Online miscreants and trolls please keep off
I'm developing a retirement oasis on my relatively large swathe of land huko boonies Masaini.
It's 100% off grid. Solar powered. Trees are coming up pole pole around the core area where my maskan currently is on the land (was a crazy challenge building to good standard hapo by the way, but thank God it got done). Both fruit trees and timber trees like pine, cypress and the famous blue gum, now that the 4 year national drought seems to be officially over. Planting the widest variety of crops possible, pesticide-free.
What have your experiences with Permaculture been like?
So far the crops are being chewed by pests galore, but I'm told by year 4-5 of the food forest, it will be a done deal as the ecosystem will "pop" and pests will be a minimal nuisance.
I've dug a few shallow wells but as of now they have minimal water. I'm encouraged by one of my neighbour's a few hundred acres away who planted trees zamoo, who only needs to bend over kiasi to chota clean fresh water from his when it rains. They are almost full to the brim. His trees have penetrated deep, his soil is spongy and thus his wells are very full despite the area being semi arid.
Meanwhile on mine, the ground slopes very gently and was so hard packed when I bought it that the roaring rains (it rains very heavily there during the rainy season - even more than in the highlands!) would land on my acres and flow huyoooooooooooooo away from the land. They would end up at the base of some distant mountains where permanent springs abound - drought or none.
Also, I need a farm pond (silanga) to capture some of that massive water. And to raise fish as well as do some boating. I need it to be at least an acre in size. Gava was doing smaller ones for "free" but contacting them to get one done on mine has been a waste of time as nobody responds. You have to "know" someone on the inside to get sorted. How can this be done and how much does it cost?
So far water harvesting - gutters and tanks - has been far easier and better for me. Still building capacity each passing year.
How do you deal with water issues?
Pia. What have your experiences with solar been like? Solar con stories are a dime a dozen.
And TV/internet solutions? Phone signals hapo are quite weak/choppy and me needs me my internet!
Thanksini in advance!
Age and family mellows us all over time