Matthew Nistico

Lots of good advice here.  I particularly like Matthew Woods' advice, above, to reserve a little bit of space for some sort of aquatic system.  I hadn't immediately thought of that, but it it is true that they are inherently more productive than any terrestrial system.

You will need to layer your permaculture plan in time.  Perennial system elements are great at reducing required inputs, including your labor, but they won't be feeding your family this year.  Root crops and legumes are probably the easiest solutions for that.  Over time, you will rely less on those crops.  Just remember that how your property functions at first doesn't have to be how it functions forever.

I am intrigued by the "additional acreage" that you possess in steep native forest.  You didn't describe that space at all but, like others here have stated, I'd be interested in exploring the foraging potential there.  Also, a great way to expand your agroforestry potential without impinging on your 10 acres of prime crop/pasture land.  Find good trees among the native forest, possibly just near the edge where they are easiest to access, for pollarding to feed your animals.  Find or make little clearings and add productive trees of your own - hearty trees on their own roots that can compete with their native neighbors.  Find places to plant mushroom logs.  All this will add to the future foraging potential of those Zone 4/5 acres.

Sounds lovely.  But I hope that your homestead(s) are far from any cities.  I read that things are pretty crazy down there in recent years.  Have you seen any of that?  Just curious...

M Ljin wrote:I forgot to mention, mayapples are delicious!

I grew up seeing mayapples in the woods.  Didn't even know they actually produce an "apple."

Word of warning...  This is from Wikipedia, so take it as you will:

"All the parts of the plant are poisonous, including the unripe green fruit and perhaps the ripe fruit eaten in excess.[14][15][16]."

And further:

"Mayapple has been used by Indigenous Americans as an emetic, cathartic,[19] and antihelmintic agent.[19]"

None of those actions make me think "food."  They make me think "medicine," which has to be approached very differently, taken in different quantities than food, and for different reasons.

Marie, I am far from your part of the world.  And I'm guessing I am far from your age group.  But I sympathize with your problems and with your goals.  What you are seeking may be unusual these days, but it is not unreasonable and it is not unattainable.

Just wanted to wish you the best of luck!

Alina Green wrote:Some people buy chicken feet (aka "back scratchers"  haha) to add to bone broth, for the gelatin in all that skin and connective tissue...and toenails.  ugh.

Oh yes, they make a great addition!  If my freezer bag of accumulated bones and veggie scraps is at all short on bones, I will totally throw in some purchased chicken paws to round out the batch of bone broth.

Pigs feet would also make a great addition, but where I live chicken paws are cheaper.

Hi Michele, why don't you tell us where you are located now?  Or where you would like to settle?

Alina Green wrote:I usually do chicken and/or turkey bones, don't roast, and throw them into the slow cooker for 1-2 days, then remove the bones and add some onion, celery, carrot, parsley, do another day, strain and use.

Why do you boil your bones and your veggies in different phases of the process?  Why not altogether?

Michael Adams wrote:I've been getting ready to do a big batch, but was also recently gifted an Insta-Pot. Is it blasphemy to see if anyone has a tried and true method for it? I'm still getting acquainted with it.

Why would it be blasphemy?  I don't follow...  I love making bone broth in my Instant Pot!  I do it all the time.  I collect all of my bones in the freezer together with suitable veggie scraps until they fill a big cloth mesh bag that just barely crams into the pressure cooker pot.  Fill with water and a splash of ACV and let it rip!  The broth cycle on mine takes an hour to heat up and four hours to cook.

When finished, I drain the broth, set aside, and replace the solids in the pressure cooker - hence the mesh bag, which makes things much easier to handle.  Refill with water/ACV and run it a second cycle.  I combine the broth from both cycles, strain, and refrigerate or freeze in quart jars.  Together, it takes 10 hours, so an all day job.  But also 95% hands-off.  Once the pressure cooker is going, it is completely on autopilot.

After two cycles, the smaller bones inside my bag are about ready to crumble.  I used to separate beef and lamb bones from the chicken and pork bones.  These days, I just throw everything I have into one broth.

M Ljin wrote:You may want to look at this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispbread

These breads were baked from at least the sixth century in central Sweden.[6] They were usually hung above the stove to be dried. Traditional crispbread in Sweden and western Finland is made in this tradition with the form of a round flat loaf with a hole in the middle to facilitate storage on long poles hanging near the ceiling. It may also have been a way to keep the rats away from them.[7] Traditionally, crispbreads were baked just twice a year: following harvest and again in the spring when frozen river waters began to flow.[8]

I buy Swedish-style crispbreads at the store.  They really are amazing: they stay fresh without going stale for months!

I imagine for most bulk grain storage on a homestead scale, people will resort to 5 gallon plastic buckets with tight-fitting lids.  Pay attention to the lids, though; they are not all made equal.  While technically rats could chew through, I am sure buckets are perfectly adequate for most short- to intermediate-term storage, especially with some desiccant packs thrown in and occasionally replaced.

On my homestead, I am not currently growing grains, nor buying in bulk, either for myself or for feed.  In the future I hope to do both.  But in the meantime, just buying whole grains 2-3lbs at a time for kitchen use, I store them the same way I store all kitchen dry goods: vacuum sealed in mason jars.  Very convenient and effective!  But again, not a solution that scales well.