Truly awesome first post here!
I should have known that you were also a caretaker. I have been doing it for a really long time and whoa it sure presents its own challenges but I shall not dive into that with this comment.
The term 'homesteading' is such an awesome 'catch all' phrase and I really like how you defined it there.
I saw somewhere (maybe while skimming your blog) that you all have a cob house. I have only gotten to work on one once... but I always toy with the idea of making my own. The manual labor involved is incredible but it sure makes for a sturdy abode.
Cheers!
So so many challenges I agree. So I hope this post normalizes that failing at some aspects is just part of the process. Homesteading is a journey and although I hope to grow tomatoes & potatoes someday -- I am happy with where I am now too.
And yes! We are starting to build with cob and have participated with cob in the past. With our current project there will certainly be lots of rocks involved as those are the abundant matierals on the land. A good first cob project is a outdoor cob oven, rocket stove, or cob bench!
Yup it is definitely a 'journey' and not a 'destination' with homesteading.
The only food that seems to grow well for me is potatoes. I have tried so many other things and learned to just focus on what I am good at.
Yeah, I often tell folks to start with a cob oven (usually a pizza oven) but rocket stoves and benches are awesome also.
Are you all building upon a 'stem wall' to keep the cob from wicking water?
We haven't yet started the actual house -- right now we are working on fencing the perimeter because we are right next to a goat farm that lets their herd of 50 goats free range in the wildlands and inevitably neighbor's land. So right now we are doing mini rock walls with cob all around the base of the fence. Next we are going to start doing the foundation of the house and yes a stem wall. On all the projects I have worked on in the past I was just a helper, focusing more on making mixes and plastering so this will be quite an experience!!