Christy Domino

yay fellow lake erie people!

i've been wondering a similar thing about using the vast algae mats that wash up on the beach in early summer. at first all i was thinking about trying it as a green manure, but then the back of my mind started screaming about the agricultural runoff which is the source of all that algae (not to mention the pollution in the lake itself)

then while i was researching i came across a lot of info about the toxic cyanobacteria which looks like harmless algae but can cause serious poisonings/death if it gets on the skin

Michael Vormwald wrote:I don't do it, but if I did, I would compost it separately and only use it on ornamentals and trees.

thats the direction i was leaning towards at first, since thats what you're supossed to do with composted humanure anyway,

Mary Saunders wrote: I have heard raccoon poop is especially un-recommended for root crops.

on an unrelated note raccoons are disproportionately prone to worms and other parasites. i've heard hunters and trappers say raccoons with parasites of some kind or another outnumber uninfected raccoons by a ridiculous amount. so thats why you dont want raccoon droppings around, it poses a big health risk to people and pets. somehow you only ever hear about rabies with these guys, even though skunks are actually the highest carrier of rabies

possums are surprisingly resistant to a lot of diseases though, including rabies. they groom themselves pretty good and eat the ticks they pick up and actually help remove ticks from the environment

(sorry i just like talking about critters)

thanks a lot!

our backyard is very damp and shady and with the typical humid eastern summers, i think this would work out well.

as i was replying i got to wonder if any residual cat smell might be left after its fully composted and i wonder if that could help as a rabbit repellent hmmmm

so many things to think about but im definately gonna try this at least on a small scale for experimentations sake

i've heard varying angles on this matter, from saying its a straight up no no due to the risk of bringing toxoplasmosis, and e.coli into your garden soil, to people saying that its ok as long as youve let the waste decompose for a certain amount of time.

i was wondering if any of you guys do (or don't) do this.

we use biodegradable cat litter especially since our dog is a shameless corpophage and has gotten sick from getting into the clumping clay variety. but letting all that biomass go to waste is just shameful. especially with the strong ammonia smell cat urine has, i know my plants would be thankful for that nitrogen, i just dont want to put anyone at risk from using it in a garden application

hey guys thanks a lot! this is all awesome

heres a video of a new zealander in japan cooking some urui they bought at the supermarket. from the elegant white stems, it looks like they must be using some kind of blanching technique down on the farm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLSyEZv6ZMw

urui is considered Sansai, or wild mountain plant and it appears the species most commonly eaten in japan is Hosta montana, but other species can be eaten as well but may require different preparation methods depending on texture. ( Shizuoka Gourmet, wikipedia

i cant wait to try this out come spring and if its tasty as she claims in the video i can wait to start telling people about it. most people i've met who wont grow their own food usually give some variation on the argument "its too hard to grow stuff/vegetable gardens are ugly" yet this is an edible plant that most people already have growing

We have a small shady yard and one of the few plants to do well there is hostas.

I recently learned that hosta leaves are eaten as greens in Japan where they're called urui and I was wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge about this.

I've heard that day lilies are edible too but only the wild/feral type and the domestic cultivars can cause varying degrees of stomach upset and I was wondering if the same was true about urui/hosta leaves since we have multiple kinds but don't know the cultivar names off hand (all green, green with white stripes etc)

Thanks!

too many posts to see if this has been mentioned yet but i'll state my piece anyway

while the closest i've come to a proper montana winter where i live is those few bitter weeks in january and february ( the coldest here is probably warm or average by your standards) im a big believer in anything leather or fur.

roadkill can be a great source for usable hides, both deer and smaller fuzzies. if you have the patience to look for the critters, to skin them and tan them (i've used liver as an alternative to brain since liver and brain both contain emulsified oils that preserve hides) even a simple possum worn as a scarf or wrapped around my head as a simple hat keeps me toasty in the 0's and sweating in the 10's. with enough small pelts stitched together you could make a handsome lining for a coat, or even wear cased skins as arm warmers or a muff.
i have several wool garments and while they're still pretty warm, wool cant compare to skins imho. i've tried learning to spin fibers and i think tanning is way more fun anyway

i have a great respect for all scavenging animals. we dont see ravens too often around here but i'm on pretty good terms with the local coyotes and turkey vultures

and thats awesome about compost! im really curious about using the compost of dead critters. how do you use yours? because i've heard that using animal remains in compost for any edible plants is a bad idea.

i have a bin that i use to finish decomposing some of my finds which is filled with leaves or grass clippings and by the end of summer its all broken down into great compost that i sift the bones out of later (as a collector thats what im mostly after) but im hesitant about using the compost in my garden.

this probably is the wrong forum, but its the closest i can find in terms of relevance to this topic, but i am constantly on the lookout for roadkill critters.

whether fresh and intact, or dried out and smashed, the carcasses of accidentally killed animals are still useful as a source of hides and usable meat for the fresher ones and the more rotten among them can still yield fascinatingly beautiful bones and skulls which can be carved into beads or simple tools, or make lovely decorations in their own right.

since i was a little kid i've spent many hours looking for bones in the woods and along roads and in ditches, within the last year i've started upping my game to gathering roadkill as i find it. im now teaching myself to tan hides, and use every part of the animals i find from flesh to fat to sinew and bone.

im a city girl who doesn't come from an outdoorsy family so i'm self taught or book/internet taught with regards to the finer points of animal processing, but ive found i love the taste of squirrel, but am still working on liking the taste of possum. the idea of taking an animals life is a hard pill to swallow for me (im just one of those people) but scavenging from the already dead has been an important stepping stone for me as i learn to throw away societies yoke and learn to fend for myself.

i would like to learn to hunt and fish for my nourishment someday, but until i develop the strength of spirit necessary to take another life, i'm more than happy scavenging