Homesteading Newbie

[HilltopDaisy]

I would spend every single free minute that I had reading here.

I couldn't tell if you meant "50 plus years" as combined, or if you and hubby are over the age of 50.

[HilltopDaisy]

Look, my response came out ahead of the OP!

[badlander]

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to start off by saying HI and introducing myself. My husband and I are going to be the proud owners of an Amish Homestead located in North Eastern Missouri come this October. We have been looking at the place since January and finally took the plunge. The delay in ownership is so the current owner, a nice young Amish couple with three little ones, can build a new homestead next door to us. The homestead is luxurious in comparison to some I've seen. They have indoor plumbing, cold water only and a home built wood burning furnace in the shop that also heats the 1200 foot living space that is connected to the woodworking shop.

There is a new barn with the property and we hope to start raising some sheep and pasture them there and on property that we currently own a short distance away.

We would like to keep things as simple, yet as comfortable as possible. Plans are to add LP, keep a wood burning stove (Looking for one now on Craigslist) and on demand hot water, but from there we are completely open for suggestions.

There is electricity ran to the property but naturally not hooked up into the house or out buildings. We are debating whether or not to add electricity to the house and shop or stay off the grid and use LP with a generator,possibly diesel.

I'm hoping that all of you good folks on the forum can lend me some of your sage advice. I am really impressed with the hard work this young couple has put into this place.

We would like to stay as low tech as possible, yet have some of the creature comforts that we have gotten used to in our 50+ years on this earth.

If you all were doing this from scratch, how and what would you do?

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by badlander

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to start off by saying HI and introducing myself. My husband and I are going to be the proud owners of an Amish Homestead located in North Eastern Missouri come this October. We have been looking at the place since January and finally took the plunge. The delay in ownership is so the current owner, a nice young Amish couple with three little ones, can build a new homestead next door to us. The homestead is luxurious in comparison to some I've seen. They have indoor plumbing, cold water only and a home built wood burning furnace in the shop that also heats the 1200 foot living space that is connected to the woodworking shop.

There is a new barn with the property and we hope to start raising some sheep and pasture them there and on property that we currently own a short distance away.

We would like to keep things as simple, yet as comfortable as possible. Plans are to add LP, keep a wood burning stove (Looking for one now on Craigslist) and on demand hot water, but from there we are completely open for suggestions.

There is electricity ran to the property but naturally not hooked up into the house or out buildings. We are debating whether or not to add electricity to the house and shop or stay off the grid and use LP with a generator,possibly diesel.

I'm hoping that all of you good folks on the forum can lend me some of your sage advice. I am really impressed with the hard work this young couple has put into this place.

We would like to stay as low tech as possible, yet have some of the creature comforts that we have gotten used to in our 50+ years on this earth.

If you all were doing this from scratch, how and what would you do?

My first move would be to wire the house and outbuildings. Economically you cannot compete with the power company. Generators are fine for backups during power outages, but for daily use theres just no replacement for flippin that switch in the middle of the night or being able to have the freezers and other luxuries like a fan in the summer.

[prometheus]

Buy a bonnet?

No seriously get ready for lots of hard work, callouses and the rewards of doing for yourself.

If I catch any of your questions about the diesel before others, I have some experience there and will try to help.

[ronbre]

me, off the grid sounds great, but the diesel sounds expensive..what about wind or solar?

[michiganfarmer]

Originally Posted by badlander

If you all were doing this from scratch, how and what would you do?

I would use joe salatins natural grass grazing techiniques. It has a low innitial cost, and natural energy conversin. I like it

[badlander]

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

I would spend every single free minute that I had reading here.

I couldn't tell if you meant "50 plus years" as combined, or if you and hubby are over the age of 50.

Actually, our combined years are MUCH more than that.

We are seriously thinking about doing wiring, but at the moment I'm looking for a wood burning stove that will serve as a back up heat source/cooking source should there be a power outage (happens frequently in this area). The house does have a home made wood burning furnace in the shop and a wood burning cook stove in the house that the owner is taking with her. The furnace stays.

Any recommendations on wood stoves that might fit the purpose?

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by badlander

Actually, our combined years are MUCH more than that.

We are seriously thinking about doing wiring, but at the moment I'm looking for a wood burning stove that will serve as a back up heat source/cooking source should there be a power outage (happens frequently in this area). The house does have a home made wood burning furnace in the shop and a wood burning cook stove in the house that the owner is taking with her. The furnace stays.

Any recommendations on wood stoves that might fit the purpose?

You should be able to find an old timer cookstove in an antique shop, or farm sales depending on your area. As long as the firebox is not burned out they still work great and even antique store prices are better than buying new.

[firegirl969]

I would like to say welcome aboard, and I am glad you could join us. I look forward to hearing about your family's adventure. It sounds like a beautiful place. I think the wood burning stove is great if you have access to wood. Also, I would recommend chickens and rabbits. The rabbit manure is great for the garden and does not burn the plants when added fresh into it. I would hook to the electric grid since it is already there. However, I would look into solar or wind backup. We are getting ready to make our screened porch/living area into solar. That way if the power goes out, we still have radio/tv etc. We are also adding oil lamps and a gas stove in the kitchen. We live in a MH, so we can't have wood-burning inside it and get insurance. We do have a large wood burning stove on the porch that heats the entire house when we close the porch in with plastic and put carpet down on the floor in the winter. The insurance company allowed this.

[badlander]

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

I would use joe salatins natural grass grazing techiniques. It has a low innitial cost, and natural energy conversin. I like it

Funny that you should mention that. The Amish farmer that we are buying our homestead from is very much into natural grass grazing. In fact, we are attending a seminar (field day) on the 20th sponsored by a farmer who is into enriching his grazing land by adding natural microbes to the soil.

Our current property is going to be grazing sheep hopefully by next year with the other half in crops. I'll make it a point to look up Joe Salatns techniques.

Thanks for the tip.

[badlander]

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

I would use joe salatins natural grass grazing techiniques. It has a low innitial cost, and natural energy conversin. I like it

Funny that you should mention that. The Amish farmer that we are buying our homestead from is very much into natural grass grazing. In fact, we are attending a seminar (field day) on the 20th sponsored by a farmer who is into enriching his grazing land by adding natural microbes to the soil.

Our current property is going to be grazing sheep hopefully by next year with the other half in crops. I'll make it a point to look up Joe Salatins techniques.

Thanks for the tip.

[geo in mi]

If there is already an electric meter, then there should be also a breaker box somewhere in the house, and then you could dare to do your own wiring(without a permit or final inspection). BUT, if there is no circuit box, you may need a qualified electrictian to pull a permit, do the box--and maybe even complete the wiring you desire, up to code, and then get the inspection so it can be hooked to the meter. Up to code may mean ripping out walls in order to do it, whatever the code specifies.(And I am not a master electrician, so this is just my general opinion) In fact, I would wonder if you could get homeowner's insurance without an inspection of a former Amish house--and that would reveal any code deficiencies in the plumbing /electrical /HVAC /insulation /construction. At least these thoughts would be on my 'due diligence' checklist before buying it.