogether, despite being hungry. Nothing sounds appetizing at all

What usually sounds and tastes good to you when you feel terrible? Any flare-faves or comfort foods?

does anyone have a simple, efficient system for kitchen grey water?

right now we keep metal tubs in the sink so we can reuse the water in dryer garden areas but hauling is a pain that I don’t foresee us keeping up with.

I’d love to hear from people who have actually done it themselves - good, bad or ugly.

ETA: we’re off grid, well water, and septic if that matters.

We bought a house with a speed queen w/d. Other than lasting forever, I don’t know much about using and maintaining them from a housekeeping standpoint.

I DO know my family’s smelly work and gym clothes smell odorless for the first time in years, but maybe that’s no longer living with hard water (moved to a new state and on well water now).

Anything I should know to get the best from them?

We can get to -20 but normally around -5. Just got two barn kittens. How do they manage in the winter? Best practices or any tips to keeping them safe, ideally without needing to bring them in the house?

I have folders my Drive that I want to keep private from team members who have access to the same drive/login. Is there a way to add a password to specific folders or would I need to create that folder in a separate account altogether?

How do yall keep the dust and dirt from getting inside? Especially if you don’t have an AC and need the cross breeze in the summer. Surely there are tricks? Nothing is too obvious, throw it all at me!