Thomas Alexander

I just finished watching the HOME documentary. Really good. And it's about how we have messed up such a huge part of our planet using human "knowledge". So Fukuoka's approach is probably the right approach, and according to him, we appeared on the face of the Earth because all the conditions were favorable for us to thrive in CERTAIN environments. Problem is we have spread all over the planet, even on environments that are not naturally producing edibles for us, and then we must adapt nature to fit our needs. Can a balance between us and the environment we live in be reached?

BTW here is the HOME documentary in spanish though you can probably find it in many other languages: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFdWIy2E9f4&feature=share

Well, i would like to turn a part of this pasture into a vegetable garden at some point in time, and i thought a cover crop was the way to go for a start. Esentially i would like vegetables to grow there in a natural way. Is there a way to accomplish something like this? I doubt scattering seedballs on the pasture as it is now would have any success towards the vegetable garden. And if not a cover crop, then what kind of seed should i scatter?

Right, i'm familiar with Fukuoka's ideas and techniques from his books, but to make them come real could be a challenge here because of the pasture thing. So is there some technique i could use to get some cover crop working amongst the pasture, and eventually keep the pasture at bay? Specially a no-tilling, no herbicides aproach!

So that's my doubt in the title of the topic. Has anyone tried something like seeding cover crops in a natural pasture (mainly grass family). The natural environment here in Uruguay is mainly grassland. Thanks in advance for any info on this.

The split in the wood seems to run parallel to the grain structure, but i can't tell for sure if it's delamination because i'm really new at this, but all in all it seems to be a pretty straight grained wood. Thank you for the tips on wedge making! I'm finding it really hard to shape the wedges without a vise and a drawknife , so i'm starting to consider looking around for wedges in town, or maybe i should get some tools!

I'm still having problems with my axe head slipping up when trying to make firewood,but it seems to be pretty strong wood, however there is a bit of the handle next to the head that already presents a longitudinal crack, about an inch long, maybe that's because i tried making firewood while the handle is still so green? That's cool that wedges can be homemade!! Any info on how to make the wedge? I tried using silver acacia for the wedge too, using little longitudinal splits and shaping them a bit like a wedge, but they would only go into the other wood a little bit and then the top would break, even when using a wooden mallet...i guess that's because both the handle and the wedge are still green?

Those are beautiful axes!
I made my first axe handle the day before yesterday, and i have some doubts about how to make them correctly, for instance, i fitted the axe head on the handle while the wood was REALLY green, as i did cut the tree that same day, i guessed the wood shrinked because when trying to chop some wood the head would start slipping up the handle.
Also, the wood used is from an acacia dealbata(silver acacia) which is fairly straight grained, strong, flexible and lightweight, supposedly it´s what the australian natives would use for their axe handles or so i read. But im not using a split of a thick trunk, instead i'm using a sapling's whole trunk and shaving it to attain the desired size and shape, but i had this problem, the axe head's eye is kind of a curved triangle and a gap was left empty at the triangle's angle, so i filled it with shavings of the same trunk...that is not good, right?
Another doubt is the wedges to use on the end of the handle, can i make homemade wedges of the same wood or is it better to buy them(i don´t know as yet if local stores sell them, and in any case i want to make all the parts that are makeable myself... )
And also my axe handle is kind of straight shaped, instead of having those typical curves, is that also bad?
Should linseed oil be applied or something else maybe?
Making my own tool handles feels so good! I also made a hoe handle yesterday using the same principles, both tools look really nice as the trimmed silver acacia wood looks really silvery! I hope they will work, and in any case it's a nice trial and error learning process .

Hi everyone! Ok, so i planted some crops, including cucurbits, corn, radishes, aurugula, they are all showing their cotyledons and the first leaf. And i can see plenty of wild hares around my crops. So far they don´t seem to have eaten any of my plants but i fear they might when the plants grow more, specially the cucurbits flowers. Do you reckon i should take some control measures against the hares or there will be no major problems?

By the way im glad to be part of this great forum! Been reading a great many threads