Steve and Scott join us today to talk about how the are starting a homestead, what they are planning to do, and where they are getting good information on homesteading. Their homestead will be in Northern California. Scott has a fun blog called Holy Crap I’m A Hippie, and Steve produces several podcasts at the Farm Cast Network site. The books we talked about on our how to homestead show include Build It Better Yourself, which is out of print, but you can find them for sale used.
J.B.
If your guests are going to build their house in a forest fire area they might be interested in investigating a concrete log house. It’s a house made out of concrete but it looks exactly like a log home and if you install a metal roof on it the fire danger is far less than a conventional modular wood house. Also they are quite energy efficent.
Steve Howard
Thanks, JB. It’s not really a forest fire area, in fact there are now trees. It’s a grassy and somewhat rolling 6 acres. There are a few photos on the blog a while back. But there are occasional grass fires and CDF has recommended setbacks. Thoise who followed the advice were undamaged when the grassfires rolled through a few years ago. But am looking into your idea – anything green and fire resistant is always a good idea in California.
Steve
Martha
Hey Eric, thanks again for another great show!
Steve and Scott,
I used to live in that part of CA! I would definitely recommend stopping by Butte-Glenn Community College in the city of Oroville. Butte College is a very green college, and it would be a good source for you. Also, there’s Chico State which is just a few miles up the road from where you’ll be home steading. They also have an Ag. Dept. although their big thing is Ag Business, but they frequently have green, composting and relevant classes for the community. Please keep us city dwellers posted, and Good Luck on your new venture! Martha 🙂
audrey
Really enjoyed listening to Steve and Scott, hope you have them on again soon.
Steve Howard
Martha – Thanks for all the great information. I have already contacted them for some information. Thanks for sharing!
Audrey – We are humbled. Thank you. Come on over and listen to us on our podcast too. We are products of GardenFork!
Scott
Thanks again for the time Eric. Sorry about the sound of the mic. Still workin on fixing that.
Martha I’ve actually been looking forward to seeking our their ag program while I’m getting things going. Probably not until after the first year or so.
I’m pleased people enjoyed it as much as I did.