Bye bye big city!

[Ugly1]

depends on the local soil. he's north of Houston so probably has more bayou soil, whereas I'm in an area that has a lot of rock underneath only a couple feet down. if I had to guess, all the builders have bought into the myth that it's too expensive to dig a basement and tell you it can't be done. and yet on some steep hillsides, especially those that have scenic views or on waterfront, I do see them dig into the sides of the hill for at least the slab walls.
personally, unless the potential of flooding made it problematic, I would put a basement in just for the house cooling factor alone. and if you are in a tornado zone, put a safe room in too

Had some friends move to Oklahoma. The “tornado room” was a small cramped area for 2 people from what I was told. The house it was in wasn’t a “cheap “ house either. Here in the north east, unless it’s a gravel bank type area, you get rocks lots of big rocks, and ledge. Watched it take 3-4 weeks for a new development get drainage area made with a jack hammer attached to an excavator. They couldn’t use blasting due to nearby houses and probably cost.

 

[Ugly1]

kudzu is a vine that grows EVERYWHERE. and like most aggressively growing plants of that type, it was brought from Asia

this is what it does

View attachment 200111

View attachment 200113

Another case of “It’s pretty “ gone to WHY THE?!!

 

[86LK]

Had some friends move to Oklahoma. The “tornado room” was a small cramped area for 2 people from what I was told. The house it was in wasn’t a “cheap “ house either. Here in the north east, unless it’s a gravel bank type area, you get rocks lots of big rocks, and ledge. Watched it take 3-4 weeks for a new development get drainage area made with a jack hammer attached to an excavator. They couldn’t use blasting due to nearby houses and probably cost.

yep, I've lived up in NE. the crazy part of being in a tornado zone is unless you buy an old farmhouse or something, they don't even build new homes with basements or storm cellars. and they KNOW they're building in a zone like that!

 

[Ugly1]

yep, I've lived up in NE. the crazy part of being in a tornado zone is unless you buy an old farmhouse or something, they don't even build new homes with basements or storm cellars. and they KNOW they're building in a zone like that

yep, I've lived up in NE. the crazy part of being in a tornado zone is unless you buy an old farmhouse or something, they don't even build new homes with basements or storm cellars. and they KNOW they're building in a zone like that!

View attachment 200139

I live 40 mins west of Manchester NH. Guess building cheap and not smart is the way they think. Lived in WV for a short time. They build by the little creek and not up on the higher hill then when it floods they cry. Well Duh!

 

[CopperNick]

Most weed killers that are potent enough to destroy the roots are also quite capable of poisoning the ground water; and your well water too. From the sounds of things you are far enough out that your sewer is a septic field and tank and your water source is a well. They are to be considered almost as sacred at all times because if you end up having to truck in potable water.....$$$$$$$$.

Q., Do goats eat Kudzu??



Nick

 

[86LK]

Most weed killers that are potent enough to destroy the roots are also quite capable of poisoning the ground water; and your well water too. From the sounds of things you are far enough out that your sewer is a septic field and tank and your water source is a well. They are to be considered almost as sacred at all times because if you end up having to truck in potable water.....$$$$$$$$.

Q., Do goats eat Kudzu??



Nick

according to this....

Almost all grazing animals can eat kudzu, including sheep. Sheep and goats are the primary grazers on kudzu. Some studies have shown that sheep prefer kudzu over grasses or commercial hay when given the choice. While most parts of the plant are edible, different animals have different preferences.
Sep 15, 2021

Can Sheep Eat Kudzu? - Backyard Homestead HQ​

https://backyardhomesteadhq.com › can-sheep-eat-kudzu

 

[ck80]

Q., Do goats eat Kudzu??



Nick

Technically speaking, people can eat it too, if they want.

You don't eat the main vine, but vine tips are OK. Don't eat the seed pods, but, flowers, leaves, and roots are OK.

Leaves they say you can bake, eat like steamed greens, or fry. Shoots are supposed to taste similar to snow pea pods and prepare similarly.

Do people eat it? Not really. But they CAN.

Maybe if Texas82GP were to switch to a heavier kudzu diet he could save up money for the shop quicker by cutting the grocery bills?

 

[Ugly1]

Most weed killers that are potent enough to destroy the roots are also quite capable of poisoning the ground water; and your well water too. From the sounds of things you are far enough out that your sewer is a septic field and tank and your water source is a well. They are to be considered almost as sacred at all times because if you end up having to truck in potable water.....$$$$$$$$.

Q., Do goats eat Kudzu??



Nick

I think goats eat anything. There is stuff that kills the plant but not soak into the ground. You have to apply it to the top of the cutoff area like a paint and starts to cause it to die and rot naturally.

 

[Ugly1]

according to this....

Almost all grazing animals can eat kudzu, including sheep. Sheep and goats are the primary grazers on kudzu. Some studies have shown that sheep prefer kudzu over grasses or commercial hay when given the choice. While most parts of the plant are edible, different animals have different preferences.
Sep 15, 2021

Can Sheep Eat Kudzu? - Backyard Homestead HQ​

https://backyardhomesteadhq.com › can-sheep-eat-kudzu

But a goat will eat metal. No one ever called them smart 🤣 cows eat it not by choice, why they will have them swallow magnets.

 

[Texas82GP]

Not a ton to report. Sean and I decided to outsource the maintenance of the vegetation. When the lot was underbrushed, the machine ground up and turned in much of the limbs, small trees, down trees, etc. but there were many chunks that were large enough to present problems for a riding mower or zero turn. We had the same guy do a "refresh" where he went back over the entire lot and turned everything back in it. It's much better but looks about the same as it did the first time he underbrushed it.....

We'll have the same guy mow it with his commercial zero turn on a quarterly basis, going forward. We're going to sit down closer to the end of the year and rework the financial models. Steel and lumber prices are nearly back to normal levels at this point. My brother's financial situation has also improved. The lease on my sister-in-law's 2020 Buick Enclave came up last month and they went ahead and bought the car cash. Collectively at this point they've paid off the land, the home improvement loan for the patio cover here and that car. All they owe on this house and every month we get closer to paying it off. I think we only owe 3-5 years on it so our financial situation is better. My brother also recently took a new job that pays more and had a nice signing bonus. Every little bit helps. We're all ready to get the hell out of here so we're hoping to pull the trigger towards the end of the first quarter or early summer. I guess that's it for now.