C. E. Rice

Jennie Little wrote:I ended up making spreadsheets and writing it out.

I determined these things:

1) Space, for us, is always the largest determinate. Space can be allocated based on availability or storage requirements. (Either the closet is so large or the bag of grass seed is so big.)

2) Supplies should be handled differently than durable goods, as they are "used up" and usually more environmentally sensitive. (A shirt is a shirt if you store it in an unheated outbuilding, but food stored there in the same box could be a disaster, for example.)

3) Again, for us, what I want in terms of supplies is 100% more than I'm using, right now. That is, I want enough to use and have another portion back.

Very cool!  and your points make sense.  Hope they have helped you to decide how to decide how to move forward.  :-D
Also hope you are handling any restrictions because of COVid-19 and that all things are as well as can be expected in your neck of the woods!   Peace

Throw in some easy garden herbs like mint and thyme and maybe basil and cilantro. Etc.  

They won't interfere with the three sisters... in some arrangements they can compliment ground cover(weed suppression)....  are perennial or come back easily from seeds(their supply)....   and may slightly help alleviate the desire to want to hang yourself after trying to eat these three crops non stop for 6 months or two years.

pretty neat "Tio" Mud!!

Hope you have been doing well and successfully avoiding the dreaded COViD bug.  The world seems like it is going crazy!  Or trying to!

Big WELCOME to the forums!!!
Thanks for joining the conversation!!

I love sweet potatoes.  And, was just doing a quick scan of new posts and saw yours.  However, it is a bit hard to read.  You might want to cut and paste what you have in this first post,  save/hold on to that.   Then, restart your first post  here with the summary or meat of the matter.  See, other than the title giving a clue... for a quick scan, I couldn't tell what you were getting at.  Like you said.. some of it is just copy and pasted... probably your own notes/reference.
- were you just sharing your hobby/interest and work?
- making the argument why sweet potatoes are the best survival food crop?
- or something else etc

Just saying, it is a long post, and  I want to be won over!   I do love growing sweet potatoes.

And maybe even Walmart... even if they don't have in stock you could possible order it from them online and have it shipped for free to their store.  Same with Home Depot.

Jennifer Lowery wrote:   I have no idea what kind of farming supply stores there are in Tulsa, OK.  I dont' know the names of the chains etc..  I am totally clueless.

Tractor Supply and Atwoods are two that i would check.  And then google organic and garden store Tulsa .... you may be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck!!

Ben Zumeta wrote:I have used oyster shell instead of perlite/vermiculite with some success. Pumice also adds minerals as well as air/drainage to soils. Sharp river sand is also a good source of minerals and soil drainage. Geoff Lawton's suggested potting mix of 2/3 river sand to 1/3 compost has worked as well as expensive potting soil (Roots organics) for starting tomatoes. I agree that was a ripoff on Amazon, as I have found azomite for $18 for same weight, and its a local reputable supplier.

Just..... to provide some insight....
Amazon will almost always be a lot more expensive on heavy items than a local garden/farm store because it will cost $12-$20 to ship the item.  Maybe less in cities that have Amazon driver delivery services.  But it is so much cheaper to ship on a pallet in a big truck (along with all they other farm items) to a farm store than a one off shipment of something heavy to a residence.

So you are paying for convenience and residential shipping when buying heavy items off Amazon.  So i recommend against it.... as long as you have a farm store within an hour drive.  But i wouldn't call that amazon price a ripoff.  They aren't price gauging.  Just covering their shipping for their Prime customers.

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To the original question.  This lady would probably say you just need to encourage soil life and that all the necessary minerals are already present in your soil ..... just not always in an 'unlocked' form:

"Dr. Elaine Ingham is an American microbiologist and soil biology researcher and founder of Soil Foodweb Inc. She is known as a leader in soil microbiology and research of the soil food web."

i believe that according to her... plants need such small amounts of minerals to be healthy and produce healthy food... and all soils have some of most/all minerals ... that even in depleted soils.... the solution is pretty much: Feed the soil life and they will unlock all your plants needs.

Dr. ingham is permaculture friendly.... if not a full-on permaculture enthusiast.  She was at Permaculture Voices 1.   She does classes and has some books on soil life as well. Pretty sure you can find lots of info online as well.  Good luck!

Either let these grow larger and then harvest the heads... or harvest  these small heads now......

But in either choice.... only harvest the head... leave the stem and leaves and that broccoli plant will produce additional heads.   Usually the secondary heads are smaller... but not always.

Congrats by the way!
We had kale overwinter.  With it we just wait till end of April and start harvesting leaves like normal. Will get a whole nother year from these survivors!!!

Feel free to fertilize.  Doesn't hurt.   Just don't do it up against the stems.   And... though not popular to some.... for a weak but helpful one or two off fertile drink... consider urine. (collected and carefully poured.... not sprayed since this is an edible).

Another amendment that people usually dont ever think of.... if you drink milk: dilute any remaining / almost spoiled milk and pour into the soil around your plants.  it feeds the soil life and they then help provide nutrients to your plants.   Works the same for rinsing out your empty milk jugs before you recycle them.

How does COViD-19 effect homeschoolers?

The Michigan state Governor is closing public schools for the next three weeks.

Could this be homeschoolers' greatest opportunity for sharing with their neighbors the advantages of homeschooling.  (Soo...Not religious evangelizing)

Can this topic be in the public forums?  i didn't see an ideal place to put it.  And so put it here since schooling choices can be divisive.

What income opportunities for homeschooling families to 'babysit' these 'stranded' public school children?  

Would you want/be willing to take in other families' kids during this so called epidemic?

i am considering putting word out that i can host Field trips to State Parks.... but have to consider expenses... risks... laws and parental permission... etc.

what are your thoughts... concerns... etc

Thanks so much!!!

haha... yeah. they take a while to get growing and make fruit.

a saying told for how transplant trees do:
1st year they sleep
2nd year they creep
3rd year they leap.

So hopefully this year they will put on some good and noticeable growth.

has something to do with them getting their roots established.
remember... better to put amendments on the soil around the tree(but 6"+ from trunk) and not in the hole they are planted in.   That lets the roots grab what they need and not be so well provided in the hole that they (the roots) don't want to go anywhere else(which... can effectively stunt their growth.)