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ground is mossy, deep patches, moist soil pH is 5-7.5 soil type is chalky, loam tree species is black/white spruce, balsam fir, paper birch, aspen, alder

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Hi! Thanks for reading. My name is Kay, I am 35 years old and have lived in Michigan my entire life. I am adventurous, mindful, patient, supportive, and respectful. I am full of compassion and understanding and have worked hard to create a lifestyle that nurtures both my body and mind—staying fit, eating an organic, natural, meat-free, dairy-free diet, and focusing on overall wellness. I enjoy camping, exploring, reading, and have a strong passion towards homemaking, homesteading and self sufficiency. I am currently hoping to find people that need someone like me to be an extra set of hands and someone you can count on to help make life a little bit easier.

A little bit more about me, i am eager and quick to learn, I find joy in learning new things, and take full advantage of every day I get. I am dedicated, hardworking and creative! I am strong minded, strong willed, and always looking to help make things easier for others. I am also the kind of person who takes initiative. I can keep myself busy until I’m way too tired, and even then I find myself continuing to work until I feel settled. Creating things, accomplishing things, learning things, this is where I feel fulfilled.

I believe it is important to mention, I do not eat meat, dairy (or any animal by-product) or anything processed. I nourish my body with only fresh organic non gmo foods. This is very important to me. For that reason, I do not believe I would fit well on a homestead that raises any sort of livestock for meat. I would not wish to partake in that in any way, and am hoping to find people that share in that mindset. Although I am vegan, I would take great joy in helping raise chickens, or other animals that would not be processed at the end of their life.

In addition to my values and strong work ethic, I am extremely drawn to, and passionate about homesteading and am hoping to turn my dreams and visions into reality. Similar to what you did when you made the choice to live this lifestyle! My aspirations to live this life are strengthened each day. What once felt like a strong pull-or a tug, has almost become like a violent shake. One that is growing harder and harder it ignore. I have so much to offer and I believe that with my willingness and eagerness to learn, that I can become someone you truly depend on.

I can assume what you have created has taken years and years of hard work and dedication, but I’m sure it has been one of the most rewarding things you have ever accomplished. I would love the opportunity to possibly join you in continuing to nourish the vision you have for your life and your land. I am hoping that if you are willing to teach me, that I can absorb it all and become someone who you can depend on. If you are currently seeking help or even just warming up to the idea of accepting help to make things a little easier for you, I would love to talk with you and see if maybe our views/values and hearts align. Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you soon!

For reference, I am currently in Michigan but am open to relocating if we connect and choose each other 🙂

Hey y’all, I’m looking to start a non-profit that focuses on providing safe and affordable housing for LGBTQ+ individuals and families in a sustainable and cooperative living structure, likely somewhere in Oregon.

This setup would allow people to hold a long-term lease of a part of land owned by the non-profit. Individuals and families will be able to build equity in improvements on their leased land while ensuring the land is continuously used for the non-profit mission of sustainability and affordable housing. I also imagine communal recreational areas and gardens where responsibilities and harvests are shared.

Right now, I am just a person with a dream and a potential source of a ~$50,000 donation. I truly do believe in this way of life and hope to utilize grants and donations to make this dream a reality for people who are often priced out of these communities. The LGBTQ+ community has been a safe and welcoming space for me and I’d like to help create a safe and welcoming space to give back.

I need as much help to make this a reality as y’all are willing to give. Hit me with your knowledge, wisdom, advice, successes, fails, things you wish you’d considered along the way. If anyone is willing to be a more long-term mentor, that would be much appreciated.

I am also looking for 4-6 likeminded individuals or families who are willing to put in the work with me to make this a reality for ourselves and others. While the financial burden for a setup like this is lower, we will need to spend much more time applying for grants, fundraising, and ensuring we’re compliant with federal non-profit regulations.

If you’re interested or have any questions, leave a comment or DM. Thanks to everyone in advance!

I am planting a native windbreak utilizing elderberry, golden currant, serviceberry, persimmon, hazelnut, pine, buttonbush, ninebark and Ohio buckeye in appropriate short, medium, and tall rows, all seedlings. Pines are spaced 30ft apart between individual seedlings and between the nearest row.

Is it safe and worth it to interplant fruiting cultivars of gooseberry/currant and blackberry/raspberry in between the pine trees and/or in between the wind break rows?

Basically, I am wondering if there is something I could plant in a small stretch of woods in the northeast USA (zone 5b) that would outcompete and smother poison ivy without taking out everything else.

Ideally, something not adapted to frost, that would grow quickly and beat out the poison ivy but die off in the winter. Or at least something that could be manually ripped out without needing to suit up for handling it.

I don’t want to spray herbicide, salt etc in the woods, and leaning down is difficult for me because I have a neck impairment, so I’m not looking to hunt down and spray each individual poison ivy leaf.

Digging out the roots of the poison ivy last summer was a fruitless effort because those roots were crazy well established.

But I would really like to be able to clear a path down there and not have to worry about poison ivy. It hasn’t really started to take off yet but it definitely will over the next month. I planted some Nasturtium that took off really well around this time last year, but it grew in full sun. I’m not sure if that would be effective in an area that’s going to be largely shaded once the tree canopies fill out again.