Ron Layton

Just saw this and I'll post a link to it on my blog. I'm buying both 1 & 2 in paperback. Good stuff!

Its been a good year (2020) for the sunchokes  and Seminole pumpkins here in north Florida. I have an estimated 100 pounds + of chokes still in the ground. I scraped some dirt away and they are huge mass's of tubers. @019's crop was dismal due to the dry weather and the well pump on the fritz. I replaced the pump but its been a good rainy year and everything is happy. I grow the yellow skinned variety of chokes and have been growing these since 2017 when I picked up a hand full of tubers at the co-op. The Chinese water chestnuts are grown in large kiddie pools and do great here in our zone 8/9 area. I threw a handful of Seminole pumpkin seeds into the wood line last spring and we gathered around 75 pounds of nice big pumpkins back in October. These are my favorite and they are so delicious. Its been a cooler than average winter here fluctuating between 50 and 70 degrees during the day and we've hand several below freezing nights. Frost cloth and heaters in the greenhouses are a must. Now its trying to be spring and lots of wild edibles are coming up all over the place. I love farming in Florida. Heres a link to some wild edibles I did on my blog. https://ronsprimitiveskills.blogspot.com/2021/02/condor-village-parang-using-fire-tube.html

I've only used one knife, an EZ Lap diamond rod and a home made gambrel. I used a Western Cutlery sheath knife with a 5 inch blade for many years until it was stolen. I bought a Finnish Lauri blade with differential temper and made a nice handle for it. The thing is like a straight razor! The cutting edge is only 3 1/2" but thats fine. I do much like everyone else here as far as skinning and gutting. The gambrel lets me pull the deer up to stand up working height. I'm 67 and have a busted lower back so that is a necessity. I hook the gambrel to the deer's legs at the knee's, tie a rope to it and hoist it up on a limb with the pickup truck. That works for me.

We have an organic farm in the Florida panhandle and I wonder if anyone here has these handy little bugs in their recycle/compost bins? They do a terrific job of busting down the waste and have several other benefits as well. Do a Google search and you'll be surprised at what you find.