Ryan Quinn

Hi Shay! I'm new here too! Welcome. That is so cool you're not wasting the winter for growing! I'm just today starting some of our veggies here with a fluorescent light. We also have a few professional grow lights that I may implement to give us a headstart on tomatoes and such. Today I'm planning to start some cold tolerant plants like onions, leek, broccoli, lettuce, kale.. etc

Have you heard of the traditional foods yahoo group here in MN? It's a group of consumers and farmers who practice Weston A. Price principles (sustainable farming). It's a great place to get to know like minded folks here in our area because it's specific to MN/WI. They have food swaps, potlucks, activist activities and also a list of great local producers who are doing things right. Here is the link.....

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/trad-foods-MN/messages?o=1

I think you have to have a yahoo email address to join, but both the email account and the group are free and it is sooo worth, I can think of no faster way to plug in to a local community of people who are on the right track (no faux health foods here like tofu, farmed fish, agave nectar, etc) just people who think traditional, nutrient dense, sustainable foods are where it's at, and who shun modern industrial foods.

Cheers!

Just want to say that the videos on Sepp's farm compelled my mama to try her hand at permaculture. This is something I've been praying for and visualizing for a quite a while. And then she went out and bought 10 lbs of heirloom veggies seeds, she's buying 2000 strawberry plants, and 10-25 lbs of native wildflowers to do a permaculture strawberry u-pick.

^^^This is an amazing feat because I've been trying to get her to do permaculture for years. And last year I did a permaculture garden which basically meant I planted a bunch of heirlooms and then walked away for the season attending my other stuff. So I spent not but a few hours in the garden the whole season (I got distracted with a new relationship-oops!) and we were harvesting delicious cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini and some other things. probably hundreds of dollars worth of produce for 3 hours or so of work. And THAT didn't convince her. She just thought it was a mess (but she didn't mind heisting my produce from me on a regular basis!) So when she saw Sepp's videos and got all excited, that just goes to show you the power of inspiration and faith that a well done permaculture op (or any well done thing) can have.

When we permascape my mama's farm and become a profitable venture, the rest of my family will follow suit. And all this because of Sepp's wonderful example!

Hi All! Stockholm, Wi here! Right next to Maiden Rock bluff. That is kind of west central wisconsin across from Lake City, MN!

Would love to get to know some permies in this state and region.

We have a 60 acre farm. This spring as the ground thaws we'll be working hard to permascape it. Doing permaculture u-pick strawberries and hopefully other veggies. Adding ponds, aquaculture and more grass fed cattles and some pigs n ducks.

Would love anyone to stop by if you're in the area. And maybe we could do a MN/WI potluck here on the farm. We're located on the bluffs, about a mile from the big Muddy and a mile north of Maiden Rock Bluff. Maybe you've heard of the Maiden Rock Winery/Cidery if you been up WI35 up here. It's just me and my mama running this farm, and now that she's on board with permaculture this should be a great year!

Cheers!

Ryan

I everyone!! My name is Ryan and I live in stockholm, Wi (20 mins south of Red Wing on the WI side, 1 mile from the river up on the bluffs!). A couple years ago after getting in to raw milk and raw animal foods I became involved with a traditional foods list serve (TFMN- yahoo group, any trad foodies here?) and that led me to organic, then grass fed, then finally permaculture. It's been an amazing, life changing experience and that motivated me to move here to my mom's farm in WI where we currently raise grass fed heritage dairy cows and free range chickens, along with various other animals. This year she finally got on board with permaculture principles and we just ordered 10 lbs of heirloom seed, and soon to order 2000 strawberry plants, along with 10-25 lbs of wildflower seed. Our goals for this year are to ....

- Start a strawberry u-pick, but with a permaculture slant (that's where the wildflowers and veggies come in!)
- Permascape our garden area, again veggies and wildflowers
- Create more water catches, rain gardens, aquaculture
- Begin raising beef cows, all grass fed, on land of ours that was previously conventional monoculture
- Permahab our small apple orchard with wildflowers, companion plants.
- Add pigs to our menagerie and incorporate them in to the growing process.
- Add ducks
- Use the farm as a teaching platform and inspiration for others in the area.

Would love to have you all out some time this spring/summer for a potluck or get together. The area is beautiful and the drive down is gorgeous.

I work and stay in the cities, where I'm from, Apple Valley, during the winter, except when work is slow, so if you wanted to catch a ride out with me that would be cool too.

I'd like to get to know other like minded individuals in the area and support one another in our permaculture goals. It's a lot easier, even just to have the moral support, rather than feeling like you're totally alone. Last year I did a test run with a low maintenance garden, basically just planted and let it go. Didn't really do anything to it all season and was pleased with the return. For a couple of hours worth of planting, we got back loads of zucchini, eggplant, some tomatoes, cucumber and beans, beets and lettuce. This year we're going to do greater variety and quantity, and make a better effort with design. This season we basically chopped and dropped everything where it was to feed the soil. Can't wait for this time around!

Also can't wait to get to know ya'lls!

Cheers and happy planning/implementing!