/diy/ - Do It Yourself

i plan on converting the pool to salt water, and i may start raising tilapia in it, and growing some vegetation in it as well, all of that depends on the pump system. the pool is already heated by solar pipes.

the front yard will get a forest garden, since its central florida, the soil can be a little sandy, but you can grow nearly anything there with a little work. we used to have apples, peaches, cherries, oranges, grapefruit, guavas, peas, blueberries, blackberries, and a ton of other shit growing there. i figured i'd get a wide variety, and use them as a barrier between the house and the highway out front.

this is the site plan for the whole property we own, the little house next door is the trailer i grew up in, the small structures around it and behind it are sheds, which may get some minor conversions into little houses or cabin type things, i'm not sure yet.

permies.com (for both your building and your growing tech support)

i'd suggest trying to work on a forest garden with as many of the drought tolerant things you can find. this guy should be a helpful source, but permies will help a lot. http://www.amazon.com/Sepp-Holzers-Permaculture-Small-Scale-Gardening/dp/160358370X/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_c
art_f

solar ovens for the win. you'll rarely have to make an effort with your cooking, and you could stockpile dried foods for your regular staples until things get going.

as far as the house goes, study up on passive houses, sculptural ferrocement houses, and so on before you get too far into designing it. You will want to go on gmaps and sketch out your land as well as figure out your flood risks and so on in the area, then you can start a game plan for the whole of the design part. A good idea might be to start collecting shit from dumpster dives and taking it there in loads when you go out to work on the place. that will save you tons.

i will now link dump for stuff to consider in your housing design

http://inspirationgreen.com/glassbottlewalls.html

http://www.habitatferrocement.com/why_ferrocement.html

http://www.seismologik.com/journal/2011/4/21/marcin-jakubowski-open-sourced-blueprints-for-civilizat
ion.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/09/16/is-it-possible-to-build-a-home-for-1000/?mod=google_new
s_blog

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2010/01/zerohouse-off-grid-modular-green-home.html


hope it helps