Terry Bytes

I'm curious about the cloth-top jars being used instead of lids.
Is it important to allow a little bit of air in and out?

Wow, Very impressive work!   [update: Ugg, this was a 6 yr old thread? Where have I been?]
Years ago when I wanted to add sweet potatoes to our garden, I found this site. Chock full of useful information. The main emphasis was a formula for attaining the minimum number of "Heat Units"

"Forget what climate zone you are in.  That has nothing to do with growing annuals, that is for over wintering plants. Parts of coastal Alaska are in  zone 7b. Here in Iowa we are in zone 4b.  If we set out plants in the garden on the same day in both places it is almost certain the folks in Alaska will not have anywhere near the success we will have here."

"This is the most important thing when it comes to sweet potatoes.  It is the heat units that determines success, not the number of days nor plant zone, but heat units. "

"It takes about 1200 heat units for our early varieties to reach a decent crop of usable size roots.  "

https://www.sandhillpreservation.com/sweet-potato-growing-information

Hope this helps someone. I'm definitely going to check back to this thread this winter and go for sweet potatoes next year.

Same here. I could use more flow. And form, in my life.

Beau Davidson wrote:

Ivan Ivailov wrote:

Beau Davidson wrote:It was!  Now here: https://permies.com/wiki/208134/Epigenetics-Seed-Saving-Breeding-Resilient

Can people who had a ticket for the live event get it for free, or will it require an additional payment?

It is available as a $5 upgrade to this thread.

Thanks you! Worked great.
Seems like a perfect upgrade price on my end, hope this kind of upgrade is worth it on the producers' end going forward.

Hannah Johnson wrote: Stuck my kids in the bath during the wrong 10 minutes of my life to get into this.  I didn't know it was going to be a race to fit in to a limited seating event.

Is it being recorded?

I would hope so.

UPdate: I was able to get in at the 26minute mark, it said it was being recorded by host, and the total count was at 109

Jay Angler wrote:

Terry Bytes wrote: I'm taking a break from ducks, they are quite the hassle. They make our chickens look like angels.

I hear you Terry! The only advantage is that mine tend to be groupies to the point that herding them with hockey sticks (the Canadian way!) is quite workable with a little practice on the part of the ducks and the herders!
The Rubbermaid tank you bought is exactly what I was using last year, but until our well is fixed, I'm using smaller bins to make it easier on the pump and myself. I really like your idea of dumping into a swale although with our heavy clay it might not make any difference on my farm.

HA! I totally agree. I put my left arm out to make them move right. Then my right arm out to make them go left.
Just like the Stygian Witches that shared one eye, I used to joke that my ducks all shared one brain.

I guess my concern was they were unfriendly/scared. Dumb. Messy. Poopy. Flattened everything down, if they weren't uprooting it. Couldn't leave them for a few days like the chickens. And their eggs were barely bigger/different than our chickens.
However, I do realize that if I had a REAL pond for them to be REAL ducks in, they probably would have been awesome. So I lay the blame on me more.
They did give me many chuckles, and they looked cool while using the water. Imagine a big pond. Some day...

I used a kiddie pool for quite a while, and just dumped it and filled it every day. Every week I'd move it to another part of the swale. But it was precarious. I had 15 runners + 4 randoms.
Life became much easier when I got a low-profile 300 gallon hard rubbermade-type tub from Norby's. (Easier to dump, ducks liked it better, could last for a few days between dumps)
Also, it allowed me to use a de-icer in the winter without worry.

I dumped right into the swale, with the idea that the nutrient and contents would help seal the bottom of the swale some day.  I also used the slope of the swale to naturally allow them access (no ramp needed)

I'm taking a break from ducks, they are quite the hassle. They make our chickens look like angels.

paul wheaton wrote:I think josiah did such a beautiful job, i am crazy excited to see part 2!

I agree, his beard is amazing. Oh, you mean the video. I agree with that too :)

(Edit, maybe that is kyle. I am known to be out of touch)

I was a little confused why he kept saying that this is as close to organic apples as you can get.
I was thinking, he was bagging them, and then spraying the tree, but thinking the spray can't get on the apples, so..... pseudo-organic?

But looking through this link, http://gordosoft.com/orchard/bagging.htm, it seems like the goal of bagging to to not have your non-sprayed, organic apples look like walnuts due to bug-damage.

As with everything I have noticed over my homesteading years, seems like NOTHING scales well :)

T Simpson wrote:
You will get a centralized digital currency which is the opposite of what bitcoin is. Likely you will be required to link an ID such as social security and provide proof of work. Centralized digital currency is authoritarian and sets a precedent for a globalized digital currency controlled by a single entity such as the United Nations etc.. Personally I think nothing good can come from it an is only an excuse to have the government have tighter control over the workforce.

Exactly true.
For the last 3 years, lots of big paying crypto jobs were posted for banks. I am sure they're working on a "Fedcoin" as we speak. Probably to replace the current system if (if?) things go belly up.

If you look at how they've used centralized payments systems against people they don't like already, I don't see it changing.
What do I mean?

Local banks closing accounts/refusing to cater to your business if you are (or accused of):
Any loose morality clause (Sex workers, adult industry, including writers and artists.

There is currently a bill proposal to apply this to gun shops.

And not just banks. Paypal, Square, and others.
And then there is the money-raising schemes out there, like Kickstarter, Patreon, goFundme, etc, canceling and taking back any money you might be raising for just about any reason they see fit:
Political, activists, and anything getting enough complaints (Cancel Culture)

On an international scale, there is a something call the SWIFT payment system that facilitate transactions between banks and members from different countries. This has always been denied to Iran, and anyone the US would want to punish/negotiate over. Russia, China and India have been trying to create an alternative,etc, etc