I haven't been over to Accessible Gardening in a while, but found, when I did go, that it was not a particularly active forum. Those who are there are helpful, however. My own disability (blindness) also may not afford too much insight for this CILA. I do think your project is engaging on multiple levels, first of all for the independence / wellbeing of the young women, but also more generally. I like what a friend pointed out to me years ago. She ended up in a wheelchair unexpectedly and learned from her experience that all of us are "temporarily able". Getting professional design help may not be in the budget, but I would strongly recommend it. What can be provided here will be sort of hit and miss, and something pretty crucial might be overlooked. It might be possible to find a professional to be a more local landscape design "coach". I got lucky that way once when I needed a lawyer (Yes!). I did the work, and she tweaked, guided, and suggested. You've got lots of resources in Chicagoland, so maybe somebody would be willing to look over your shoulder and guide the process? The frustrating thing would be to get something "wrong" that might have been done "right". It's hard, and usually expensive, to go back later and fix mistakes. We inherited frustrations when we bought our home, and I wish I could redo the garage / garden storage arrangements. I'm not a "neat freak", but blindness has taught me the lesson of keeping everything in its place from watering can, trowels, and clippers to brooms, rakes, and shovels. If gardening is to be a pleasurable activity for these young women then good storage will be an absolute must. If it turns out that others do all the upkeep, then good storage will still be an asset and always a safety issue. Sometimes I have to be extraordinarily careful about how Someone Else (my "dump-and-pile" husband) has put away sharp or heavier tools. The other thing that I really, really wish I had is a screen room and/or sunroom. I absolutely loathe mosquitos and they absolutely love me. It can be a torment to do watering and tidying chores when the biting insects are looking for dinner. In the late summer, in particular, I'd love to have a place to sit and dream that's screened and shaded. In addition, our house has poor window / lighting. I long to have a room filled with plenty of light and indoor plants in the winter. Yep, I'm a blind gal who gets affected by the lack of light in winteror maybe it's some sort of plant deprivation. So, in my very unprofessional way, I'm raising the following issues: 1. Smart storage -- Will you need an area for storing the heavier or more dangerous items? Space just for storing everyday tools and supplies the residents might want? Where will storage be in relationship to other planned areas? 2. Water -- Automatic watering system? The capacity to put that in later? Well thought out location for exterior faucets? 3. Realism about what the residents will want to do in the garden -- I'm a passionate, avid gardener, but when its 90 deg with 70+% humidity, I'm hard pressed to get myself to "do" anything out there. If the bugs are biting, forget it! I'm in downstate IL, and know your area a little. Nevertheless, I still like being outside--just wish I had that screened in porch. 4. Winter -- You know, that 4 to 5 month period of grey, frigid temps and bitter cold and strong prairie winds. For a significant part of the year the primary way that residents will engage the garden is from inside their home. In one fell swoop I guess I'm bringing up the window treatment on the residence, the possibility of a sun or garden room, the views that can be seen from different places in the home, and the seasonal interest and focal points established on the exterior to be seen from these viewing points. I still feel you need local help, someone who can see things firsthand. Hope my thoughts are helpful in some way. Wellspring

RpR, thank you. I've looked up the average monthly temperatures and it's pretty much the same, except for 3 to 4 months (December through March) that are warmer in Colorado. I'm not sure what I will do yet, if I want them in my windbreak or not but if I do I will buy them locally. pnbrown, I will order it right away! I've read a few pages through the "Look inside" option on Amazon and it does seem interesting! althea - thank you for the link! I do believe that chlorothalonil has been banned for lawn maintenance in Quebec, since 2006, but I don't think it's been banned for agriculture use. There are dozens and dozens of different pesticides that can be used for potato fields though and I will have to ask the owners of the lands behind our house if they use chlorothalonil. I've located the owners but am still debating on how to approach them regarding the pesticides... The owners are quite old and I don't want them to think I'm rude or that I want them to change their ways or anything. I do know however that they will be using these lands for industrial hemp for a few years starting next year, and from what I could gather on the subject pesticides aren't sprayed on hemp. I think they're also dealing with nematodes right now and that could be why they accepted to use their lands for something else than potatoes - I've heard they are ravaging their plants. As far as jacking the house, since we have the basement it is impossible to do. And well, it's not just the fact that my BF and father built the house, but also that my whole family lives close. Moving is out of the question right now, as I mentioned earlier, but I'm ready to take all kinds of extra steps to reduce our exposure to chemicals and toxins all around our place. As a side note they finally came back to spray their lands yesterday (for the 1st time since I started this thread). They were not spraying the same way as they usually do... the tractor normally sprays in a perpendicular manner (facing our street/house and going back in the opposite direction) but yesterday, he sprayed in-parallel with our street/house. I'm not sure if he did it this way because of the wind direction but it's the first time I ever saw him spraying like this. greginnd - I appreciate this discussion as well. :) I find it very refreshing to be able to talk with people who are as much concerned about their health (or the environment) as I am. I mean, many members of my family and friends usually think I'm nuts for doing everything I'm doing (the whole organic/vegan/green aspect of living) and I've been having a hard time dealing with some of the things they do and not care one bit about. Anyways, I really do enjoy these discussions! Regarding the winery, I've read in the pesticide book mentioned in my very first post that grapes are nearly as heavily sprayed with pesticides as apples. I'm guessing you're planning on doing everything organic? Or as safe as humanely possible for both humans and the environment? Very interesting about the herbicide staying in the soil for years. For my future garden I was planning on doing something similar like square foot gardening. I am not sure I would use any "special" soil (as suggested by Mel Bartholemew) but I was planning on using some other type of soil than the one we have in the yard. I'll be careful about where the soil comes from, for sure. From the research I did on the owners of the field behind our house, they are not corporate farmers. Some of their family members are however, and own lands in other areas of our town. Your garden looks very big - and clean! Very impressive! I'm used to seeing my mother's garden and it sure looks nothing like yours. She lets weeds grow everywhere and really isn't working on it that much. How big actually is your garden? I've been wondering how big of a garden I should do for my boyfriend and I. We do eat a lot of vegetables and fruits (though less fruit than veggies), and I juice quite a bit as well (at least once a day). I was thinking about making a garden that would be big enough that we were able to go through a few winter months with our own supply of vegetables (I would make and then freeze our juices in advance) but I have not been able to determine how big that garden should be. I guess it'd be a trial and error thing. And I totally agree - the one thing I am very sure about from the research I've done so far is that a plant-based diet is what seems to be the most healthy for humans, as long as these plants are as free of chemicals/pesticides as possible and consumed as raw as possible. I've found many raw food recipes that look great and I can't wait to order my food dehydrator to make some of them already! Well, I wish you good luck with that winery project of yours. :-) I cannot get myself to drink a glass of wine as of right now - I hate the taste of it - but I've been told (about 7 years ago when I was just shy of 20) it's something you get to enjoy more as you age. Oh well, maybe some day.

It is best to choose the land where it is most fertile, and the climate is suitable. To find out this information, now everything is written on the Internet, where it is best to buy land and at what price. Yes, a friend of mine had land in New Jersey and sold it very dearly. And I bought a new apartment in the city... Recently I came across an article about Angus embryos for sale. And I was stunned when I learned that many farmers now buy animal embryos and grow them on their farms. I've never heard of it. Do many people already raise their own cattle in this way?

Make sure that soil percs...if it doesn't, no matter what the "grandfather" issue may be, if it doesn't perc you can't build a septic, or the system may have to be so large that it won't fit on your lot...that would be a make or break deal for me. In our area, wetlands are a huge deal, so if there's anything wet already on the property, that will be another big consideration. Also, do you know what the property was prior to this? Was it farm land or something else. These days you have to know what's in the ground as well as what's on it. (I remember when we were looking an agent said what about this fabulous place...fortunately I lived in the area a long time and remembered when they added the skim coat of fill to the lot before they built the house. No way!) I also would seriously consider buying an existing home over building if my concern was that we were overspilling our current home, as building a custom home can take a long time and it can bring lots of headaches (as well as benefits). If you think you are having a hard time now with trying to get your questions answered, this isn't even the beginning yet. Building will necessarily bring cost overruns. I usually figure it will cost 1/3 more than you think. I also agree with the others about the shared drive. Yuck. I think building a home is a labor of love and only worth it if you love building homes, or if you will end up with something that you love due to a unique piece of property or a home design that is unique to your family's needs and can't be gotten elsewhere. If it's available on the market, even if it will need some reno work to become perfect, go for it....